Dissecting the National League Playoff Bracket

Four teams with one dream and four teams with four different stories. That's what fans are looking at in the National League playoff bracket today as the postseason really gets underway. The Wild Card games are in the books and the final four NL teams are set. St. Louis and Pittsburgh will meet in a divisional showdown while Atlanta and Los Angeles will square off in a highly-anticipated series filled with young stars.

You want history? You got it. The four National League teams left have all been in existence since the 1880s. There is a combined 25 World Series victories among the four and plenty of Hall of Fame legends. More recently, the NL has belonged to the Braves and the Cardinals. St. Louis won a dramatic World Series in 2011 and also was victorious in 2006. Atlanta dominated the 90s and has remained the beast of the NL East with a fresh crop of talent.

Los Angeles enters the playoffs as the hottest team over the second half. At the beginning of the season, fans and analysts were discussing Don Mattingly's job, but LA turned it around and finished with 92 wins and ran away with the West Division. Yasiel Puig took the nation by storm with his you-gotta-see-this theatrics on the field and on the base paths, but it was Hanley Ramirez who really acted as the catalyst for LA's run.

LA's matchup with Atlanta is intriguing for multiple reasons. While the Dodgers were the focal point of the second half, Atlanta flew under the radar for much of the season. If it's possible, the Braves somehow won 96 games quietly. To make it even more impressive, Atlanta got nothing out of B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla during the regular season. Uggla batted .179 and was left off the playoff roster.

Still, the Braves lineup is potent with Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman and Chris Johnson. However, they are going to be facing a pitching staff headlined by Clayton Kershaw. Runs won't come easy for the Braves in this series. Kershaw finished the season with a miniscule 1.83 ERA and is one of the most decorated pitchers in the game today.

In the other series, the Cardinals and Pirates face off in a familiar matchup. The two teams played 19 times with Pittsburgh winning 10 games. While the matchup is familiar, the setting is not for one team. Pittsburgh hasn't been in the playoffs since 1992 when the lost in the NLCS. Still, there are players on the roster that do have playoff experience. A.J. Burnett and Justin Morneau are no strangers to postseason baseball, but for a star like Andrew McCutchen this is all new.

St. Louis finished with the best record in baseball behind little-known stars such as Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig and a pitching staff led by Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals are better than any team in baseball with runners in scoring position and that will come in handy during the playoffs when every run matters.

So who moves on? Count on the Cardinals to defeat the Pirates due to their experience and timely hitting. It's a toss up in the Braves-Dodgers series, but I'll take LA.

Legends are made in October and the team that gets that timely hit, run-saving catch or shutdown pitching performance is the team that wins. Let the games begin...

Boston Marathon Explosions Devastate the Nation

Piazza's home run was the biggest in Shea Stadium history

It's been about three hours since news broke about the explosions in downtown Boston that caused 86 injuries and 2 deaths (at press time) to both spectators and participants in the race. While the Boston police and the White House search for evidence and suspects, we're left with nothing but a mouthful of questions. Why would someone do this? Who would be inhumane enough to do this? The list goes on. The fact of the matter is, what was once our nation's crutch after a serious act of violence or manslaughter is now the site of all the violence. Yet as we have seen before, sports have been the healing factor for numerous tragic events.
Who could forget watching the New York Mets take on the Atlanta Braves ten days after the 9/11 attacks? A game that many thought was being played too soon turned into a healing moment for the entire nation. With the past week being filled with nothing but numbness, uncertainty, and anger, how could anyone think about sports?

Patches worn for the Sandy Hook shooting

It was Mike Piazza that became the American Hero with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead 3-2. I'll never forget it. I was in second grade, only seven years old and at the time the only thing I cared about was why the sports world was put on hold for ten days. I didn't understand what 9/11 meant or even what had happened. At seven years old, I wasn't able to comprehend how monumental both the attacks and Piazza's home run were. Yet I remember seeing that ball sail over Shea Stadium's center field wall, followed by the stadium's chanting of "USA! USA! USA!" For that moment, the nation was healed. For that glorious 15 seconds, the world seemed to be back to normal. Mike Piazza provided joy that every American, Mets fan or not, was in desperate need of.

Yet 9/11 isn't the only tragedy that sports have attempted to heal. Most recently there has been the shootings in Aurora, Colorado and in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. We've seen athletes from all sports meet with the families, speak publicly, and don special patches on their uniforms to remember those that were affected or killed. But here's the thing: I hate those patches. I hate that events like said tragedies occur which prompts the remembrance of victims. The world won't ever be perfect, but I would love to see a day when these events no longer happen and we no longer have to see a patch with a ribbon on a jersey. What a wonderful world it would be if such violent acts didn't happen.

That brings us to today. Where do we go from here? Sports have always been a major part of the world and for something like this to happen at a sporting event that provides pride and triumph is deeply saddening. How do we respond when our source of healing is the source of the hurt? Our hearts and prayers go out to those in Boston and those around the nation that are affected by this horrific occurrence. For now, the only thing we can do is stay strong, trust in God, and love each other. Don't take anything for granted, whether it's your family, your school, or the sport you play. Today shows that anything can happen at any given time. Take advantage of the time you have here on earth, tell people you love them, and give your all 100% of the time.  Life isn't a guarantee, it's a privilege.

For those that believe sports are nothing but a game, I strongly disagree. The world has benefited from the influence of sports plenty of times before, and there is not a doubt in my mind that the nation will look to sports for a source of encouragement once again. Don't say that it's just a game when sports can heal a nation, if only for a moment. Prayers go out to Boston as well as to those reading this post. May God bless you all. Stay strong.

The November Classic??

A snowy World Series may be a more common sight if MLB decides to
keep the regular season at 162 games

The MLB playoff races are coming to a close and it is hard to tear your eyes away with the Wild Card races so tight. The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays are making a late postseason push while the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox try to hold them off. If the Cardinals win today they will close within one game of the Braves and St. Louis has a much more favorable schedule the rest of the way. However, by the time the regular season is over with it will be September 28th. The playoffs will begin in early October and the World Series may not conclude until October 27th. That's awfully late in the year and it could be an awfully cold Series if, say, the Yankees and Phillies go head-to-head. What's worse is that baseball is now talking about expanding the playoffs to include more teams (we are in the time of expansion you know) and if they do that then the regular season must be shortened.

Since 1961 the MLB has had a 162-game season, as opposed to the 154-game schedule they had prior to that. The Wild Card was introduced 1995 which allowed four teams per league to qualify for the playoffs and I am in full agreement with that move. It would be a shame if the Red Sox and Yankees could never play each other in the playoffs or a team like the Braves, who has had a great year but just happens to be in the same division as the Phillies, got left out of October baseball. The Wild Card teams have always been very successful and it's usually because they HAD to win at the end of the regular season so they come in hot. Now, Bud Selig and the Gang want to expand the playoffs to ten teams which means two Wild Cards in each league.

I will agree with the playoff expansion if, and only if, MLB realizes that it needs a shorter regular season. 162 games is a ton of games and players break down after awhile. Also, the Cubs and Astros don't need to still be playing right now. It's absurd and it just prolongs the agony of a terrible season. I recently read a column by Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski and he suggested that the schedule be shortened back to 154 games. I could not agree more with that. Obviously there would be disputes with the record book because, for a long time, players had eight more games to compile statistics. That's something that would have to be figured out but it's a no-brainer that the schedule must be shortened.

The game has changed over time. 15 wins is what 20 wins was back in the day. Saves and holds are more important than ever and 30 home runs is a common sight. What MLB can't be worried about is the statistics and numbers. Yes, with eight fewer games there probably won't be many 20-game winners and less home runs will be hit along with fewer RBIs. It's not about any of that though. Less games means the players will be better at the end of the year and that means more fans in the stands and better games televised nationally. Thus, MLB puts out a better product. Also, if the season stayed at 162 games and the playoff were expanded that would push the Fall Classic into November. That can't happen for two huge reasons. One would be the weather. The other, and most important, is that MLB couldn't compete with the NFL and the start of the NBA. The World Series hasn't been getting good ratings and the longer the baseball season drags on, the longer they must compete with the NFL. That's fighting a losing battle.

There has been no mention of shortening the schedule but the playoffs will be expanded for sure. Bud Selig has been highly criticized during his time in office but if he were to make this move it might go down as the best move during his tenure. It's better for the players. It's better for the fans and, most importantly, it's best for the game of baseball.