Wild finish in the National League this weekend

[wdm1219inpenna]

The CC97 scenario would be really fun, but I think Headley is right.

Actually Mr. Creamer is right, it is in the MLB.com article I linked to a couple of days ago. The loser of the NL East still has a shot at the wild card if they were to lose a one-game playoff.

This from yahoo.com sports as of 10:15pm EST on Saturday, Sept 29th 2007

If Philadelphia and the Mets are still tied after Sunday, there will be a one-game playoff Monday at Citizens Bank Park to determine the East winner.

I was under the impression that if they ended up tied, that the Phillies would win the division, based on a better head to head regular season performance. These playoff scenarios and rules are MORE confusing than the NFL, and THAT'S saying something!

[WJMorris3]

The CC97 scenario would be really fun, but I think Headley is right.

Actually Mr. Creamer is right, it is in the MLB.com article I linked to a couple of days ago. The loser of the NL East still has a shot at the wild card if they were to lose a one-game playoff.

This from yahoo.com sports as of 10:15pm EST on Saturday, Sept 29th 2007

If Philadelphia and the Mets are still tied after Sunday, there will be a one-game playoff Monday at Citizens Bank Park to determine the East winner.

I was under the impression that if they ended up tied, that the Phillies would win the division, based on a better head to head regular season performance. These playoff scenarios and rules are MORE confusing than the NFL, and THAT'S saying something!

What had changed was that now there's no possible way that the loser of a one-game playoff for the NL East would be the wild card by themselves. So the playoff game is necessary. Head to head ONLY comes in play for a two-way tie when both teams would make the playoffs anyways - thus why a tie for the NL West would not need a tiebreaker.

[Billy B]

The CC97 scenario would be really fun, but I think Headley is right.

Actually Mr. Creamer is right, it is in the MLB.com article I linked to a couple of days ago. The loser of the NL East still has a shot at the wild card if they were to lose a one-game playoff.

This from yahoo.com sports as of 10:15pm EST on Saturday, Sept 29th 2007

If Philadelphia and the Mets are still tied after Sunday, there will be a one-game playoff Monday at Citizens Bank Park to determine the East winner.

I was under the impression that if they ended up tied, that the Phillies would win the division, based on a better head to head regular season performance. These playoff scenarios and rules are MORE confusing than the NFL, and THAT'S saying something!

The team with the better head-to-head record only wins the division if the other team will win the wild card. In a case where not all of the teams that are tied will make the playoffs, there is a one game playoff to decide who will make it.

[CC97]

Someone care to provide a source for this?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3038686

[NJTank]

Someone care to provide a source for this?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3038686

[RyanMcD29]

So yea that fun 4-way tie might come into play tomorrow. This is gonna get really nuttyyy

[Mac the Knife]

Someone care to provide a source for this?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3038686

Sorry, benevolent one, but for this instance I'm going to say the guy who wrote the article didn't have his facts straight. One-game playoffs have always been considered as regular season games, and I'd like to think I haven't so lost touch with baseball that I'd not realize that's been changed.

As I write this...

88-73 - Mets

88-73 - Phillies

85-76 - Cubs

90-71 - Diamondbacks (presuming they don't come back from a 10-run deficit)

89-72 - Padres

So... at least by every historical arrangement I've ever known...

-- If Mets, Phillies and Padres win, the Pads get the wild card while the Mets and Phils play a one-game playoff.

-- If Mets and Phillies win, but Padres lose, the Mets and Phils play a one-game playoff; the winner of that playoff wins the NL East, the loser goes home, and the Padres get the wild card.

What I really find weird about all this is that the Cubs were essentially the first NL team to clinch despite having a worse record than any of the other four teams I've listed above.

[Mac the Knife]

A follow-up, from baseball-reference.com:

Scenario #5: If three Clubs in a League are tied with identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season and two of those tied Clubs are from the same Division and are also tied for first place in that Division and the third tied Club has the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs in the remaining two Divisions, the Division Champion shall first be determined by a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. Any playoff games played to determine a Division champion shall not count in determining which Clubs are deemed tied for a Wild Card designation. Clubs that were originally tied with a Club or Clubs for a Wild Card designation shall still be considered tied.

Example of Scenario #5: The Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins all have identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season. The Astros and Cardinals are tied for first place in the NL Central and the Marlins have the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs from the NL East and NL West. The Astros and Cardinals would play a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. The winner shall be declared the Division Champion. Despite the loss, the losing Club would still be considered tied with the Marlins for the lead in the NL Wild Card. Those two Clubs would play a one-game playoff on Tuesday, September 30. The winner of that game shall be declared the Wild Card.

I stand corrected, and 5'9".

[CC97]

A follow-up, from baseball-reference.com:

Scenario #5: If three Clubs in a League are tied with identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season and two of those tied Clubs are from the same Division and are also tied for first place in that Division and the third tied Club has the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs in the remaining two Divisions, the Division Champion shall first be determined by a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. Any playoff games played to determine a Division champion shall not count in determining which Clubs are deemed tied for a Wild Card designation. Clubs that were originally tied with a Club or Clubs for a Wild Card designation shall still be considered tied.

Example of Scenario #5: The Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins all have identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season. The Astros and Cardinals are tied for first place in the NL Central and the Marlins have the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs from the NL East and NL West. The Astros and Cardinals would play a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. The winner shall be declared the Division Champion. Despite the loss, the losing Club would still be considered tied with the Marlins for the lead in the NL Wild Card. Those two Clubs would play a one-game playoff on Tuesday, September 30. The winner of that game shall be declared the Wild Card.

I stand corrected, and 5'9".

[NJTank]

So Go Brewers Mets could use a safety net with how things have gone against the Phillies lately.

[Mac the Knife]

A follow-up, from baseball-reference.com:

Scenario #5: If three Clubs in a League are tied with identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season and two of those tied Clubs are from the same Division and are also tied for first place in that Division and the third tied Club has the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs in the remaining two Divisions, the Division Champion shall first be determined by a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. Any playoff games played to determine a Division champion shall not count in determining which Clubs are deemed tied for a Wild Card designation. Clubs that were originally tied with a Club or Clubs for a Wild Card designation shall still be considered tied.

Example of Scenario #5: The Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins all have identical winning percentages at the end of the championship season. The Astros and Cardinals are tied for first place in the NL Central and the Marlins have the highest winning percentage among the second-place Clubs from the NL East and NL West. The Astros and Cardinals would play a one-game playoff on Monday, September 29. The winner shall be declared the Division Champion. Despite the loss, the losing Club would still be considered tied with the Marlins for the lead in the NL Wild Card. Those two Clubs would play a one-game playoff on Tuesday, September 30. The winner of that game shall be declared the Wild Card.

I stand corrected, and 5'9".

At least I'll admit it when I'm wrong... unlike some people around here (not naming names).

[JQK]

I's just like to be the first to say that if the Mets do make it into the plaoffs, Tank can not talk about them or referecnce then, since he basically has :censored:-talked them for the last two weeks and has threatened suicide over this whole situation, providing many headaches to all....

Still.. gotta say this is awesome stuff. Does anyone still hate the Wild Card?

[OnWis97]

Does anyone still hate the Wild Card?

I am back and forth on the Wild Card. Given the 162 game season, I like the idea of the regular season being important and few teams making it.

However, more often than not, it certainly makes the post season chase fun. This year's national league is crazy. I reluctantly approve.

Though, I have a counter to this year's NL. The wild car is responsible for the mundane end to the AL this year. It made the Red Sox / Yankees division chase meaningless. Under this system, the four AL teams have been decided for some time. Under the old system, the Angels run away with the west, but the Yanks, Sox and Cleveland have an exciting race for the east. Meanwhile, in the NL, the Padres, D-Backs, Mets and Phillies would still make for an interesting couple of races.

[BaltimoreFan]

Does anyone still hate the Wild Card?

It made the Red Sox / Yankees division chase meaningless. Under this system, the four AL teams have been decided for some time. Under the old system, the Angels run away with the west, but the Yanks, Sox and Cleveland have an exciting race for the east. Meanwhile, in the NL, the Padres, D-Backs, Mets and Phillies would still make for an interesting couple of races.

Yea, that's why I'd like to see a one game playoff between the top two wildcard teams. That would encourage teams to win their divisions. The yankees/sox race was kind of boring because both teams were going to make the playoffs anyway. This would keep teams fighting and also "penalize" the wild card team by having them play on shorter rest (and possibly throwing their rotation out of whack).

But hopefully the Padres lose, and the Mets, Phillies, and Rockies all win today. Then there will be a crazy three game playoff.

[NJTank]

Well the Mets game is over before it even started 7-0 Marlins as Willie the Idiot just stood their and watched Glavine not have.

I never want to see Tom Glavine soil a Mets uniform again.

Dont think this Manager deserves to be fired now?

He is completely unequipped to handle any type of adversity

[jkrdevil]

Well the Mets game is over before it even started 7-0 Marlins as Willie the Idiot just stood their and watched Glavine not have.

I never want to see Tom Glavine soil a Mets uniform again.

Dont think this Manager deserves to be fired now?

He is completely unequipped to handle any type of adversity

So Randolph is supposed to be able to tell the future now? I think every manager in baseball would have stayed with Glavine in the first inning hoping he would turn it around and get out (after all he is a veteran pitcher). You don't want to have to go to your bullpen in inning 1. That said he did yank Glavine out quickly. You also have to factor in it takes time for a pitcher to warm up in the pen.

[Jigga]

Well the Mets game is over before it even started 7-0 Marlins as Willie the Idiot just stood their and watched Glavine not have.

I never want to see Tom Glavine soil a Mets uniform again.

Dont think this Manager deserves to be fired now?

He is completely unequipped to handle any type of adversity

If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black. Good grief, man, get a grip!

[jkrdevil]

3-0 Phillies now Howard with a bases loaded single.

EDIT: Willis walks the bases load in the Marlins-Mets game and up 7-1 he is pulled in the 3rd inning.

[Camden Crazy]

The damn Padres are winning, but everything else is going the way I hoped they would.

[HedleyLamarr]

EDIT: Willis walks the bases load in the Marlins-Mets game and up 7-1 he is pulled in the 3rd inning.

I love it. Ex-Braves 3rd-base coach and now Marlins manager Freddi Gonzalez would love to knock out longtime rival New York from playoff contention.