MLB Playoff Shocker? Do we really care?

And who would have ever thought that the Tampa Bay Rays would be in first place? You could pretty much pencil them in for last place every year the same way you could write in the Yankees for the playoffs. And the Red Sox aren't safe yet, either. They're holding onto a thin 2.5 game lead for the wildcard spot over the Minnesota Twins who are only a half game out of their own division lead. So we could conceivably have an AL playoffs without either the Yankees or Red Sox. And ove in the National League, it looks like the playoff bracket will be featuring both the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse must be saddling up right now, ready to ride. Seriously, though, this could be the most underdog-laden baseball playoff in Lord knows how long.

But is that a good thing for baseball? As much as people complain about ESPN's overexposure of the Yankees and the Red Sox, the truth of the matter is that they bring the big ratings. As much as we like to preach about rooting for the underdog and how wonderful it is, we sure don't tune in much when they get their turn in the spotlight. Remember the George mason Final Four run? That only resulted in some of the lowest ratings in recent tournament history. Or check the ratings for tennis once the Williams sisters or Maria Sharapova are eliminated. And we all know that the golf ratings without Tiger are usually lower than when he's in. So if we end up with no Sox or Yankees in the playoffs and a Brewers/Rays World Series, a lot of people will wax poetic about how awesome it is to have nontraditional powers playing for the big prize, but very few of them will actually watch them play the games.

Let's keep it real, people. Yes, we hate all the Yankees/Red Sox love from the networks, but it's not like we'd tune in to watch anyone else. The numbers don't lie even when we do.