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Sunday, May 23, 2004

The Wild, Wild... Central?

The three division winners plus Wild Card format has been in effect since the 1995 postseason. In general, it's been extremely kind to the teams on the coasts. Since its inception, only two Central Division teams have ever won the Wild Card: the 2001 St. Louis Cardinals, and the 1998 Chicago Cubs. In both the years that the Cubs and Cards won, the Central had three teams over .500. That situation obtains now, with Cincy and Chicago in a tie for first, and all other teams in the Central -- except for the Pirates -- having a winning record. If this continues, the Central will be the toughest division in baseball, displacing either coastal division. More than likely, the Wild Card will come from that division also.

If the Dodgers wish to get to the postseason, they'd better win the division. For the first time in a long time, second place will be the first loser.


Comments:
A little off-topic, but did you see Gammons on ESPNews today? He said the NL West was the worst divison he's ever seen. I'm inclined to agree.
 
Worst? C'mon, that's a gross overstatement. The NL west is far down from its heyday of the past few years, but it's not close to being the worst. How about the AL central for the past several years? Or the AL west earlier in the 90's?

,mattkew
 

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