By Mike Corasaniti

If you were to tell me that you had just bet a considerable sum on the Oakland Athletics to win the World Series this year, I would probably tell you you were out of your mind. 

But if we were to flash forward three months to find the Green and Yellow on top of the baseball world, I wouldn't be considerably surprised.

There is just something about this Oakland team that can't be stopped right now, though nothing about them really seems unstoppable. 

Consider yesterday's 16-0 clobbering of the Toronto Blue Jays, without a single hitter in the lineup batting over .300. Consider that the team is now competing for the AL Wild Card lead–and dare I say it, the AL West–without a 10-win pitcher in late July. And consider their recent four-game sweep of the Yankees, and just enjoy that for a second.

As with most predictions, discussing the A's championship possibilities is a little unrealistic at this point, but it's growing more and more plausible to consider that this team can dance their way to an October run. But they still have a long road ahead of them.

What's facing the A's


Let's try to be as realistic as possible. 

The A's are probably not going to beat out the Texas Rangers for the AL West crown, they have just been too good the past few years and this season to not win the division again. And more than likely, the Los Angeles Angels will figure out how to use it's collection of talent to body it's way into the postseason.That means that Oakland will have to keep doing close to what it's been doing this past month (16 wins in 19 games) to grab that second Wild Card position over Tampa Bay, Chicago and Baltimore (who should most likely be the other teams fighting for that spot).

Then it will be Oakland versus Los Angeles for a shot at (most likely) the Yankees, where the A's will bout best-player-you-may-not-have-heard-of Josh Reddick against the Angels and their two young stars. And if they can get past that, their recent sweep of New York makes it seem very likely that Oakland will have the firepower to send the Bombers home early.

Then, obviously, that's where the real tests will begin.

If the A's want to be a serious contender for the World Series this year, then in the next few months, they will have to prove that they belong in the same conversation as the Texas Rangers and whoever comes out of the National League. If they can, then you might not be so crazy to bet a couple bucks on Oakland.

By Mike Corasaniti

In 1924, Walter Johnson and Goose Goslin led the Washington Senators past Ruth's Bombers for the pennant and then John McGraw's New york Giants for the title.

It would be the last and only time and team from Washington ruled the baseball world.

But now that the Nationals are somehow the best, most consistent team in the major leagues, it now appears like a little Red monster from Cincinnati stands in their way of a World Series appearance. 

Things are looking especially even brighter after Strasburg's recent dominance over the Marlins and an upcoming series with the slumping Mets. If the season ended today, nobody's stopping the Nationals in the first round.

Say the Reds get by the hypothetical No. 3 seed, would they even have a shot at the mighty Red, White, and Blue? Yes.

Cincinnati is enjoying one of the league's strongest post-All-Star game stretches after just completing a 3 game sweep of St. Louis. But the thing that looked the best from that sweep is the fact that it wasn't the usual Vottos, excuse me, suspects, that helped Cincy get the sweep. I mean, did anyone even remember that Scott Rolen was still playing? Because the man's two-out RBI single last night helped clinched the sweep.

If more role players can contribute like the random Rolens every once in a while, then this Cincinnati team is looking very dangerous.

Matchup: Very few people are betting a lot of money on this series to come to fruition. Although the two clubs have been enjoying stellar seasons, it's hard to say that both, if either, will continue riding their successes into September. So, let's just focus on one factor, since there are so many that will factor in between now and this possible NLCS matchup. Pitching: Washington is better at it. Nationals 4-2

By Mike Corasaniti

If you're a Phillie's fan, you may as well accept it: the NL East is no longer yours.

If you're a Mets, Marlins, or Braves fan, you should probably be a little bit worried as well.

The Washington Nationals  (48-33) are the best team in the National League. And with the  way they've been playing along with the second largest division lead in baseball, it's hard to imagine these Nats being irrelevant in October any longer.

But why exactly is this National team not just a fun team to root for, but a serious threat to dominate their way to a World Series win? Season's Over looks at three key factors:

The Bright Future

Here's the obvious one that has everyone talking. With the young and budding talent highlighted by All-Star Stephen Strasburg and almost-All-Star Bryce Harper (who is batting .381 so far this month), the Nationals are looking to be the new Texas Rangers. 

The Under the Radar

If you haven't yet heard of Gio Gonzalez, don't worry, he's just one of the countless Nationals that could grace the covers of Sports Illustrated any day now. Gonzalez in particular (11-3 on the season an en route to his first All-Star Game) is having a Cy Young-contending season, and could be the difference between a deep run or an early exit by the time the playoffs roll around.

The Fight

Davey Johnson told reporters after Thursday's walk-off win that," There's a lot of character in this ballclub. Now that everybody's kind of doing their thing, it's easy to get a little momentum going." It's been a coon's age since this franchise has had a whiff of October baseball, but with the resiliency they have showed so far this season, it's starting to look like they'll be able to exorcise some bad luck demons real soon.