Octoberfest Is Settled

The champagne flowing in the visitor’s clubhouse at Edison Field on Sunday signified that the Seattle Mariners were one of the big winners as the final day of the regular season brought clarity to the postseason.

In the stressful scramble for the final playoff berths and/or home-field advantage, the Mariners defeated the Angels, 5-2, to win the American League wild card, joining the Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals with reasons to celebrate, while the Atlanta Braves absorbed what might be a significant setback and the Cleveland Indians did what they needed to, only to be sent packing anyway.

The Mariners and A’s went to work Sunday knowing that the Indians had defeated the Toronto Blue Jays and that only by winning could they avoid a playoff involving two or all three of them to qualify for the postseason.

Amid what Alex Rodriguez called Game 7 atmosphere in Anaheim, the Mariners rallied from a 2-0 deficit behind three off-season additions to their pitching staff--Aaron Sele, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki--while the A’s defeated the Texas Rangers, 3-0, in Oakland to win the West Division title as sophomore right-hander Tim Hudson registered his 20th victory.

The swaggering young A’s (91-70) finished half a game ahead of the Mariners (91-71) for the division crown, while the Mariners finished a game ahead of the Indians (90-72) in the wild-card battle.

Several of the complex scenarios would have required the A’s to play a makeup game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays today, but with the A’s and Mariners having both won, that is no longer required. An Oakland loss in Florida would have left the A’s and Mariners tied for the division lead, and the A’s already held the tiebreaker by winning the season series, 9-4.

Thus, the champion A’s will open the division series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night in Oakland while the wild-card Mariners travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox.

The emotions of a long season in which they blew a seven-game lead in August only to win eight in a row during a 19-10 September caught up with the Mariners on Sunday as they showered champagne and partied as if they had won the World Series instead of the wild card.

“I’m very happy,” Rodriguez said, an MVP candidate so spent after the game that he momentarily sat alone in the trainer’s room with tears in his eyes.

“We’ve been on a mission to get to this point and now that we’re in the playoffs anything can happen. Any one of the four teams can win because there’s not one dominant team.

“Everyone should feel good about their chances.”

The National League playoffs appear comparably wide open.

The East champion Braves will open the best-of-five division series against the Central champion Cardinals in St. Louis on Tuesday.

The West champion Giants will face the wild-card New York Mets at Pac Bell Park on Wednesday.

The Braves (95-67) were one out away from claiming home-field advantage in the series with the Cardinals when John Rocker yielded a three-run homer to Todd Helton and the Colorado Rockies scored seven runs in the ninth inning to send the Braves to St. Louis for the first two games--and, perhaps, the decisive fifth.

The Giants (97-65) defeated Arizona to emerge with the best record in baseball and will have the home-field advantage in the division series and the National League championship series, if they beat the Mets. In the Giants’ case, that advantage comes with a capital A. They tied with the Mets for the best home record in baseball at 55-26.

The Mariners, who came back from a loss in Friday’s series opener with the Angels to win the final two games, also had a solid home record of 47-34, but they shouldn’t mind opening the playoffs on the road because Chicago’s rotation is in disarray and the Mariners led the AL in road batting average.

Club President Chuck Armstrong, soaked in champagne and wearing a T-shirt that said “Wild Card” across the front, said he would have preferred to open at Safeco Field as division champion, but he likes the matchup.

“Our objective from the first day of spring training is to win the World Series and that’s still our objective, we’re still alive,” he said.

“I’d have liked to win the division, but I like our matchup against Chicago even better than if we were hosting the Yankees.

“I’m also very pleased that two of the four playoff teams have come out of the West. The A’s have had a magical season and we tip our caps to them. I hope we see them in the ALCS.”

The Mariners are headed to the playoffs despite the departure of Randy Johnson 2 1/2 years ago, the loss of Ken Griffey Jr. in February and the potential distraction of Rodriguez’ imminent free agency.

The Angels are headed home again after a promising season under rookie Manager Mike Scioscia, a season that ended Sunday with Scioscia again forced to turn to his bullpen for a starter, employing Mark Petkovsek when Scott Schoeneweis turned up with an ailing back.

The SigAlert in the congested Angel training room involving young pitchers should be a reminder to Disney of the need for at least one proven arm. It’s a tough market, but the playoff-bound Mariners and Cardinals proved that it’s possible to rebuild a staff despite the circumstances. Angel management can check out the results this week.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

CHICAGO vs. SEATTLE

* Tuesday--Seattle (Garcia 9-5) at Chicago (Sirotka 15-10), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

* Wednesday--Seattle at Chicago, 10 a.m. (ESPN)

* Friday--Chicago at Seattle, TBA

* Saturday--Chicago at Seattle, TBA, if necessary

* Sunday--Seattle at Chicago, TBA, if necessary

OAKLAND vs. NEW YORK

* Tuesday--New York (Clemens 13-8) at Oakland (Heredia 15-11), 5 p.m. (Ch. 4)

* Wednesday--New York (Pettitte 19-9) at Oakland (Appier 15-11), 5:15 p.m. (Ch. 11)

* Friday--Oakland (Hudson 20-6) at New York (Hernandez 12-13), TBA

* Saturday--Oakland at New York, TBA, if necessary

* Sunday--New York at Oakland, TBA, if necessary

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SAN FRANCISCO vs. NEW YORK

* Wednesday--New York (Hampton 15-10) at San Francisco (Hernandez 17-11), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

* Thursday--New York (Leiter 16-8) at San Francisco (Estes 15-6), 5:15 p.m. (Ch. 11)

* Saturday--San Francisco (Ortiz 13-12) at New York (Reed 11-5), TBA

* Sunday--San Francisco at New York, TBA, if necessary

* Oct. 9--New York at San Francisco, TBA, if necessary

ST. LOUIS vs. ATLANTA

* Tuesday--Atlanta (Maddux 19-9) at St. Louis (Kile 20-9), 10 a.m. (ESPN)

* Thursday--Atlanta (Glavine 21-9) at St. Louis (Stephenson 16-9), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

* Saturday--St. Louis (Ankiel 11-7) at Atlanta (Ashby 12-13), TBA

* Sunday--St. Louis at Atlanta, TBA, if necessary

* Oct. 9--Atlanta at St. Louis, TBA, if necessary

*

DODGERS

There Were Too Many Holes to Fill

The Dodgers had too many questions about their pitching and lineup, and too many distractions over the Kevin Malone-Davey Johnson situation to really have a shot at a playoff berth. D14

DODGER REPORT, D14

*

ANGELS

A Good Season, but Room to Improve

No one expected the Angels to stay in playoff contention until the final week, but the pitching staff will have to step up a notch for the team to remain a postseason threat in the future. D15

ANGEL REPORT, D15