MLB Playoffs

Since making his MLB debut in 2007, Cincinnati Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan has without a doubt been a valuable asset to the Reds organization.

As both a backup catcher and a spot starter, Hanigan has proven himself to be a clutch hitter and a solid defender behind the plate.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has been heralded as a baseball purist. A traditionalist. One who's primary concern has always been and, as he has put it, "will forever remain," the integrity of America's pastime.

Tim Lincecum, on the other hand, is a 26-year-old, two-time Cy Young recipient who sports shoulder-length hair, utilizes what is perhaps the most unconventional pitching delivery in baseball, and has been known to enjoy unwinding late at night.

Bud Selig recently noted that Major League baseball is considering expanding the playoffs to 10 teams in 2012.

The proposed plan would have two wild cards selected from each league. Those two teams would play each other in a one game playoff or a best of three series with the winner advancing to the divisional series which would continue in the same manner as it does today.

Major League Baseball is going to add one wild card to each league next season, which will give teams a better chance of making the playoffs.

Bud Selig, whom sports and political expert George Will has called “baseball’s greatest commissioner,” is right on target, but he does not go far enough.

Commissioner Bud Selig is ready to move towards his goal of expanding the current format of the playoffs from three to four rounds, and from eight teams to ten (five in each league). 

On Thursday, Selig had this to say to the Associated Press, "I would say we're moving to expanding the playoffs, but there's a myriad of details to work out, 10 is a fair number."

Playoff expansion has its pros and cons.

I think it is obvious that including more teams (within reason) would be beneficial for the game. The more teams that make the playoffs, the more revenue there would be for teams and more baseball for fans.

But it's equally obvious that there are pitfalls, such as extending play deeper into the cold and rainy months of October and November.

Recently today, news broke that Commissioner Bud Selig is looking to expand the MLB playoffs from eight teams to 10. This, as you would imagine, brings some new twists to the 2012 postseason.

Bud Selig said on Thursday in his annual meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors that he expects the MLB playoffs to be expanded to 10 teams starting in 2012.

Let me first start off by saying I love the expanding the playoffs in the MLB idea.

The season is only 10 percent over, give or take depending on the the number of games each team has played. Hardly a milestone moment that allows early returns to hold any significance.

But it does offer a little more of a view than preseason predictions, does it not? Predictions that I did not make.

Thus, in election night coverage style, I will look at the early returns and make projections. These are the teams I forecast as winning the races for the eight playoff spots in order of record:

Ahh, the sweet smell of April.

The only time of year where Indians and Mariners fans have the same amount of hope as Yankees and Phillies fans. That is because April is a time for a fresh start and a new beginning. One hundred and two years without a World Championship for the Cubs and 18 straight losing seasons for the Pirates mean nothing right now, because every team has a chance.

But right now, only one series through the season, I am predicting the 8 teams that I believe are postseason bound.

Some are obvious and some will surprise a lot of people.