Fraters Libertas

One Of These Teams Just Doesn't Belong Here

After 158 regular season games, it comes down to this. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians are vying for the two remaining American League playoff spots. Either the Yankees or the Red Sox will win the AL East and the other will be in the running for the wild card slot with the Indians. Technically speaking, the Indians still have a shot at the AL Central title, but they trail the White Sox by three games with only four remaining. It would take a monumental collapse by the South Siders for the Indians to pass them and is very unlikely to occur (although it sure would be fun to watch). The standings look like this after last night's action:

TEAM RECORD GB
Yankees 93-65 --
Red Sox 92-66 1
Indians 92-66 1

The Yankees have one game left with Baltimore and then close the season with three at Fenway. The Red Sox host the Jays again tonight before welcoming the Yanks to town. The Tribe will try to get past the pesky Devil Rays tonight before they end the year with three against the AL Central leading White Sox.

Which team will be left out in the cold after this weekend? Vote in our poll at the top left of the page.

One intriguing possibility is that all three teams could end up tied with identical records, which would set up an interesting situation. Usually if two teams end up tied, either for a division title or wild card spot, they have a one game playoff to determine the winner. If fact, coin flips have already been conducted to determine who would get the home field for such games. But what if three teams are tied? Do the Red Sox and Yankees play for the AL East and then the loser plays the Indians for the wild card? I poked around on the official MLB web site, but couldn't find an answer.

No matter what the final result is, it should be a great weekend for baseball.

UPDATE--From Major League Baseball we learn:

What if the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians all finish with the same records?

The Yankees and Red Sox play in New York for the AL East title and the loser plays the Indians for the Wild Card berth on Tuesday. New York is at the Jake if the Yanks lose and the Tribe is at Fenway if the Red Sox lose.

Why, you might ask, is there a Wild Card playoff game when the Indians would have a half-game better record than the Yankees-Red Sox loser? MLB has determined that it would not be fair for a team that's tied for a division title at the end of the regular season to be displaced in the postseason by a second-place team. Thus, the mandatory Wild Card playoff game.