American League playoff races

The baseball playoff races are heating up, particularly in the American League, which I will take a look at here.  The Athletics (88-67) have come up with two huge wins the last two nights in Texas against the Rangers (91-64), especially with the Angels (85-69) breathing down their necks.  We're talking two big road wins with the season winding down against the two-time reigning American League Champions.  The A's are just a half-game behind the Orioles (89-67) for the top Wild Card spot.  I don't want to jinx things, but it looks like the A's have what it takes to get to the play-in game.  And don't look now, but if they win tomorrow afternoon against Texas, they may have a chance to make things interesting in the AL West as well.

The Rays (85-70) have won seven straight to remain in the race.  Their saving grace is that they have three games at home against the Orioles next week to close the season.  The Yankees (90-65) aren't out of the woods yet, but the bet here is that they will win the American League East, leaving the A's and Orioles in the play-in game (hard to see Tampa Bay getting a sweep of Baltimore, which is what they may need).  But, there sure are a lot of teams in the chase even at this late juncture. 

Though it should still be interesting to see what happens, I still oppose the second Wild Card being added.  I like that it should be harder to make the playoffs and that the regular season was still a reward.  Although, on the plus side, I think baseball's regular season is still the least watered down in all of sports (though this doesn't make it okay in my book to water it down more).

The AL Central is going down to the wire as well.  The White Sox (82-73) appear to be fading at the wrong time and now trail the Tigers (83-72) by one game after leading the division by a few games not that long ago.  This thing is far from over, but the Sox need to turn it around now.  I think the Tigers now have the momentum, not to mention a talent advantage and will win the division by a slight margin.  Detroit would be a very dangerous team in the playoffs, with Justin Verlander at the top of the rotation and a middle of the lineup that features Miguel Cabrera (still a realistic chance to be the first player to win the Triple Crown since 1967) and Prince Fielder.

Three Game 5s spread between tonight and tomorrow

Getting ready to watch Tigers-Yankees in just a few minutes on TBS. It's the first of three decisive Game 5s in the first round. Tomorrow it's Brewers-Diamondbacks at 3 p.m. MT and Phillies-Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. MT. It doesn't get much better than this. If you get a chance, I encourage you to check out as much of these games as possible. Seasons are on the line and it's now or never. I love it.

I hope the Tigers reconsider their position of not bringing ace pitcher Justin Verlander out of the bullpen tonight should the situation warrant it. It's Game 5 and in my book, you should have all hands on deck.

Well, in any case, here we go!

Playoff picks

Sooo, the two teams I picked to make the World Series, the San Francisco Giants (86-76) and the Boston Red Sox (90-72) didn't even make the playoffs. I'm sad about the Giants, but think it's cool the Tampa Bay Rays (91-71) made it. Anyway, let's get cracking with my playoff picks:

American League:
Texas Rangers (96-66) over Rays in 4. The Rangers have some pitching and have a very potent offense, but the Rays have a ton of intangibles, but a ton of pitching. I think the Rangers have more talent, though, and will pull it out.

Detroit Tigers (95-67) over New York Yankees (97-65) in 5. Putting it simply: the Tigers have Justin Verlander and he gets to pitch twice in a full series. He's the best player in the American League this year in my book. Both teams have hitting and pitching, but I think Verlander makes the difference.

National League:
Philadelphia Phillies (102-60) over St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) in 4. The Phillies just have a better team. Their pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation is better. But the Cards have a good team and a good manager in Tony La Russa so they should make it a series.

Milwaukee Brewers (96-66) over Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68) in 5. The Brewers have a much better team on paper. But so did the Giants if you ask me. The D-Backs have the intangibles and mojo that could carry them past the first round. However, the Brewers have good chemistry and I think the deciding factor will be home field advantage.

Well, for the heck of it, I'll pick the LCS and World Series while I'm at it: Rangers over Tigers in 7 and Phillies over Brewers in 6. In the World Series, Phillies over Rangers in 5. More detailed picks on the succeeding rounds when they are upon us.

Tomorrow, it's Rays at Rangers at 3 p.m. MT and Tigers at Yankees at 6:30 p.m. MT. Both games are on TBS. The National League Playoffs get underway on Saturday.

Jeter picks up 3,000th hit

Derek Jeter picked up his 3,000th career hit today on a home run to left field in the bottom of the 3rd inning at Yankee Stadium. Jeter is only the second player to ever record his iconic 3,000th hit with a home run, and the first to record all 3,000 of his hits with the New York Yankees. Jeter is now surely headed to the Hall of Fame, if he wasn't already assured of that. The Yankees (52-35) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (49-40) 5-4 thanks to a 5-for-5 effort from Jeter, including the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 8th. I'm not a Yankees fan at all, but it was kind of cool to see Jeter have a big moment like this and have a nice day because he's always seemed like a class act and a good guy to me.

You really couldn't script it any better for Jeter. He has come under a lot of scrutiny lately for his numbers being down. However, I didn't think his numbers were always exactly eye-popping, but they were consistent. And Jeter has always had the it factor. Whatever it is, Jeter has it. He's always been clutch and a leader. And perhaps most importantly, he's just a winner. He's the kind of guy you'd want on your team. I think a lot of the criticism he's taken has been unwarranted. He may not always have been a pure numbers guy, but he has what it takes to be a great baseball player. Now he has the big number that will ensure his place in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

MLB predictions

It's that time of the year. Thursday is Opening Day for Major League Baseball, one of the best days of the entire year if you ask me. There's something about baseball that just makes it seem like it's going to be a good summer. Check out ESPN for three games tomorrow and of course MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv all season long. The World Champion San Francisco Giants open up at the hated Los Angeles Dodgers at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN, should be exciting. Okay, so now it's time to give you my picks for the upcoming season, starting with the American League:

AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL Central:
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

AL West:
1. Oakland Athletics
2. Texas Rangers
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
4. Seattle Mariners

AL Wild Card:
1. New York Yankees
2. Texas Rangers
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Detroit Tigers

And now for the National League:

NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. New York Mets
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central:
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West:
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Colorado Rockies
3. San Diego Padres
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Arizona Diamondbacks

NL Wild Card:
1. Colorado Rockies
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Atlanta Braves
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Florida Marlins

In the AL seeding, I predict 1. Red Sox 2. Twins 3. Athletics 4. Yankees and in the NL 1. Phillies 2. Giants 3. Brewers 4. Rockies

And now for the round-by-round playoff predictions (NL winning the All-Star Game to give them home field advantage for World Series):

Division Series:
Red Sox over Athletics
Yankees over Twins
Philies over Rockies
Giants over Brewers

League Championship Series:
Red Sox over Yankees
Giants over Phillies

World Series:
Giants over Red Sox

There you have it, I'm picking my World Champion San Francisco Giants to repeat. How could I not? They do have pretty much the whole team back and the chemistry with this group is unlike just about anything I've ever seen in professional baseball, and there is something to be said about that.

The Phillies are going to miss Chase Utley I think, but they do have that pitching staff. But the Giants have the pitching, too, plus they have all the intangibles. The Red Sox I think are the team to beat in the American League. Carl Crawford is a big addition for them. I think the Athletics are going to make a run in the West this year with their young, talented pitching staff. In another pick that might surprise, I've picked the Brewers to win the NL Central. They've acquired some pitching to go along with that offense, notably Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals. Alright, that's all for now. It's time for baseball. All hail the World Champion San Francisco Giants!

Rangers win ALCS; Giants-Phillies Game 6 upcoming

The Texas Rangers defeated the New York Yankees 6-1 tonight to win the ALCS 4 games to 2. The clinched in front of a rabid home crowd to earn their first pennant and World Series berth in team history. Colby Lewis was really good for 8 innings of pitching and Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz both had big hits in a key 4-run fifth inning for the Rangers. Josh Hamilton took home the ALCS MVP award after a really good series. The Yankees walked him intentionally three different times tonight. The Rangers' lineup is flat out dangerous and their starting pitching has looked quite good as well. The bullpen has been a little shaky, but they did get a great outing from Derek Holland in Game 4 and Neftali Feliz has been dynamic as the closer. They will be a tough out for whoever plays them in what I think will be a long World Series.

I'm really, really happy that the Yankees have lost and won't win the World Series this year. As I've said before, to me they represent everything is wrong with baseball. They have an exorbitant payroll that reaches far beyond even what other large market teams are capable of and are basically poachers of players that other teams have developed. It's infuriating. They think they can just get whoever they want and essentially buy championships. So I was very happy to see all the shots of the Yankees and their long faces late in the game as the inevitability of losing this game sunk in on them. Good stuff.

The San Francisco Giants take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the NLCS Saturday night in Philadelphia at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. The Giants lead the series 3 games to 2.The Giants start Jonathan Sanchez and the Phillies go with Roy Oswalt. Despite the loss at home in Game 5, I still think the Giants have a really good chance to take home the pennant. Sanchez is a really confident pitcher and has had really good stuff and control lately. The offense has been able to scratch across a few runs and even scored the game-winner against Oswalt when he came on in relief during Game 4. If I had to pick I would say the Giants win this game and move on to the World Series. I hope I am right, I think it will be a good, close game. Go Giants!

Giants drop Game 5, series goes back to Philly

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2 tonight in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Giants still lead the series 3 games to 2. Game 6 is Saturday in Philadelphia with the start time yet to be determined (it depends on the outcome of Game 6 of the ALCS tomorrow night). Roy Halladay had a strained groin and seemed to be in trouble every inning for the Phillies but he gutted out six innings and had just enough to earn the win. The Phillies did most of their offensive damage in the 3rd inning, scoring three runs off Giants ace Tim Lincecum who suffered his first postseason defeat.

The Giants' defense let them down in the 3rd inning as Pablo Sandoval missed third base on a bunt attempt by Halladay that would have resulted in a double play and Aubrey Huff misplayed a groundball that ricocheted into center field and allowed two runs to score. The offense had some chances in the first inning as well but Phillies first baseman was able to snare a ball that Huff hit right on the screws for an out. If not for that play, the inning could have been a lot bigger than it was with the one early run the Giants did get. It's bad luck on that play, but part of baseball at the same time.

I thought Halladay showed a lot of heart tonight. It was clear he didn't have his best stuff, but he still only gave up two runs in six innings which to me shows a lot of character. And to find out after the game that he strained his groin in the second inning only makes his performance more impressive.

Cody Ross continues to be the frontrunner for NLCS MVP as he doubled in another run to push his RBI total to 5 for the series. He just seems to keep coming up with big hits in big situations. Let's hope he continues to swing a hot bat in Philadelphia.

I'm still optimistic about the Giants. They have already won in Philadelphia in the series and have Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain to pitch Games 6 and 7 against Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Hopefully Game 7 isn't necessary, but it's nice to know that Saturday isn't an elimination game. I can hardly wait to see what happens. Game time should be just before 6 p.m. MT if the Rangers close out the Yankees tomorrow and just before 2 p.m. MT if the hated Yanks force a Game 7 in Texas for Saturday night. Speaking of the ALCS, it resumes tomorrow night. Here's the details:

Game 6 -- New York Yankees (Hughes) at Texas Rangers (Lewis), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 3-2)

And in another sports note, did anyone else notice what kind of beat down #1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) put on UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) tonight? The final score in Autzen was 60-13. The Ducks look really good and really fast. They are going to be tough to beat. I'm not a big Oregon fan per se, but their team sure is fun to watch play.

Cain is able and Ross comes through again for Giants in Game 3

Pictured: Cody Ross once again comes through, this time with an RBI single in the 4th inning.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 this afternoon in Game 3 of the NLCS to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is set for tomorrow night at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX. Matt Cain threw seven shutout innings and outdueled Cole Hamels to earn his first career postseason win. Can't say enough about Cain, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said that Cain seemed to get even tougher when he got in more pressurized situations. The rest of the country is starting to see what we've seen for a couple of years now: the Giants have some big time pitching. Javier Lopez pitched a perfect 8th -- I still don't think he gets all the recognition he deserves as he's been absolutely lights out lately. Brian Wilson threw a scoreless 9th to earn the save.

Cody Ross once again came through, this time with a two out RBI single in the 4th inning off Hamels to enable the Giants to draw first blood. He's really dialed in right now -- after the game both Ross and Hamels said they felt it was a pitcher's pitch which makes it even more impressive that he was able to pull it to left field and give the Giants the lead. Aubrey Huff followed with an RBI single of his own and Freddy Sanchez added an RBI single an inning later.

The Giants are in pretty good shape but it's important for them to keep riding this momentum into tomorrow night's game. A win tomorrow night will put them in great shape for a prospective National League pennant.

The Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees tonight 10-3 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the ALCS. The big blow was a three run home run from Bengie Molina to make it 5-3 in the 6th and the Rangers kept adding on after that. Reliever Derek Holland was as big a hero as anyone, throwing 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball to hold down the fort. He appropriately earned the win. The Rangers have a chance to clinch tomorrow. That sure would be cool.

Here's the details for tomorrow's games:

Game 5 -- Texas Rangers (Wilson) at New York Yankees (Sabathia), 2:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 3-1)
Game 4 -- Philadelphia Phillies (Blanton) at San Francisco Giants (Bumgarner), 5:57 p.m. MT (FOX, Giants lead series 2-1)

Cliff Lee dominant; Giants-Phils resume play tomorrow

The Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees 8-0 tonight at Yankee Stadium to take a 2 games to 1 lead in the ALCS. Cliff Lee was masterful through eight scoreless innings and the Rangers rocked the Yankees bullpen with six runs in the 9th. Josh Hamilton hit a two run home run in the first and that was all Lee needed. This was a big win for the Rangers who took home field back and will try and extend their series lead tomorrow evening.

The San Francisco Giants host the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow afternoon at AT&T Park in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hopefully they come out on top. Just a short post tonight as I am busy. Go Giants! Here are the start times for tomorrow's games:

Game 3 -- Philadelphia Phillies (Hamels) at San Francisco Giants (Cain), 2:19 p.m. MT (FOX, Series tied 1-1)
Game 4 -- Texas Rangers (Hunter) at New York Yankees (Burnett), 6:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 2-1)

Giants take Game 1 of NLCS

At left: Cody Ross celebrates after one of his two home runs Saturday night in Philadelphia.

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Saturday night in Game 1 of the NLCS from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Cody Ross was the big star, clubbing two home runs off Phillies ace Roy Halladay, who had thrown a no-hitter in his previous start. Tim Lincecum went 7 solid innings, yielding 3 earned runs. Javier Lopez retired two hitters in the 8th and Brian Wilson earned a four out save. Halladay allowed 4 earned runs in his outing. Pat Burrell had an RBI double and Juan Uribe an RBI single in the top of the 6th to push the Giants' lead to 4-1. The Phillies countered with a two run homer from Jayson Werth to trim the lead to 4-3 but would get no closer.

The big thing about the first Ross home run was that Halladay had not allowed a hit to that point and the game was in the third inning. I think that hit and that run that gave the Giants the 1-0 lead really helped loosen everyone up. Ross has been huge lately and it's pretty to cool to see from a guy whose acquisition seemed to be almost an afterthought in the minds of Giants fans. Even when Carlos Ruiz tied the game up on a homer, the Giants did not lose their cool and recaptured the lead behind Ross' second long ball. It was interesting to see on the replays on Baseball Tonight that Ross' stroke looked pretty much exactly the same on both of his homers on pitches that were in almost the exact location. That's some good consistency.

The Giants showed resiliency tonight and did not fold in front of a rabid, sell-out crowd and the two-time defending National League Champions. I thought the bullpen did a tremendous job. Brian Wilson has been great, but so has Javier Lopez ever since the Giants acquired him from the Pirates. Lopez has been extremely tough on left-handed hitters and that trend continued tonight when he retired Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in succession in the top of the 8th.

It's nice to take the opener in Philadelphia and have the lead now not to mention having the assurance of going back to the bay area with no worse than a split. A win tomorrow night, however, would be pretty sweet.

In the ALCS today, the Texas Rangers bounced back in a big way from last night in defeating the New York Yankees 7-2 to even that series at 1-1. The Rangers' bats were once again hot and they were able to jump out to a big lead. The difference today was that the bullpen was able to hold the lead, throwing 3 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit baseball. The win was the first home win in Texas Rangers playoff history so it's good to get that out of the way. One cool play in the game came in the first inning when Elvis Andrus stole home on a double steal play to put the Rangers up 1-0 and help give them some momentum. Cliff Lee pitches for the Rangers in Game 3 on Monday night in the Bronx in a very pivotal game in the series.

Here's the stuff for the game tomorrow night:

Game 2 -- San Francisco Giants (Sanchez) at Philadelphia Phillies (Oswalt), 6:19 p.m. MT (FOX, Giants lead series 1-0)

Rangers cough up lead and lose Game 1

The Texas Rangers lost Game 1 of the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees tonight by a score of 6-5 in Arlington, TX. The loss was especially brutal because the Rangers held a 5-0 lead through six innings of play and a 5-1 lead entering the 8th. Ah, but the 8th was a brutal inning where the Rangers bullpen imploded and allowed the Yankees to take the lead before even recording an out. One of the big killers was Darren Oliver coming in from the bullpen and walking two hitters. You can't give away free bases in these kind of games. Of course I shouldn't single out Oliver because pretty much anyone that came in from the bullpen didn't get the job done in that inning. Marcus Thames got the big hit that put the Yankees ahead for the first time but there were many contributors.

The whole thing just disgusts me. The Rangers had the Yankees' ace, CC Sabathia, on the ropes and couldn't win. You can't afford to have that happen. Now all the momentum is with the Yankees. Hopefully the Rangers can bounce back tomorrow and even the series up. They can't dwell on this loss too much. Here's the LCS Schedule for tomorrow:

Game 2 -- New York Yankees (Hughes) at Texas Rangers (Lewis), 2:07 p.m. MT (TBS, Yankees lead series 1-0)
Game 1 -- San Francisco Giants (Lincecum) at Philadelphia Phillies (Halladay), 5:57 p.m. MT

It's no secret. I'm very much looking forward to the Giants game tomorrow night and it can't get here soon enough. Go Giants!

League Championsip Series preview

The American League Championship Series gets under way tonight at 6:07 p.m. MT with the New York Yankees at the Texas Rangers. The Yankees start CC Sabathia and the Rangers counter with C.J. Wilson who was very solid in his Game 2 start against the Rays in the Division Series. The Yankees looked like a buzzsaw in sweeping the Twins in the first round and appear to have a lot of momentum plus a bona fide ace starting in Game 1. I hate the Yankees more than any other team in sports but I think they just have too much for the Rangers to handle and will win the series in five games.

It hurts the Rangers' cause that Cliff Lee likely won't be able to start until Game 3 of the series because he pitched on Tuesday night in the deciding Game 5 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay. Lee's performance in the Rangers' win has further solidified him as a big game pitcher who knows how to win in October. Curt Schilling, now an analyst for Baseball Tonight, said he feels a big key in this series for the Rangers will be to get Lee two starts. I agree as I feel the Rangers will have the edge when Lee takes the ball. They need to find a way to win a couple of other games, though. Tonight is a big game because whoever wins will be in the driver's seat for the series. If the Yankees win they will have stolen away home field advantage after the first game and if the Rangers win they will go back to New York with no worse than a split and their ace Lee lined up to pitch in Game 3. The stakes are high tonight and I'm excited to watch.

The National League Championship Series gets under way tomorrow night at 5:57 p.m. MT on FOX with the San Francisco Giants at the Philadelphia Phillies. Game 1's pitching matchup could be one for the ages as the Giants go with Tim Lincecum and the Phillies with Roy Halladay. I'm really excited to watch that one. Halladay of course threw a no-hitter in his most recent (and first career) postseason start while Lincecum threw a complete game shutout in his NLDS start against the Braves and yielded only two hits while striking out 14 batters. Both teams have solid pitching, especially when you look at their first three starters. The Phillies go with Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. The Giants go with Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain. The Phillies' offense is more potent than San Francisco's and while the front line starting pitchers are similar (I may give the Phillies a very slight edge in this department) but I believe the Giants' bullpen is more formidable. This should make for a very exciting series and I for one can't wait for it to get under way. As much as I would love for the Giants to win and am craving a world title for them, I think the Phillies take this series in six games.

Lincecum dominates Braves in Game 1

At left: Giants ace Tim Lincecum delivers a pitch during his complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

Tim Lincecum threw a complete game shutout in leading the San Francisco Giants to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves tonight in San Francisco. Lincecum was dealing all night, allowing only two hits and one walk in going the distance. Lincecum also set a franchise playoff record with 14 strikeouts in his first ever postseason start. "The Franchise" was outstanding and seemed in control all night. I was happy to see that manager Bruce Bochy let him go all nine innings. The Giants lead the best-of-five series 1 game to none.

Man it was fun to watch tonight. It had been a long time since my favorite team was in the playoffs and to see the festive atmosphere at AT&T Park was just awesome. The fans love it and as a fan, so do I. The Giants got their only run in the 4th inning and benefited from a couple of breaks that went their way. Buster Posey appeared to be out in stealing second base in the inning but was ruled safe on a close play (Posey commented after the game that it's a good thing they don't use instant replay yet). After an intentional walk to Pablo Sandoval, Cody Ross hit a two out single to drive in Posey from second. The ball got under the glove of Braves third baseman Omar Infante and went into left field which allowed for the run to score. The Giants took advantage of the breaks and were able to win the game.

In games earlier in the day, the Texas Rangers hammered the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 at Tropicana Field and the New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-2. I only caught part of each of those games, but I caught the turning point of the Rangers-Rays game. In the fifth inning and the Rangers holding a 2-0 lead, Texas 3B Michael Young was at the plate against Rays pitcher Chad Qualls with two runners on and one out. On a 2-2 pitch, Young attempted to check his swing, but even in live action appeared to clearly go around on the swing. However, on the appeal to the first base umpire it was ruled that Young did not swing which made the count 3-2. The Rays bench was incensed immediately and became even more so when on the next pitch, Young crushed a 3 run home run to make the score 5-0. Rays manager Joe Maddon went out to argue and was ejected in short order. I don't blame Maddon as that missed call changed the entire complexion of the game. Yes I know the Rangers were already ahead, but there is a huge difference between a 2-0 and a 5-0 game. Who knows, there is a good chance the Rangers would have won anyway as the Rays have had a lot of trouble scoring, but there definitely was a lot more pressure on Tampa Bay after that.

There was a similar situation in the Twins-Yankees game as Lance Berkman was not rung up on a pitch that could have been called strike three and subsequently hit an RBI double. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing that one. The Yankees just disgust me on so many levels, but they do play some good baseball. I don't want to dwell too much more on them right now.

So looking back, all 3 games had tough calls. I would say the team with the biggest gripe was the Rays, with the Twins and Braves having lesser gripes. The calls against the Twins and Braves were at least reasonably close and could be construed as questionable (the umpire appeared to have a tough angle on Posey's steal of second, although replays clearly showed he was out) even if it appears that the calls were missed. The call against the Rays, though, in my book was blatantly missed and when you add to the fact that a 3 run home run was hit on the next pitch, well that's a tough one to swallow. But I'm sure the Rangers, Yankees and Giants are all taking them. I know I'm not putting an asterisk by the Giants win tonight. The fact is umpires are human and miss calls for better or worse and teams sometimes have to overcome them. However, some calls are so bad that there isn't an excuse for missing them and I feel the non-call on Young's checked swing was one of them. But the Rays can't dwell too much on that as they have to focus on their next game on Saturday. It's in the past now and the Rays certainly didn't take advantage of opportunities they had to win. Part of the game is playing the cards you are dealt even if it doesn't seem fair.

Here's the schedule for the playoffs tomorrow:

Game 2 -- Cincinnati Reds (Arroyo) at Philadelphia Phillies (Oswalt), 4 p.m. MT (TBS, Phillies lead series 1-0)
Game 2 -- Atlanta Braves (Hanson) at San Francisco Giants (Cain), 7:30 p.m. MT (TBS, Giants lead series 1-0)

One more thought on the action today: Don't get me wrong as I still believe the Rangers, Yankees and Giants all played well enough to win and their victories should not be viewed as tainted. I'm excited for Game 2 from AT&T Park tomorrow night. It should be another electric atmosphere and be a lot of fun to watch. Go Giants!

Roy Halladay throws no-hitter!

At left: Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay embraces catcher Carlos Ruiz following his historic no-hitter against the Reds.

What a first day of the postseason! Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay stole the show on opening night of the playoffs by tossing just the second no-hitter in postseason history! Halladay was dominant all day long and showed why he is the consensus pick to win the National League Cy Young Award. Fortunately I was able to get home from work in time to see the last two innings of the game and to soak in the incredible atmosphere.

I remember growing up just hearing about Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series was the only no-hitter ever thrown in playoff history. That really puts this one in perspective. It is incredibly hard to throw a no-hitter in the regular season and in the playoffs it is just that much more difficult as there are only quality teams remaining.

Halladay has had a long career and until this year played for the Blue Jays and had never pitched in a playoff game. What a way to make an impression in his first ever playoff game. I can still hardly believe it happened. His stuff was, obviously, dominant. I can't think of a pitcher I would rather start a team with than Halladay. I thought it was really cool that it was a home game for the Phillies -- that really added to the atmosphere that much more, the fans were really pulling for it. Halladay said something in a post-game interview to the effect that to describe the atmosphere as electric wouldn't even do it justice.

Oh and the Phillies won the game 4-0. I think they are the team to beat this year with their pitching and their deep lineup. Here are the scores from Wednesday's Division Series Game 1s:

Texas Rangers 5, Tampa Bay Rays 1 (Rangers lead series 1-0)
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Cincinnati Reds 0 (Phillies lead series 1-0)
New York Yankees 6, Minnesota Twins 4 (Yankees lead series 1-0)

The Rays and Twins are both in a bit of a hole after losing Game 1 on their home field and will have to look at their Game 2s tomorrow as must-wins. I still like the Rays in that series against the Rangers as I think they have the deeper team. Cliff Lee was pretty darn good for the Rangers today, though. As for the Yankees, yuck, I just hope the Twins beat them. I think they can at the very least give them a competitive series, but winning tomorrow is paramount. Here's the schedule for Thursday:

Game 2 -- Texas Rangers (Wilson) at Tampa Bay Rays (Shields), 12:30 p.m. MT (TBS, Rangers lead series 1-0)
Game 2 -- New York Yankees (Pettite) at Minnesota Twins (Pavano), 4 p.m. MT (TBS, Yankees lead series 1-0)
Game 1 -- Atlanta Braves (Lowe) at San Francisco Giants (Lincecum), 7:30 p.m. MT (TBS)

That last one there is the one I will be the most dialed into for sure. The Giants play their first postseason game in seven years at home with their ace on the mound. I'm predicting a very competitive series and the Giants winning in five games. Derek Lowe goes for the Braves and he has been pitching very well down the stretch. We'll see how it all plays out. I can't wait!

MLB Playoff predictions

Okay here are my picks for the first round best-of-five playoff series, with the teams with home field advantage listed first. Starting with the National League:

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds: I'll take the Phillies in 3. Their pitching and offense put together will be too much for the Reds to overcome in this series.

San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves: Giants in 5. Both teams feature good pitching and offenses that can do things so I think it will be a competitive, long series. In the end I'll take the Giants with home field and the opportunity to have Tim Lincecum pitch twice in the series.

And now the American League:

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers: Rays in 4. The Rays are a more complete ballclub and will benefit from having home field advantage. They have offense and pitching and seem to have the drive necessary to advance. Cliff Lee of the Rangers could make things interesting.

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees: Yankees in 5. It hurts to type that but I think with CC Sabathia pitching twice and with this team knowing how to win in October I have to go with the Yankees. The Twins will make it a good series and having home field advantage will definitely make things interesting.

For the record I'll take the Phillies over the Giants in the NLCS and the Rays over the Yankees in the ALCS. This would go in accordance of my preseason prediction of a Phillies-Rays World Series. And as I did in the preseason I'll go with the Phillies to win it all.

Reviewing my preseason playoff picks really quickly as well:

NL East pick/winner: Phillies/Phillies
NL Central pick/winner: Cardinals/Reds
NL West pick/winner: Rockies/Giants
NL Wild Card pick/winner: Braves/Braves

AL East pick/winner: Rays/Rays
AL Central pick/winner: White Sox/Twins
AL West pick/winner: Angels/Rangers
AL Wild Card pick/winner: Yankees/Yankees

Here's a look at the playoff schedule as the playoffs get under way today with Game 1s (starting pitchers in parentheses):

Texas Rangers (Price) at Tampa Bay Rays (Price), 11:30 a.m. MT (TBS)
Cincinnati Reds (Volquez) at Philadelphia Phillies (Halladay), 3 p.m. MT (TBS)
New York Yankees (Sabathia) at Minnesota Twins (Liriano), 6:30 p.m. MT (TBS)