MLB Playoff Schedule 2013: How to Watch Postseason Action

For the next eight days, baseball fans will be treated to a near nonstop barrage of postseason action. Beginning Monday night in Texas, there will be postseason baseball every night up until Oct. 7. 

The network to that will carry most of the action is TBS. Every single game in the major league baseball postseason will be broadcast by the network up until the American League Championship series. Fox will carry the ALCS and the World Series.

Here's a look at the schedule for the tiebreaker, Wild Card Games and Division Series. You can see the entire MLB postseason schedule at MLB.com.

Each team heads into the playoffs with its own separate challenges and qualities. Here's a look at a few noteworthy facts about the group with their eyes set on the Fall Classic.

 *Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device.

The Hottest Team Heading into the Postseason

Having finished the season on a 10-game win streak, no team is hotter than the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe took all the drama out of their involvement in the postseason by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the final series of the year. Their play on the final weekend wrapped up the top spot in the AL Wild Card Game.

They haven't just won 10 in a row; Cleveland has also taken 15 of its last 17 games. The Indians' pitching has been the biggest reason for their success. In 10 of those 17 games, they have held their opponents to two runs or fewer.

No one wants to play Cleveland right now.

The Coldest Team Heading into the Postseason

If the season was 165 games long, the Indians probably would have caught the Detroit Tigers and won the AL Central. As it is, the Tribe finished just one game behind the Tigers, who lost their last three games.

Detroit lost five of its last seven games to finish the season. Consistent offense has been the issue in Motown. In that seven-game stretch, the Tigers have scored more than three runs only once. The lowly Miami Marlins held them to just three runs in the final series, and Henderson Alvarez no-hit them in the season finale on Sunday.

Heading into a series with the pitching-rich Oakland Athletics, the Tigers better find their hitting eyes soon.

Biggest Boppers

While I touted the A's pitching prowess, their bats have been just as effective this season. Of all the teams in the postseason, no club has hit more home runs. In total, Oakland has clubbed 186 long balls this season. That number is even more impressive considering the A's play in the cavernous O.co Coliseum.

Per ESPN, the A's home park is the 25th-toughest ballpark to homer in. Even in a less-than ideal hitter's park, Oakland has four players with at least 22 home runs, led by Brandon Moss' 30. 

Best Rotation

This is a bit of a toss=up. The Tigers led the majors in quality starts with 107 and the Atlanta Braves were just behind them with 102. That said, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a staggering 22 shutouts this season.

That is a pretty astonishing feat for a rotation even when you consider the fact that Kenley Jansen and Co. came in to finish up a few of those games. Because of their ability to be simply dominant, I'd give the edge to the Dodgers here.

Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu are the best threesome in the majors.

Best Bullpen

Aroldis Chapman and Sam LeCure have been a solid one-two punch for the Reds, but the numbers indicate say the Texas Rangers' bullpen has been the best this season. Joe Nathan has been filthy all year. He has 43 saves and an ERA of 1.39.

The Tigers' Max Scherzer will probably win the Cy Young, but Nathan has made a strong case for himself.

Tanner Scheppers has 27 holds and an ERA of 1.90. This duo is a big reason why the Rangers blew a league-low 10 saves in 2013 and had the highest save percentage in the majors at 82 percent.

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