Kryptonite teams

For the first time since 1997, the Orioles are in first-place in September.

After defeating the Blue Jays, 12-0, the Orioles moved into a tie for first as the Yankees dropped another one to the Rays and are showing signs that they might drop behind Tampa as well.

Meanwhile, in the AL Central, the White Sox lost, but held on to their one-game advantage as the Tigers lost again.

There is only one close divisional race in the NL as the Giants maintained their 4.5 game advantage as both SF and LA lost in 11 innings.

This got us thinking which teams have caused the contenders the most problems this season, which teams have proven to be Kryptonite?

Baltimore is 2-7 against the Angels and 2-5 against the Rangers, but going 0-3 against the Mets is pretty painful.

The Yankees have struggled against other contenders: they were 1-2 against the Reds, 5-9 against the Rays, and 7-7 against the Orioles.

The Rays don't like going 0-3 against the White Sox, but like the Orioles have to hate their 0-3 Mets record. The A's have won five-of-nine against Tampa and the Tigers have won five-of-seven against the Rays. Tampa has also gone 5-7 against their rival Red Sox.

The White Sox have to be wondering if? What kind of lead would they have if they hadn't lost two-of-three to the Dodgers and the Astros(!!!). What if they weren't 2-6 against each the Red Sox and the Orioles? What if they had done some damage against their rival Tigers instead of going 4-10?

Speaking about the Tigers, they understand the Kryptonite concept better than any other team. Forget about going 3-7 against the Rangers and 4-6 against the Yankees, there is a reason why those two are first-place teams. However, 1-5 against Seattle and 4-9 against the Indians is inexplicable and the reason why this team is struggling to make the postseason.

Out in the AL West, Texas has been vulnerable only to the White Sox going 3-6.

On the other hand, the A's went 0-3 against the Diamondbacks and 2-4 against the Giants. They should have also done better than 6-7 against the Mariners.

The Angels went 1-9 this season against Tampa's Kryptonite Rays, 1-2 against the Padres and 2-5 against the Tigers.

In the NL, the Nationals are 2-4 against their neighbor Orioles, 2-3 against the Pirates, 3-4 against the Rockies (ouch!), but 0-3 against both the Yankees and Dodgers.

The Braves were 8-10 in interleague play going 1-2 against the Orioles and Red Sox, and 2-4 against the Yankees. While their 1-5 against the Reds has hurt, it's their 5-10 record against the Nationals that has had the most impact on this season for them.

The Reds, as befitting their 83 wins, have been strong, but watch out if they meet Washington in the postseason because the Nats have won 5-of-7.

The Cardinals are 1-5 against the Braves, 2-5 against the Phils, 1-3 against the Nats, and 12-18 overall against the overall Kryptonite NL East.

The Pirates are 0-3 against their fellow Cinderella team Orioles, 4-8 against the Brewers, 1-6 against the Dodgers, and 1-5 against the Padres. That's a lot of Kryptonite.

The Giants have been hurt by going 5-6 against the Diamondbacks, 1-2 against the Angels and Mariners, but really sapped by going 1-5 against the Nationals and 2-5 against the Marlins.

The Dodgers have been hurt even worse than the Giants by Arizona going 6-10. But if you want to know why the Dodgers are scrambling to make the postseason, check out this Kryptonite-wracked records: 7-8 against the Rockies (!), 2-4 against the Angels, 1-6 against the Brewers (!!), 0-3 against the A's,  and 5-7 against the Giants.