MLB Playoff Takeaways: Wild Card Round

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One round down, two rounds to go.

And I think this year and last year taught us something about the Wild Card round.

But we’ll get to that in a bit.

Rangers sweep Orioles 3-0

I had two concerns with this Orioles team.

One run wins, and pitching.

Game 1 was lost when they didn’t get clutch hitting late, and games 2 and 3 were due to poor starting pitching.

It doesn’t help that they faced a very, very good Rangers lineup.

Still, it was a great season for the Orioles who still have top prospects coming through the ranks.

Now, a crucial offseason begins with questions surrounding the ownerships purse strings.

Let’s see how they handle it.

Astros defeat Twins 3-1

Man, this team is just inevitable, aren’t they?

Weak season. Injuries. Lost talent on the roster and even lost their GM.

But here they are!

The Astros have made it back to the ALCS for the 7th straight year.

They are flat out inevitable.

Diamondbacks sweep Dodgers 3-0

Apart from the Covid season in 2020, the Dodgers have been knocked out in the NLDS every year since 2018.

The win totals of the teams they lost to were 93, 88, 89 and now 84.

Dave Roberts seems like a good guy, but this can’t simply be bad luck.

It’s time for a regiment change in LA.

Although, them likely getting Ohtani will help.

Phillies defeat Braves 3-1

Just like a year ago, Castellanos and Harper got hot at the right time and knocked out the dominant Braves.

It’s a tough matchup for the Braves, and just bad fortune that they got them in back to back years.

Or is it bad fortune?

Three of teams who got a bye to the divisional series are out.

Baseball is an every day sport.

Rest is good in football. It’s good in soccer. It helps you get your legs back under you.

Baseball is about routine It’s about consistency. It’s about grooves.

When you sit from Sunday to Saturday doing nothing but practicing and training but not actually getting any consistent game time, and your opponent is facing major league pitching and staying in their groove, you’re automatically at a disadvantage.

This is the 2nd year of this format.

Of the eight teams who received first round byes, five of them were eliminated in the Divisional Series.

Of the three that didn’t, one was the Yankees going 5 games against the Guardians so they had their backs against the wall.

The other two were the Astros who, as I said above, are inevitable.

It’s only been two years, but it’s starting to look like having all of that extended time off is actually detrimental instead of a benefit.