So there's a post at SBNation suggesting that Edwin Jackson is the wizard behind the post-season curtain, his very existence (or at least his employment) determining the playoff fates of the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks -- all in a positive way.  But I'd like to suggest there's someone much closer to us with at least as much influence, and not in such a uniformly positive way...Jack Zduriencik, and his trades.  The evidence:

Jack Wilson was traded to the Braves on August 31:

Braves	 W	 L	 pct
pre-JW	80	55	.593
post-JW	 9	18	.333

Erik Bedard was traded to the Red Sox on July 31:

Red Sox	 W	 L	 pct
pre-EB	66	40	.623
post-EB	24	32	.429

Doug Fister was traded to the Tigers on July 30:

Tigers	 W	 L	 pct
pre-DF	56	51	.523
post-DF	39	16	.709

The only plausible explanation: Jack Zduriencik hates the wild card.  And Doug Fister is awesome.

[Edit: updated with final w-l standings.]