11.   They feel fortunate that they are playing in an era of expanded playoffs.

12.   All of those worries that wild cards, expanded playoffs and a skewed season would mess up the year turned out to be for naught.

13.   It also hopes to create enthusiasm with the excitement of races for the expanded playoffs and, once again, the World Series.

14.   Thousands of empty seats during the expanded playoffs.

15.   He said eliminating Colorado and Cincinnati in the expanded playoff format has made pitching the Series easier.

16.   An expanded playoff format created late-season excitement with close races.

17.   An expanded playoff format produced exciting games, with Seattle and Colorado reaching the playoffs for the first time in their history.

18.   Both clubs had the best regular-season records in their leagues and survived an expanded playoff structure.

19.   Despite an expanded playoff format, the winningest teams in each league advanced to the Series, something that had not happened in nine years.