On March 26, Fangraphs' projected end-of-season AL West standings looked like this (with estimated win/loss totals rounded to the nearest whole number):

Mariners: 85-77 (.525 W%)

Astros: 84-78 (1 GB)

Rangers: 84-78 (1 GB)

A's: 76-86 (9 GB)

Angels: 75-87 (10 GB)

Honestly, that's about as close as you can get. At the end of play on Friday, Sept. 12, the Astros and Mariners are tied atop the AL West with the Rangers just two games back. But the accuracy of the projection implies that everything that's happened this year has, more or less, met our expectations. It's not true, but that is what it implies.

This division -- specifically the Astros, Mariners and Rangers -- has continued to catch us off guard all year long, and there have been so many little plot threads that there's a pre

See Full Page