Post-Season

The regular season has come and gone, folks. There has been some excellent baseball played up until now. There were extraordinary catches, dramatic homeruns, and of course, fantastic pitching all over baseball. And the season ended on such a great note, with the San Francisco Giants completing their come-from-behind story to beat out the San Diego Padres on the last day of the season for the National League West Division. To see that crowd go nuts as closer Brian Wilson struck out the last batter, was a thing of beauty. I can't say enough about how much I've enjoyed this 2010 MLB season so far, and I hope you have too.

But all of that was just the beginning. Now comes the post-season, where all the hard-work and determination of spring training and the regular season pays off for 8 teams. Those playoff teams, in case you have missed it, in the American League are the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees (Wild Card), Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, S.F. Giants, and the Atlanta Braves (Wild Card) will all be playing in the Divisional Championship Series starting tomorrow on TBS. And the match-ups are looking intense. The Rangers are facing off against the Rays in Tampa, while the Twins play host to the visiting Yanks. Unfortunately for the Twins, former A.L. MVP and stellar 1B Justin Morneau will have to sit out the entire playoffs due to a concussion he suffered late in the season. But Minnesota has proven that they can overcome adversity and aren't about to roll over for the defending champs, no matter how potent of a lineup the Yankees put up. Over in Florida, the battle between speed, power and pitching prowess will be on display as both the Rays and Rangers have been known to dominate an opponent in 2010. The Rays won the regular season series between these teams, 4-2. If Tampa catches a red-hot Texas lineup though, the Rays' pitching may not be able to contain Cruz, Vladdy, Young, Kinsler and the newly healthy Josh Hamilton. Both of these series promise to be drawn-out and intense affairs.

Over in the National League, it's a slightly different story. The Giants provided some late-season drama, but aside from that, the playoff race in the N.L. was a little lackluster. The Reds had long-since clinched a spot in the postseason, so they were playing uninspired baseball. The Braves, who had stumbled mightily against division nemesis Philly, as well as everyone else, barely squeaked into the playoffs ahead of San Diego. And the Phillies, who having crushed Atlanta's hopes of a N.L. East Division Championship, were soaring high and refused to rest, so that they might win the best record in the league honors, which they did. So you had one team dominating everyone in their path, one team making a great run at the end, and two kind of mediocre teams falling ass-over-head into October. And frankly, the upcoming series don't hold as much promise as the A.L. series do.

Philly is looking pretty confident going into a series at home, versus the Reds. Cincinnati, while having a very potent offense, doesn't quite match well with the three stud pitchers the Phils are going to throw at them. So unless Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and the rest of the Reds can bring some serious bat strength, these games might turn out to be blowouts in favor of the two-time defending National League Champions. Over in San Fran, the Giants have probably the best starting three pitchers outside of Philadelphia, but their bats are a question mark. Third-baseman Pablo Sandoval has been picking up his average of late, but his season has been an abject disappointment compared to 2009. If San Fransisco is going to get past the Braves and stand a chance at making the World Series, then Aubrey Huff, possible Rookie of the Year Buster Posey, and others must continue to put up timely runs when it matters most. The Braves do have the pitching to compete with the Giants or anyone else, but their bats have been streaky at best. So unless Atlanta puts everything together, and soon, this might not be the wonderful last hoorah for manager Bobby Cox that everyone has envisioned just a few months ago.

Of course, I don't mean to sound like a bummer. For as much as I think the American League Division Series will be a bit better than the National League, I'm going to try and watch every single playoff game with excitement and anticipation. Maybe the Reds will surprise the Phils. Maybe the Yankees will make a strong repeat run. Who knows, maybe even the Atlanta Braves will find the magic touch and destroy everyone in their path. That's the beauty of the postseason. Everyone is back to zero. What each guy did in the regular season may have been great, but unless that same player continues the success that got him to the playoffs, then all those regular season stats are for nothing. The postseason is a time of potential rebirth. A stumbling September team can become an October juggernaut. It's why I love baseball. It's why I love the playoffs. And it's why, I hope, you will be watching too.