CUBS, SOX: SEEDING IS BELIEVING
And then there were eight. Eight regular-season games left for the Cubs and the same for the White Sox, with a series between the teams beginning Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field sure to keep everything at a roiling boil.
For a change, the head-to-head drama might be less about rivalry rhetoric and more — much more — about banners and potentially all-important playoff seeding. See, this is the sort of thing that can happen when both teams are — at the same time and everything — pretty dang good. Who knew?
Speaking of eight, that’s how many teams will make the so-called “wild card” round in each league, with higher-seeded teams hosting best-of-three affairs at home ballparks before the winners head off to bubbles in Texas and Southern California. You don’t need us to tell you that any team, anywhere, can win a best-of-three. There will be some upsets. Still, where the Cubs and Sox land in their leagues’ 1-through-8 picture seems like a mighty big deal.
For the Cubs, the week begins as a battle with the National League East-leading Braves for the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds behind the runaway Dodgers. A 2 seed would mean welcoming a third-place opponent to Wrigley Field. A 3 seed would mean hosting a second-place foe.
In the less-cluttered American League, it’s simpler. If the Sox want to be sure to avoid the Yankees in the wild-card round, they must hold off the Twins and break the tape in the Central. A postseason run looks more promising if it begins with the Indians (whom they’ll face four times this week, by the way), Blue Jays or Astros.
Here’s what’s happening: