Once upon a time, if the team you rooted against finished second, you were happy because they would not go to the World Series. But that was then and this is now. There are now three divisions in each league. The second place team with the best record "wins" the wild card
The Red Sox Led the Yankees by 12 Games
The Red Sox led the Yankees by 12 games on July 5, 2007, but that doesn't mean that the Yankees won't win the pennant. The wild card gives the Yankees the chance to get into the playoffs, and as we all have been told repeatedly, the playoffs are a brand new season.
The Yankees and Giants Won 103 Games
When there were eight teams in each league, fans who pulled against a team had seven teams going for them. A great season ensured nothing. In 1954, the Yankees won 103 games, the most games a Casey Stengel managed team ever won -- and the season consisted of 154, not 162 games. The Yankees finished 8 games behind the Indians. In 1993, the Giants won 103 games and they they finished second to the Braves, who won 104 games. Many have expressed the opinion that the Giants got a raw deal.
The Wild Card Gave the Giants a Chance to Win
Well, let's go to 2002. The Giants finished second to the Diamondbacks in the Western Division but their 95 wins was good enough to make the playoffs. The Giants played the Braves, who had won 101 games, and defeated them in a hardfought five game series. The Giants then beat the Cardinals in the second round of playoffs and met the Angels in the World Series. If it weren't for a Barry Bonds misplay in Game 6 and some poor pitching, the Giants would have won, but the Angels overcame a five run, seventh inning deficit to win Game 6 and went on to win Game 7.
The Yankees are Concerned With the Other Divisions
The race for the wild card really eliminates divisions. The 2007 Yankees are no longer primarily concerned with Eastern Division rival Boston. They are concerned with the Central Division's Tigers and Indians, and with the Western Division's Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's. And that can change daily. The Indians now lead the Tigers by a single game, so today, the Tigers are the Yankees' concern. But if the Tigers overtake the Indians, the Indians become the Yankees' problem. It used to be so simple to root against a team. The wild card makes it an exercise in combinations and permutations.
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