AL Division Series Preview

It's time for postseason baseball. 162 games have been played by 30 teams, and all but eight have been eliminated. The final four in each league begin play Friday night in order to cut that number in half. The American league features the perennial contender New York Yankees, as well as the reigning AL Champion Texas Rangers. Joining them are the Detroit Tigers, and the "Team of Destiny" Tampa Bay Rays.

Four solid teams go in, two will square off for the pennant. Let's look at which teams should come out on top. It's gonna be one amazing October.

And that does it for the 2011 Regular Season

Well, didn't that just take the cake.

In case you've been living in a dark smelly bomb shelter like Butters in the South Park episode where Cartman desperately wants to go the Casa Bonita. There were for games played tonight with playoff implications.

In summary:

Cardinals 8, Astros 0
Phillies 4, Braves 3 F/13
Rays 8, Yankees 7 F/12
Orioles 4, Red Sox 3

Two games went extras. One game was decided after there were two outs in the ninth.

Everbody Was Working for Last Weekend

And it wasn't too good to us, was it?

Actually, if you don't care about the Giants or Golden Bears, it wasn't half bad.

The Niners played an amazing defensive game to win in Cincinnati. The Raiders defense looked better than the Jets as they won at home. AND, most importantly, the A's took two of three from the Angels. One win even included a 4 run ninth inning rally off of Jordan Walden.

I'm sure Frankie will soon write a novel on how the Giants let this season slip away, so I won't touch upon their series down in the Desert. However, here's a snippet of what I believe was said in the dugout on Friday.

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Bochy: OK, so we have to sweep this series to have any hope of postseason play.

Assistant Coach #1: Right, so let's make sure we put our best team out there on the field.

Bochy, as eyelids start to droop: Right, Rags, who's throwing for us?

Rags: Cain, so we got a good shot at winning this one.

Bochy: Good. YAWN. Muellins, let's get our best lineup on the field.

Muellins: Look, Cain will only get 1 run of support no matter who we put out there, so let's go ragtag, it will look more awesome when we write the script for Moneyball 2: Sabey Sabes Strikes Back.

Bochy: (Grumbles as he starts crawling back into his cave for hibernation) We'll make everyone remember how we are still better than the A's.... So who we got?

Muellins: I thought we'd play three rookies, bat the two September callups leadoff and cleanup, and start a guy at third who hasn't played a full season since 2009.

Bochy: Gwarrrf.

...After the game...

Cain and Lincecum: Man, screw this, let's sign with Texas.

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Because I like weekends: But I'm No Nostradamus

You could say I did get 3 of those predictions right and 2 half right last weekend. So I actually feel pretty good about my performance. The Rays are still 2 games back of the Red Sox. Cam Newton, though passing for an obscene amount of yards, threw three interceptions and did not earn a win. The Steelers didn't have as much trouble as I thought, but did win. Florida State was destroyed. The 'Canes beat OSU, but by a lot more than I thought they would.

So, needless to say, I'm still the smartest man alive. Well, not really, but I did ok.

Why I'm Excited For This Weekend

Because you have to get excited for every weekend. It's the weekend. No cares or worries. Oh yeah, there's also plenty of time to watch sports. Namely football. But baseball too. September and October really are a magical time in the sports world. Baseball playoffs and the new car smell of the football season at the same time. In some ways, it's paradise.

Frankie and I have been talking a bit lately about the state of sports journalism, and how it has taken the turn for the sensationalist. So I'll try it out. Let's see if we're in this thing can generate that buzz we all want so very much.

So here you are, 5 reasons why I'm excited for this weekend.

Bears Beat Buffs, Barely

Ah, sweet alliteration. Who doesn't love it? Probably the Colorado Buffaloes, who did everything they could to beat the California Golden Bears on Saturday. Though the Bears eventually triumphed, 36-33 in overtime, things may have been exposed that we would have rather not seen.

The Bears committed to stopping Rodney Stewart and the Colorado running game. They also decided they would not let Tyler Hansen use his feet. What resulted? Only 78 yards on 24 carries for Stewart, and only 26 yards on 7 carries for Hansen. So, that was good. Unfortunately, Hansen was able to throw for 474 yards, 284 of them were caught by WR Paul Richardson. Both figures are school records.



Oh Yeah, Keenan Allen is still really, really good.

NFC Preview

Before we begin today, sports fans, let's first give huge props to the California Golden Bears, who opened the season with a 36-21 victory over Fresno State on Saturday. If you missed it, Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones became the first pair of California receivers to eclipse 100 yards since DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins did it in 2006. Que Sorpesa! I even saw Allen run what I used to endearingly term "The Hawk Slant" with amazing effectiveness on at least three plays. I saw Jones double tap Z - aka SPIN MOVE - another three times. Cal Football is exciting. They looked a little sloppy, but they also looked like a team that can win some games.

Also, the band looked pretty good, I highly suggest checking them out.



Let's also acknowledge the Oakland Athletics. The Boys of Summer are once again with but a few games to play before the long cold winter. I know this saddens many of you. But some of you will get to see your team play into October. A's fans, we most likely won't. So.... might as well get while the getting is good. The A's, like other teams who have thrown in the towel, get the awesome opportunity to take a look at some prospects this September, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Carter, Taylor, Cardenas, Donaldson, and maybe some others up with the big club.

But now, the leaves are beginning to turn, and it's time for our Sundays to once again be filled with recognizable theme songs and bean dip. That's right, it's time for the NFL. I'll be taking on the task of the NFC, and Frankie will let you know how the AFC will work out. And, in case you'd like to know how it's going to shake out, check below the jump!