As of Thursday, the office of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was still hammering out the details to expand the current playoff format. The plan is to expand it by one extra wild card team for a total of ten playoff teams (three division winners and two wild card winners).
If this happens (more like when), it will make a big change in the balance of each division. Take last season for example. Had this format been in place, both the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox would've been in the playoffs.
There would've been no such collapse of historic magnitude to speak of. Terry Francona would still have a job and the Red Sox could still eat fried chicken and drink beer in the clubhouse. Let's go back further.
Had this format been instituted in 2007, our beloved New York Mets would've been in the playoffs. Who knows how far they could have gone that year? They ended on such a low note but had they gotten into the playoffs, they might have found a renewed energy. We will never know.
Returning to present day, our Mets are entering a season where the Phillies are heavy favorites in the division. The Braves are highly thought of as a potential playoff contender and the new look, new name Miami Marlins are capable of being another contender.
The Washington Nationals, led by Mets great Davey Johnson, can potentially be an x-factor. Then, there is our Mets. We all are aware of their roster changes. The stories of what they did or didn't do over the past few months have been well overly written.
Thanks to everyone's not so favorite commissioner of a professional sport, all of these teams will be vying for not just one division title, but one of two possible wild card spots.
With a very weak N.L. West and a thinner than usual N.L. Central, there is a chance the N.L. East will be the most competitive division in all of baseball, netting as many as three of the five available playoff spots.
If this scenario pans out, the Mets will not need to shock the world by taking the division outright. They may not even stun a division rival by overtaking them for second place. All they really need is to sit in third place with a better record than the second place team in the other divisions, in other words, the fifth best record.
Impossible? Not really. With a healthy Johan Santana returning, a decent to good rotation, a quality bullpen and a solid and consistent offense this team can accomplish more than most will expect them to.
If they make a conscience effort to rally behind the concept that just getting into the playoffs and then anything can happen, they could very well succeed.
If they realize that a fifth best record is all they need, they can get to that mark. They must shoot for the stars and settle for the clouds. In other words, they have to make their goal be lofty enough that they can still finish well if they don't get to what the desired goal is.
They should set their sights on first place and be happy to settle into third with the fifth best record. That would make them a playoff team. From there, who knows? We have seen example after example, time and time again what happens when a hot team gets into the postseason.
If the season were to transpire in the particular way the Mets need it to, that extra playoff spot could make the Mets a very dangerous team.
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