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Ridin' the Opine: Cubs Are Not A Playoff Team

by Boutros B. Ghali

Let me preface this column by stating that these are the opinions of this writer alone. I do not know if my fellow Son Ranto collaborators agree with these statements as they are controversial in the current atmosphere of celebration surrounding the Chicago Cubs. 

I love the Wild Card game. There are a lot of people who do not. They think it should be a series of some sort and that the entire season should not come down to one game. I do not understand this. 

These same people would agree that the most exciting game of any season in any sport is Game 7 of whatever Championship is being played. That's one game, but it does not bother them that the entire season for two teams hinges on one game simply because there were six games that came before it.

Why is six games different than 162 games? If anything, it should make it even more exciting. The two teams vying for the opportunity to get in the playoffs have struggled for six months, fallen a touch short, and are now playing one last game for the golden ticket that could lead to a World Series. 

Part of the problem is that fans think of the Wild Card game as the playoffs, when it is moste definitely not the playoffs. It is part of the postseason. The postseason and the playoffs are different things. 

In 2012, Major League Baseball created the Wild Card game to make the path to the playoffs a little bit tougher for the Wild Card teams that seemed to be rolling into the playoffs against the division winners with a little too much momentum. The Wild Card game was set up as a gateway to soften up the teams that get through and stop those who are unworthy. 

First, it made the Wild Card teams expend their best pitcher before the playoffs started. In the past, both the Wild Card team and the division winner put their best pitchers out there to go head to head in the first game and again later in the series for another game. The play in game makes this much less common.

With the Wild Card game being the gateway to the playoffs, it was too important to not use the best pitcher in that game. This meant the division winner got to use their ace against the wild card winner's number two guy, which is an advantage. 

It also means the division winner can probably use their ace twice in a five game series while the Wild Card team probably only gets one start out of their number one guy. Another advantage to the division winner. 

Second, the Wild Card game is supposed to be a toss up. No longer can a second place team just waltz into the playoffs on a hot streak like Colorado in 2007 or clinch their playoff spot early enough to rest up their starters and set up their rotation. Now there was a winner-take-all game that required the Wild Card team to do a little more to get to the playoffs since they did not win the division. 

It also means that teams like the 2015 Chicago Cubs still have an opportunity to reach the playoffs. Prior to the 2012 season, the Cubs would still be on the outside looking in. Imagine how crazy people would be going right now with that loss yesterday putting the Cubs 4.5 games behind the Pirates for any sort of postseason games. Instead, the Cubs lost the game and still earned a chance to get to the playoffs. 

Thus, the difference between postseason and playoffs. The Wild Card is an opportunity to play one game against another really good team to see who gets to go to the playoffs. That is why I still do not consider the Cubs a playoff team in 2015. They still have to win one more game to reach that distinction. That's not really a bad thing.

Prior to 2012, the rest of the season would be a stress inducing panic of epic proportions as the Cubs struggle to catch those damn Pirates. Yet people are bitching that the Cubs have to play one game after the season is over when the alternative is much, much worse. They could finish with 95+ wins and still not get a chance for the playoffs in the old system. 

I think this team has been amazing to watch this year. They have far exceeded my expectations and I think they have a legitimate chance of getting to the World Series. That being said, I think celebrating the second wild card spot is dumb.

Instead of planning a party for what is ultimately just one game in 162, wait til October 4th and celebrate the entire season, which includes getting a shot to make the playoffs. If they win the Wild Card game, then they will be a playoff team and that will also be worthy of a celebration. Celebrating prior to the 4th seems a little short sighted to me. 

This is a very tough argument to make when so many fans are caught up in the hoopla surrounding the first postseason berth the Cubs have had since 2008. Everyone is so excited, they do not want to think about the fact that the Cubs are still a game away.

Somehow, deluding themselves with the grandeur of "Playoff Team" makes the fans feel better even if it is not true. If the Cubs do not make it to the playoffs, it does not take away anything from what has been an amazing season.

The team still won 20ish more games this year than last year, which is almost unheard of in baseball. The team still has RoY and Cy Young favorites on the team. They are still young and handsome. Nothing changes if they lose the Wild Card game. 

But if they win the Wild Card game, it will change. They will be an actual playoff team.

 

 

 

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