Tag Archives: Cardinals

The Significance of This MLB Playoff Season

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The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds in the one game that determined the NL Wild Card last night. It was an easy game for the Pirates. What occurred to me as the game unfolded that the oldest professional baseball team, the CIncinnati Reds (nee Redlegs or Red Stockings) was playing an original National League team. The league was formed in 1876. From there, it occurred to me that every team, except the Tampa Bay Rays, in the playoffs this year was an original team either from the original National League or the ‘upstart’ American League, formed in 1901.

The Detroit TIgers, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and St. Louis Cardinals are in their original cities. The Cardinals actually became the Cardinals later. The Atlanta Braves started as the Boston Beaneaters, Red Stockings, and then Braves, moved to Milwaukee in 1955, and Atlanta in 1966. The Oakland Athletics started as the Philadelphia Athletics, moved to Kansas City in 1955, then to Oakland in 1968.  The Brooklyn Dodgers, (nee the Trolley Dodgers) moved to LA in 1957. (It is curious that LA’s two top teams are named after Brooklyn trolley dodging and Minneapolis Lakes.)

There is an additional aspect to these playoffs that is of importance as well. The Cardinals, Pirates, Athletics, Rays, and Indians are all small market teams with low payrolls compared to the much more afluent Yankees, White Sox, Giants, Cubs, Angels, Astros, Rangers, Phillies, and Nationals. The Cubs and White Sox, two original teams, finished last in their divisions, by the way.

The provenance of the teams may be only a historical anomaly, but the small market teams victories, and I must add the expansion Tampa Bay Rays to this mix, are there because of the exquisite way they play baseball, from the scouting of amatuer players to finesse baserunning in the playoffs (Tampa’s Fuld stole a run in Texas Monday night).

This indicates the precision these teams give to the operation of their teams. Much has been said about sabermetrics, that computer generated analysis of everything that occurs on a baseball field, and all teams engage in some sort of sabermetric analysis, but it is the scouting and player development they engage in that makes them successful. The Cardinals and Rays are prime examples of this and the play of those teams shows great discipline, energy and thought to the way they play the game. Among these disciplines is the act of throwing first pitch strikes. A small thing you may think, but getting pitchers to do it is daunting, but the Cardinals and Rays do it. Also, these teams catch and throw the ball with precision. This takes skill and discipline, but that’s how you win pennants.

The Indians and Rays play for the AL WIld Card tonight and then the real playoffs begin. Watch to see who plays the game correctly.

MLB 2013, Playoff Schedule Possibilities on the Final Day

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In trying to keep up with the Wild Card race in two leagues, after the division winners were all but settled early in September, the focus has been on the permutations and possible end game scenarios. Yesterday we had Cleveland and Tampa Bay tied for the wild card lead with Texas a game behind, today we have Cleveland one game ahead and Texas and Tampa Bay tied for the second of the two wild card slots.  This means that if Texas and Tampa Bay win today, and Cleveland loses, we have a three way tie that will be settled by the Playoff Rules for determining ties.

The rules would have the Rays play at Cleveland on Monday with the winner playing in Texas on Tuesday. This is because the Indians are 7-5 against the  Rays and Rangers, so it plays at home for the first game. The Rays are 7-6 against the Indians and Rangers and picked the Monday game over hosting the Tuesday game, a decision I don’t understand. The Rangers had no choice. This is a wonderful scenario and I hope it happens. Remember, these games only determine who plays the actual Wild Card playoff game on Wednesday. The home field is determined by head to head records and the Rays lead the Indians, who lead the Rangers, who lead the Rays. Bookmark this post so you can keep track.

Elsewhere, the Pirates beat the Reds and will host their one game playoff on Tuesday as they lead the head to head series 10-8. Today doesn’t matter there. For the Division winners in the AL, Boston plays the Wild Card in Fenway for the first two of five possible games, and Detroit will play at Oakland.

In the NL, St. Louis leads and will play the Wild Card, but if it loses today and Atlanta wins, they will be tied but the Braves will play the Wild Card game because it won the season series 4-3. The Pirates will play the second finishing division winner in the Division series.

We have a wonderful finish to a season as the winners play each other. For the other teams. it is the long, cold Winter ahead. As the Twins lost for the ninth time in ten games yesterday against Cleveland, T. S. Eliot’s last line of “The Hollow Men” came to mind. “…That is how the world (season?) ends, not with a bang but a whimper.”