The injury might have played a role, but we'll never know for sure. In MLB negative stuff can snowball and a guy just can't come out of a bad stretch that season.
People sometimes forget how close Dave Roberts came to getting thrown out in 2004. It was so close that a bad umpiring call could have ruined everything. It was a clutch call by that ump.
That's the one point in its favor. But I don't think it was really meant to make things fairer so much as to keep more teams in it longer. Just my opinion.
2004 ALCS Game 6 vs. the Yanks. 2 calls correctly changed in our favor, including the infamous A-Rod slap play. In Yankee Stadium, and without benefit of viewing any replays.
I think the new WC system is rinky-dink. At the end of August there may still be some sub-.500 AL teams with a chance at a WC spot. But it was a smart move commercially to keep more fans interested longer.
It's all technicalities. In this case the Wild Card games are technically playoff games. MLB recognizes them as such, Baseball-Reference recognizes them as such.
Calling a game a 'playin' game instead of a 'playoff' game is just semantics. The reality is the same in either case. You win, you move on, you lose, you go home.
I still remember Gregg Zaun (covers Jays games and postseason games on Canadian sports network) talking about Middlebrooks having 'alligator arms' on that play.