The Atlanta Braves were just crowned the World Champions for 2021, and as problematic as some of the aspects of their organization is, it did show me one thing; just get to the playoffs.

There is consternation from time to time about regular season records of teams that make the playoffs if they are successful. The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, or locally, the 2010 Seahawks.

The Braves won two fewer games than the Mariners this season. But, they were lucky in that the NL East was a mess, they won the division and were hot at the right time.’

That’s good news for Seattle Mariners fans, because I could argue that they could be a team that is competitive enough throughout the season that with the right trade deadline addition, and maybe the debut of Julio Rodriguez, they could get hot going into October.

That means, even if they win 88 games, finish second in the AL West behind Houston, but are good enough to win a wild card, they just need to play well for a month and a few long-standing records of ineptitude could be broken in 2022.

Is it likely? Oh, probably not. One would think the Yankees will spend whatever it takes to be competitive. The White Sox have a great young nucleus, though a lot of questions to answer this offseason. And Houston, even if they don’t re-sign Carlos Correa, should still be pretty good with Altuve, Bregman and Kyle Tucker.

But just get in, and if you’re playing well in October, it could be a very special season.