The Playoffs Are Here! The Playoffs Are Here!

The 2013 MLB regular season is over, and while it was a bit disappointing for some teams (the Orioles, Nationals, and Yankees), it was even more disappointing for others (the Blue Jays and Phillies come to mind).  But now it's time for the post-season - when intensity is up a few notches, players ignore injuries and play their hearts out, and fans get caught up in the hoopla and excitement.  But if you're not a die-hard fan, it might be a little hard to keep track of which teams are playing in which round.  Don't worry; I'm here to help you figure things out.

The first official post-season game is Tuesday night, when the Pittsburgh Pirates will be hosting the Cincinnati Reds for a one-game Wild Card contest.  The winner of that game will then face the Cardinals in St. Louis for a best-of-five series.  This is called the NLDS (National League Division Series).  At the same time, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be visiting the Atlanta Braves for the second NLDS.  The winners of those two series will then move on to the best-of-seven NLCS (National League Championship Series), so that narrows the National League from 4 teams before the NLDS to 1 team after the NLCS.  This team goes on to the World Series as the sole representative of the National League.  Got it?  I hope so, because I don't know how else to explain it.  

The same thing happens in the American League, so here it goes.  The one-game Wild Card contest is on Wednesday between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians (in Cleveland).  The winner of that game goes on to the ALDS (American League Division Series) against the Red Sox in Boston.  On the other NLDS, Oakland will be hosting the Detroit Tigers.  After that best-of-five series, the two teams who come out on top go on to the ALCS (Americal League Championship Series) and the winner of that will go on to the World Series.

Are there any surprises here?  Well the Red Sox went from last to first in their division, the Cleveland Indians played like they didn't want to go to the playoffs for a while, and the Dodgers came out of nowhere.  And how about those Pirates?  They haven't been to the post-season in like 20 years or something.  So it's nice to see some fresh faces - no Yankees, no Phillies, and no Giants. Instead, we have Longoria, Kimbrell, McCutchen, and two Molinas along with last year's Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and badass Justin Verlander.  It will be exciting, and I will try to watch as much of it as I can!

2013 MLB Postseason Schedule**

** subject to change

NL Wild Card

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
NL Wild Card	Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh	Tue, Oct 1	8:00 PM	TBS

AL Wild Card

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
AL Wild Card	Tampa Bay @ Cleveland	Wed, Oct 2	8:00 PM	TBS

NLDS

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	NL Wild Card @ St. Louis	Thu, Oct 3	5:00 PM	TBS
Game 2	NL Wild Card @ St. Louis	Fri, Oct 4	1:00 PM	MLBN
Game 3	St. Louis @ NL Wild Card	Sun, Oct 6	TBD	TBS
Game 4*	St. Louis @ NL Wild Card	Mon, Oct 7	TBD	TBS/MLBN
Game 5*	NL Wild Card @ St. Louis	Wed, Oct 9	TBD	TBS

NLDS

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	LA Dodgers @ Atlanta	Thu, Oct 3	8:30 PM	TBS
Game 2	LA Dodgers @ Atlanta	Fri, Oct 4	6:00 PM	TBS
Game 3	Atlanta @ LA Dodgers	Sun, Oct 6	TBD	TBS
Game 4*	Atlanta @ LA Dodgers	Mon, Oct 7	TBD	TBS/MLBN
Game 5*	LA Dodgers @ Atlanta	Wed, Oct 9	TBD	TBS

ALDS

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	AL Wild Card @ Boston	Fri, Oct 4	3:00 PM	TBS
Game 2	AL Wild Card @ Boston	Sat, Oct 5	5:30 PM	TBS
Game 3	Boston @ AL Wild Card	Mon, Oct 7	TBD	TBS/MLBN
Game 4*	Boston @ AL Wild Card	Tue, Oct 8	TBD	TBS
Game 5*	AL Wild Card @ Boston	Thu, Oct 10	TBD	TBS

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	Detroit @ Oakland	Fri, Oct 4	9:30 PM	TBS
Game 2	Detroit @ Oakland	Sat, Oct 5	9:00 PM	TBS
Game 3	Oakland @ Detroit	Mon, Oct 7	TBD	TBS/MLBN
Game 4*	Oakland @ Detroit	Tue, Oct 8	TBD	TBS
Game 5*	Detroit @ Oakland	Thu, Oct 10	TBD	TBS

It's Not Over Yet!

There may only be one week left in baseball’s regular season, but things are just starting to heat up.  Wild Card slots have to be determined, batting races are wrapping up, and teams with losing records are already looking forward to next season (like the poor Houston Astros, with their 51-105 record).

So if you read this blog just to be nice and you’re not sure what’s going on, let me fill you in on which teams are moving on to the post-season so you have a clue as to what the people on the Metro or at the water cooler are talking about when they reference players like Puig, Miggy, and Yadier.  Here is your quick tutorial to the post-season.  

First of all, as of today (Monday, September 23), not all playoff spots have been filled.  There are still Wild Card slots up for grabs, and the AL Central champion hasn’t been determined yet.  But that’s what makes this last week so exciting, so please pay attention.

In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox have clinched their division.  Many of the players have scraggly beards, which must be what makes them play well (since they won the World Series in 2004 with scraggly guys like Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Pedro Martinez).  They were in last place early in the season but can possibly end the season with 100 wins.

In the American League Central, the Detroit Tigers are 5 games in front of the Cleveland Indians, but unless they lose every game and the Indians win the next five, they pretty much have the division title to themselves.  As much as I would like to see Cleveland win it, the Tigers would certainly make the playoffs more exciting with players like Miguel Cabrera (this is where the “Miggy” reference comes in), Justin Verlander, and Matt Scherzer.  Plus that poor city needs some excitement.

In the American League West, the Oakland A’s have clinched their division.  I hope they get eliminated early in the playoffs so they don’t have to play any games in the west coast time zone and I can get my regular amount of sleep.  Yes, Oakland is a very good team, but they need to understand that I need my sleep!

Regarding the AL Wild Card, there are four teams in the running for the two available spots - Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Texas, and Kansas City.  The Orioles aren’t far behind, but I’m afraid that mathematically they’re probably not going to make it.  The two Wild Card teams will face each other in a one-game elimination, so that will leave four teams in the American League to play the American League Divisional Series (ALDS).  That will then leave two teams that will face each other to crown the American League Champion that goes on to the World Series.  (Did you notice I didn't mention the Yankees?  They're not going to the playoff this year - ha ha!)

Now for the National League… The Atlanta Braves have clinched the NL East after pretty much dominating for the entire season.  The team that led the league in Disabled List transactions hopes to overcome their opponents and make it to the World Series.  I hope they don’t make it, because that “tomahawk chop” that their fans do during games is downright obnoxious.  I'm banning it when I become Commissioner.

In the National League Central, things aren’t so clear.  The St. Louis Cardinals have clinched a playoff spot, but not necessarily as the Division champs.  This is because both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates are 2 games out of first place, and they still have 3 games to play against each other this coming weekend.  This division is going to come down to the wire at the last possible minute, and that's the excitement I love.

In the National League West, the Dodgers clinched their division what seems like months ago, and they’re not letting that stop them from wanting to win the last few games of the season.  I like the Dodgers, but again, they’re in the wrong time zone, and that Yasiel Puig guy is kind of an enigma.  I’m curious to see how he will handle the pressures of the post-season.

Regarding the Wild Card slots in the National League, the two will probably go to the Reds or Pirates, unless one of them ends up clinching the division and then the remaining spot will go to the Cardinals.  The Washington Nationals are not mathematically out of it yet, but they would have to win their last 7 games and the Reds and Pirates would have to collapse.  I’m afraid my Nats will not be going to the post-season this year.  L

So what are my predictions?  I think it will be a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series, though I hope the Pirates make it to the post-season somehow.  There is still a LOT of baseball to be played before then though, so stay tuned for updates.  All I know is that If the World Series ends up being between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s and they play in the evenings so the players don’t have to contend with shadows on the field, I definitely won’t be getting much sleep!

Why Can't we Just Leave Well Enough Alone?

One difference between baseball and football (and there are many, just ask George Carlin.  Oh wait, he's dead, never mind!) is that football has one game to determine the team that will be the champion for a particular season - the Super Bowl.  Baseball has the World Series, which is a best-of-seven series as opposed to just one game.  If the World Series was reduced to one game only, not only would it make the Series more exciting (actually it wouldn't be a "series" anymore so you'd have to change the name), but more people would watch, more advertisements would be sold at ridiculous prices, and more chips and beer would be sold all over the country.  But I don't generally like change (and it would bring up the dilemma of who would be your starting pitcher for that one game), so Wild Card games (best of 5) and two League Championship Series (best of 7) are OK with me.  Well, apparently Major League Baseball owners don't agree with me, because they have decided to expand the playoffs starting possibly next year (because no one sees anything wrong with baseball being played until Thanksgiving).  Wait, actually it's only one game, which seemed easier to fit into the schedule than a best-of-three first-round series, so there WON'T be baseball played until Thanksgiving.   OK, I get it.

This long-talked-about expansion of Major League Baseball's playoffs could be incorporated as soon as this coming season.  The new format will expand the Wild Card to a pair of additional teams, one each in the American and National Leagues. The two Wild Card teams will meet in a one-game playoff prior to the three-tiered postseason, which will remain the same.  Are you following me?  Good!  The only good thing about this is that the Washington Nationals have a better chance of making it to the playoffs now, but it also means that 10 of the 30 teams will be in the playoffs.  It kind of makes it not-so-special anymore if 1/3 of the teams can make it to the postseason.

 

The expanded playoffs are linked to the sale of the Houston Astros to some rich guy named Jim Crane and their move from the NL to the AL, effective for the 2013 season.  The Commissioner's Office and the MLB Players Association collaborated on those developments during some collective bargaining negotiations, and I must say, I don't really care in which league Houston plays.  If Texas fans want both their teams in the scaredy-cat league where the pitchers are too sensitive to bat for themselves, then that's their problem.  This does mean that the Astros' shift from the NL Central to the AL West will give each league 15 teams, with five clubs in all six divisions.  That actually makes sense now that I think about it, because in the past few years, the AL West only had four teams and the NL Central had 6, while the other divisions each had five.  So now every division will have 5 teams and it will look much nicer and more even in the newspaper and on the Internet when we look at the standings.
 
Adding another Wild Card addresses a common point that baseball players like to bring up, which is that teams dominating over 162 games should be rewarded more and teams clinching a berth at season's end should have a greater obstacle.  Sorry, I'm not buying that.  If your team wins 100 games in a season but is not first in its division, then too bad.  I bet you it was the owners of the Red Sox who came up with that idea, since they would have been in the playoffs this year if they had instituted this expanded Wild Card thing.  Those Red Sox fans just can't settle for 2 World Series championships in the past 7 years, can they?
 
So there you have it (if I haven't lost you already).  15 teams in each league, 5 teams in each division, one 1-game Wild Card for the loser teams, best-of-five Wild Card games for the good teams, one League Championship Series per league and one World Series.  If you're still lost and just can't wrap your head around it, just keep reading my blog and come October I will tell you for which team to root.  In the meantime, keep reading the newspapers along with me while we play "Where in the world is Albert Pujols going to end up?".