Good morning! As Matt lays out today, there is a very slight possibility that the Red Sox fall to the third Wild Card slot, thus avoiding the first round Yankees matchup that has seemed all but inevitable for weeks now. Instead of Yankee Stadium, the Sox would head out west to face either the Rangers or the Astros, one of whom will win the division, quite possibly with a losing record. Moreover, falling to the third seed would likely mean facing either the White Sox or the Guardians in the divisional
round, as opposed to getting the fifth seed and facing the Rays. There really is no question: the sixth seed presents the easier path to the World Series.
But you know what? I want the Yankees. I always want the Yankees. Baseball is better when the Red Sox and Yankees are playing each other. And that applies not just to TV executives, but to the fans of the respective teams. It’s fun! It’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen the Yankees on the schedule and felt any sort of trepidation. Now, I see them on the schedule and I get pumped for what I hope will be yet another memorable chapter of the rivalry. And, frankly, while being bounced from the playoffs by the Yankees would certainly sting, I’m not sure it would feel any better to get bounced by the first under-.500 playoff team in history, either.
So who do you want: the Yankees, or whatever crap team comes out of the west?
Use this space to talk about playoff matchups and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.
