Going Fourth

With one game left to be played tonight between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins to determine the final playoff spot in the American League, I'll hold off on my post-season review of my pre-season predictions.

Except for this one: The Kansas City Royals did not finish last.

Sure, in September they had the best month of baseball since what is now referred to as the fluke season of 2003. They won 13 of their last 16 games and finished September with an 18-7 record. They made up at least nine games on the Detroit Tigers in the final weeks of the season, including a three-game sweep in the Motor City last week.

And sure, maybe the Tigers had given up on their season long ago. But that doesn't change the fact that I was practically glued to the radio and the internet to see how the final three games of the season turned out.

After leaving Detroit and taking three in a row from the home team, the Royals took sole possession of fourth place in the American League Central division, leading the Tigers by a half-game. Detroit followed up with a four-game series versus playoff bound Tampa Bay, and the Royals flew to Minnesota for their final series with the Twins. I was fairly certain that the Rays would easily dispose of the Tigers and that the red-hot Royals could steal a game or two from the Twins.

The Royals took two of three in Minnesota, but going into Sunday, the Tigers were looking to sweep the Rays, having won the first three contests. Watching games via MLB.com's Gamecast is agonizing, but I do it anyway. The Tigers had a lead mid-way through Sunday's finale. But, the Rays rallied to take a two-run lead into the ninth inning -- a lead they squandered on their way to extra innings. A Tampa Bay homerun in the top of the 11th inning gave them back the lead and they finished off the Tigers in the bottom-half, securing their last place finish, still a half game behind the fourth-place Royals.

Or, so I thought.

As it turned out, there was a game during the season that was not made-up that had bearing on who would win the AL Central. After Sunday, the Twins held a half-game lead over the White Sox. So, the White Sox had to make-up their game with the Tigers Monday. If the White Sox could win, it would force a tie and a single game playoff with the Twins. If the Tigers could win, they would have tied the Royals for last place.

Thank goodness the White Sox came through. Fourth place isn't much to shoot for, but when your team is the Royals you take what you can get. Besides, I'd rather be a Royals fan today, reveling in the fact of having finished one game ahead of the big-spending Tigers, than a New York Mets fan, facing the cold fact of being eliminated from the playoffs on the final day of the season for the second year in a row.