I am in disbelief.

O's v. Giants would be amazing, if nobody here kills me during the Series. Imagine the confusion with the colors!

Also: which side would Frank Robinson be on?

Personally, though, I want to see a Nats-O's series. As if there won't be enough attention given the Swampland this fall, adding a Beltways Series (since Baltimore, too, has a beltway) to the mix would be horrendously great.

Plus, Davey Johnson-Peter Angelos grudgematch. (No matter who wins, we all lose.) & a chance for Showalter to stick it in the eye of the Rangers. & D-backs. & Yankees. But, mostly, Rangers.

FUCK BUCK

As much as I hate Suck Blowalter, I loathe the Yankees infinitely more, so I am enjoying the O's ascent.

As much as the '94 work stoppage screwed Montreal -- though, really, Selig & Loria deserve most of the blame (even after the restart, the 'Spos were salvageable) -- I think there can be an argument made it screwed Showalter more, & elevated Torre & La Russa.

Hear me out.

Had the season continued, it's likely -- not assured, but likelier than any other option -- that Montreal & NY meet in the World Series. At which point, either Felipe Alou stamps his entry to the Hall of Fame, or Showalter never again has to buy a drink in Manhattan. Hell, Donnie Baseball would prolly be in the Hall, with or without a Yankees Series triumph, in this scenario. Instead, the season closes, the League & the Union (though largely the League) can't forge an armistice to allow for a WS of the two teams with best record (MTL & NYY), & the next year Montreal starts it decline (Wetteland to the Yanks, Larry Walker (a Canadian!) to the Rockies), the Yankees lose to the Mariners (good result for baseball fans, but horrible for Showalter), & Torre gets poached (with little resistance) from St. Louis.

Now, Showalter spends some time in the wilderness, not even managing, instead midwiving the Diamondbacks into existence. Torre rides the nexus of early 90s draft success (Jeets, Posada, Pettitte, Bernie Williams) to a title (with an assist from the much discussed Jeffrey Meier). & St. Louis is no worse for wear either: La Russa jumps ship from the pre-Moneyball A's, followed soon thereafter by Mc Gwire, & goes on to manage in three Series, winning two.

So, by 2000, when Showalter is let go by Arizona, the count stands: Torre, 4 Series; La Russa, 1 Series win (in OAK), 1 single-season HR champ, & Pujols waiting in the wings; Showalter, fired, twice, with each side going to win (or about to win) a WS. Oh, & Felipe Alou? Shepherding undermanned Montreal sides, playing in decrepit Stade Olympique to 80 win finishes in the division still dominated by talent rich Braves & Madoff "rich" Mets. (He eventually gets his chance to manage a championship-caliber side, in San Fran -- but after their WS window closed, & against the Loria-owned Miracle Marlins, who ended riding a young, & thin, Miguel Cabrera & Bay Area (!) native Dontrelle Willis, to a title.)

Now, twelve years, & one more firing, on, Buck has a chance to get his. (In a bit of a Jack Mc Keon in '03 pose.) I say let him.

Thanks for nothing Cubbies.

Are we all in agreement that this new wild card 1-game playoff format is hot garbage? Like, what the fuck are you doing Selig stupid?

I'm heading to the Braves game this Friday for the Chipper Jones Tribute night.

Speaking of which -

The idea of having his season, and career, end, in a one-game playoff isn’t sitting well with Jones.

“You say to yourself, ‘We could possibly have the second or third best record in the National League when the season’s over and we have to play a one-game playoff just to get in,’” he said. “That doesn’t seem fair. Now if you were to say the two wild card teams would play a best two-out-of-three, I’d be OK with that. We play three game series all the time and we concentrate on winning those three-game series all the time. It’s more fair from a standpoint that anything can happen in one game — a blown call by an umpire, a bad day at the office. At least in a two- or three-game series you have some sort of leeway.”

I agree with Chipper

i don't think it was necessary to add the one-game playoff. the old system was fine. but i understand that the AL east is big money and MLB can't have the lowly rays (or orioles, of course) ruining television ratings, so they had to do something. it's really no different now than when two teams were tied for a wild card spot. the play-in game was #163 and i never heard this much whining from all corners about that only being one game.

the problem with a two-out-of-three is it extends the playoffs even longer. baseball already has the longest regular season that should mean the most going into the postseason. do they really need to extend it to as many rounds as the excessive nhl and ba playoffs?

Huh? I don't understand your point.



The blown call by an ump is a red herring. No one wants that to decide a playoff game or a series but that's an argument for expanded instant replay not for a longer wild card series. You could still have a blown call on a key play in the deciding game of a three game series.

I don't want to see baseball turn into the NBA where the regular season isn't that important and all good teams make the playoffs and as Z said the season is already too long. Also, momentum is important and the division winners shouldn't be sitting on their hands while wild cards play a series. If you don't want to face a one game playoff elimination, win your division. It wasn't that long ago that there were no wild cards. Prior to this change, a lot of playoff teams knew they were going to at least get a wild card spot for weeks in advance (as a practical matter not necessarily mathematically clinching) and teams viewed resting key players and getting their rotation aligned for the playoffs as more important than winning the division. This year it matters and it frankly should. I'd also have been fine with not adding a 2nd wildcard team and just making the one wild card team play all games in the first round on the road. I think that they had to do something though.

So glad that I made a concerted effort to ignore the Cubs this year.

Of course it could happen in a deciding game in a SERIES but this isn't a series. In a series things have a chance to even out and the cream usually rises but his point is, you fight all year in a LONG season only to have your year decided by 9 innings. His team HAS put themselves in position. They're 6 games better than the Cards and 9 games better than the Brewers. Now it's almost a dice roll in a one game scenario.

It's the antithesis of the way baseball is played. It's designed to let things play out over 162 or a 7 game series. I just find it completely asinine and another chapter in the madness of the Selig Era.

Except that they haven't. If they win the division they have put themselves in position. They aren't going to win the division. The wild card is a relatively recent phenomenon in baseball. How many years were the Yankees and Redsox arguably the two best teams in baseball and one of the two wouldn't make the playoffs?

I think the wild card is a good thing as long as winning the division still imparts a serious advantage. Before the one game playoff, it really didn't. The last few years, the Yankees really didn't care whether they won the east as long as they made the playoffs. The last couple weeks were much less interesting as many teams haven't gone for the division win preferring instead to rest players and line up the rotation for the playoffs. This year, it's dramatically different precisely because no one wants to face single game elimination status as a a wild card. The division races are much more important and they should be.

Sorry man. I just think it's dumb and simply a ratings grab. Luckily since TBS has had so much success with the Wild Card Playoffs already, MLB had a willing and eager buyer to snatch this shit up.

You don't want the regular season devalued but that's the way this is headed if this is successful. Why wouldn't they just make it a 3 game playoff? Then, why not just add a couple more teams. The wild card has already shown that the playoffs are total crap shoot anyway. How many times has the wild card won since inception? Half?

I don't even like them saying they've added a playoff team. No you haven't. You've added a 1 game playoff.

Will it be exciting? Probably but to me, baseball simply isn't a 1 game sport. Period.

I'm not just saying this because this is where the Braves are right now. I've hated it since they announced it. Ultimately I think it's another chip at what makes baseball unique.

I don't think the point is to make a one game playoff exciting, i think it's to make the division races exciting again. And it has accomplished that. It's not to the Yankees advantage either. They are an aging team that could really use the ability to rest some players. Curtis Granderson has had to play 150 of 152 games in center, a pretty demanding position and his bat has really suffered from the fatigue. Jeter is hurt but they can't afford to rest him. They rushed Tex back from a calf strain and ended up losing him for another couple of weeks. But it's BS that the addition of the wild card made the races much less important. Now they are exciting again and I'm all for that. I'd be happy if they got rid of the wild card all together but that's not gonna happen.

I don't think it's a ratings grab. Wouldn't a three game series be more TV money than a one game playoff?

i just know I'm happy the Giants clinched while I was in SF for 2 games this weekend. gives a nice chance to rest up and get the pitching staff ready to shut down....who? reds?

Last night, 15 years of baseball misery ended. If you're not from an impoverished baseball city, you'd never understand--but last night it was over and done with. The O's are headed to the postseason. I've got Wild Card tix in case that's where they fall, but I'm hoping they win the East outright.

I'm sure the ATL crew has already seen this column, but I felt it worth sharing: http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-trian ... last-stand

Thanks Sketch. I had not seen that.

I was there on Friday and it was an amazing atmosphere. Standing ovation every time he came to bat and when the Braves took the field for Top of the 1st, they let Chipper run out to 3rd by himself. It was electric.

I was surprised at how emotional it was but hell, dude has been playing for my team for over half my life.

Great great night regardless of how the game ended (loss).

My girlfriend got me this cake for my birthday back in May. I think it's all due to her.

Nice! Tell her to get you a half-birthday cake. Might put us into the WS.

Mike Napoli says you're welcome. (His bat last night managed to clinch playoff births for the Rangers, Orioles and Yankees simultaneously.)