Can someone explain the playoff setup to me?

[Lynch]

Why is a division winner going up against the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs? Shouldn't this be Boston, since the Red Sox are the wild card? Isn't that part of the normal way of doing this?

#1 division winner vs #4 team (wild card)
#2 division winner vs #3 division winner

Or is this a "special" situation because MLB is doing what they can to try and ensure a Boston/NYY championship?

[HollywoodLeo]

Two teams in the same division can't face each other in the first round.

It's the same reason the Dodgers and Rockies won't be going against each other in the NLDS.

[Lynch]

Two teams in the same division can't face each other in the first round.

Ridiculous rule.

So, either the Twins or the Tigers are treated as a Wild Card team essentially even though they are a division winner.

Baseball has some dumbass rules.

[henks]

At least it wasn't a coin flip this year.

[GiantsFanatic]

Ridiculous rule.

So, either the Twins or the Tigers are treated as a Wild Card team essentially even though they are a division winner.

Baseball has some dumbass rules.

Its Baseball, what do you expect?

[Lynch]

At least it wasn't a coin flip this year.

Yeah, that's another one of those things that makes you say "WTF?!"

[DirtyKash]

The Twins have 86 wins, the Red Sox have 95. The Twins are the real #4 team.

[Lynch]

So, why the **** do that have a WC team at all then? Why not just take the top 4 teams? merge the three divisions into one, take the 4 best records and THEN pit 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3?



Of course, none of this would be an issue if that ****stick Bud Selig hadn't completely bastardized the tradition that -was- baseball by adding in a central division and splitting up teams and divisions. Also in taking teams like the Brewers who had been in the Al for 30 years and sending them to the NL.

[catman]

DK, the Twins have 87 wins this year. They won game 163 and the stats count for the regular season.
Nice to see you around, Lynch. Hope the post season run keeps you around.

[DirtyKash]

Still, that puts them 8 wins short of the Red Sox, so I don't think it's such a big deal that they have to play the #1 team. Maybe I would feel differently in another season where the wild card doesn't have more wins than a division winner.

[catman]

The WC frequently has more wins than a division winner does. The Cardinals have fewer wins than the Rockies do.

[Lynch]

Nice to see you around, Lynch. Hope the post season run keeps you around.

Thanks. I dunno how much I'll be around. Am on vacation in about 4 hrs and won't be back until next week. Unless some sort of "miracle on the mound" happens, the Twins will be out of it before I get back. I couldn't give a flying turd about the other 7 teams in the playoffs this year.


But.. here's to hopin'

[Kingdom]

I think it makes more sense in this case, since as DK pointed out, they have the fewest wins. I don't think it matters really, twins have as little chance to beat the angels as they do the yankees.

[GiantsFanatic]

And RedSox won their division, makes sense.

[Providence A's]

And RedSox won their division, makes sense.

The last time the Red Sox won the division was in 2007....before that 1995. The question was pertaining to this season.