The Cleveland Guardians won the AL Central and therefore clinched home field advantage in the AL Wild Card series. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays earned a Wild Card spot and will be forced to travel to Cleveland following a 9-game road trip. Guardians manager Terry Francona was asked what kind of advantage that could provide the Guardians with, per Mandy Bell.

“If they’re out of underwear, yeah,” Francona said. “Nobody wants to be out of underwear.”

Terry Francona may have been joking in his statement, but he certainly was not wrong.

The Guardians were not picked by many people to make the playoffs, let alone win the division. Despite having the youngest roster in the big leagues, Cleveland upset the odds and won the AL Central. Terry Francona is in line to receive AL Manager of the year consideration given the youth of the roster.

The Rays endured some ups and downs in 2022, but they ultimately produced another quality campaign. Tampa Bay doesn't feature much in the way of star-power, but they excel at finding ways to win games. Rays manager Kevin Cash is a former Guardians assistant coach who was once on Terry Francona's coaching staff. Cash learned much of what he knows from Francona, so there are some similarities in their managing approaches.

Terry Francona's Guardians believe they can make a deep playoff run. With Jose Ramirez leading the offense, Emmanuel Clase at the backend of the bullpen, and Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie atop the starting rotation, this is a dangerous Cleveland ball club heading into October.