Wait Til Next Year For M's

The Mariners ended this season the same way it started, a three game sweep over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (can you believe the name?)  The Angels of course, got it together and ran away with the AL West.  The real LA team (they actually play in Los Angeles) the Dodgers are also playoff bound,  likewise, the two Bay area teams, the Giants and the A's.  It makes it a possibility that that the World Series may have 2 California teams, some "World" series.
  This year's Cinderella story is the Kansas City Royals, which by coincidence, used to have the A's.  A couple of years after the A's left, KC got the Royals through expansion.  The Royals have not been to any post season since 1985, the longest draught in all of sports.  Pittsburgh and Detroit, both teams who have seen their share of lean times, round out the field. 
The Mariners will not be in the playoffs this year, however, they do finish the season with a winning record, 4 straight wins, and were in the hunt until the last day of the season.  That's quite a change from years past, when the Houston Astros were the only thing keeping the M's out of last place.
I accidently left out the Orioles, who are returning after a long absense and the Washington Nationals, DC's third attempt at Major League Baseball (Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers both began as the Washington Senators),  Rounding up the field are the St.Louis Cardinals, who are second only to the Yankees in World Series titles.