Baseball's Dog Days

The fourth week of August is, in the baseball world, its "dog days." They're aptly named. It's this period in the baseball season when the sport's wolves prowl on their prey. The hot weather, the season's length, and the road trips wear down weaker teams, while the strong survive and prosper. Consequently, the statistics of good players accelerate in a desirable direction, as the New York Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano has recently shown.

This season, the American League has the stronger teams, the better players, the more prosperous franchises. While the Yankees have the best record as of this morning, they may not even make the playoffs. That is indicative of the competition, the quality of players on each contending team, and the demands of the schedule. I don't know who will win the three American League divisions, or the identity of the league's wild card playoff team, but it promises to be an exciting race. And that's something a baseball fan -- and I am one -- can get excited about.