MLB playoffs start now!

[spacecaps]

In the words of Derek Jeter after tonight's win..."Now it's time for the real season!"

First up are the crazy one game Wild Card play in games. It's Baseball so anything can happen in one game but the Rangers are reeling. The O's despite losing a few to Tampa in the final series have played great ball over the last few months and have been just as hot over the stretch as the A's. Also I'll take Buck over Ron Washington at the helm of a team any day. I like the O's to win this one and go on to play the Yankees on Sunday.

In the National League how can you not root for Chipper to beat the Cards and advance to the next round in his final year. Still the Cards are the defending champs but they aren't the same team as last year though. This one's a toss up but I'll take the Braves to play the Nationals in the next round.

[ScottA]

My heart is with the Braves and Chipper.

[drquest]

In the National League how can you not root for Chipper to beat the Cards and advance to the next round in his final year.

Cards fan here..... So definitely rooting for the red birds!

[spacecaps]

Cards fan here..... So definitely rooting for the red birds!

Well yes...I guess that would do it.

[Hector]

I want another Bay Area World Series (I went to the first one)...

A's vs Giants...and with A's winning the whole thing, lol.

[Spawn67]

Go O's!! As a lifelong Orioles fan Im glad to see they made it this far since 1997. I saw the world series in 83 as a kid where we won.

[megoapesnut]

I am not a big baseball fan, but congrats to Miguel Cabrera for winning the triple crown. What an awesome accomplishment, last done in 1967 by Carl Yastrzemski. Wow, didn't think anyone would ever win that again in modern baseball. That's something to be proud of. Good for him.

[MegoMark71]

As a lifelong Redsox fan, i will pull for anyone other than the Yankmees. I will more than likely jump on the Orioles bandwagon. It would be nice to see them and the Nationals in the series. At least i have one reason to be happy today, so long bobby. Although you really never had a chance, you did start off wrong right from the start.

[kingdom warrior]

Gonna watch the Orioles/Texas game that should be a good shoot out. Texas wants to redeem themselves after losing to the A's and the Orioles
would like a face to face shot with my Yanks.

I really liked the second wildcard team really added excitement to the game. Usually the end of the season is boring and this year it
wasn't

Cards and Braves will also be a good game.

Bobby Valentine as manager of the Redsux was a mistake from day one....but I did like Francona and I thought he shouldn't have gotten
the boot, hope Terry is laughing his azz off that they had such a terrible season......

[spacecaps]

Well that's embarrassing. I'd expect that from Philly fans but ya know what, that's what baseball gets for getting in it's own way. Extra umpires aren't needed for games that have been called a certain way all year long. It's called an infield fly rule for a reason, not a shallow left field rule. That rule is there so an infielder can't drop a ball and turn a double play. It's there to protect the offense. Just a terrible call. I'm sorry but in the play-offs you have to get that call right. The Umpires are not the story and yet they find a way to become the story. The crew chief has to overrule that because you can't blow a call like that. No excuse for Atlanta though. You should never throw things on the field. Period. It's just an ugly scene for Atlanta and a disastrous one for baseball all around. Way to start things off.

[drquest]

Wow that was an "interesting" Braves/Cards game.....

[RickD]

the Dodgers are not in it so lets go A's or Nationals!

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Lifelong O's fan, too. Going back all the way to the early 70s. I cannot think of a team I've watched that was more fun than this one this year. Truly a team effort.

[Spawn67]

Orioles WIN!!!

[spacecaps]

No real October magic tonight just a solid game in Texas. The o's did what they had to do and the Rangers did what they've been doing for the last few weeks (losing). St. Louis didn't so much win today, it was more like Atlanta lost. They literally threw their season away with some awful defense. Bad infield fly rule or not, if they played like the best defensive team in the league they wouldn't have been in that position in the first place. You can't give up 3 unearned runs on shoddy defense and expect to win a one game play off.

Tomorrow The A's and Tigers best of five stars as does the Giants and Reds. The A's have been red hot and pulled off a miracle comeback to knock the Rangers out of first place on the last day. As much as Baltimore has been good, they've ben the real surprise of the MLB. I think Bob Melvin is gonna get the nod as manager of the year over Showalter but that's beside the point. On the other side, Miguel Cabrera, the 1st Triple Crown Winner since the 60's. Great match-up but I think if the A's continue their torrid pace, they'll be able to overcome the Tigers. The DLS usually ends in a sweep for some reason but I'll say the A's in 4

Cincinnati and San Fran has two top teams going at it. Buster Posey carried the Giants into the play-offs with some amazing numbers down the stretch and they're only two years removed from their World Series title while the Reds are a very young team and the casual fan probably couldn't name a five players on the Reds roster. That doesn't mean the Reds arent a good team, they just lack experience and the big marketable young names of say the Nationals. Both teams are pretty equal but I'll take experience and the managers to make a difference in the series. I've always thought Dusty Baker is a bit absent minded as a skipper (he personally lost the World Series in '02 for the Giants) while Boche finds a way to win where ever he goes. The '90 Reds hold a special place in my heart when they beat the A's in a huge upset (couldn't stand McGwire and Canseco even back then before the steroids thing came out) and as much as I'd like them to win this series, I'll take the Giants in 3.