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09/07 05:00 CDT Get ready for an unbalanced American League postseason bracket
that will probably cause an uproar
Get ready for an unbalanced American League postseason bracket that will
probably cause an uproar
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer
When the baseball postseason starts in a few weeks, the format will probably be
a major discussion topic.
If the playoffs began now, these would be the seeds in the American League:
1. Tampa Bay (85-58)
2. Chicago White Sox (75-68)
3. Houston (73-71)
4. New York Yankees (81-62)
5. Boston (79-65)
6. Cleveland (73-71)
That means the teams with the two worst records --- Houston and Cleveland,
would face each other in the opening round, with the winner taking on the White
Sox in the Division Series. Meanwhile, the teams with the three best records
would all be on the other side of the bracket, fighting for one spot in the AL
Championship Series.
The reason the matchups are on track to work out this way is because the White
Sox and Houston would be seeded above the Yankees and Red Sox by virtue of
being division champions. After all, if division titles don't mean anything,
what's the point in having them?
But the question that is likely to come up is this: Why not re-seed the field
after the Wild Card round, with the top seed facing the No. 6 seed if it
advances? Or the seeds could be reassigned completely for the Division Series
based on regular-season record, meaning if Houston wins in the first round, the
Astros would be the team with the worst remaining record and would face the
Rays.
Instead, the way the system is currently set up, top-seeded Tampa Bay would
face either the team with the second-best record in the league or the team with
the third-best mark. Not exactly a big reward.
Performance of the week Alex Bregman hit three home runs Monday night to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 17-3 win over Milwaukee. The Cubs hit nine homers in the game, one shy of the major league record, and they finished the month of August with 62. Chicago now leads the majors with 201 home runs.
Trivia time The Cubs haven't led the majors in home runs since 1958. In a 154-game season before the designated hitter rule, 182 homers was enough to finish first. How many players on that team reached 30 home runs?
Comeback of the week The Colorado Rockies were down to their final out in both the ninth and 11th innings against Baltimore on Wednesday. With nobody on in the ninth and the Orioles up 3-2, Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen hit consecutive doubles to tie it. Then in the 11th, after Baltimore took a 5-3 lead, TJ Rumfield hit an RBI single. Two outs later, Adael Amador hit a ground-rule double to put men on second and third, and Brett Sullivan followed with a two-run single to win it. Baltimore's win probability in the ninth was 95.3% according to Baseball Savant. That defeat was part of a skid for the Orioles that has reached six games, knocking them four games off the pace in the race for the AL's last postseason spot.
Team of the week In a week when everyone lost at last twice, the Boston Red Sox come out on top with a 5-2 mark. If the Red Sox and Yankees end up meeting in a Wild Card Series, there's now a chance it could end up happening at Fenway Park instead of Yankee Stadium. However, New York still has a 2 1/2-game lead on Boston, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Red Sox took four in a row in Baltimore, holding the Orioles to one run over the final three games.
Trivia answer Just one player on the 1958 Cubs hit 30 homers --- Ernie Banks had 47. Chicago did have four other players with at least 20 --- Walt Moryn, Lee Walls, Bobby Thomson and Dale Long. ___ See AP's full MLB coverage here
Performance of the week Alex Bregman hit three home runs Monday night to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 17-3 win over Milwaukee. The Cubs hit nine homers in the game, one shy of the major league record, and they finished the month of August with 62. Chicago now leads the majors with 201 home runs.
Trivia time The Cubs haven't led the majors in home runs since 1958. In a 154-game season before the designated hitter rule, 182 homers was enough to finish first. How many players on that team reached 30 home runs?
Comeback of the week The Colorado Rockies were down to their final out in both the ninth and 11th innings against Baltimore on Wednesday. With nobody on in the ninth and the Orioles up 3-2, Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen hit consecutive doubles to tie it. Then in the 11th, after Baltimore took a 5-3 lead, TJ Rumfield hit an RBI single. Two outs later, Adael Amador hit a ground-rule double to put men on second and third, and Brett Sullivan followed with a two-run single to win it. Baltimore's win probability in the ninth was 95.3% according to Baseball Savant. That defeat was part of a skid for the Orioles that has reached six games, knocking them four games off the pace in the race for the AL's last postseason spot.
Team of the week In a week when everyone lost at last twice, the Boston Red Sox come out on top with a 5-2 mark. If the Red Sox and Yankees end up meeting in a Wild Card Series, there's now a chance it could end up happening at Fenway Park instead of Yankee Stadium. However, New York still has a 2 1/2-game lead on Boston, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Red Sox took four in a row in Baltimore, holding the Orioles to one run over the final three games.
Trivia answer Just one player on the 1958 Cubs hit 30 homers --- Ernie Banks had 47. Chicago did have four other players with at least 20 --- Walt Moryn, Lee Walls, Bobby Thomson and Dale Long. ___ See AP's full MLB coverage here
