Hey baseball fans, it’s game 162 today, and we are looking at two open division races and a battle for home field advantage. We could have a one game playoff between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Today’s matchup between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland A’s decides the AL West. All of that before we get into the new one game wildcard round. What a thrilling way to end the season! With the new rules for the baseball postseason, we have five teams qualify in each league, instead of the traditional four. The three division winners will sit back and watch the one game playoff between the top two wildcard teams. Once that game concludes, we’ll be down to four teams in each league, and the playoffs will continue as they have in the past.

The NL is all set, but the playoff matchups can change based on what happens today. However, the AL is still up in the air. Here’s a breakdown of the playoff races so far:

AL Division Champs:
Detroit Tigers

AL Playoff Teams:
Texas Rangers
Oakland A’s
New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles

NL Division Champs:
Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals
San Francisco Giants

NL Wildcard Teams:
St. Louis Cardinals
Atlanta Braves

Postseason gear is now available for all the playoff qualifiers, but if you are a fan of one of the teams still battling for their division crown, I suggest waiting to see what plays out today. I’m sure you’ll want division champs gear if your team wins. Either way, keep up with the postseason here at FansEdge and sport some new gear to root your team on to the World Series. Good luck!

What a wild and crazy night it was. Heading into the final day of the 2011 MLB season, four teams were tied for the final two playoff spots. The National League Wild Card race came down to a contentious battle between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, while the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays slugged it out for the coveted American League Wild Card spot. Within a span of two hours, two teams were knocked out of the MLB playoff race and two were getting ready for October baseball.

Amazingly enough, the Atlanta Braves began September with a firm 8.5 game lead in the Wild Card standings against the St. Louis Cardinals however, injuries and poor starting pitcher performance proved to be their downfall. Their comfy lead all but disappeared and they were tied for the Wild Card spot with the Cardinals heading into the final game of the season. St. Louis played their last game earlier in the day and dropped a final notch in the W column with a victory over the Houston Astros. From there all the Cards could do was wait to see if the Braves could top the Phillies and force a one game playoff but as midnight approached on the East Coast, the Braves couldn’t hold their ground and fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, thus ensuring a final playoff spot for the Cardinals.

Like the Braves, the Boston Red Sox sat atop a nice lead in the American League East. At the beginning of September, the Bo Sox looked down at both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, and even held a comfortable 9 game lead over the third place Rays. Boston’s comfortable lead dwindled and they soon found themselves tied for the final playoff spot at the last regular game of the season. Unfortunately, the Red Sox came up short against the Baltimore Orioles. Meanwhile, down 7-0, the Rays staged an epic comeback against the New York Yankees to win thus securing the Rays the final playoff spot.

In terms of tension and fun, you could not have asked for a better day of baseball and an exhilarating end-of-season run. With four teams tied for two playoff spots heading into the final day of the season, September 28 will go down as an epic day in sports history.

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Ah—the Dog Days of Summer . . . while this is usually the time when parents and children count the days until it’s school’s back in session—we baseball fans do some counting of our own—how many games up, back or out are our favorite teams from playing October baseball.

From opening day and beyond, this baseball season has seen many division rivals compete head to head for 1st and now that it’s coming down to the home stretch, expect these teams to show off with electrifying performances that will inevitably go down to the wire.

The National League Central division has experienced close and competitive races all season. While the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals are battling it out for division domination, it looks like the Pittsburgh Pirates have felt the bite of summer. Though they were previously on a tear, the Buccos have succumbed to summer’s sultry heat dropping their last 10 games in the L column and it looks like they are going to miss the playoffs for a record 19th straight year.

In American League news, it’s business as usual as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox battle it out to see who gets the division crown and who gets the wild card spot. The AL West has the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vying for a division title against the defending American League champs–the Texas Rangers. Although the Cleveland Indians are battling the Detroit Tigers for AL Central bragging rights, don’t count out the Minnesota Twins just yet—they are usually good for a late season surge in this mediocre division.

As for the rest of the playoff landscape, expect to see solid teams like the San Francisco Giants, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies play strong through the rest of the regular season. And, as the summer winds down, now is the perfect time to take in a game at your favorite ballpark and we have sports tickets for every team and every league.

You know the saying, “Save the best for last”?

What about the “Finish the worst first”?

No? While maybe not as catchy, it certainly applies to our first installment of FansEdge’ 2010 Major League Baseball Preview – and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sure, Pittsburgh didn’t have the worst record in baseball, (beating out the Washington Nationals by three less defeats) but they have been – by far – the worst team in MLB for nearly two decades. The last time the Pirates boasted a winning record I was studying simple addition and Barry Bonds hadn’t yet begun studying “the Clear”, allegedly.

A lot has changed since 1992 – see home run records – but one thing remains a constant: Pittsburgh finishing at or near the bottom of the National League Central Division.

But it’s 2010. New decade. New personnel. And a new era, right?

That’s what the Pirates front office hopes for, at least. Some would call 2009 a rebuilding season for the Pirates; I call it a season of purging.

2010 features yet another injection of youth, and this time they may have actually gotten it right.
Out: Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Nyjer Morgan and Jack Wilson. In: Lastings Milledge (24 years old), Ronny Cedeno (26), Andy LaRoche (26) and Andrew McCutchen (23).

Speed and defense.

That will be third-year manager John Russell’s calling card if his team takes the next step – and is actually acknowledged by the rest of its division.

And it starts in center field. McCutchen, Pittsburgh’s top prospect, lived up to the hype in his rookie season, finishing second among position players in the Rookie of the Year voting. Displaying tremendous speed (22 stolen bases) and modest power (12 home runs) in just over 400 at-bats, McCutchen has an opportunity to resurrect a once-proud franchise.

He is joined by a number of disappointing prospects intent on fulfilling their potential with a new team. Former cast-offs like Milledge, Cededno and LaRoche have been given another chance to resurrect their still young careers in a more relaxed environment.

Unfortunately, you’re not going anywhere in baseball without pitching…and there’s a reason I’ve waited this long to address the rotation situation. The Pirates are anchored by Zack Duke and Paul Maholm, and boast a band of young talent. Sound familiar?

But youthful exuberance rarely beats good hitting, and with 11 victories leading the staff last season, someone needs to grasp the “Ace” title for this team to have any chance of competing with the likes of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Predictions:

Team MVP: Andrew McCutchen. Who else? The Pirates’ best prospect since Barry Bonds had a tremendous rookie campaign, highlighted by a 3-HR game. With a full season ahead, I expect a similar batting average with improved power and speed numbers: .280/19 HRs/71 RBIs/29 SBs

X-Factor: Pedro Alvarez. You may not have heard of him…but you will. The only Pirate with more potential than McCutchen may be Alvarez. The 2nd pick of the 2008 MLB Draft, Alvarez packs tremendous power at the plate, hitting 27 HRs in the minors last season. Just 22, expect him to amass even greater power and anticipate a September call-up, at the latest.

Bottom Line: Pittsburgh will improve…but don’t expect to be singing “We are family” just yet. They are still 2-3 seasons away from making any real noise – assuming they can hold on to everyone.

W-L: 71-91.

Hey…there’s always Steelers offseason.