The Pirates won 98 games this season, but failed to collect a victory in their 163rd game of 2015 and are now eliminated from the postseason. The Mets, meanwhile, dodged a bullet.
Not to take anything away from what New York has accomplished this season, but if the MLB would learn from the NBA, a league that said to hell with division records, and changed its playoff format, things could be different.
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The Pirates (98-64) had the second-best record in all of baseball this season, but due to the rules, they ran into the Cubs (97-65) and unworldly pitcher Jake Arrieta, and now they're awaiting the 2016 season to begin.
Pittsburgh was predictably blanked by Arrieta, 4-0, in what was their third straight Wild Card Game. A lot of people don't have sympathy for the Pirates and believe that they should have just won the division, but when the Cardinals (100-62) present a constant barrier, that's easier said than done.
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The Mets (90-72) had a tremendous surprise season, but they have the worst record out of any of the NL playoff teams. The Amazin's open up against the Dodgers (92-70) in Los Angeles Friday.
Many Pirates fans woke up Thursday feeling exactly like Sean Rodriguez did during the bench-clearing incident in the Wild Card Game.
Take nothing away from the Mets, they had an incredible season, but it's enough with the divisions already. The playoff format has been revitalized with the wild card play-in games, but the seeding shouldn't rely so heavily on the division leaders.
Some may say it's tradition, something that baseball is built on, but the fact that interleague is played with regularity these days shows that things are changing. Rather than focus on winning the division, the new format would be an every club for itself free-for-all that would focus more on beating everybody out for the best record in baseball, rather than just winning your division.
If that was applied to the playoffs in 2015 based on merit, the Dodgers and Mets (which should be a tremendous series) would be a one-game playoff, likely featuring Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom against Clayton Kershaw, with the winner heading to St. Louis for the NLDS. The Cubs and Pirates, who almost killed each other Wednesday night, would then play what would be an exciting, if dangerous best-of-five NLDS series.
Buctober should have lasted longer, but the Mets may take advantage of another miracle -- a flawed system.
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