A's versus Royals as the "Mayfly Round" begins tonight.

As many readers will recall, I've been an Oakland Athletics fan for more than four decades. In 2014, my team had the best record in baseball at the All-Star break. Since then, following a series of daring trades by Bra ... Billy Beane, we've compiled the worst winning percentage EVER by a team qualifying for the playoffs, albeit in this instance the atrocious wild card game this evening against the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals made the "playoffs" for the first time in 29 years, and the game is in Kansas City. Yes, we have Jon Lester on the mound. But as John Fogerty once presciently noted:

I see a bad moon arisin'
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see bad times today

Is there a reset button?

Will home teams be mayflies or soar once more?, by Scott Ostler (SFGate)

... The A’s and Giants both staggered and stumbled into the playoffs, qualifying for the mayfly round, in which one team in each league will live for exactly one day, then die, forgotten, dust in the wind.

The question for the Giants and A’s is: Does that reset button really exist, or is it a hopeful Santa Claus-type myth?