(Editor’s note: All stats used in this piece are as of Monday, 8/27)

This past offseason, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig expanded the playoff system. Two wild card berths were added, one to each league. A single elimination game would be played to determine the Wild Card winner. The current standings are like this:

Atlanta 73-55 (home field advantage for playoff)

San Francisco 71-57* (lead NL West by 1 game over LA Dodgers)

St. Louis 70-57

LA Dodgers 69-59* (1.5 back of STL, 1 game back of San Francisco in NL West)

Pittsburgh 68-59 (2 back of STL)

Arizona 64-64 (6.5 back of STL)

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It’s safe to say that Arizona is likely out of playoff contention, barring anything dramatic and unusual. The Wild Card will be a five-team race, and an exciting one at that. We’ll begin the preview with our own St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals took 2 of 3 from Cincinnati this past weekend, and gained a game in the NL Central. Still, the Reds hold a 6 game lead in the Central and should be able to maintain that lead through the rest of the regular season. If St. Louis can maintain their offensive production, they should have an advantage at maintaining a spot for Game 163. It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals’ rotation will play out, with Joe Kelly pitching in Lance Lynn‘s rotation spot for the time being. September’s expanded rosters may help the Cardinals in their quest.

The Cards have the toughest remaining schedule of any Wild Card contender. They have five series against teams with records above the .500 mark, three of which are against division leading teams (two against Washington, one against Cincinnati).

Cardinals fans will likely remain nervous from now until playoff time, and have good reason to be that way. Everything will have to be clicking for the Redbirds. They cannot afford to give many games away. It can be done, but they have a tough hill to climb to get there.

Remaining games vs WC teams: at PIT (Aug 28 & 29) at LA (Sept 13-16)

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers, in pursuit of the playoffs, may have just become the biggest threat to the Redbirds” Wild Card hopes.

A nine-player trade took place between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Boston sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto to LA, while the Sox received James Loney and four prospects. For the Red Sox, the trade was a salary dump and concession for the 2012 season. For LA, the trade showed that the Dodgers are serious about the playoffs, and the near future, under their new ownership. The trade could turn out to be much like the Cardinals trading Colby Rasmus to Toronto last season, and we all know how that turned out for St. Louis.

The Cardinals, Nationals and Reds are the only non-division opponents that the Dodgers face in the rest of the regular season. Washington and Cincinnati have the upper hand in their respective divisions (4 1/2 and 6 games respectively). Of the Wild Card contenders, Los Angeles may be the toughest opposition St. Louis has for the next month and a half. The Dodgers’ dangerous pitching and newly-revamped offense, combined with the easy schedule, should strike fear in their opponents and give LA an edge in the race.

Remaining games vs WC teams: at SF (Sept 7-9), vs STL (Sept 13-16), vs SF (Oct 1-3)

San Francisco Giants

Tim Lincecum has been a huge disappointment in the otherwise stellar season so far for San Fran. The PED-suspension of Melky Cabrera will certainly hurt the Giants’ chances at an NL West title. Despite these events, the Giants have been able to hold a slight division lead on the Dodgers. The only non-division opponents remaining on the schedule for the Giants are the Astros and Cubs. The NL West is pretty much a two-team race between the Dodgers and Giants. The advantage, at least on paper, goes to LA because of the trade boost. The battle for the West (and subsequent Wild Card spot) should go down to the final days of the regular season, but don’t be surprised if LA runs away to a division title before then.

Remaining games vs WC teams: vs LAD (Sept 7-9), at LAD (Oct 1-3)

Pittsburgh Pirates

Other than St. Louis, the Pirates have just three series left with teams that have winning records (two with Cincinnati, one with Atlanta – one Reds series and the Braves series at home). The Pirates are much better at home than on the road (38-25/30-34). Pittsburgh’s contention will depend on their pitching, which has been a major plus for them in 2012. Led by James McDonald and AJ Burnett, the Bucs’ rotation has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Barring a late season collapse or injuries, Pittsburgh should remain in the three-team race for Wild Card spot number two.

Remaining games vs WC teams: vs STL (Aug 28 & 29), vs ATL (Oct 1-3)

Atlanta Braves (current leader of first Wild Card spot, 2.5 games ahead of Cardinals for position)

The Braves have a big strength of schedule in the remainder of the regular season.  Thanks to a weak NL East, Atlanta faces only two opponents with winning records, Washington and Pittsburgh. It would take a Braves slump and Cardinals surge for St. Louis to take the number one spot and home field for Game 163. It happened in 2011, but given the schedule and sure-thing Braves pitching staff, don’t expect history to repeat itself. Atlanta should be hosting Game 163 in October. The only question they should have is who they will be facing on that day.

Remaining games vs WC teams: at PIT (Oct 1-3)

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The 2012 Wild Card race will be exciting to watch. It won’t quite have the excitement of the 2011 Wild Card, but the first year with the new system won’t disappoint. Expect some good baseball in the season’s last month and a half!

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is toying with the idea of adding two additional playoff teams to the mix next year, bumping the field up while potentially watering the competition down. The concept hasn’t been set in stone, but the most likely scenario would involve each league getting an extra wild card berth. The two wild cards teams in each league would play each other in a best of three series, the winners move on and the playoffs as we know them today begin.

If the playoff expansion were in effect this year, the Cardinals would be right in the thick of things for the final National League playoff spot. While that would be great for Cardinals fans, count me as part of the crowd that says “thanks, but no thanks.”

Why don’t I like the idea? For starters, I think it’s unfair. It is absolutely ridiculous to have teams play 162 games only to have their fate decide in a one (or more likely three) game series. Take the standings this year as an example:

In the American League, the wild card leading Red Sox are on pace for 99 wins. The Rays are next in line, on pace for 88 wins. Think about that: Boston would have to face a team in the same division, 11 games behind them, in a crap-shoot three game series where anything and everything can go wrong. In the blink of an eye, their season could be over.

In the National League, it’s not much better. The 96-win Braves would have to play the 86-win Giants in a three game playoff… the same team that ousted them last year in a best of 5.

Did I mention that both Boston and Atlanta just so happen to have the 2^nd best records in their respective leagues? With the new playoff format, it wouldn’t matter. So what would/should be a #2 seed with home field advantage in the NLDS and a “bye” in the “wild card round” would instead be thrown into a best of 3 with a team that was basically only slightly above mediocre the past six months. It’s just not fair.

The other reason I wouldn’t be all too thrilled about the 5^th playoff spot is because frankly neither the Cardinals, Giants, Rays, or Angels particularly deserve to go to the playoffs, at least that would be the case this year. Typically in baseball, the motto is “90+ wins and you’re in.” This year, we’re on pace for 8 teams to have 90+ wins… funny how that works out, no? Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule (see: the 83 win World Champion Cardinals of 2006) and that’s why you won’t hear me say I wouldn’t want to see the Cardinals make it to the playoffs this year. Saying something like that is simply ridiculous. If the playoff field does expand to five teams in each league next year, I do not expect any fans of the 5^th team in to be making apologies or wish they weren’t in for fear of embarrassment. Sports are crazy. If you get in the field and anything can happen. Already this year we’ve seen Virginia Commonwealth University go from “last 4 in” and a play-in game in the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament to the Final Four… and the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks come within a touchdown of hosting the NFC Championship game. I already talked about the 83-win Cardinals winning it all.

The “anything’s possible” factor is the only redeeming quality about commissioner Selig’s plan to expand the playoff field. But the fairness-factor isn’t quite up to par. Thanks, but no thanks, Bud.