With baseball's postseason now whittled to its usual eight teams, I asked my fellow Yahoo! Sports friends to help seed the field from top to bottom, regardless of league. The following are those results from the rankings of Jeff Passan, Tim Brown, Les Carpenter, David Brown, Alex Remington, Mark Townsend and yours truly.But don't get too excited Nats fans: Our No. 1 seed has never won the World Series the past four years we've done this. And don't get too angry or down, fans of teams near the bottom: The Giants won from the No. 6 spot in 2010 while the 2011 Cardinals were a No. 8 seed.
Agree or disagree with our list? Make the case for your team — or against your rival — in the comments below. One note: The number following each team is the overall score from the seven ballots. A top ranking equaled one point, while the lowest ranking was awarded eight. We broke the tie between the Tigers and Cardinals by going with the team with the highest appearance on an individual ballot. (St. Louis was listed fourth on one.)
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1. Washington Nationals (18)
"Even without Stephen Strasburg this team will pitch. But will their overall inexperience hold them back?" — Mark Townsend
"Still irrationally expecting Stephen Strasburg to appear." — Dave Brown
"Bryce Harper says he was born for the big stage. Gets chance to prove it." — Kevin Kaduk
"Per Angelos rules, Orioles get 40 percent of Nats' postseason wins." — Tim Brown
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2. New York Yankees (23)
"Pound, pummel, beat, bludgeon — and pitch just enough." — Jeff Passan
"Saved from Seattle, Ichiro is playing 20 years younger." — Les Carpenter
"Andy Pettitte takes Mariano Rivera's spot as Core Four member, could end up being just as important to postseason hopes." — K.K.
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3. Oakland Athletics (26)
"West Coast team of destiny." — D.B.
"Get ready to fall in love with this team and its stories." — J.P.
"The elephant in the room is dancing to 'U Can't Touch This.'" — T.B.
"Billy Beane says his stuff doesn't work in the playoffs." — Alex Remington
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4. Cincinnati Reds (28)
"Joey Votto has been quiet. A little too quiet. Get ready for that to change." — K.K.
"The Reds look like the most complete team on paper but have the most difficult LDS matchup with San Francisco. If they advance, they're the team to beat." — M.T.
"Great pitching up and down. But offensively, if you go around Votto …" — D.B.
"Best shot here since before Dibble had tattoos." — L.C.
"Votto hasn't homered since June." — T.B.
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5. San Francisco Giants (30)
"Torture still legal in some parts of California." — T.B.
"If Timmy were throwing like Timmy, they're probably No. 1." — J.P.
"Posey's great, but I don't trust Tim." — A.R.
"Matt Cain didn't surrender an earned run in the 2010 postseason. Best pitcher in the field right now and that includes Verlander." — K.K.
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6. Baltimore Orioles (33)
"East Coast team of destiny." — D.B.
"When Joe Saunders pitches you past the Texas Rangers in the wild card play-in game, you know Orioles magic is a real thing." — M.T.
"If they have to celebrate one more time, cartoon bird seriously considering rehab." — T.B.
"Why ask how? Just enjoy the ride." — K.K.
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7. St. Louis Cardinals (46)
"Give the Cardinals an inch and they'll take the whole postseason." — M.T.
"Last in, but can't be overlooked. Watch out Washington." — L.C.
"Good news: All pop-ups to be considered automatic outs." — T.B.
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8. Detroit Tigers (46)
"Can win it all with seven nights of Verlander." — L.C.
"Have all the goods on paper. Unfortunately, it's from Michael Scott Paper Company, so it's of mediocre quality." — J.P.
"Defense wins championships and Nik Lidstrom isn't on the postseason roster." — K.K.
"Just making the playoffs was a gift." — D.B.
Are you ready for the postseason?
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