Wild Thing

No, not this Wild Thing.





I'm not talking about this Wild Thing either.





Although...no, that's another post on another blog that doesn't even exist.

I'm talking MLB Wild Cards. Maybe you're one of those people who don't like the Wild Card. Maybe you're too "Old School." Maybe you don't think Wild Card should be capitalized. Well, I'm here to tell you get over it. The Wild Card is here to stay. As a matter of fact, it's highly likely that you're going to see even more teams making the playoffs in the coming years.

If it wasn't for the Wild Card race, the last week of the MLB season would have been like the last half of the season for most NFL teams. Irrelevant. The Tigers clinched the AL Central back on September 16th. The Phillies clinched the NL East the next day. The Yanks locked up the AL East on September 21st and just two days later, the three remaining divisions were won by the Rangers, Brewers and Diamondbacks.

At least the Wild Card race has kept the interest going to the very last day of the season. With one game left for everyone, both Wild Card spots are still up for grabs.



The Rays have taken care of business this month to put themselves in a tie for the Wild Card spot going in to the last day of the regular season. They are 16-10 in September, including a 6-1 mark against the faltering Red Sox.




The aforementioned faltering Red Sox have gone seriously cold this month. Their 7-19 record in September opened the door for the Rays.

If the Rangers can get home field advantage for the ALDS, I have to say I'd rather be facing the Red Sox in the first round than the Rays. Sorry Troll, the Rays are just too hot right now!



On the NL side, the Braves are the team that is faltering. Their 9-17 record in September includes a three game sweep at the hand of the Cardinals, the team now tied with them in the Wild Card race.




The Cardinals came into September needeing a miracle to have a shot at the Wild Card. They got it, in the form of a 17-8 record and a Braves team that completely fell apart.

By the time I come to work tonight, we should know which teams will be taking the Wild Card spot. Or we could have 1 or even 2, one game playoffs for those spots.

How great would that be?