NL Central

The Cincinnati Reds secured their third trip to the postseason in three years last night with a late-inning victory and a Washington Nationals loss.

With the St. Louis Cardinals clinging to the NL Central lead, the Pittsburgh Pirates may reluctantly settle for a National League wild-card berth.

While the St. Louis is eyeing its third consecutive postseason appearance, a number of important events dramatically altered the 2013 season.

Most of these events are based on opportunity, while others are wrapped around raw talent. Perhaps the most important is youth, which the Cardinals boast plenty of.

The Cincinnati Reds have had their fair share of ups and downs this season. Many sportswriters (including me) had them taking the NL Central for the second-straight year.

However, this season has been nothing short of a dramatic uphill climb. The best part is that there are still nine extremely important games left as the Reds now sit only two games back of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates seem like they have been within a game of each other all season.

There’s a reason for that—they almost have been.

The idea that neither team can gain any ground is more than a feeling (Boston pun intended).

We can add back-to-back-to-back home runs to the list of amazing things that the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates have accomplished.

To give you an idea of how long it's been since the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a winning campaign, take a minute to soak up the landscape of Major League Baseball all the way back in the summer of 1992.

Among the numerous differences in the sport between then and now, the following stand out:

-Each league featured only two divisions, an East and West.

-Wild cards were not part of the postseason landscape.

For the first time since 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates can call themselves winners.

The most amazing part, at least to me, of the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates rise to prominence—The quick and seismic shift from "The Pirates finally got over .500!" to "The Pirates are World Series contenders!"

Yes, folks, they are.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have endured two decades of losing seasons, but even with plenty of games in hand for the remainder of the 2013 MLB season, that unenviable streak has come to an end.