Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

The wild card has existed in baseball for 13 years now, and even the purists would have to agree that it has been a wonderful addition to the game. It creates far more drama in September, and it really hasn't lowered the bar, in terms of allowing subpar teams into the postseason.

So here's my pet peeve: Why, when we're discussing teams' playoff chances, particularly so early in the season, do we completely disregard the wild card?

The Yankees lose five of six to the Red Sox in April, and all we hear about is the Yankees' hole in the American League East (six games behind Boston). Which is all well and good, but not entirely relevant. It's far more important where the Yankees stand in the wild-card race (currently four and a half games behind Detroit). I understand if the teams themselves want to focus on the division title, especially since the Yankees have won nine straight AL East crowns. But the rest of us should understand how little that means. After all, the last AL East team to win it all was the 2004 Red Sox, a wild-card entry into the playoffs.

Bobby Valentine's NL champion 2000 Mets were a wild-card team, as were World Series winners the 2002 Angels and 2003 Marlins.

I'll be surprised if the Yankees finished above the Red Sox come October, but I'll be even more surprised if the Yankees don't win the wild card. So please, if you're a Yankees fan, don't obsess over your Rivals. Instead, take a step back, and realize, until baseball gives the wild-card entries a tougher road, that it's not a huge difference between first and second place.