We have reached the point of the season when you really have to make sure to look at the standings every day.

It’s late enough that every game can make a seismic difference, but also early enough that there’s still adequate time to make a sprint upward if your team happens to get hot. This is the playoff chase in its purest form: You gotta win, and you gotta make sure the teams you’re chasing -- or the teams that are chasing you -- lose. It’s scoreboard watching season.

Even in an era of expanded playoffs , division championships still absolutely matter: You want a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the Division Series, which goes to the two division title teams with the best records in each league. And you want all the merch that says “Division Champion” that you can get fo

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