A.M. Wahoo’s: A Possible Early Start to the Postseason

The Cleveland Indians will have to make up Thursday’s rained out game against the Detroit Tigers if it has any effect on the playoff picture.

The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers could potentially meet up in the postseason, but Thursday was supposed to be the two teams’ final meeting in the regular season. That was, until the weather had other ideas.

The bad weather from Wednesday carried over into Thursday, cancelling the game and creating a potentially early beginning to the postseason for both teams.

The game would be made up next Monday if either team was fighting for a playoff spot. In the Tigers’ case, it would be for a Wild Card spot. For the Indians, it would be for seeding purposes.

While it is not ideal to extend the regular season, playing a game with a chance to get home-field advantage in the ALDS would be great, especially if the Tigers had no shot at a Wild Card berth. This may lead to the Tigers giving some younger guys a chance, while the Indians can put the starters out there to ensure Thursday’s ALDS opener will be in the confines of Progressive Field.

But for that to happen, the Indians will have to take care of the Kansas City Royals this weekend. While the Royals are out of playoff contention, they are still the defending champions and will want to finish the season on a positive note.

The Red Sox enter play today with the same amount of losses as the Indians, 67, so three wins by the Indians and one loss by the Red Sox would mean Monday’s game could give the Indians home-field advantage over Boston. But none of this matters if the Indians perform poorly against the Royals.

While home-field advantage is not needed to win a playoff series, it would certainly help. The Indians are 53-28 at home this season, compared to just 38-39 on the road. And with 11 walk-off wins at home, getting the first two games in Cleveland could keep the magical run at home alive.

It may be too early to get into the details, but hey, what would the final week of the MLB season be without some drama.

And before the final series of the season begins, let’s take a look at the news surrounding the Indians and the rest of the MLB in today’s edition of A.M. Wahoo’s.

Cleveland Indians News:

Cleveland Indians: Encouraging Updates on the Injury Front

"At a rainy Comerica Park in Detroit Thursday morning, the Cleveland Indians waited to find out if Mother Nature was going to cooperate and let them play the finale of their four-game series with the Tigers, and had a little extra time to speak to beat reporters."

Cleveland Indians 2016 Top 30 Prospects Review – No. 30 to 25

"Continuing our review of the Cleveland Indians 2016 preseason top prospects, today we look at six guys that just barely cracked the top 30 list this past March."

Tribe Washed Out, Will Play Monday if Needed (Indians.com)

"The Indians tried to wait out the rain on Thursday, but they will now be forced to wait to find out if they need to return to Detroit ahead of the American League Division Series."

Rain Creates Chaos For Indians and Tigers (Let’s Go Tribe)

"The universe is seemingly against Ryan Merritt. The young lefty was slated to make his first major league start today against the Detroit Tigers in the season finale against the two AL Central teams."

MLB News:

Why the Yankees’ Gary Sanchez should win AL Rookie of the Year (FanSided)

"Throughout Gary Sanchez’s historic start with the Yankees, the fervor has only grown. Still, despite the scorched-earth season stretch, a single, pressing question remains: How can a player who will appear in just over 50 games even be considered for Rookie of the Year?"

CC Sabathia Wants to Pitch Beyond 2017 (Call to the Pen)

"Not long ago, it didn’t even seem like a sure bet that CC Sabathia would see out his current contract with the New York Yankees. After four top-flight seasons in the Bronx, the wheels sort of fell off for the big lefty, both in terms of health and on-field performance."

Cubs-Pirates Game Suspended, Ends in Tie (MLB.com)

"As the Pirates and Cubs discovered Thursday night, there is tying in baseball. Their series finale at PNC Park was suspended and declared a 1-1 tie after being delayed by rain in the top of the sixth inning."