The Major League Baseball playoff table has been set, and after enduring a fall marred by replacement referees and a looming National Hockey League lockout, sports fans are ready to feast. Though the typical (previous? Former?) postseason party invited only the elite eight teams from the regular season, it’s time to make room for two more. The hunt for October glory graciously welcomes an additional Wild Card qualifier in each league.
While adding more teams to the already lengthy playoffs might evoke grumbles among fans, fear not. The two Wild Card teams in each league will have one shot to advance to the Divisional Series. Additionally, they’ll earn the dubious distinction of ‘best team to sneak through the backdoor into the postseason’.
Before I go any further, let us marvel at the fact that both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles will be eligible to compete for the World Series Trophy. Let that sink in for a second. The Orioles haven’t sniffed the postseason air in fifteen years. The last time the Nationals were in the playoffs, they weren’t even the Nationals—their last appearance came as the Montreal Expos in 1981. The odds of both making the 2012 playoffs were remarkably improbable at the beginning of the year.
(Also quirky, but not necessarily improbable: the fact that a Canadian sports team became the Nationals, located in Washington, D.C.)
To put into context how long the National’s franchise has gone without a playoff berth, consider this: not a single starter in Washington’s rotation had been born. In 1981, Stephen Strasburg wouldn’t exist for another 7 years. I’d wager that somewhere, somehow Strasburg was throwing 90 mile-per-hour heat in 1981 despite not being born. It’s Strasburg. Stranger things have happened.
Speaking of which, Strasburg won’t be pitching in the postseason. A week into September, the organization decided to end his season. While the decision was met with controversy, it’ll be worth it. Trust me, folks. I had a Mark Prior poster on my wall in and look at what happened to him
The Nationals will face the Wild Card one-game playoff winner: the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals facing the Braves. The Braves are a solid team looking to send Chipper Jones off with another World Series ring, but after last year, should anyone doubt the Cardinals? They turn into the Space Jam Monstars when the playoffs start, transforming from (sometimes less than) average to a well-oiled destruction machine. With Kyle Lohse on the bump, I’d take the Cards over nearly anyone in the league, let alone the Braves.
Elsewhere in the league, the NL West champion Giants take on the NL Central champion Reds. Despite Tim Lincecum’s brutal season, the Giants are still pretty good. In fact, they’re my pick to represent the NL in the World Series. Matt Cain, Mason Bumgarner and Ryan Volgelsong are arguably the best set of starting pitchers in the league. If anyone needs a break, Barry Zito has finally started to earn his $126 million contract. Well, sort of. Five years late is better than never…right?
Over in the American League, the New York Yankees will face the winner of the Orioles vs. Texas Rangers one game playoff. Detroit made a push in the final days of the regular season to steal the AL Central from the White Sox. The Rangers did the exact opposite. They watched a four-game division lead disappear in the final six games of the season. Five Texas losses and six Oakland Athletics wins later, the A’s are division champions. I wanted to pick the A’s to win the World Series, but then it hit me. Bartolo Colon is their third best pitcher. Game over.
The Yankees are, well, the Yankees. Boasting a payroll worth the gross domestic product of most underdeveloped countries, the Yankees posted the best record in the American League. They did so by absolutely mashing the ball. The Yanks finished the season ranked second in runs scored and first overall in slugging percentage. Their pitching rotation might be the worst in the playoffs, with only C.C. Sabbathia and Hideki Kuroda posting earned run averages under 4 per game. Who will be their third starter in a seven game series? Phil Hughes had another shaky season, and Ivan Nova was hammered by opposing hitters all year. That won’t cut it in October.
That leaves the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics in the final Division Series matchup. The question “Why did the Tigers only win 88 games this season?” ranks somewhere between “What happened to Atlantis?” and “Are they called pancakes or flapjacks?” on the unanswerable question hierarchy. I offer two hypotheses. The first contends that the Tigers, inspired to become more like their animal mascot, crouched stealthily in the shadows for 150 games while waiting to pounce and rip the hearts out of White Sox fans everywhere.
The second more likely explanation is that the back end of their starting rotation didn’t come around until the last month of the season. With Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister shoring up the rotation along with an improving Anibal Sanchez, the pitching should continue to trend upward.
Throw in their ridiculous offense, and who can challenge the Tigers? They can win any style of game. Want a slugfest? Meet Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Feeling a pitcher’s duel? Good luck with Verlander.
The league’s most talented team is finally peaking, and that’s a scary thought for the rest of the playoff field.
