Baseball's Wild Card was Wild. But Who Cares?

Last night's Wild Card games were exactly what MLB was hoping for:  exciting.  The fans were in the game, the managers played to win at all costs, and the players seemed to feel the pressure of a one-and-done.  Oh, and there was some sort of drama about an infield fly rule.

Seriously Braves.

I was rooting for Atlanta, but between the b****ing and moaning about the "missed" call (which may have been a late call but it certainly wasn't an egregious error in judgment) and the Brave's fans terrible behavior (almost a 20 minute delay to pick up trash on the field, classy), I can't say I feel terrible that St. Louis won.

The Cardinals played better.  The Cardinals didn't look like a Little League team throwing the ball all around the diamond.  The Braves played terrible, end of story.  Sure, there were the errors that showed up in the box score but there was also a runner getting thrown out for interference (way to stay in the base line...).  There was Chipper Jones playing like it was his first big league game rather than his last.  And, of course, there was the entire Braves team acting like they earned a victory when they clearly did not - not this year anyway with the new Wild Card rules.

So sorry Atlanta.  I wanted you to win, I really did.  But that was more because I wanted the Cardinals to lose, let's be honest about that.

In the AL:  Congrats to the Orioles.  The little team that could just keeps on keeping on.

But that was yesterday.  That's old news.  Today starts the REAL playoffs.  The top 8* teams in MLB are about to settle the score on the field of play, in proper series (no more one-n-dones).

*You want to be a top team Atlanta, you should've been the Cardinals.

Tonight, at some ungodly starting hour for those of us on the east coast, my beloved Cincinnati Reds will try to erase the horrible memories of the post season two years ago in which they were matched up against a team with a great pitching staff and promptly swept with only one home game to show for it.  This year, the Reds (once again) meet up with a team with a great pitching staff.  And, in a cruel twist, despite having the better record and home field advantage (at least officially), it's conceivable the Reds could lose three in a row and once again only get a single home game.

Of course, that's negative talk.  But as any Reds fan will tell you, it's tough to be a Cincinnati fan and not have some sort of negative thoughts.  Sure, the Reds ran away with the Central - but between Votto's lack of power ever since returning and the entire offense's lack of hitting skills, I don't think most Reds fans are expecting the Reds to score 8 or 9 runs against the Giants...and that's in the series, not just in a single game.  It's going to come down to Cueto, Arroyo, Latos, and possibly Bailey to keep San Francisco off the board. It's going to require guys like Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, and Zack Cozart to play airtight D.  It's going to require Dusty Baker to make smart moves with the bullpen.  And, most likely, it'll require Aroldis Chapman to rediscover his 100+mph fastball (and location).

It will, as they say, come down to pitching and defense.  And if the Reds learned anything from watching Atlanta last night, it should be that if you don't take care of the little things you won't be in the playoff hunt for long.