Column: A season like no other gets playoffs like no other

The playoffs are here, and there’s no better way to start than by throwing out the first ball Tuesday in Minnesota with the cheating Astros and their 29-31 record.

It’s entirely possible, if not terribly likely, that the Astros could suddenly discover a way to start hitting the ball and make the World Series once again. Once there, it’s also possible they could go up against the fearsome Milwaukee Brewers, a team that hasn’t cracked the .500 mark all year.

That, of course, would mean the best team in baseball would be gone before Clayton Kershaw even had a chance to properly warm up. It would also mean the Twins spent two months scraping and clawing their way to the top of the AL Central only to be sent home for losing two — count them, two — games.

Welcome to the playoffs, 2020 pandemic style. Don’t get too comfortable, because by the end of the week you could be gone.

Like unpredictability? How does every division winner potentially getting knocked out before the weekend sound?

Enjoy seeing underdogs get their shot? Then you probably don’t live in Southern California.

About the best thing that can be said about the first week of the postseason is this: You’ll be able to watch a lot of games on TV.

Sixteen teams. One knockout round. And they played a 60-game regular season for what?

Not much, it turns out. The best teams do get home-field advantage for opening week, though without fans it hardly matters. The cardboard cutouts at Dodger Stadium make the same amount of noise that they do at Miller Park, even if there’s no statue of Bob Uecker for them to crowd around.

Other than that, it’s win two and move on or lose two and be done. That’s true whether your regular season record was 29-31 in Milwaukee or 43-17 in Los Angeles.

No, the regular...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-A-season-like-no-other-gets-playoffs-like-15603794.php