Opinion

Hey, not sure if you've heard, but 2015 has been a pretty lousy season for the Washington Nationals.

OK, that's an understatement. More like an "epically disappointing" season. Or "colossally horrendous." Or, well, you get the idea.

Surprise: You won't find anything about the Boston Red Sox on the pages that follow. Disappointed? Sorry, but the Sox are who we thought they were heading into the season—a team that, despite a talented offense, lacked the pitching necessary to actually contend for a playoff spot in 2015.

But you never really know just what to expect over the course of baseball's six-month regular season, which routinely makes preseason predictions look foolish and even the most well-informed fans and pundits appear to have limited knowledge of America's pastime.

All eyes will be on free agents like David Price, Johnny Cueto and Jason Heyward this offseason, but considering the limited number of Major League Baseball teams able to get in a bidding war for that trio, under-the-radar stars and bounce-back candidates are more valuable commodities.

The 2015 MLB playoff picture is coming into focus, with the relevant squads and MLB as a whole just wrapping up their final series of the regular season. 

There are 10 spots for playoff teams in the MLB. Nine of those are already taken. The only unknown is the last American League wild-card spot. Houston is in the driver's seat, closely followed by the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins (the New York Yankees have the other AL wild-card spot wrapped up). 

Praise the second wild-card berth.

Without it, this final weekend in Major League Baseball might be the kind that forces even the steadfast fan to shift his or her attention to the gridiron. But because we are in the era of two wild-card teams in each league, there is no need for attention to be taken off the diamond over the next two days. 

The Minnesota Twins are crashing the wild-card party and have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 season. After finishing last year with the second-worst record in the American League, the Cinderella Twins are now very much in the postseason picture and are just one game back for the second AL wild-card spot following a dramatic win Thursday night.

Although the postseason has yet to even begin, many fans are already looking toward MLB free agency.

If you don't have a dog in the playoff fight, then your only source of potential optimism is envisioning how your favorite team will improve once the season ends.

Major League Baseball and its rules, written or otherwise, bring about the most passionate of sports discussions. Tradition, the "right way" of doing things and one side's self-interest go against new-age, outside-the-box thinking and the other side's self-interest in a carousel of arguments, from the barstools to traditional and social media and even to front offices.

For a terrifying moment Wednesday, the New York Mets fanbase held its collective breath. Yoenis Cespedes—the trade-deadline acquisition who jolted New York's moribund offense and propelled the Amazins to a division title—was doubled over in agony, clutching his left hand.

Alex Rodriguez said they were underdogs, and for once we didn't laugh at the thought.

The New York Yankees as underdogs?