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Will today be a dream or nightmare for Atlanta?
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Welcome to Major League Baseball's 2011 version of "we told you so." Teams play 162 games (twice as many as any other sport in America) and yet every year it seems that every game does, in fact, matter.
Today is the last day of the regular season and both Wild Card races are not only still up for grabs, they are both TIED. The only thing that could be better than having a tie with one game to play is if the teams were playing each other, but THAT MIGHT HAPPEN if either league sees their respective teams end with the same result today. The Braves controlled their own destiny until they got smacked around for a second-straight night by the Phillies. Now, thanks to an epic comeback by the Cardinals over Houston, the Braves need to win and hope the Astros can beat St. Louis, or Atlanta will have to play a 163rd game to avoid one of the most improbable collapses in MLB history.
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In the American League, the Red Sox already blew their enormous Wild Card lead and spent Tuesday night trying to stay, at the very least, tied with the Rays heading into the final day of the regular season. The Rays beat the Yankees while the Red Sox hung on to beat the Orioles, setting up one of the most exciting days in AL East regular season history.
In both leagues, the final day is win or go home. Wait, unless the other team loses too. So I guess it's win or lose and maybe go home, or perhaps play another game that's win or go home. But if you win today, you know you won't go home. Unless the other team wins and you own the tiebreaker, then you'll go home, but just to host another game that's win or go home. Confused? It's glorious, isn't it? Via MLB:
We know start times are set for the potential Wild Card tiebreakers. If the Red Sox and Rays finish in a tie for the AL's Wild Card slot, a play-in game will be staged Thursday at 4:07 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. If Atlanta and St. Louis finish tied, the NL Wild Card tiebreaker will be Thursday night at 8:07 ET at Busch Stadium.
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Tampa owns the tiebreaker in the American League, so if they beat the Yankees today and Boston beats the Orioles, Boston will have to fly down to Tampa for a game on Thursday to determine the winner of the AL Wild Card. Who they play after that is still to be determined (more on that in a second).
St. Louis owns the tiebreaker in the National League, meaning that not only did the Braves blow an epic lead in the Wild Card race, but if they do finish with the same record as the Cardinals, they'd have to go on the road to try and qualify for the final playoff spot.
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On top of all that, we still don't know who the second and third seeds are, either! If the Rangers win today, they'll clinch the second seed in the AL and host the winner of the Wild Card race. That would mean Detroit will start the playoffs on Friday in Yankee Stadium. But if the Rangers lose to the Angels today and the Tigers beat the Indians, the teams would swap places, giving Detroit the home series against the Wild Card winner and forcing the Rangers to the road to face the Yankees.
It's safe to say those games are must wins, too. The final day can't get any crazier. Only…it does.
Things are just as tight in the National League. The Brewers hold a one-game lead over the D'Backs for second place in the NL after Prince Fielder almost single-handedly beat the Pirates with three home runs and five RBI. That's pretty amazing under the circumstances, but nowhere near as amazing as what the D'Backs did Tuesday night to stay one game back with one to play:
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With his grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday night, Ryan Roberts capped a miraculous D-backs comeback and kept them alive in the race for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Then, as he circled the bases to end Arizona's unfathomable 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Dodgers, he channeled his inner Kirk Gibson, circa 1988.
Imitating his manager and former Dodger, Roberts rounded first base and repeatedly pumped his arm, as Gibson did when his famed walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley won Game 1 of the '88 World Series for Los Angeles.
"Some things rub off," Gibson said, cracking a wry grin. "He deserved to do it."
The Dodgers had scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 6-1 lead before the incredible finish for Arizona. Now, based on tiebreakers, Arizona needs to win today and hope for a Milwaukee loss to get the second seed in the NL and earn a home series in the first round. The Brewers, like the Rangers, just need to win to secure home field for the first round. Still, on the last day of the regular season, neither team knows who it will be playing in the playoffs – and it could still be each other.
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The top-seeded Phillies will face the Cardinals, should they qualify for the playoffs. If the Braves win the Wild Card, the Phillies will host the lower seed between the Brewers and D'Backs. With one day left in the season, all we know is that the Yankees and Phillies will be hosting games this weekend. Against whom? Nobody knows.
Today is going to be a lot of fun.
This, by the way, isn't some baseball aberration. Every single year since 2004, there has been at least one race (division title or Wild Card) that has gone down to the last day of the season or beyond. Sure, people talk about shortening the season to make it more palatable to the average American sports fan. But for the baseball fan who sticks with his or her favorite team year after year for 162 games, today is as good as it gets. For some, there won't be a tomorrow.
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