After a thrilling 12-inning game that went back and forth all night, the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics to win the American League wild-card slot. That’s the first time the Royals made it to the playoffs in 29 years. They were the first team that inspired me to start following baseball seriously–back in the George Brett, Freddie Patek, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson era–when I was in graduate school at the University of Kansas. So I’m glad. It’s hard to imagine them going very far, but I hope they do.
Anyway, the playoff lineups are now set, and the games have begun. After the jump, the first-round matchups and how I come down on the games.
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