And Then There Were Eight...

The Playoff fields have now been set and for the first time in three seasons, there will not be a game 163 played (it was close to happening, however).

So for the NL, you have:

• the Philadelphia Phillies, who've won the NL East division for the fourth consecutive year,
• the Cincinnati Reds, who've won their first NL Central title since 1995 (to put this into perspective, it was pointed out that Jay Bruce was only 7 years old when the Reds last won the division),
• the San Francisco Giants, who put away the Padres on the final day of the season, and
• the Wild Card winners, the Atlanta Braves, who waited to see if there would have to be a game 163 to determine the WC winner.

The AL has these four teams going into the postseason:

• the Tampa Bay Rays, who have now won their second AL East division crown in three seasons,
• the Minnesota Twins, the first team to punch their tickets to the playoffs,
• the Texas Rangers, who are still seeking their first divisional series win,
• and the New York Yankees, the defending World Champs and the AL Wild Card winners, who while having a better record than either Texas and Minnesota, come in as the "fourth-seed" because Tampa had a better season head to head.

May the best team win.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama