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.

The Rays were down 7-0 in the eighth. They scored 6. Then with two outs in the 9th, the great DAN JOHNSON, FORMER OAKLAND ATHLETIC, hit the game tying shot. Then in the twelfth, Longoria won it on a line drive that just cleared the left field fence.

The Braves let a lead slip away. The Phillies scored a run in the 9th to tie it. Then the Braves could not push a run across to save Princess Zelda in the extra frames, and eventually gave it away in the 13th.

The Orioles played spoiler to the Red Sox, who had Papelbon on in the ninth. He got the first two outs pretty handily, on strikeouts. But then the Orioles hit double, double, and single to win the game.

This is why baseball is the greatest sport.

In every other sport, there's a clock, those teams ahead would have run the clock out. In baseball, as Yogi once said, "It ain't over til it's over." This held true more than anything tonight. Three teams used their ninth inning at bat to either play spoiler or earn a postseason berth, and it was pretty special.

This was a storybook not just for one game, but three, on the last game of the regular season, with everything on the line. The Rays were down 4 runs with 4 outs left. Longoria hit the game winner BEFORE they knew about the Red Sox loss, even though it occurred about ten minutes beforehand. In the Boston game, Crawford, regarded as a good outfielder, whiffed on the low line drive. The Braves had a closer on the mound who will probably earn Rookie of the Year honors, and who has been almost automatic all season, and he walks the bases loaded, and gives up the sac fly to let the Rays tie the game. It's poetic, the two teams who had a stranglehold on the Wild Card September first struggled so much down the stretch and did not make the playoffs after losing 3-2 leads in the ninth inning.

Frankie is going to have more tomorrow, after we've digested what we witnessed tonight. But, in a word, it was beautiful.

So, get ready for October. It's going to be an amazing ride. We'll have Division Series Previews for your unadulterated enjoyment Friday morning.

For tonight, here are the matchups:

Phillies v. Cardinals
Brewers v. Diamondbacks

Yankees v. Tigers
Rangers v. Rays

In the words on Mr. John Arnold: