Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - Coin Flips Give Potential Home-Field Playoff Edge to Phils against Marlins, Astros
Right now, as I write this, Gavin Floyd and the Phillies lead Atlanta 2-0 in the top of the 5th, Floyd in some trouble (2nd and 3rd, nobody out)....
Well, some good news - odds are that if there needs to be a one-game playoff in October, the Phillies would host it. If your team is a participant in any of the mid-September coin flips in New York, you know you're having a good season...
The Phillies' web site announced today that Major League Baseball (MLB) had officially made the coin flips for any potential one-game playoffs at the end of the season. The only downside to this news was the dry remark that "With all three NL division races relatively decisive, coin flips were used only to determine sites for tiebreakers involving the Wild Card." To its credit, MLB recognizes the obvious fact that the Marlins and Phillies have no prayer of catching Atlanta (at the time of the coin flips, during Monday's business hours, the Marlins were seven games behind and the Phillies were eight games back, with 19 to play.)
With equal certainty, St. Louis and San Diego were conceded their respective division flags as well. St. Louis is miles ahead of its five Central rivals. In the West, the real drama remains as to whether the Padres will make major league history, by becoming the first team to qualify for postseason play with a record of .500, or worse. They are almost certain to have the fewest wins ever for a playoff team, even if the Padres manage to finish with a positive ledger.
But as to the only real remaining race, the NL wild card - here's how any potential one-game playoffs would be resolved:
Most importantly, the Phillies would host either Florida or Houston, should they finish with identical records. Since those two clubs are - far and away - the two with whom the Phillies are most likely to end up with a tie, that effectively means that the Phillies would have critical home-field advantage in the 163rd game of the season. In the unhappy event that Florida and Houston are tied and the Phillies aren't involved, the Marlins would host the Astros.
The fading Nationals received some positive coin flips. They would host the Phillies or Marlins at RFK in the increasingly unlikely event that they force a deadlock. As for Houston, their only potential home playoff would be against Washington, so basically the Astros had best pack an extra bag or two during the final weekend.
The Mets, Cubs, and Brewers, all at the back of the pack, weren't invited to participate.
Over in the AL, Cleveland caught the breaks. The Indians would host a Central playoff against the White Sox and a wild card playoff against Oakland, the Angels or the Yankees. (The article didn't say who would host Oakland/New York.)
The Yankees would host Boston in an East playoff, although ironically the two ancient rivals finish the season at Fenway, and would then need to immediately travel south the next day. Los Angeles/Anaheim would host the A's for the West.
(It didn't specify what would happen in the highly unlikely event that the Phillies, Astros and Marlins all ended up deadlocked. There are provisions if one of those teams were a division winner, but not otherwise, since none will win their division. I suppose there would have to be another series of coin flips to see who would get a bye, and then the other two would face each other. There's got to be a rule somewhere resolving this, although it is obviously not likely to arise.)
Full article from Phillies.com:
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050912&content_id=1206791&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi
Well, some good news - odds are that if there needs to be a one-game playoff in October, the Phillies would host it. If your team is a participant in any of the mid-September coin flips in New York, you know you're having a good season...
The Phillies' web site announced today that Major League Baseball (MLB) had officially made the coin flips for any potential one-game playoffs at the end of the season. The only downside to this news was the dry remark that "With all three NL division races relatively decisive, coin flips were used only to determine sites for tiebreakers involving the Wild Card." To its credit, MLB recognizes the obvious fact that the Marlins and Phillies have no prayer of catching Atlanta (at the time of the coin flips, during Monday's business hours, the Marlins were seven games behind and the Phillies were eight games back, with 19 to play.)
With equal certainty, St. Louis and San Diego were conceded their respective division flags as well. St. Louis is miles ahead of its five Central rivals. In the West, the real drama remains as to whether the Padres will make major league history, by becoming the first team to qualify for postseason play with a record of .500, or worse. They are almost certain to have the fewest wins ever for a playoff team, even if the Padres manage to finish with a positive ledger.
But as to the only real remaining race, the NL wild card - here's how any potential one-game playoffs would be resolved:
Most importantly, the Phillies would host either Florida or Houston, should they finish with identical records. Since those two clubs are - far and away - the two with whom the Phillies are most likely to end up with a tie, that effectively means that the Phillies would have critical home-field advantage in the 163rd game of the season. In the unhappy event that Florida and Houston are tied and the Phillies aren't involved, the Marlins would host the Astros.
The fading Nationals received some positive coin flips. They would host the Phillies or Marlins at RFK in the increasingly unlikely event that they force a deadlock. As for Houston, their only potential home playoff would be against Washington, so basically the Astros had best pack an extra bag or two during the final weekend.
The Mets, Cubs, and Brewers, all at the back of the pack, weren't invited to participate.
Over in the AL, Cleveland caught the breaks. The Indians would host a Central playoff against the White Sox and a wild card playoff against Oakland, the Angels or the Yankees. (The article didn't say who would host Oakland/New York.)
The Yankees would host Boston in an East playoff, although ironically the two ancient rivals finish the season at Fenway, and would then need to immediately travel south the next day. Los Angeles/Anaheim would host the A's for the West.
(It didn't specify what would happen in the highly unlikely event that the Phillies, Astros and Marlins all ended up deadlocked. There are provisions if one of those teams were a division winner, but not otherwise, since none will win their division. I suppose there would have to be another series of coin flips to see who would get a bye, and then the other two would face each other. There's got to be a rule somewhere resolving this, although it is obviously not likely to arise.)
Full article from Phillies.com:
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050912&content_id=1206791&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi
posted by Villanova Viewpoint Publisher | 8:25 PM
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