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There’s the slightest of chills creeping into the air, football is once again dominating Sundays and, at least in a few American League cities, the tension of a Wild Card race inserts itself into everyday living. 

The MLB postseason is nearly upon us, folks.

While things are largely settled in the National League—all that’s left to do is sort seeding and which team will host the Wild Card game, the Pittsburgh Pirates or Cincinnati Reds—the American League still has three teams, the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, all fighting for two Wild Card spots. 

The Pirates are currently two games up on the Reds, and seeing as the teams are ending the season playing one another in a three-game series, the Reds still have a chance to earn the Wild Card. One win for the Pirates, however, and PNC Park will host the Wild Card. 

In the American League, the Rays and Indians are tied at 90-70, with the Rangers a game back at 89-71. All three teams have relatively manageable games to close the season—the Rays finish against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Indians face the Minnesota Twins and the Rangers take on the Los Angeles Angels. 

If the current standings hold, the Boston Red Sox will hold the top seed in the American League and will face the winner of the Wild Card game. Ditto for the Atlanta Braves in the National League (who are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals at 95-65 but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker).

That would set up the other ALDS as the Oakland Athletics versus the Detroit Tigers and the NLDS as the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Cardinals. 

Excited yet? Of course you are. With just two games remaining, an American League Wild Card race still up for grabs and divisional rivals contesting the National League’s Wild Card, you can practically taste the October baseball.

Schedule (via MLB.com)

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The 2013 MLB postseason kicks off this coming Tuesday with the NL Wild Card Game, with the AL Wild Card Game the following day before getting into full swing on Thursday.

The AL wild-card picture has yet to be sorted out, and there could still be some movement as far as seeding is concerned in each league, but for the most part the postseason picture has already taken shape.

As such, here is a look at my complete predictions for the 2013 MLB playoffs from the Wild Card Round all the way through the World Series.

*Just for giggles, here is a link to my postseason predictions from back in early August, and not to brag (I’m absolutely bragging), but I picked all 10 postseason teams right as long as things hold up how they stand today.

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A 7-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night assured the St. Louis Cardinals of an NL Central title, their first since 2009.

Despite dominating for most of the regular season, they face a whole new set of challenges in their pursuit of the 2013 World Series Championship.

Here are three reasons why St. Louis may succumb to an early playoff exit.

Allen Craig’s Absence

It was a bittersweet day for the Cards considering their announcement regarding Allen Craig.

Still bothered by a foot injury, general manager John Mozeliak has ruled out the star run producer for the upcoming NLDS, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There’s also doubt about Craig’s availability should St. Louis advance to the NLCS. He hasn’t played since Sept. 4.

In 134 games this summer, the California native boasts a .315/.373/.457 batting line with a team-best 97 runs batted in. He’s most valuable when at the plate with runners in scoring position. Craig has a jaw-dropping 1.138 OPS through 152 plate appearances in those situations.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Matt Adams is receiving increased playing time. He has started 18 of 21 games since Craig went down with the injury, flourishing with a .325 batting average and six home runs in that span.

Unlike the All-Star he’s replacing, however, Adams lacks the athleticism to occupy a corner outfield spot. He also struggles against left-handed pitching, whereas Craig was effective regardless of whether or not he had the platoon advantage.

Uncertainty at Closer

St. Louis opened 2013 without much confidence in its ninth-inning options. Six months later, the same statement applies.

Edward Mujica was largely effective in the interim, but he has admittedly been dealing with fatigue lately, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Notice how his performance has deteriorated in September:

Trevor Rosenthal is next in the pecking order.

The flamethrower recorded the final out on Friday to clinch the division, and unlike Mujica, he isn’t reliant on balls in play. In fact, his 108 strikeouts this season rank third among MLB relievers, according to FanGraphs, behind only Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen.

Even so, he’s not an ideal candidate to save games. There have been two recent appearances—Aug. 10 and Sept. 16—in which Rosenthal surrendered three or more earned runs despite less than an inning of work. Those implosions cannot happen in October.

While the Birds undoubtedly benefit from great bullpen depth, they won’t make that trip to the White House unless somebody suddenly solidifies the all-important closer’s role.

Clayton Kershaw

The Los Angeles Dodgers are locked into the No. 3 NL playoff seed. That means this club will likely oppose them in the NLDS. The Atlanta Braves hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals as a result of winning their head-to-head series, and they both enter Saturday with 95-65 records.

Kershaw, the best pitcher on the planet, is projected to start Game 1 of the matchup on regular rest, so he’ll also be available for a potential winner-take-all Game 5. In case you’re unfamiliar, the left-handed workhorse has started his career on a historically significant pace, and he’s peaking right now (1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP in 236.0 IP in 2013).

The Cards have faced him only once during the past 14 months (Aug. 6 at Busch Stadium). Neither Adams nor Yadier Molina started that evening. It’s obviously a problem when two of your middle-of-the-order hitters aren’t well acquainted with the opposition’s superstar.

Just like in 2006 and 2011, this proud franchise has slim-yet-realistic odds of overcoming adversity and raising another championship banner.

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No young MLB prospect is more intriguing than Billy Hamilton, who in a month has gone from struggling in Triple-A to becoming a huge asset to the Cincinnati Reds. The playoff-bound Reds need more of the same come October for a World Series run.

The 23-year-old was brought up for his world-class speed more so than his production at the plate—he was batting .256 for Triple-A affiliate Louisville upon being called up on Sept. 2. 

However, that didn’t stop Hamilton from breaking out when he donned the big “C” on his hat. 

Through 11 appearances, Hamilton has made just two starts but has notched a .429 batting average and has reached base in seven of his 14 at-bats. 

By the time he started his first MLB game on Sept. 18, Hamilton had scored four times through pinch-running despite having not garnered a single hit. That changed quickly, as he went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in his first game as a starter.

Obviously, that’s a small sample size. But here’s what is important: 13 stolen base attempts, 13 stolen bases. He’s stolen a base in nine of the 11 games in which he’s appeared.    

Think that’s a fluke? Let me direct you to the below video, which shows Hamilton stealing four bases in one game—Cincinnati’s Sept. 18 contest against the Houston Astros.

Hamilton’s speed is truly something you have to see to believe. 

You can’t put too much in his batting average. Still, while his bat may still need time to develop and isn’t ready for three at-bats a game, his legs are one of the most dangerous assets on the Cincinnati roster.

In fact, Hamilton’s speed made him an urban legend before even stepping on a major league field, shattering the minor league stolen-bases record that had remained for nearly 30 years. It’s obviously paid off in the diamond, given his perfect record thus far. 

We’ve seen how valuable an unstoppable baserunner can be in the MLB playoffs. Case in point came in the historic 2004 American League Championship Series, when Boston Red Sox runner Dave Roberts almost single-handedly kept Boston’s cause alive with his stolen base. 

Having a speedster on the bags gives pitchers even more of a headache than they already have, and impose mismatches in fielding situations. 

When the game is on the line in the playoffs and a team needs a game-tying run, the last thing it wants is for its slowest slugger out on first base. 

While roster spots on the 25-man lineup may be hard to acquire, manager Dusty Baker must use his vast experience in the game to realize the value Hamilton brings to his team and the added danger it poses for opponents.

If the right scenario presents itself, Hamilton could end up deciding the Reds’ season. And considering he does what he does—run fast—better than nearly anyone else in the game, that bodes well for Cincinnati. 

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With the MLB playoff picture finally taking shape in the last week of the regular season, three teams are getting hot at just the right time. The Oakland Athletics have won their past five games, and have locked up the AL West. The Tampa Bay Rays are fresh off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, and the Cincinnati Reds have won seven of their past nine games.  

Both the A’s and the Reds have locked up playoff spots for a second consecutive year, and are using superb pitching and timely hitting to carry them into October. Tampa Bay currently has a one-game lead in the AL Wild Card and will need to keep playing at a high level to clinch a playoff berth.

The Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds are all teams streaking at the right time of the year. Here’s why they will make their presence felt in the postseason.

Oakland Athletics

Does any team get less respect than the Oakland A’s? Heading into the season, Oakland was a consensus pick to finish third in the AL west behind the Angels and Rangers. Not only has Oakland won the division for a second consecutive year, it is currently one game behind the Red Sox for the best record in the AL.

The A’s are led by 3B Josh Donaldson who is having his best year in the big leagues. As of Sept 23 Donaldson is batting .307 with 24 home runs and 92 RBI’s, which leads the team.

Pitcher Bartolo Colon has resurrected his career in Oakland in this season. He leads the AL with an ERA of 2.64 and has been the ace the pitching staff has needed in years past. The A’s will need him to continue this success in the postseason going toe-to-toe with some of the leagues best such as John Lackey, David Price and Max Scherzer.

What makes the A’s even more impressive is their payroll. “Billy Ball”, better known as Moneyball has been a staple in Oakland and currently the A’s have the fourth lowest payroll in baseball.  

2013 looks to be the best chance for Billy Beane to win his elusive first World Series. But the A’s will have their work cut out for them, and will need big time pitching and clutch hitting to get there.

Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay had its best series of the season this past week sweeping the Orioles and solidifying itself as a legitimate playoff team. The Rays are 9-3 in their last 12 games, and head to New York to face the Yankees in another huge series this week.

The Rays haven’t had the most consistent year, going through numerous ups and downs. In July, Tampa won 21 of 26 and looked like it was going to run away with the Wild Card. However in August the team lost 15 of its 25 games and found itself in a heated race for the final Wild Card spot.

But the Rays have found their stride late in the season. The turning point was last week, beating Baltimore 5-4 in 18 innings, which set the tone for the rest of the series. While the Rays don’t have a batter hitting above .300 this season, they have found a way to string together wins, putting up just enough runs for the pitching to take care of the rest.

Moving forward, the Rays are going to be relying on starting pitchers Matt Moore and David Price to go deep into games and shut down the lineups of Boston and Detroit. Moore and Price are more than capable of pitching at an extremely high level, but will have to trust closer Fernando Rodney to close out games, which has been a bit of question mark this season (eight blown saves).

The Rays will look to lock up their playoff berth this week, and if they do, they are a team to watch for because of their ability to win games in bunches and use dominant pitching and consistent hitting to do so.

Cincinnati Reds

The NL Central is the toughest division in baseball. Currently with three playoffs teams, the Reds are making back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1975-76. Cincinnati is led by the powerful bats of 1B Joey Votto, RF Jay Bruce and 2B Brandon Phillips. Bruce and Phillips both have over 100 RBI’s with 107 and 102 respectively, while Votto Leads the way with 24 home runs.

While the Reds have some of the best bats in the game, they have relied on pitching this year to win more than a handful of games. The Reds have four pitchers who have an ERA under 3.61. Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter earlier in the year and has some of the best stuff in baseball. And Bronson Arroyo is a very solid number two arm.

Closer Aroldis Chapman is the name that every body knows. He has 38 saves to only five blown saves and multiple times this year has been clocked at 104 mph on his fastball. The postseason is predicating on pitching, and the Reds have some of the best in the business. 

The Reds have locked up a playoff spot and are currently chasing St. Louis for the division title. The Reds and the Pirates are both sitting two games back of the Cardinals and the division crown will come down to the final game of the season.   

The Reds host the Pirates this weekend—a game which will decide who has home field for the Wild Card game, assuming St. Louis wins the division. Look for the Reds to go deep into the postseason relying on their big bats and masterful pitching. 

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With one week to go in the MLB season, the playoffs continue to take shape.

While things could still change, there are eight teams who are basically locks to make it. The only playoff spots left to be decided are in the AL Wild Card.

With that said, it’s time to predict how things will turn out.

This list will look at each team I think will make the playoffs, and what their final standing will be when all is said and done.

Here are the final predictions for all 10 playoff teams.

Note: Just so there are no surprises for readers, the 10 teams that will be in the playoffs will be the Red Sox, Tigers, Athletics, Indians, Rays, Braves, Cardinals, Pirates, Reds and Dodgers.

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It’s not official yet, but the careers of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, much like the former Yankee Stadium, will come to a close on a note as anticlimatic as can be. For only the second time in the wild-card era, the New York Yankees will not make the postseason.

Every team goes through its highs and lows, some longer than others, and the Yankees have dominated baseball since the 1994 strike: 17 playoff appearances in 19 seasons, 13 American League East division titles, seven American League pennants and five World Series championships.

But as inevitable as a decline was, the Yankees can only blame themselves for missing the playoffs this year; the front office made horrible moves in the offseason and the team blew a huge chance to get back in the playoff picture. Yes, the Yanks were cursed with injuries this year, but if they made the right moves and built on the momentum they had a few weeks ago they’d be looking at a playoff berth.

Going into the offseason already knowing Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez would be out for a long period of time, GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees staff had upgrades to the left side of the infield at the very top of their wish list. As Russell Martin was a free agent and the Yankees’ top catching prospects were not ready at the time, they also needed help behind the dish.

Cashman had to act on a predetermined budget from the Steinbrenner brothers, as they wanted to cut payroll to $189 million for the 2014 season. With their options limited, they decided to go with Eduardo Nunez (career .683 OPS in 783 plate appearances) and paid Kevin Youkilis $12 million as well as spending $2 million for Travis Hafner. Both players had an extensive injury history.

In the outfield, they decided to bring back a 39-year-old Ichiro, giving him $13 million for two years. They let Martin walk and sign with Pittsburgh for a reasonable two-year deal worth $17 million. Instead of responding by signing another free agent catcher like Mike Napoli, A.J. Pierzynski or David Ross, they decided to go into the season having Francisco Cervelli and journeyman Chris Stewart share the duties.

When spring training hit, more disaster occurred.

CF Curtis Granderson and 1B Mark Teixeira suffered freak injuries and were put on the disabled list for the first few months of the year. Desperate, the Yankees signed Lyle Overbay to play first and traded for washed-up OF Vernon Wells, having to pay the latter $14 million until the end of 2014, a move I absolutely ripped to shreds the moment it happened.

Thanks to a plague of injuries and horrible moves by Cashman, the Yankees began the season with only Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner as returning starters and potential black holes at catcher, 1B, SS, 3B, LF, and RF, and DH, probably their worst lineup in 20 years. But the team played very well through the first two months of the year, starting 30-18 thanks to stellar pitching and timely hitting.

That didn’t last long, as Wells and Overbay predictably turned into pumpkins and Youkilis and Hafner got hurt and missed pretty much all of the second half. Surprisingly, even CC Sabathia struggled this season. At the deadline, the Yankees brought back Alfonso Soriano, and he was arguably the biggest reason why the Yankees didn’t fall out of the chase.

After hitting rock bottom in Chicago, the Yankees were only one game over .500 and seven games out of a playoff spot. Still, they proved resilient, as they went off on a 22-12 run, capped by a 3-1 series victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards to climb within a single game of the wild-card spot. However, they were unable to build on that momentum, losing three out of four at home against the Red Sox in the most excruciating way possible two weeks ago, getting swept at Fenway last week, and losing two out of three to the woeful Blue Jays this week, all but killing their chances of baseball in October.

Despite all the injuries, underachieving by Sabathia and others and awful signings like Wells and Hafner, the Yankees still had a chance this season, especially this month. They blew it, not because they weren’t good enough, but because they underachieved and were poorly prepared to begin with.

The blame not only goes on the players, but also the front office for making poor moves in the winter.

Instead of sticking to the budget and making smart moves like bringing back Russell Martin, getting AJ Pierzynski on a reasonable deal or bringing in a Nate Schierholtz, they went with putting out Chris Stewart as the everyday catcher, acquired aged names like Vernon Wells and Ichiro and even overpaid an injury-prone Kevin Youkilis.

That’s why they’re missing the playoffs, not the injuries.  And even when they had a chance to get in position for the wild card, they lost key games.

As for the future, don’t get me started.

The Yankees’ farm system is dryer than the Sahara. Despite Cashman‘s commitment to it since 2005, the Yankees have failed to develop legitimate players that are contributing to this squad or likely will in the future. Any players who look promising, like Joba Chamberlain or Dellin Betances, become busts.

It’s a sad situation. Because of this, the Yankees could end up being mediocre-to-bad for several years, at least until they either get sold to an owner who wants to spend money to win or the next “Core Four” show up and a competent general manager puts the right pieces around them.

The Yankees problems are rooted in the front office, and these problems will affect the team’s play this year and beyond.

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The NL West has been clinched. The Los Angeles Dodgers have secured their first postseason berth since 2009.

Pop the champagne! Jump in the Diamondbacks’ pool!

Thursday’s thorough celebration was a well-deserved one. It’s been an elevator ride of a season, and for the once-last-place Dodgers to make the playoffs after spiraling out of control in dead last in May is remarkable.

However, it’s only the beginning of the journey. In fact, it’s not even the beginning of the journey, but merely an affirmation that the journey will take place.

The Dodgers have a long road ahead of them as the leaves begin to redden and fall begins to run its course.

The Boys of Summer better zip up their windbreakers because October is an unrelenting month.

It all comes down to this.

NLDS

Having notched the NL West, the Dodgers are guaranteed a spot in the postseason; however, their seed number is still up in the air.

If the regular season were to end today, the Blue Crew would be the No. 3 seed in the National League and would play the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, with home-field advantage going to the Cardinals.

Nonetheless, with eight games remaining in the season and the Dodgers only two games behind the Cardinals and 3.5 games behind the NL-leading Atlanta Braves, there are a variety of possibilities that could play out.

To close out the season, the Dodgers will play the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants in a road trip and then culminate with a series against the Colorado Rockies in Dodger Stadium.

Based upon their performance against these NL West foes this season, the Dodgers will pull off a pair of wins from the Padres, win one of three games in San Francisco, and win at least two out of three against the Rockies.

That would nudge the Dodgers’ record to 93-69, which wouldn’t push them past either the Braves (91-62)—who will cruise past the Cubs (64-90), Brewers (68-85) and Phillies (71-82)—or the Cardinals (90-64), who should manage to pull off five wins out of their final eight games against the Brewers (68-85), Nationals (83-71) and Cubs (64-90).

In that scenario, the Dodgers will head to St. Louis to play the first two games of the NLDS. It may seem daunting to open the postseason on the road, but the Dodgers have the confidence of winning a series at Busch Stadium earlier in the season under their belt.

Both Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, the Dodgers’ respective No. 1 and 2 starters, have fared well on the road this season and will be able to nab at least one win in St. Louis, which will allow the Dodgers to close out the best-of-five series in Los Angeles.

Although the Cardinals are battle-tested in the playoffs, they are without ace Chris Carpenter, which leaves a void in their rotation. Rookie ace Shelby Miller has impressed this season, but he didn’t awe the Dodgers, who hit .296 off him.

NLCS

This is where it would get tricky for the Dodgers. If they do indeed make it past the Cardinals in the NLDS, they’re in for a hard-fought series in the NLCS.

As it stands right now, the Pirates and Reds will square off in a one-game wild-card playoff to face the Braves, who will likely sweep either team.

The Dodgers haven’t had much success against the Braves this season (2-5), but those games were all played in the first half of the season when the Dodgers were a far cry from the team they have molded into.

Regardless of the applicability of the outcome of their head-to-head matchups, the Braves will be a tough team for the Dodgers to face in the NLCS.

Not only are they a well-rounded team, but they have two vital tools that will likely propel them to an NCLS title: pitching and power-hitting.

The Braves’ pitching staff ranks first in MLB in ERA (3.20), and their batting order is tied for the fourth-most home runs in baseball (174).

Nevertheless, the Dodgers are a formidable opponent for the Braves. While Atlanta boasts impressive stats, the Boys in Blue have some encouraging statistics of their own.

The Dodgers only slightly trail the Braves in team ERA (3.33, third), and while they don’t quite stack up to the Braves in the quintessential power-hitting stat (131 HR, 24th), they trump them in batting average (.266, sixth; Braves: .248, 21st).

Beyond the numbers, both teams are starving for a deep postseason berth. The Braves have a chip on their shoulder after losing the NL wild-card game last year. It goes without saying that the Dodgers are famished for postseason fortune with a 25-year World Series drought thrusting them toward the trough.

It’ll be a back-and-forth battle, more than likely decided in seven games, with pitching being the decisive factor.

World Series

If the Dodgers manage to emerge victorious from a strenuous NLCS, they’ll head to their first World Series since 1988, a season that also marks the franchise’s last World Series victory.

There are a bevy of talented teams in the American League that will be serious World Series contenders, from the Oakland A’s to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The general sentiment from many is that the Boston Red Sox, who don the best record in the MLB at 94-61, will be World Series-bound for the first time in six years after missing the playoffs in four straight seasons.

While that yielded a convenient “potential World Series preview” when the Sox came to Chavez Ravine in August for a three-game series, which they won two games to one, they’re not headed to the Series.

Two reasons: 1) Barring Jake Peavy, their starters are unreliable; 2) Their bullpen, particular the back end, is shaky.

The other reason: the Detroit Tigers.

The Red Sox are an incredibly talented team led by veteran designated hitter David Ortiz and gritty second baseman Dustin Pedroia, but the Tigers are a stronger team at the dish and have the starting pitching to exceed the Sox.

Spearheaded by Miguel Cabrera and aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Tigers have been incrementally trending towards a World Series title for the past three seasons.

In 2011, they reached their first ALCS in five years during their first playoff run in as many years, and last season they followed it up by making it to the World Series.

In order to win the World Series against the Tigers, the Dodgers would have to play premium baseball on every pitch.

With veteran leader Torii Hunter thriving in Detroit to add to a heavy-slugging lineup that includes Prince Fielder and last year’s Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers are prepared more than ever to win the Series.

Although the Tigers have home-field advantage due to the AL’s victory in this year’s All-Star Game, the Dodgers can’t be dismissed as an unworthy opponent.

Much like the Tigers, the Dodgers have the bats to win the World Series, particularly with a healthy Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in the lineup to complement Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig.

With the highest payroll in MLB history, the Dodgers—from the front office to the dugout—have harbored the mantra “World Series or bust.”

That mindset, coupled with their widely displayed genuine team chemistry, may just propel this team to achieve its goal, regardless of which opponent stands in its way.

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At 93-61, the Boston Red Sox are steamrolling the American League, guaranteed a spot in the postseason and likely headed for the top seed in the league.

When October arrives, expect Boston to take on the winner of the six-team wild-card bonanza currently taking place in the American League. Assuming Boston does hold on to the top spot in eh AL, it will be taking on an opponent that expended energy throughout September just to reach the Division Series.

Will the Red Sox take advantage and move on to the American League Championship Series? If they do, they’ll reach that juncture after beating one of the following clubs: Tampa Bay, Texas, Cleveland, Kansas City, Baltimore or New York.

The following is a breakdown of Red Sox’s potential opponents, starting with the team they would most like to see in October and counting down to the wild-card contender they should hope to avoid.

*All statistics and records valid through the start of play on September 20. The author is predicting Boston holds on to the top spot, with Detroit and Oakland winning the other divisions, which is why they are not included.

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The MLB regular season wraps up at the end of the month, but with just those two weeks of games left, there are still 15 teams in the running for a postseason spot.

For some teams, the final two weeks will mean jockeying for seeding and playing for home-field advantage. For others, it means fighting for their postseason lives, as every game between now and the end of the season is incredibly important.

So with two weeks to go, here is a look at where each team currently registers on the panic meter (1-10), based upon their remaining schedule, current place in the standings and injuries and roster decisions that they still have to make.

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