Who can think of football on a day like today?

I get that football is more popular than baseball.
I understand it.

I understand that American Idol is more popular than Mad Men.
I have grasped that a Michael Bay Transformers movie is going to be more popular than a Joel and Ethan Coen film.

And I don't dislike football.

But please. The NFL is in week 4. There is a way to go.
Baseball?

There's only four games left and there is a real possibility for total anarchy.

How crazy is it?
Yankee fans are rooting for the Red Sox and Red Sox fans are rooting against the Red Sox.

That's so bonkers that it brings up the possibility that the Mayans were right.

Let's just take the American League and bring up the following plausible scenarios.

Orioles defeat the Red Sox. 
Not only is that possible, but Zach Stewart pitching for the Red Sox it is as much of a lock as any bet you could make today.

Twins defeat the Tigers.
Unlikely, but the Tigers are not pitching Verlander today and the game is in Minnesota. It is possible.

Blue Jays defeat the Yankees.
Toronto has a way of playing the Yankees very tough. And while Phil Hughes has pitched well recently, he is due to lay an egg.

White Sox defeat the Rays.
A tall order against David Price. But they are at home and Jose Quintana is no slouch.

Athletics defeat Mariners.
The A's are at home and they play with a certain magic there.

Angels sweep the double header against the Rangers
A very tall order, especially against Yu Darvish and Derek Holland. But Zack Greinke and Ervin Santana can throw well and the Angels are loose.

What would happen if those seven scenarios all came true?

The American League playoff picture would look like this:
The Orioles would be in first place for the East by one game over the Yankees.
The Tigers would be in first place for the Central by one game over the White Sox.
The Rangers would be in first place for the West by one game over the Athletics.

And the Angels would be one game out of the Wild Card.

And that would set up the final three games of the season with not only no playoff position in the American League set, but not one single American League team having clinched a playoff spot going into the final three games of the season.

That is potential anarchy.
That is potential insanity.

And it is happening all over baseball today.

And if you turn on sports talk radio, they are talking about the Packers and the Saints.

Folks! There is a lot of time for football.
This is anarchy.
This is dogs and cats living together and mass hysteria to paraphrase Peter Venkman.

Let's play ball!

 

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... September 16, 2010

The playoff picture is confusing and jumbled and seems to be changing by the hour. And trust me it will look different EVERY morning.

So the staff here at Sully Baseball has decided to list the current playoff match ups every morning.

Blink and it will change. The American League teams are pretty much set. The Twins win last night over the White Sox all but did them in and the Rangers' Magic Number is now in single digits.

But the Yankees and Rays seemed destined to flip flop the top spot in the AL and the Wild Card until the end of the year... and the Twins and Rangers probably won't know their opponent until the season wraps up.

(And keep in mind Minnesota is only a game back in the loss column for the best record in the AL... they could have the home field when all is said and done.)

While the AL jockey's for position, the NL has only one no brainer... the Reds and their 7 game in the loss column lead over St. Louis. Cincy's magic number is 10 and they should take care of business soon.

After that, who knows? The Phillies have a 3 game lead but that could evaporate. And the current match ups include two former front runners who have been slumping but as of this writing are hanging on for dear life.

Right now the Giants and the Rockies are on the outside looking in... but they could BOTH be playing in October if they don't break their pace.

So here are the match ups as of right now...

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)

MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)



NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL West Champion)

CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)

That will probably change while you are reading this.

Something I love about living in California!

I can see the Red Sox finish a sweep of the first place Tigers before 1PM!

I know it is too early to say "If the playoffs started today"...

But if they did, the Red Sox and Yankees would be tied with the Red Sox being the Division Winner based on the 5-0 head to head record.

The Red Sox would play the AL Central leading Tigers.

The Yankees would play the AL West leading Rangers.

And that is exactly what happened today. 

Significant? No... but interesting.

Also intesting? The A's have made it 3 in a row. 

I'm not making any more grandiose predictions... just remember I picked them to win the World Series and I'm sticking by it!

Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong

There are two commonly accepted ideas about baseball regarding payroll and the playoffs... and both have become conventional wisdom:




1. Only the teams with the biggest payrolls can have any success

2. It's the same teams year in and year out.


Let's look at #1.
In 2007, yes the team with the second highest payroll, the Red Sox, won the World Series.
But the other three teams that advanced to the League Championship Series were all in the bottom third of payrolls.

Cleveland - 23 out of 30
Colorado - 25 out of 30
Arizona - 26 out of 30

The NLCS was between the 4th and 5th lowest payrolls in the National League.
Meanwhile the 3rd, 4th and 6th highest payrolls all were on the golf course when the playoffs began.

And it gets even more pronounced this year.
Which team has the highest payroll? The New York Yankees... playing golf.
Which team has the second highest payroll? The Detroit Tigers... FORE!
Which team has the third highest payroll? The New York Mets... no doubt stuck in a sand trap.

Meanwhile the second lowest payroll in all of baseball... the Tampa Bay Rays... won their division.
For $6.6 million less than what the Yankees paid for only Carl Pavano, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu... Tampa Bay has home field advantage in the first round.

Meanwhile the Florida Marlins, with a $22 million payroll (again, less than Jason Giambi's salary) finished with a better record than the NL West Champion Dodgers.


Let's look at #2.

Do you know how many teams played in the post season in 2006, 2007 AND 2008?
None.
Zilch.
You can write it on an atom.
De nada.

Not the Yankees... not the Red Sox... not the Dodgers... not the Mets... not the Cardinals.
Nobody.

Can you imagine the NFL or NBA playoffs without some of the constants making the playoffs?

And take it back a year... since 2005... the League Championship Series seen 11 out of a possible 12 different teams play.
The only team in that span to play in more than one LCS?
The Yankees? The Red Sox?
Nope... the Cardinals, who lost in 2005 and won in 2006.

I know I made a lot of these points last year... but you people are NOT LISTENING TO ME!!!!

In this case, conventional wisdom is wrong.

If the baseball playoffs started today, September 26th

The more things get clearer, the fuzzier they really are.

Yeah the Dodgers clinched today, and that cemented another spot in the dance.
But besides the flip flopping in the AL Central, the tied NL Wild Card and Philadelphia looking over their shoulders... the Rays haven't clinched the East yet.

Could the Rays lose 3 in a row?
Could the Red Sox win 3 in a row and clinch the Division?

Oh I love this part of the year.

Let's look at the match ups:

DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (AL West)
has home field advantage over
BOSTON RED SOX (AL Wild Card)

TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East)
has home field advantage over
MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central)


NATIONAL LEAGUE

THE WILD CARD ONE GAME PLAYOFF

NEW YORK METS
at home versus
MILWAUKEE BREWERS

If the Mets win

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)

CHICAGO CUBS (NL Central)
has home field advantage over
NEW YORK METS (NL Wild Card)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East)
has home field advantage over
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (NL West)



If the Brewers win

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)

CHICAGO CUBS (NL Central)
has home field advantage overhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (NL West)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East)
has home field advantage over
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (NL Wild Card)

Following?
Pretty cool, huh?

So let's get on with business.

SULLY BASEBALL ARCHIVE CLIP OF THE DAY:
I make the case for the Orioles to change their caps back to the smiling bird.


SULLY BASEBALL PLUG OF THE DAY:

YOU CAN DO IT SAM by Amy Hest and illustrated by Anita Jeram
My kids love the simple but very sincere stories of Sam the Bear and his mom, Mrs. Bear. The plots of the stories are simple enough.
In Kiss Good Night Sam, Mrs. Bear needs to figure out what she forgot to do before Sam can fall asleep. (Title is a spoiler alert.)

In Don't You Feel Well Sam, Sam needs to take his medicine but won't.

The trilogy concludes with You Can Do It Sam, which is my kids favorite. Sam and Mrs. Bear travel from house to house delivering cakes and Sam is nervous about walking through the snow alone.

With their daddy about to jump face first into the playoffs, perhaps it is best that I read a lot to my kids now. Fathers out there let me recommend that.

Meanwhile me plugging this book is also a cry to Amy Hest herself... WRITE MORE SAM BOOKS!!!!!

Octoberfest... AGAIN!

It may not have been as pretty as last year... but the Red Sox are in the playoffs!

At this point, I feel that the Division would be nice, but give the veterans some rest and make sure you have Beckett, Dice-K and Lester lined up for the Division Series.

There's a World Series title to defend... I want to see my third series.
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

ENOUGH WITH THIS POLLYANNA STUFF!

OK, enough of jumping on board with Yankee nostalgia.

Enough Olive Branches.

My team is on the verge of a playoff spot, knocking Jeter and company to the golf course and go forward with a chance to line up the rotation to win a third World Series title in 5 seasons.

I want Beckett to crush Cleveland like, well, it was last October.
I want Tampa to be crushed by Baltimore because I'm not conceding the division just yet.
And I want the Blue Jays to smack the Yankees around. "The Fourth Place Yankees" has too nice a ring to it.

I'm excited and I'm going to get nasty.
My team is the bad guy now.
I knew that last year.

Well I'm getting pumped up for the playoffs and I want the bad guys to win.

Cub fans want a title? You've had 100 years to get one! I'm greedy I want another.

Lots of familiar faces on the Dodgers? Nice to see you, now get out of our way!

Philadelphia needs a hug, sports wise? Then rent Rocky or that Marky Mark Eagles movie!

The Mets want a title before the team gets too old? Then Beltran should have swung the bat!

Griffey and Thome are ringless but have a shot the ChiSox? If you want a ring so bad, maybe Papi give you each one of his... after he wins his third!

The Angels are the best team in baseball? Aren't they the team the Red Sox always sweep?

Tampa Bay is a nice story? So was Pollyanna... and I have no time for that!

PLAYOFFS ARE COMING!
And I'm getting nasty!

IF THE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... September 22, 2008

Here we go....

Into the last week!

DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)

AMERICAN LEAGUE:
LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM vs BOSTON RED SOX
(Angels with home field advantage)

TAMPA BAY RAYS vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX
(Rays with home field advatage)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
CHICAGO CUBS vs. NEW YORK METS
(Cubs with home field advantages)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
(Phillies with home field advantage)


From the Sully Baseball Archives... The players robbed of a post season MVP. Starting with the ALCS.


Plug of the Day
CHRISTIAN FINNEGAN'S TWO FOR FLINCHING

My good friend Christian Finnegan writes and performs brilliantly on this Comedy Central CD. One of the bits explains why he, a nice boy from Massachusetts, hates the Red Sox.

It's hilarious beginning to end... and let's hope we Red Sox fans are also smiling by the end of tomorrow where one win will clinch a playoff berth.

IF THE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... September 21, 2008

Well we know the Cubs and Rays are in it...














AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)
LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (Western Champs)
vs
BOSTON RED SOX (Wild Card)
Angels have home field advantage

TAMPA BAY RAYS (Eastern Champs)
vs
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (Central Champs)
Rays have home field advantage


NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (Best of 5)
CHICAGO CUBS (Central Champs)
vs.
NEW YORK METS (Wild Card)
Cubs have home field advantage

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (Eastern Champs)
vs
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (Western Champs)
Phillies have home field advatage


SULLY BASEBALL OLD POST OF THE DAY
I contemplate how baseball would have been different if the 1996 Rangers had a good bullpen


PLUG OF THE DAY
NUMBELIEVABLE: The Dramatic Stories Behind The Most Memorable Numbers In Sports History
by Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano

Ferraro and Veneziano break down the most meaningful, famous and sometime notorious numbers, stats and dates in sports history. It's a great read for all sports fans... even Dick Vitale thinks so.

Why would Dick Vitale lie?

It had better be standing room only at the Trop

Hey Rays fans...
when I read about today's game with Minnesota later today, I had better see the words "capacity crowd" in the article.

Not "a good size crowd" or "a nice crowd."
I'm talking standing room only.
I'm talking scalpers being able to pay a lot of bills this weekend.

If the Rays win today, they are going to the playoffs.
It's that simple.

And the Rays, a team whose previous accomplishments were a 70 win season and The Rookie, a team that was a consensus pick for contraction, can get into the playoffs... the baseball playoffs... the hardest playoffs to qualify for... with a win today.

The team with the lowest payroll in the American League can thumb their noses at all of baseball and punch the most unlikely ticket to October possibly in history if they beat the Twins today.

And they can do it at home... on a Saturday afternoon... on a day which according to Weather.com is 90 degrees and sunny... and you'll be in a dome.

And Saturday and Sunday are the last two home games of the season. The last chance to cheer on the team that will, against all the odds, bring post season baseball to Tampa Bay.

There had better not be an empty seat.
I don't want to hear about how most baseball fans in Tampa are transplanted Northeasterners.

I don't want to hear about how hard it is to get to the Trop.

I don't want to hear how people dislike the management and are taking a wait and see approach.

I don't want to hear how long it takes to build a fanbase.

Sell this game out.
Tickets are reasonably priced.

If there aren't 45,000 people in a Metropolitan area wanting to come out on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to see the hometown team pull off a feat that should be the subject of books and HBO specials for years to come... then maybe it's not a Major League town.

The post strike expansion already gave us the Diamondbacks, a team that couldn't sell out the NLCS.

A game like this had better be the hottest ticket in town.
I had better not be able to talk to the ticket window and say "two please."

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... September 18th, 2008

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
Best of 5

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (A.L. West)
Vs.
BOSTON RED SOX (A.L. Wild Card)

Angels have home field advantage

TAMPA BAY RAYS (A.L. East)
Vs.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (A.L. Central

Rays have home field advantage

WAYS IT CAN CHANGE:
Red Sox are 2 games behind Rays for AL East.
Twins are 2 ½ games behind White Sox for AL Central


NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
Best of 5

CHICAGO CUBS (N.L. Central)
Vs.
NEW YORK METS (N. L. Wild Card)

Cubs have home field advantage





PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (N.L. East)
Vs.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (N.L. West)

Phillies have home field advantage


WAYS IT CAN CHANGE:
Mets are ½ game behind Phillies for NL East
Brewers are ½ game behind Mets for NL Wild Card
Diamondbacks are 3 ½ games behind Dodgers for NL West
Astros are 4 games behind Mets for NL Wild Card



Now it has come to my attention that a lot of people have found my site by Googling “If the playoffs started today.”

So each day I will update “If the Playoffs Started Today” and link an old posting and plug something for a friend.

Today’s Link – Why Red Sox Fans and Yankee Fans Should Be Friends.

PLUG OF THE DAY:
Mass Historia: 365 Days of Historical Facts and (Mostly) Fictions

Chris Regan, the brilliant Peabody Award winner and 5 time Emmy winning writer for The Daily Show, wrote an intensely hilarious book that reviews a historical event for each day of the year and breaks them down in a laugh out loud manner.

It is as dense with comedy as The Daily Show’s America book (which he also co wrote) and I think it is funnier.

Buy the book, either at your bookstore or order it from Amazon.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY!

I love saying that…
And I love breaking it down at this time of the year when the playoff participants seem to keep changing hourly.

So let’s see what the matchups would be.


AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox












Red Sox have the solid starting pitching and some of their power seems to be coming back. When they get hot, there is no tougher team. But the fact of the matter is the Angels are the most complete team in baseball and I would be stunned if they didn’t win the American League Pennant.

ANGELS in 4



Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox













I’ve been underestimating the Rays all season long… and I haven’t learned my lesson. I am sure someone is still calling them a fluke, but it is September 17th and they are still in first place by themselves. They can pitch, they can hit and they haven’t wilted from the pressure of the post season. I have a soft spot in my heart for the White Sox this year because of Ken Griffey Jr, and if their bats get hot they’ll be tough… but this might be Tampa’s year.

RAYS in 5



NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets



A match up that the networks will love for the big markets and big stars. And if this indeed the match up, don’t blink… the Cubs will make sure this series is over before all the ads are sold.

CUBS in 3

















Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers















The Phillies are hitting, they are pitching and they are on a roll. But the Dodgers pitching is better, they have a better mix of veterans and young kids and Joe Torre has been here before.

DODGERS in 4



Stretching these picks to the next round… I’d see an Angels/Cubs World Series with the Angels winning it all.

But keep in mind something:

The last time the best team in the American League played the best team in the National League for the World Series was 1999 when the Yankees swept the Braves.

October is filled with upsets and LA and Chicago might host a Dodgers/White Sox World Series.

I’m just saying.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY!

It's the All Star break and it is no longer too early to look at the playoff match ups.

So before everyone heads of to New York to visit Yankee Stadium FOR THE LAST TIME as we are told ad nauseum (they are moving across the street, folks... they aren't going to Oklahoma City) let's look at the Match Ups.





AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
AL West Champion LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM vs. AL Wild Card TAMPA BAY RAYS

Pick - Angels in 3

AL East Champion BOSTON RED SOX vs. AL Central Champion CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Pick - Red Sox in 5


NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

NL Central Champion CHICAGO CUBS vs. NL West Champion ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Pick - Cubs in 4

NL East Champion PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES vs. NL Wild Card ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Pick - Cardinals in 4

And for the hell of it, let's predict the other rounds:

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM defeat BOSTON RED SOX
4 games to 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

CHICAGO CUBS defeat ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
4 games to 1

WORLD SERIES

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM defeat CHICAGO CUBS

4 Games to 1

But don't despair Cubs fans... my predictions usually stink

Guess what... the playoff system works!

I don't want to hear any complaints about how the baseball playoffs aren't fair.
I already covered how there is more variety in the playoffs than in the NFL but let's take a look at the 4 teams left in the playoffs.

You have the two teams tied for most wins in the AL (Red Sox and Indians) going for the AL championship.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

And then you have the two teams tied for the most wins in the NL (Rockies and Diamondbacks) going for the NL championship.

That's pretty cool!
We are assured the best teams are playing, thus not having another year where the regular season was rendered near obsolete.

And for the myth that only the highest payroll teams can win... there is only one team, the Red Sox in the top 22 payrolls.

Think about that... after all the bitching and moaning about how small budget teams can't compete... 75% of the remaining teams are from the bottom 8 payrolls.

And the remaining one is the new Evil Empire.

FATHER! THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKENED!

Sorry for the obscure Dune reference there...

But I can't help but think that the Yankees are currently like Paul Atreides after taking the Water of Life... and will soon be storming Jacobs Field on the backs of giant sandworms.

OK, I think I have confused 100% of my readers.

What I am saying is... I did not want the Yankees to wake up.
I think they woke up.

I have NO "Bring the Yankees On!" bravado.

I want no part of them.

I want to take my chances with the Indians and try to win the pennant without going through New York.

My heart can't take it.

But here come those Yankees... screaming Muad dib!

A-Rod's plan isn't working

Back in April, I thought I had figured out A-Rod's exit strategy:

1. Have the best regular season any Yankee fan had ever seen.

.314, 54 HRs, 156 RBI, 1.067 OPS and more walk off homers and clutch hits than I can remember. CHECK!

2. Act relaxed and have fun.

A-Rod smiles! A-Rod and Jeter seem to like each other! Heck, he even goes to strip clubs! CHECK!

3. Win the fans over and have them want him to stay.

Lots of fans wearing #13... lots of fans saying "He's got to stay." The very fans who were going to run him out of town and saying how much he sucks... now love him.

4. Because the team doesn't make the playoffs, he doesn't have to hear about his October failures... and when he bolts with New York asking him to stay he can say "Don't blame me for this one!"

Whoops.

A-Rod has as many hits in October as Maya Angelou and suddenly he has become the focus of the Yankees disappearing offense and sudden 0-2 hole.

He's not the only person to blame, of course. Posada and Matsui are hitless.
Damon is 0-8 after his leadoff homer in game 1.
Saint Derek Jeter has 1 hit.
Robinson Cano has 1 hit.
Wang stunk.
Torre mismanaged the bullpen.

But when you sign the biggest contract in sports and then bat 4-for-47 (.085) with no RBIs in his last 14 post season games... you have to be ready to take the grief.

And if he goes 0 fer in game 3 and the Yankees go quietly, the very fans who were giving him curtain calls in May will be chasing him out of New York with torches and pitchforks.

Imagine any other fan base chasing a 2 time MVP out of town!
54 home runs thrown right down the drain.

His plan would have been perfect... if only the Yankees didn't have that great comeback!

I think Manny is still posing at homeplate

And I love that lunatic.

Some people will just never get why Manny is so awesome.
Some of the readers on my favorite Yankee Blog try to admonish me for being such a fan.

"He quit on the team... he's selfish... he takes himself out of big games... he's a whiner... he's a cancer... blah blah blah."

He's also hilarious.
He pees in the Green Monster, looks like Predator, wears his uniform like pajamas, makes easy catches look hard (like tonight in the 8th inning) sells his grill on line...

And oh yeah, if you walk Big Papi... you might let up a walk off homer that leaves the park completely.

And he does it in the postseason, which let's face it, is the only time of the year anyone remembers.

If that's a cancer, then I hope the Red Sox never get Chemo!

Hey Lou! Nice job keeping Zambrano rested for Spring Training!

Look, I'm not claiming I know more about baseball than Lou Piniella... but if I had my team on the road for game one of the playoffs... and I had my ace on the mound and he is matching the other team's Ace inning for inning... and he has 8 Ks in 6 innings... I'd let him pitch the 7th.

I'd push him to 100 pitches.

I'd say "We have a chance to beat this team, get homefield advantage, win the game that they threw their ace and get the edge in a best of five series."

Call me nuts!

Forget 100 pitches, he never threw 90!
This is not a second guess... this is what I, and I assume 99% of Cubs fans were thinking!

When he came out before the 7th began, I just assumed he was injured.

But Piniella explained in the post game press conference that he is bringing Zambrano back on 3 days rest.

Um... not if the Diamondbacks win game 3 you aren't!

If Rich Hill wins game 3, Zambrano comes back to win game 4 and Mr Throw the Glove after a homer Ted Lilly clinches it, I'll eat a big bowl of crow.

But maybe then Lou might hold Zambrano back as well... got to save him for the World Series!

I am going to start an irresponsible rumor...

Gamblers paid off Chien-Ming Wang to lose game 1 of the Division Series.

He looked terrible in the first, letting up 3 runs and blowing a 1-0 lead.
But what did he do with the first batter?
HE HIT HIM!
Come on! You saw Eight Men Out!
That was the signal to the gamblers that the fix was it... hit the first batter!

Say it Ain't So, Chien-Ming! Say it Ain't So!

It's not going to be this easy.... but...

MAN THAT FELT GOOD!

If Beckett keeps this Orel Hershiser impersonation up, then this could be such a beautiful post season.

If Ortiz keeps up his... well... David Ortiz impersonation up, then it might even be better!

It's your serve Dice-K.
You've had a week's rest. Now pitch like you did in that high school game we all heard about!