Is there anybody out there who made some October plans back when the season looked bleak for the Orioles and then had to sweat it out a bit because, what if they actually rallied and made the postseason? I am in this group. Back in June when it looked like the O’s would never really be in the race, my wife and I planned a trip for the end of the wild card round and beginning of the division round. Ultimately, we didn’t have to spend too much of September wondering if we’d miss any Orioles in the playoffs.
The tournament to determine the champion starts today. The Orioles aren’t in it. They finished 4.5 games out. Teams who are in it include the 81-81 Astros and the 84-78 White Sox. Not playing today is the 85-win Cleveland Guardians, because they managed to get a bye even with only 85 wins. Sheesh.
These are the four matchups that will be playing today, tomorrow, and if necessary, Thursday. (Most wild card series have ended in sweeps since the inception of this round of the postseason.)
Phillies at Braves, 2pm Eastern (NBC)
The Phillies very nearly had one of the greatest September collapses that’s ever been accomplished. They ended up holding on and now here they are. All they have to do is pretend that none of their problems exist for about four weeks and they could win the World Series. It has happened to champion teams before. Anything can happen over short series, particularly a little best-of-three.
White Sox at Astros, 5pm Eastern (Peacock)
For most people in Birdland, the White Sox are probably one of the more sympathetic teams in this year’s postseason field. There is not much in the way of White Sox-related beef that lingers. They’re a nice story of a revival that worked, and honestly, much better to see this team advance than a .500 division winner. What a joke that would be, to have Houston go forward from here.
However, owing to a grudge dating to 1989, when age 5 Mark was told by then-White Sox slugger Ron Kittle, during his first-ever Orioles game, “Hey, kid, why don’t you shut the hell up and buy me a beer?” I will not root for the White Sox except probably if they are playing the Yankees or Red Sox. That’s it. What a jerk.
It is fun that the current pope is a White Sox fan. Will they win for the new pope? Probably not.
Red Sox at Yankees, 8pm (NBC)
Of course the Yankees-Red Sox series gets the prime time 8pm billing every day for as long as it’s going. The media noise around it any time these teams play is exhausting. Can’t they just both lose? Alas, no. At least, if they’re going to play one another, the wild card round is the best time.
There will be at most three games, and even better, the loser’s fans will have to endure going home in the first round to that other team that they really don’t like. The great thing about being a hater is that someone is always going to lose and you can always enjoy their angst. Even the winner may yet go on to lose in the next round. It’s not like a World Series bid is on the line here.
The Yankees have the luxury of starting the probable AL Cy Young winner in this game. I will enjoy it if they don’t capitalize on this.
Cubs at Padres, 10pm (Peacock)
The Padres finished with a better regular season record than four of the six American League postseason teams. All that this gets them is hosting this best-of-three first round against the Cubs, a team that is inherently interesting this year thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s superstar breakout 45 homer/41 stolen base season. Pretty good!
Did you know that former Oriole Jacob Webb led the Cubs in saves this season? That’s weird. He only had nine saves. The Cubs as a team actually only had 36 saves, ten fewer than the Orioles did. One reason for this is that 35 of their 89 wins were blowout wins of 5+ runs.
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Do you have any particular rooting interests for these series? If you’re watching or following the games today, join us in the comments below.
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