I've already gone on record as not being a fan of the second wild card. This year's "pennant races" are further proof as to why I feel that way. The whole idea behind the second wild card was to give more teams a "realistic" chance at the playoffs. Yeah, well, tell that to everybody but the 10 teams who acutally will make the playoffs. Because this two wild card thing is making the month of September incredibly anticlimactic.
Take that three-way battle for the AL East and wild card. The Yankees and Orioles are engaged in quite a race in the AL East. It feels like the Yankees' lead has been one game for like two weeks. They either both win or both lose every day. However, it looks like they're both going to make the playoffs no matter what. Sure, the new format has placed an extra emphasis on winning the division, which gives them both the incentive to fight for the AL East title, but knowing that they're both going to get in has really taken something out of that race.
Same thing in the AL wild card "race." Oakland has basically the same record as the Yankees and Orioles, so in years past, those two wouldn't have had to worry about just each other. They'd have to worry about the A's, too. But, again, the fact that there's a second wild card this season has made this "race" somewhat irrelevant. As fans, we're being deprived of one of the best parts of September baseball. Instead of a great three-team race for two spots, the only "suspense" going into the final 10 days of the regular season revolves around which AL East team will get stuck playing in the wild card game and which team will have to fly cross-country to play in it.
This whole idea that the extra wild card will keep more teams alive later in the season has proven not to be the case, at least for this year. It could simply be a one-year anamoly, but the "competiton" for the two wild card spots is non-existent. The Angels and Rays, the teams most observers thought would be the two to snag those playoff berths in the preseason, are 2.5 and 3.5 games back of Oakland, respectively. It'll take either a miracle or a 2007-08 Mets/2011 Red Sox/2011 Braves-like collapse for either of them to come anywhere close to the Orioles and A's.
And it might just be because I live in New York and I have family in Baltimore that's made the AL East completely overshadow everything, but there's only one real race in the American League, and it seems like nobody is talking about it. The White Sox lead the Tigers by just one game in the AL Central. Unlike the East/wild card, this is an actual pennant race. The winner will make the playoffs and the loser won't. In fact, the way I see it, White Sox-Tigers is the ONLY pennant race in all of baseball. (And it's incredibly hard to believe that the Tigers are actually in this position to begin with.)
Over in the National League, "anticlimactic" doesn't begin to describe it. The Reds and Giants have already clinched the division, and the Nationals have clinched their first playoff spot in 30 years. Washington's NL East title is a mere formality. So is the Braves' wild card. Even if they do choke the way they did last year, it'll be virtually impossible for Atlanta to miss the playoffs again because of the second wild card. In fact, at this point, it would be virtually impossible for them not to host the NL Wild Card Game. At least the TBS suits won't have to travel far for the NL Wild Card Game in Atlanta.
The only thing the second wild card has done in the National League is prevent the Braves from getting that guaranteed place in the Division Series that they obviously deserve. But it's not like the race for wild card No. 2 is any closer. The Cardinals have a three-game lead on the Dodgers and Brewers. The likelihood of St. Louis missing the playoffs also appears slim. Sure, there's a chance they can get caught, but I think virtually everyone's in agreement that the inaugural NL Wild Card Game will be St. Louis at Atlanta.
As it stands now, the only thing worth paying attention to in the National League is the race for the 1-seed between the Nationals and Reds. San Francisco's going to be the No. 3 seed, which isn't really the worst thing for them, since that means they get Games 1 and 2 at home. (Same thing with the White Sox-Tigers winner, by the way.) The winner of the AL East can conceivably overtake the Rangers, too, but I think, in the American League especially, it's an advantage to be the No. 2 seed this year. Think about it. You'll know who you're playing and where. That makes everything (from rotation to matchups to whatever) a lot easier planning-wise. Add that to the list of problems with the new playoff format. The "advantage" that comes with the best record is virtually non-existent in the Division Series.
Maybe last year's final day was simply too good to be true. We ain't gonna have anything like it this season. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if all 10 spots (not just the teams, the actual places) are locked in by next Wednesday. In which case, year one of the second wild card will go down as an absolute dud. Because if you were looking for added excitement and more playoff races, you came to the wrong place.
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