There is a small amount of business remaining before the playoffs begin

The reaction to the Cardinals NL Central clinch on Wednesday night kind of weirds me out. There was an immediate Charlie Morton backlash, followed by a collective Pirate fan panic that the Cubs are going to catch the Pirates this weekend and switch the Wild Card Game from PNC Park to Wrigley Field. It is still within the realm of possibility that the Cubs may do this, but please allow this quick refresher:

The Pirates play in a division with the best team in baseball and the third best team in baseball. They have 96 wins to date and are the second best team in baseball. They are a good baseball, a very good baseball team, possibly a great baseball team. Their entire playoff future hangs on the whims of a one-game playoff against baseball’s best pitcher in 2015’s second half, which sucks. The Pirates themselves, though, do not suck, and they are one of a handful of teams with a lineup deep enough and a pitcher good enough that they can probably tell themselves that they have approximately even odds in a one-game playoff against Arrieta if it’s a home game without that being a total lie. It is not an ideal situation and it’s a cruel twist of fate to see the Pirates winning at a rate that’s unlike anything we’ve seen in 20+ years only to be dumped into a division with a 100-win team, but as much as that sucks and as frustrating as it is, it doesn’t mean we should expect the Pirates to get swept by the Reds this weekend.

The Reds haven’t won since September 18th. They’re bad and they’ve mailed it in. The Pirates played a similar team in Colorado last week, and they blasted them off of the field. The Bucs’ magic number to clinch home field is two, so it’d be better for everyone if the Pirates can win this first game, put some pressure on the Cubs, and then do whatever they want with rest of the weekend if the Cubs lose. The Wild Card Game is looming, but it’s not quite here yet.

Francisco Liriano and Keyvius Sampson pitch at 7:05 tonight. Rain is in the forecast, but these games do have playoff implications and so it’ll likely be played at some point.