A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It's the final weekend of Major League Baseball's regular season. And with only three games to go, some postseason questions still need answers. So to look ahead, we called Chelsea Janes. She's the national baseball writer at The Washington Post. Chelsea, let's start with the American League Central division. The Tigers have been in first place pretty much the entire season and in control, but now Cleveland has caught them. What happened?
CHELSEA JANES: Many things happened. This would be the biggest collapse, I think, in baseball history, you know, with a team that built a lead that big and lost it. So a lot went wrong. The main thing that went wrong is they stopped being able to pitch well. This is a team that had a comeback much like Cleveland's last year at this time. They were the magic team, you know, the dolls of the league. And this year, they just didn't have the pitching. Everyone who was good last year got hurt, and they just haven't been able to recover. So they have three games now to try to forestall what would be the biggest collapse, basically, of the modern baseball era.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, the Tigers are in Boston this weekend. The Guardians host the Texas Rangers, and Houston is one game back of the Tigers in the AL Wild Card Race. So the Tigers could completely miss the postseason. How unbelievable would that be?
JANES: It would be unthinkable, truly, and something that I think would be a part of their history for a very long time and fresh in their minds for the foreseeable future.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. OK, American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, they're tied for first right now. Does it matter which one of those teams winds up in first?
JANES: It does. I think the Blue Jays need, for their minds and the minds of their fans, to hold onto that lead. It secures them a bye so they wouldn't have to play a quick first round series where anything can happen. But they're a team that has fought and looked like they could win that division for many years. They haven't done it the last few. So to hold on, or better put, to lose it now I think would be pretty devastating to them. That's a team that needs confidence, and I think holding on these last three days would go a long way in reminding them that they belong here.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And I'm sure MLB would love to have the Yankees on TV as often as possible.
JANES: Exactly.
MARTÍNEZ: Playing the first round series. Right, yeah, there you go.
JANES: Exactly.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. All right, so the National League. The division races are settled. It's the Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers. But the Wild Card, the last Wild Card spot, three-team battle. It's the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks. Who's got the best chance to get in?
JANES: The Mets should have the best chance to get it. They've spent a historic amount on this roster, over 300 million, near 350 million. They've got talent. They've got Hall of Famers. So really, they shouldn't be here at all. So they should make it, but that's not how baseball works. So the Reds are a team that's been not playing very well, but they're hanging around. And the Diamondbacks have a little bit of momentum. I think the Mets have the most talent, but they're for some reason here. And they're really anxious, so that always plays in and makes it harder to kind of finish things off.
MARTÍNEZ: So who do you think will be squaring off in the World Series? And part of the correct answer is the Dodgers.
JANES: (Laughter) You know, the Dodgers are hard to bet against. They're a little beat up right now. They don't have the bullpen they had that helped them last year. I think the Phillies are probably the most well-rounded team. And if I had to pick a team in the American League, I think the Seattle Mariners have some really good feel to them.
MARTÍNEZ: Ooh.
JANES: A really good, well-rounded roster. But I think the Dodgers and the Phillies are by far the best teams. And it'll just depend on which one beats the other in the first round, unfortunately (laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: Mariners are a very good choice, Chelsea, because they do have the pitching.
JANES: Yes.
MARTÍNEZ: If they are at home, that's a pitcher's ballpark, so they can make a deep, deep run.
JANES: Absolutely.
MARTÍNEZ: Really quick. I want to just quickly, a few seconds. Next year, robot umpires will be making some calls. What do you think that's going to look like?
JANES: I think it's going to be a change that we think a lot about at the beginning and then forget about by the end.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
JANES: But I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, that's Chelsea Janes, national baseball writer from The Washington Post. Chelsea, thanks.
JANES: Thank you.
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