With the exception of the Central teams, all of the AL contenders have been playing very well in September. Nice to see that nobody is backing in.

Just one central team; Detroit's playing as well as one of the West teams will be after tonight's game.

Once again the steel bar remains welded in the standings with the Yankees, Orioles, and Athletics all winning. At least the As were winning big a few minutes ago. Even the Rays are hanging in there, although the window is almost closed on them.

Just for grins, from the MLB website:

(Part 1 of 2)
How to determine playoff tiebreakers

Determining Home-Field Advantage in Two-Team Tiebreakers

1. Head-to-head winning percentage during the 2012 regular season.
2. Higher winning percentage in intradivision games.
3. Higher winning percentage in the last half of intraleague games.
4. Higher winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game, provided that such additional game was not between the two tied clubs. Continue to go back one intraleague game at a time until the tie has been broken.

Determining A, B, C Designations in Three-Team Tiebreakers

1. All Three Clubs Have Identical Records Against One Another

• Club with highest winning percentage among three tied clubs in intradivision games chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in intradivision games. If any two of the clubs have identical winning percentages, then then the two-Club tiebreak rules will break that tie. If all three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

• Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half of intraleague games chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in intraleague games. If any two of the clubs have identical winning percentages, then then the two-Club tiebreak rules will break that tie. If all three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

• Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game, provided that such additional game was not between any of the tied Clubs, chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game. Continue to go back one intraleague game at a time until the tie has been broken.

2. Three Clubs Do Not Have Identical Records Against One Another

• If Club 1 has a better record against Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, then Club 1 chooses its designation, followed by Club 2.

• If Club 1 has a better record against Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 and 3 have identical records against one another, then Club 1 chooses its designation. Clubs 2 and 3 would follow the two-Club tiebreak rules to break their tie to pick the next designation.

• If Club 1 and 2 have identical records against one another, but each has a better record against Club 3, then Clubs 1 and 2 would follow the two-Club tiebreak rules to break their tie to pick the first designation.

• If Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1; OR Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 and 3 have identical records against one another and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1; OR Club 1 and 2 have identical records against one another, Club 1 has a better record against Club 3 and Club 2 and 3 have identical records against one another, then:

a. The Clubs will be ranked by their overall winning percentage amongst the other Clubs combined. The Club with the highest overall winning percentage in that group chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest overall winning percentage.

b. If two of the Clubs have identical winning percentages, then they would follow the two-Club tiebreak rules to break their tie to pick their designation.

c. If all three teams have identical winning percentages, then the tiebreak rules above (No. 1) for three clubs having identical records against one another should be followed.

Determining A, B, C, D Designations in Four-Team Tiebreakers

1. The Club with the highest winning percentage in games among the tied Clubs chooses its designation first, followed by the Club with the second-highest winning percentage and the Club with the third-highest winning percentage. If two Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the two-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which team selects its designation first. If three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the three-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which teams select their designation first. If all four Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

2. The Club with the highest winning percentage in intradivision games chooses its designation first, followed by the Club with the second-highest winning percentage and the Club with the third-highest winning percentage. If two Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the two-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which team selects its designation first. If three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the three-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which teams select their designation first. If all four Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

3. The Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half of intraleague games chooses its designation first, followed by the Club with the second-highest winning percentage and the Club with the third-highest winning percentage. If two Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the two-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which team selects its designation first. If three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then the three-Club tiebreak rules shall apply to determine which teams select their designation first. If all four Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

4. The Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game, provided that such additional game was not between any of the tied Clubs, chooses its designation followed by the Club with the second-highest winning percentage and the Club with the third-highest winning percentage. Continue to go back one intraleague game at a time until any ties have been broken.

Just for grins, Part 2 of 2:

Tiebreak Scenarios

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship (Losing team does not qualify for Wild Card):
One tiebreak game will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. Home field advantage will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship and Wild Card:
One tiebreak game will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game will be declared a Wild Card. Home field advantage will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Club Outside Division For One Wild Card Spot:
1. One tiebreak game will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. Home field advantage will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

2. A second tiebreak game will be played on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) between the loser of the game to determine the Division Champion and the team from the other division at the ballpark of the team in the other division to determine the Wild Card.

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Club Outside Division For Two Wild Card Spots:
One tiebreak game will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. Home field advantage will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker. The loser of the game and the team from the other division will both be declared Wild Cards. Home field advantage in the Wild Card game will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Two Clubs Outside Division For One Wild Card Spot:
1. Two tiebreak games will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). One will feature the two Clubs tied for the Division to determine the Division Champion, and the other will feature the other two Clubs outside the division. Home field advantage in each game will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

2. A third tiebreak game will be played on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) between the loser of the game to determine the Division Champion and the winner of the game between the two Clubs outside the division at the ballpark of the team outside the division to determine the Wild Card.

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Two Clubs Outside Division For Two Wild Card Spots:
1. Two tiebreak games will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). One will feature the two Clubs tied for the Division to determine the Division Champion, and the other will feature the other two Clubs outside the division to determine one Wild Card Club. Home field advantage in each game will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

2. A third tiebreak game will be played on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) between the loser of the game to determine the Division Champion and the loser of the game between the two Clubs outside the division to determine the second Wild Card Club. Home field advantage in the game will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

Two-Club Tie for One Wild Card Spot:
One tiebreak game will be played on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively) to determine the Wild Card. Home field advantage will be determined by the rules above for a two-team tiebreaker.

Three-Club Tie for Division Championship (Losing teams do not qualify for Wild Card):
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B and C designations, Club A would host Club B on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winner of that game would then host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion.

Three-Club Tie for Division Championship & One Wild Card Spot:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B and C designations, Club A would host Club B on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winner of that game would then host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game would be declared the Wild Card Club.

Three-Club Tie for Division Championship & Two Wild Card Spots:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B and C designations, Club A would host Club B on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The loser of the game would be declared one Wild Card Club. The winner of that game would then host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game would be declared the other Wild Card Club.

Three-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Club Outside Division For One Wild Card Spot:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations (In this case, Club D would be the Club outside the Division), Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively).

1. If Club D wins, it would be declared the Wild Card Club and the winner of the game between Club A and Club B would be declared the Division Champion.

2. If Club C wins, then the winner of the game between Club A and Club B would host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively). The winner of the game would be declared the Division Champion and the loser would be declared the Wild Card Club.

Three-Club Tie for Division Championship & Tie with Club Outside Division For Two Wild Card Spots:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations (In this case, Club D would be the Club outside the Division), Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively).

1. If Club D wins, it would be declared one Wild Card Club and the winner of the game between Club A and Club B would be declared the Division Champion. The loser of the game between Club A and Club B would host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the other Wild Card Club.

2. If Club C wins, then the winner of the game between Club A and Club B would host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively). The winner of the game would be declared the Division Champion and the loser would be declared one Wild Card Club. The loser of the game between Club A and Club B would host Club D, also on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), to determine the other Wild Card Club.

Three-Club Tie for One Wild Card Spot:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B and C designations, Club A would host Club B on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winner of the game would then host Club C on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the Wild Card Club.

Three-Club Tie for Two Wild Card Spots:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B and C designations, Club A would host Club B on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winner of the game would be declared one Wild Card winner. Club C would then host the loser of the game between Club A and Club B on Friday, October 5th (tentatively) to determine the second Wild Card Club.

Four-Club Tie for Division Championship (Losing teams do not qualify for Wild Card):
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations, Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winners of each of those games would then meet on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), hosted by the winner of the game between Club A and Club B, to determine the Division Champion.

Four-Club Tie for Division Championship & One Wild Card Spot:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations, Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winners of each of those games would then meet on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), hosted by the winner of the game between Club A and Club B, to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game would be declared the Wild Card Club.

Four-Club Tie for Division Championship & Two Wild Card Spots:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations, Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively).

1. The winners of each of those games would then meet on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), hosted by the winner of the game between Club A and Club B, to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game would be declared the Wild Card Club.

2. The losers of the original two games would meet on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), hosted by the loser of the game between Club A and Club B, to determine the other Wild Card Club.

Four-Club Tie for One Wild Card Spot:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations, Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winners of each of those games would then meet on Friday, October 5th (tentatively), hosted by the winner of the game between Club A and Club B, to determine the Wild Card Club.

Four-Club Tie for Two Wild Card Spots:
After Clubs have been assigned their A, B, C and D designations, Club A would host Club B and Club C would host Club D on Thursday, October 4th (tentatively). The winners of each of those games would be declared the Wild Card Clubs.

Okay, Orioles will have a chance at the division if they play like they did tonight and the Blue Jays play like they did in the middle two games...

That's probably it for the White Sox since the Rays are coming in for a four-game set tomorrow and the Tigers get to keep feasting on the Royals and Twins.

Okay, Orioles will have a chance at the division if they play like they did tonight and the Blue Jays play like they did in the middle two games...

Thankfully the Yankees won't get to face Carlos Villenueva...

That's probably it for the White Sox since the Rays are coming in for a four-game set tomorrow and the Tigers get to keep feasting on the Royals and Twins.

Um, have you seen the Tigers play the Royals and Twins this year?

Maybe that was an attempt at a reverse jinx.

Huge hit by Torii

Maybe that was an attempt at a reverse jinx.

I don't think even a reverse jinx will help the Sox pitching at this point...they walked 12 Indians tonight.

Torii!!!!!!!! Mr. Clutch.

Ugh.

Ugh, again. (sorry)

Okay, Orioles will have a chance at the division if they play like they did tonight and the Blue Jays play like they did in the middle two games...

Even Morrow's start, who knows what he'll bring. They've only had one hitter worth a sh!t for how many weeks? Ugly.

When Felix was pulled after six, it was over. I could see the M's cobbling enough together to keep a run off off for two innings, but not three. And sure enough, the guy given the seventh inning coughed the lead up right away.

Everyone here is no doubt aware of this, but it still blows my mind a little:

With one week left in the season, not a single AL team has clinched a playoff spot -- not even in the sense of a "tie for the second wild card." It is still possible that both the Yankees AND the Rangers will be left out of the playoffs entirely.

How crazy is THAT?

The Angels look great right now but it won't matter if the A's keep winning. To me they are at least as big a surprise as the Orioles.

There was a desperate tension in Anaheim tonight. Everyone in the stands was on pins and needles. The Hunter game-winner released some serious tension, and thank goodness for it.

Second-to-last home game of the season, and my last game for 2012. A nice win, and I hope they keep it rolling, but I think they're just out of time.

There was a desperate tension in Anaheim tonight. Everyone in the stands was on pins and needles. The Hunter game-winner released some serious tension, and thank goodness for it.
Second-to-last home game of the season, and my last game for 2012. A nice win, and I hope they keep it rolling, but I think they're just out of time.

I'm glad it was fun, and I hope you were able to witness the peak of the Angels season in person.

I joked to my wife that the Tigers can't win the division because they'll never win another one-run game. Now that they beat KC last night, 5-4, I guess I better buy those playoff tickets now, eh?

After Texas' loss yesterday, nobody in baseball is averaging five runs a game with just a week left to go in the season.

Yankees need to take 2 of 4 in Toronto for me to feel good about the division. That should be manageable. Tonight is probably the toughest game in the series for the them--Morrow is pretty good, has killed the Yankees lately(1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 IP since 2011) plus Nova is a total question mark. So if they managed to win tonight, that would surprise me. I'd be happy to be surprised, of course, so I guess we'll see.

There was no tension in Arlington last night, except in the sense that the game was mighty irritating and gave me a headache. It was an argument against expanded rosters, as the Rangers used Roy Oswalt and five guys nobody's ever heard in a committee effort to give up as many runs as possible.

Having purged myself of bile, I'll turn around and say that the A's are pretty amazing. I hadn't seen them in person since late spring, and they are literally a different ballclub: the only players in the lineup both times I saw them this year were Reddick and Pennington. In May, Reddick was the only guy doing anything, and now he's almost a spare part rattling around the lower part of the lineup. They're a great example of how you can't look at aggregate numbers to assess the strength of a club going into a possible postseason. Right now, they're very good indeed, nothing fluky about them.

They're a great example of how you can't look at aggregate numbers to assess the strength of a club going into a possible postseason. Right now, they're very good indeed, nothing fluky about them.

That reminds me, with their blowout yesterday, Baltimore's run differential is down (up?) to just -1. If they end up in the playoffs--which seems likely at this point, at least for the Play-In Game--they'll almost certainly do it with a positive run differential. That's pretty good given they were at -40 at the beginning of the month.

I'm still not really a big Orioles believer, but I am believer in giving credit where it's due.

I think there is no saying which of the Tigers and the White Sox will manage to play worse over the next 7 (or 8) games. The Tigers have done amazingly well for 3 games at home against KC, but as Vaux said, the Tigers -- on the road -- Minnesota & KC -- YIKES!

My bet is a 1-game playoff for the AL Central. I don't have time right now to figure out which team would host it, probably Chicago.

Having purged myself of bile, I'll turn around and say that the A's are pretty amazing. I hadn't seen them in person since late spring, and they are literally a different ballclub: the only players in the lineup both times I saw them this year were Reddick and Pennington.

Strangely, the A's lineup isn't all that different from what they started the season with: Pennington in the MI, Donaldson at 3B, Smith/Gomes platooning at DH/LF, Cespedes at DH/LF, Crisp in CF, and Reddick in RF. Of the three positions that have changed: Norris hasn't been any better than Suzuki, Drew's been a slight improvement on Weeks, and the Moss/Carter platoon/tandem has been a massive improvement over Kila/Barton.

Adding Moss/Carter after May was a big boost to the offense, but it's mostly been the same guys (with the glaring exception of Josh Reddick) who have just turned it on since May. Here are the pre/post May 30 OPS for the A's regulars:


Aside from Donaldson and maybe Cespedes, I think the improvement's been more due to randomness than growth. And Brandon Moss doing his best Josh Hamilton impersonation. They're neither as putrid as they looked in the first half (fewest runs in the AL) nor as good as they've looked in the second half (second most runs in the AL). The offense is pretty averagish overall, and the team is still very reliant on pitching/defense.

Yankees need to take 2 of 4 in Toronto for me to feel good about the division.

If they only take 2 of 4, they could enter the final three games of the season tied. That would not be a comfortable place to be, imo.

If they only take 2 of 4, they could enter the final three games of the season tied. That would not be a comfortable place to be, imo.

They could, sure. But I said a while back that if the Yankees won 6 of their last 10 (i.e., two each from Minnesota, Toronto and Boston) they would have an excellent shot at the division. Nothing Baltimore has done has made me think otherwise. Even if they did go into the last three of the season tied, you'd have to like the Yankees' chances playing Boston at home compared to Baltimore playing Tampa Bay on the road. (That being said, I'm inclined to think if they split in Toronto, they'll still be--at least--a game up on the O's heading into the last day of the season.)

Dialing back the AL Playoff thread from a couple days ago:

What happens if the Orioles, A's and Angels all end up tied?

A Jayson Stark article explains:

If these three teams end up deadlocked, the Angels would get to pick whether to play one road game or two home games. That's because they had the best head-to-head record among those three. We're guessing they'd opt to play just once. But they might want to reconsider, unless they want to risk another frequent-flier-mile extravaganza.

If they choose the one road game, then there's an A's-Orioles game Thursday, in Oakland. But if the Orioles win that one, it means (theoretically) that both the Angels and Orioles would have to fly to Baltimore for the wild-card game THE NEXT DAY. So would the Angels choose two home games over one road game? Interesting question.

I don't think this is true. Looking at the MLB tiebreaker rules, the A's would get to choose whether to play a road game or two home games since the A's won the season series against both the Angels and the Orioles:

2. Three Clubs Do Not Have Identical Records Against One Another

• If Club 1 has a better record against Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, then Club 1 chooses its designation, followed by Club 2

But that's the very unlikely scenario in which the Rays finish with the top wild card spot and the A's/O's/LAA's finish tied for the second wild card.

If the O's/A's/LAA's all tie for the 1st wild card: the A's would host the Angels on Thursday. The winner gets one wild card spot, and the loser travels to Baltimore on Friday to play for the other wild card spot.

Aha, the five-run first inning is on the other foot this afternoon in Arlington :)

Blackley crapped the bed again. Ugh. Another reason why those first 2 games in NY and game #1 in Texas hurt so much

I don't think this is true. Looking at the MLB tiebreaker rules, the A's would get to choose whether to play a road game or two home games since the A's won the season series against both the Angels and the Orioles:

Agreed as you mention, it is a very unlikely scenario but I think Stark's reading is correct, because it doesn't say the better record against Club 2 and Club 3, it says aganist Clubs 2 and 3, which I take to mean cumulatively. So the LAA's get it because they were 16-12 vs. Oakland and Baltimore combined which is better than the record Oakland (15-13) and Baltimore (6-12) have when facing the other two teams.

All I know is if we end up seeing this question answered for real, it will have been some last week.

I'm pretty sure having a better record against clubs 2 and 3 means having won the season series against both clubs. Check lower down in the designations:

• If Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1; OR Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 and 3 have identical records against one another and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1; OR Club 1 and 2 have identical records against one another, Club 1 has a better record against Club 3 and Club 2 and 3 have identical records against one another, then:

a. The Clubs will be ranked by their overall winning percentage amongst the other Clubs combined. The Club with the highest overall winning percentage in that group chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest overall winning percentage.

They only look at the overall record between the three teams if no team won the season series against both of the other teams.

Thanks, KC!

-Detroit

I've been down on the Angels plenty this season, but it must be pure hell for ChiSox fans right now. I do admit to tuning into Sox games lately just to hear Hawk choke on himself.

A dumb question, but one I can't find the answer to - under the new playoffs, who is the home team for the opening of the divsion series? Is it two games at the lesser team and then three at the better record/division champ?

Dan Haren is a #####.

Messrs. Cespedes, Moss, and Reddick would like to advise the Rangers that all of their chickens have not been hatched, and therefore (at this point) the total number of chickens remains unknowable.

Please don't blow this, Texas.

[37] That is the case for this year only. In 2013, we'll be back to the 2-2-1 format.

A dumb question, but one I can't find the answer to - under the new playoffs, who is the home team for the opening of the divsion series? Is it two games at the lesser team and then three at the better record/division champ?

The "home team" for the division series gets games 1 and 2 on the road, and 3, 4, and 5 of the series at home.

The division series teams are seeded as such:

#1 seed: division winner with best record
#2 seed: division winner with second best record
#3 seed: division winner with worst record
#4 seed: winner of wild card play-in game

The #1 and #2 seeds get home field advantage, and they play the #4 and #3 seed respectively.

Nice, Koji!

I wouldn't un-do that trade, but I do miss that guy.

But he can help the O's plenty where he is for the next week or so.

Aren't the Division Series(es?) set up so that teams from the same division don't play each other in the first round?

#44,

In the past, yes. But not anymore.

Well, that was one mess of a four-game series in Texas, and the main result was that time (on the Rangers' side) elapsed. An ALDS that went like that would give me a coronary, and wouldn't be over yet.

One of the bad things that I can see happen that I remember from the last playoffs that the A's were in vs Yankees is the young pitchers getting squeezed on the strike zone. I hope it doesnt happend again but it drives me nuts that they seem to get screwed like that in games against the big market teams.

And, the vaunted Angels bullpen, with help from the defense, pretty much puts Baltimore into the playoffs.

Finally, some help from the Mariners.

I know that it's over (it's always been over), but dying every other game in this way just... hurts. Just hurts.

it must be pure hell for ChiSox fans right now

It is. Their record against KC is a joke.

And if Ventura keeps IBBing guys like Frenchy in the 9th inning of games, like he did the other night, then he's gotta go.

I'd just like to point out that #23 stone-cold nailed it. Unfortunately.

I know that it's over (it's always been over), but dying every other game in this way just... hurts. Just hurts.

I feel you. But it ain't over. 2 days from now this could be all tied up and then anything can happen.

I'd just like to point out that #23 stone-cold nailed it. Unfortunately.

Nova isn't a question mark! He's bad!

Cano with 3 more hits. I realize the MVP is no longer an option, I just want him to finish with the best numbers possible. And stick to those people railing on him for only being the 3rd best player in the AL.

What in the hell does Fernando Rodney do after he saves a game? What is that?

I thought Rafael Soriano's shirt-untucking was about as silly as it gets. Apparently not.

What in the hell does Fernando Rodney do after he saves a game? What is that?

I thought he was shooting an imaginary arrow in the air.

Fernando Rodney's beard won all the Emmys a few nights ago.

I thought he was shooting an imaginary arrow in the air.

But then he kind of looks at it, and points at it, and discusses it with Carlos Pena, who discusses it back.

The whole thing is bizarre.

I'm pretty sure he doesn't usually discuss it. I think Pena was joking around with him.