Written by Pablo Figueroa at Sporting Charts
After six months of regular season baseball, we are down to only 10 teams and a month to determine the 2015 World Series champion. And yet, in a matter of two days that select list will be reduced to two squads following the winner-take-all Wild Card games in each league. Even as this format is still controversial and a bit cruel, there is no way to deny that the drama of each game is riveting and a great start to the postseason, as we get to see a couple of Game 7-like vibe from the teams trying to advance to the real playoffs.
2015 will be just the fourth year under this format, which has already produced its share of memorable moments. Home teams are 2-4 in Wild Card games, with a -14 run differential. Out of the six teams that have advanced from the Wild Card to the Division Series, three lost promptly, one more advanced to the Championship Series (2012 Cardinals), and two made the World Series. Of course, those two came in 2014, when the Royals first defeated the A’s in one of the most dramatic games in recent memory, and then the Giants shut out the Pirates in the game that started the legend ofMadison Bumgarner.
After San Francisco won it all last season, could one of our current 4 wild cards go all the way? That may be too early to tell, as it all begins with two must-watch contests that seem compelling and very evenly matched. While every playoff series deserves a detailed analysis of team-wide stats and trends, the Wild Card round provides the benefit of focusing on a single game and make a quick prediction while prioritizing the probable starting pitchers.
Today we begin our 2015 playoff coverage with our analysis and picks for the Wild Card round. By the way, the end of the season made my preseason over/under picks go 16-14, 10-5 in the National League and 6-9 in the American League, so let’s hope the playoff predictions go a little bit better.
To continue reading this article, click here.
