Rays and Cubbies in Playoffs

Congratulations Rays, you've finally built up enough karma.

Both teams clinched spots in the playoffs yesterday. The Cubs won the NL Central for the second straight season, and the Rays secured at least the Wild Card. Today, the Red Sox could clinch their playoff spot. So how does the playoff picture look? Well, at 2 1/2 games up in their respective divisions, the Rays and White Sox seem to be unless something dramatic (but possible) happens. The Angels are in, and the Red Sox are all but in. In the NL, the Cubs are the only ones "in", but go ahead and count the Dodgers, Phillies, and Mets "in" as well. The thing we don't know is who will win the NL East, but the other should win the Wild Card at this point. If everything stays the same (which in the AL is entirely possible and probable), the Angels will play the Red Sox, and the Rays will play the White Sox. In the NL, the Cubs will play the Wild Card (right now the Mets), and the NL East champ (right now the Phillies -- they're up 1/2 game) will play the Dodgers. The Red Sox-Angels series seems to be a disappointment from the standpoint that I think a lot of people wanted to see that in the ALCS, but I guess you can't always get what you want.