They haven't played like it lately and they still need to clinch their Wild Card spot, but the Boston Red Sox are a playoff team. In all likelihood, they'll face the New York Yankees for three games in the Bronx in a rematch of last season's October-opening series.
Whoever wins that American League Wild Card series will go on to face the other divsion rival in the race, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the ALDS. That means only one of the three best teams in the AL will make the ALCS, which is, frankly, unacceptable.
The Rays, Yankees and Red Sox have run the AL since Boston's July and August hot streak that shot it into relevance. Since then, no other team has approached the second Wild Card spot, let alone first or second place in the league. Yet, an underwhelming team could face the Sox, Yankees or Rays in the ALDS with a chance to make the World Series.
There have long been flaws in MLB's playoff format but this season highlights them more than ever, particularly on the AL side. Before games on September 17, there is only one Wild Card hopeful with a record of .500 or more, the Texas Rangers. The Houston Astros, who lead the AL West and hold the tie breaker over the Rangers, also have a .500 record — that's a worse record than the Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox, but the Astros automatically get higher seeding (subscription required).
MLB's seeding system is the main issue with the playoff format, although there are others, like having too many playoff teams in the first place. Division title holders are given the one, two and three seeds, ordered by record, on their respective sides of the bracket.
Red Sox, Yankees and Rays have high chances of being screwed out of earned playoff glory due to MLB's flawed bracket format
The issue there is that not all divisions are created equal. The AL East is one of the most hotly competitive divisions in baseball year in and year out, but teams with worse records than AL East clubs (and others in different divisions) consistently make the postseason due to the seeding system. The Baltimore Orioles, the last-place team in the AL East, have one less win than the Astros and Rangers, who lead their division.
The postseason should be seeded by record and not by division standing. Some fans will argue that format devalues divisions entirely, but teams play around 52 in-division games per year, and those wins still matter in a seeding system done by record — consistently winning divisional matchups is the mark of a good team. Every division winner can still make the playoffs in a system organized by record, but a 76-76 team would be seeded lower than an 82-70 team.
Baseball is a game of luck in many ways. Any team can get hot for three-to-five games to beat a higher-seeded team that should've gone farther in in the postseason. Sometimes, that's just the way things shake out, but there shouldn't be any scenario where two of the three best teams in a division are certain to be eliminated before the semifinals.
This isn't a complaint about how difficult the Red Sox's path through the postseason will be, though it will be percieved as such by some. But there is something unjust about better performing clubs getting eliminated earlier because of a recently-changed playoff format. It also makes for a worse product all around, but especially in the later rounds of the playoffs when .500 or under teams can be exposed by good ones when the best of the best are supposed to be playing each other.
Teams that win more should be rewarded for their efforts when the postseason comes. If an underdog team goes on a run and eliminates two higher-seeded clubs in a merit-based seeding system, it makes for a great story and great TV. But the Astros, or whichever team wins the AL West, haven't earned a higher seed than the Red Sox, Yankees or White Sox based on their regular season play. The playoffs should reflect that.
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