“Wild” Wild Card Scenario

I do have a “wild” scenario in the crazy (one more wild and we will have to call Robert Conrad) American League wild card race.

Before getting to that and skipping my usual statement of how I intensely dislike the wild card in baseball, let’s give the Yankees and particularly their manager, Joe Girardi much credit. They have battled many injuries to key players and stayed in playoffs contention.

Of course it is the bad play of the Tampa Rays (13 losses in 17 games) which has given hope to the Yankees and others in the playoffs race.

In my September 2nd “American League update,” I “warned” about the “bad karma” associated with Rays’ manager Joe Maddon’s failure to bring a left handed pitcher in to face the near great, David Ortiz in game 5 of the 2008 ALCS.

At that point, the Rays’ slump had started but I was “ahead of the curve” in anticipating this team’s malaise and possible “doomed” fate.

Now perhaps getting “greedy” in the “soothsaying business,” I predict this wild (there is that word!) scenario.

The Houston Astros, with the worst record in baseball, will win at least one key game from the Yankees in their regular season finale series and keep the Yankees out of the ‘offs for just the second time in 20 years (only in 2008 have they failed since failing in 1993) and in 19 completed baseball seasons (1995-2013).