The American League playoff teams are hardly proving their worth. All of the Yankees, Rays, Rangers and Twins have limped their way through the final week of the season. Not a single team has played as good as their record suggests they are, and in some cases, considerably worse. Some of them have rested their better players since clinching a playoff berth, but we’ve barely seen glimpses of competitive baseball from any of them.

After playing the final Sunday of the season, the Rangers have the best record of late. They’ve won eight of their last 17 games. The Twins have won two of their last 10; the Yankees have won three of their last 11; and the Rays have won three of their last eight. Needless to say, these teams are not proving themselves as the four most worthy to represent the junior circuit in the playoffs this season.

It seems like many of these teams were hesitant to play each other. They all know what the competition has; whether it’s Texas’ starting rotation, Minnesota’s bullpen, or New York’s high-powered offense. Regardless, somebody has to play somebody, and it must be concerning for fans in these four cities to see their team struggle for whatever reason they are at this point of the year. Chances are not all of them will be able to put it back together this week.

Baseball is not a game where players can easily “turn it on and off.” It’s not a stretch to think that many of these teams were trying to avoid injury or fatigue before the postseason, but they may not be able to truly get back into form to win a short best-of-five series. As their National League counterparts watch while battling through the final weekend of the season, you have to think that the NL has more than just home field advantage this year.