2014 MLB Playoffs

It's playoff time in Major League Baseball. Since the adoption of a second wild card team in each league, there's also a greater sense of urgency when the postseason begins because you have only one game to get everything right.

There are a lot of myths surrounding playoff baseball, not the least of which is this idea of momentum. We've seen teams with 85 wins capture a World Series, so how much forward movement did those teams really have?

The MLB playoff bracket may not unify the nation for three weeks like the NCAA tournament bracket does in March, but it still represents one of the most exciting times on the entire sports calendar. 

There is certainly some truth to the idea that pitching wins championships, but a top-flight offense can go a long way in helping a team get that far. Without some offensive firepower, it's awfully hard to reach October to begin with.

With the 10-team postseason field set and things set to kick off Tuesday night with the American League Wild Card Game between the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, postseason baseball has officially arrived here in 2014.

The MLB playoffs have finally arrived after the annual 162-game gauntlet. Four of the 10 teams are in danger of only playing a 163rd game, with MLB's expanded playoffs allowing for a high-stakes, one-game wild-card round.

For those that wish to clear their social schedule in October—and part of November—and devote their attention to America's pastime, knowing the full playoff schedule in advance can be a huge benefit.

What does slogging through a brutal 162-game schedule that spans the entirety of an American summer (and then some) earn you in MLB's expanded-playoff era?

If you're a wild-card team, it earns you the right to play at least one more game. The San Francisco Giants will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game to decide which team moves on to the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals.

The picture of the 2014 MLB playoffs is set—at least for now. Two single-elimination wild-card games are still to be played to determine the final matchups in the divisional series.

If Major League Baseball's postseason means one thing, it's the opportunity to pick the winner of each series and determine ahead of time which team will be crowned World Series champs.

OK, the actual results matter too, but that doesn't make predictions any less fun. Which is why you're inexplicably drawn by the lure of finding out how everything is (possibly maybe perhaps) going to play out, even if Tuesday merely marks the official start of the 2014 playoffs as the Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.

And so it is down to 10. Also, 250. Ten, as in the number of teams left alive as we enter the 2014 MLB postseason. And 250, as in the number of players (give or take) who will step onto the October stage.

Two of those teams and a handful of those players will meet in the World Series in less than a month. Either the American League or National League will prove its supremacy. 

The 162-game regular season is gone. The 2014 MLB playoffs are here. Rejoice baseball fans.

The first two playoff matchups are just around the corner, and the do-or-die atmosphere that comes with a one-game Wild Card Round is sure to make these two contests even more intense.

You're a fan without a nation. 

The 2014 MLB Playoff field is set, and while you mourn your beloved New York Yankees from your home probably nowhere near New York, you need a surrogate team. Well, the Washington Nationals bandwagon is accepting applications, and no other franchise makes a better case for your temporary affection.