Dodgers Dropped

Good thing the Dodgers lost when they did.
That's got to be what Hank Steinbrenner is thinking. Since the Yankees didn't make the playoffs, former NY manager Joe Torre should go home with nothing, too. It's only fair.
Think about it. The Boss has a point.
Let's take a look at the final regular season standings for more insight.

2008 National League - Standings
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
x-Philadelphia	92	70	.568	-
NY Mets	89	73	.549	3
Florida	84	77	.522	7.5
Atlanta	72	90	.444	20
Washington	59	102	.366	32.5
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB
*-Chicago Cubs	97	64	.602	-
y-Milwaukee	90	72	.556	7.5
Houston	86	75	.534	11
St. Louis	86	76	.531	11.5
Cincinnati	74	88	.457	23.5
Pittsburgh	67	95	.414	30.5
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB
x-LA Dodgers	84	78	.519	-
Arizona	82	80	.506	2
Colorado	74	88	.457	10
San Francisco	72	90	.444	12
San Diego	63	99	.389	21

Including the Marlins, who finished with a better record by playing one fewer game, seven teams had a higher winning percentage than Los Angeles. Although L.A. put up a respectable showing in the postseason, dispatching the stricken Cubs in four games before looking over matched against the Phillies, it didn't belong. Four deserving teams missed out.
Not only did the Dodgers put up an unconvincing record, they failed to do so competing in the softest NL division top to bottom. Against the Diamondbacks, Giants, Padres and Rockies, Los Angeles went 40-32. Against everyone else: 44-46.
The NL has been screwy before. The Cubs made the postseason last year, despite New York and San Diego posting better records. In 2006, St. Louis reaped the benefit of MLB's rule that all division winners make the playoffs bid by winning the World Series. And San Diego took an 82-80 record into October in 2005.
The American League, and Yankees encountered the same problem this season. New York got stuck in the same division as the Rays and Red Sox, two of the best teams in baseball. Never mind having to face both 17 times this season, if the Yankees played in the NL West, or even the AL Central, they would have made the playoffs. Poor Steinbrenner.
Now with the Rays in the picture for what appears to be the long haul given their young talent and farm system, at least one AL East giant is going to be on the outside looking in every year.
Not to say that the divisions need to be absolved. The rivalries and competition are healthy. But given the recent trend that the playoffs don't represent the four best teams in each league, change should come. Just ask Steinbrenner.