I KNOW RIGHT?!?!?! WASN'T WEDNESDAY THE BEST NIGHT OF REGULAR-SEASON BASEBALL YOU'VE EVER SEEN???? ISN'T THIS THE MOST PERFECT SYSTEM EVER!!!???

Oh wait, I see you've asked me a question. I'm still recovering from the wildest night of regular season MLB action I've ever seen, a night so scillintating it cause ESPN's Tim Kurkjian to gush, "This is why baseball is the greatest sport ever invented!" before briefly bursting into flame. For the uninitiated, the Braves and Red Sox both blew mammoth wild card leads this month, and both hapless clubs completed their collapses in the most gut-churning way possible on Wednesday. Needing a win to force a one-game playoff with the Cardinals, Atlanta blew a ninth-inning lead and lost 4-3 in 13 innings, sending them to an early offseason of Waffle House meals and afternoon tee times. And that was just the appetizer. At 10PM, the Rays were down 7-0 to the Yankees, while Boston was in a rain delay in Baltimore clinging to a one-run lead. Thenthis happened. Andthis. Andthis. And finally this.

When the dust settled, the Rays and Cardinals were improbable wild card winners while Boston and Atlanta fans had to swallow their teams' twins collapses. And if there had been a second wild card team coming out of each league, none of this drama would have happened.

Am I on board with changing the postseason, Hampton? Absolutely not. Fewer teams is obviously not an option (inane articles like this one notwithstanding), and adding another team would mess up what I call the power of 2 rule. The most egalitarian postseason system is one where every team plays the same number of rounds and the division winners are rewarded with home-field advantage. That's exactly what we have in baseball, and adding a second wild card in each league would necessitate a "play-in" game that would boost TV ratings but screw up the competitive balance of the playoffs. Unlike the U.S. government, baseball has actually found the perfect system for its postseason, as evidenced by the thrilling end to the regular season. It would be a shame if the MLB screwed it up in the name of revenue.

Emma, are you with me? Or did Boston's collapse leave you pining for that second wild card spot?

–Jake