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The Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies are in their respective league championship series thanks in large part to their pitching aces Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Lee mowed down the Tampa Bay Rays by going 2-0 in 16 innings and allowing only two runs. 

Halladay is throwing in his first postseason ever. He only has one start, but it was a dandy has he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, only the second no-hitter in postseason history.

Now, who is more scary in the postseason? Both have filthy career numbers and Cy Young awards. Both are in their prime. Who would batters rather not face right now?

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Admit it, you’re enjoying these baseball playoffs. The excitement. The do-or-die nature of every game. Brian Wilson’s epic beard-mohawk combo that makes him look like a guy begging for change outside McDonald’s.

The—

Wait, what’s that? You’re not enjoying these playoffs? Really? Maybe I’m the only one.

It’s true. Despite everything that’s happened so far—Roy Halladay’s no-hitter, the Rangers winning three games in Tampa, the Twins…well never mind, the Twins just suck- these are the least talked about baseball playoffs that I can remember; maybe of my entire lifetime.

Chatting with friends on the phone and communicating with people on Twitter, it seems like most of America has the same interest in the baseball postseason that CC Sabathia does for fruits and vegetables. None.

Now, we all know the reasons why. The games are too long. Our attention spans are too short. The same teams win every year. The new ones aren’t compelling. And with all that, I’m starting to wonder, is baseball losing steam as a mainstream sport?

I’m afraid it might be, considering that the most talked about thing from the first week of the playoffs (other than Halladay’s no-hitter), were those lousy Conan O’Brien blimp commercials. America just doesn’t seem to care about baseball.

Which is a shame, because I love baseball. As I mentioned last week, I grew up around the game, and played it all the way through the end of high school. I probably understand the intricacies of it as well as any sport. Yet even for me, Aaron Torres—a guy who writes about sports for a living—some of these games are a tad bit boring. Which isn’t good.

It’s also why I’m here to make some suggestions on how to improve the product.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you anything stupid, like, “We should have Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger call games together,” or “Let Pauly D from Jersey Shore throw out the first pitch of the World Series.” As much as like that second idea, even I’m not dumb enough to think it could actually happen.

Nope, these are 10 real suggestions. Ten ways to hopefully appease old fans, cultivate new ones, and maybe in the process, pump a little life back into a dying sport. Baseball might not be able to change the product on the field, but they can change the way they produce and present it.

Here’s some food for thought. And as always, I encourage you to share your ideas.

Because of length, this is just PART of Aaron’s 10 Ways To Spice Up The MLB Postseason. To read the remainder, please click here or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com

No. 1. Have the Two Highest Finishing Non-Division Winners Play a Three-Game Series To Earn the Wild Card:

I’ve heard other people mention this, and couldn’t agree more. And you know why? Because you can never have too much playoff baseball! It doesn’t hurt that in the process, it would keep a lot of teams playing hard down the stretch.

Take this year for example. The Yankees ended up winning the American League Wild Card instead of the AL East, in large part because they lost nine of their last 11 games.

Since there was no real threat of missing the playoffs (they clinched a postseason berth sometime around Memorial Day), they essentially treated the last two weeks of the season like an additional, glorified spring training session. They rested guys up. Their starting pitchers only threw a few innings per outing.

The Yankees might as well have been playing split-squad games against college teams those last few weeks. Again, it felt like spring training.

But think how differently those few weeks would’ve played out if the Yankees had to play two or three extra games if they didn’t win the division. Think Joe Girardi would’ve spent the last two weeks of the regular season spitting sunflower seed shells on himself, instead of actually managing? Of course not.

The Yankees would have been playing hard down the stretch, trying to get the division title and the first round bye. In the process, those last few regular season games in Boston would’ve been the most entertaining baseball of the year, than just an excuse to get Marcus Thames some extra at bats, and Joba Chamberlain an extra inning or two of work.

And speaking of Boston, if the Yankees didn’t win the division, guess who they would’ve played this year for the Wild Card berth? Yep, that’s right, the Red Sox. Who’s opposed to three more games of those two playing? Besides the Red Sox, the “Wild Card Round,” (as I’ll call it), would’ve had teams like the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tigers and Rockies playing hard until the last game or two of their season as well.

Sure the season would take a few days longer, but again, who cares? Especially when you’ve got five or six more teams involved in the playoff race every year.

No. 2 The Winner of the Wild Card Plays The Team With The Best Record In Each League:

Essentially, this is in-line with the first rule. After all, isn’t the goal to have more teams playing for something down the stretch? With this rule in place, even the top teams would have reason to play hard all 162 games, with the opportunity to play the Wild Card winner—coming off an extra series—in the first round.

Also, shouldn’t there be incentive for a team to finish with the best record? Because, whoever came up with the current rule—that the Wild Card winner can’t play a Divisional opponent in the first round—is an idiot. Yes, I’m looking at you, Bud Selig.

With the system that’s currently in place, teams are, in a way, rewarded for winning the Wild Card and punished for winning their division. If you don’t believe me, ask any Reds fan. They won their first NL Central title in 15 years, and what did they get to show for it? Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in back-to-back games, that’s what.

How is that fair? Think they would’ve preferred the Giants instead? And even though they ended up losing in the NLDS, don’t you think the Braves were much happier getting San Francisco in the NLDS rather than getting Philadelphia? Again, why reward the Braves that way.

Finally, having Divisional opponents face off in the first round would only add to the drama of the playoffs. This year we would’ve gotten the Rays and the Yankees in the first round, two teams that know each other like an old married couple, and have the same disdain for each other too.

If those two had played, that would’ve been the must see matchup of the first round. Instead we got the Twins-Yankees laugher, and the Rays-Rangers series, that drew the lowest ratings of the playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of which…

No. 3 No Games On Sunday’s:

Ever. This is non-negotiable.

Again, for Major League Baseball, the goal here is to get your product out to as many fans as possible. And with America as a whole going into a catatonic state any time the National…Football…League is even mentioned, it’s just stupid to try and compete against it. Really, why bother. You will lose.

My suggestion to baseball is simple: Take Sunday’s off. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and it’s Peyton Manning’s day. Don’t ever forget that.

No. 4 Let Fans Vote For the LCS and World Series MVP:

This is absolutely, positively my favorite idea (mainly because I haven’t heard anyone besides myself mention it).

Here’s why: We’re Americans. To a degree, we’re self-absorbed. We want our opinions to be voiced, and our voices to be heard. Why do you think thousands of bozos like me create sports blogs and spend countless hours on message boards? It’s because we’re dumb enough to think that people actually care what we have to say! Crazy, I know.

But it is that sense of self-centered jingoism that makes shows like Dancing With The Stars a hit. Believe me, 20 million people aren’t tuning in to see “The Situation,” do the samba in a sequined shirt. Most people have things to do with their time. Granted, I’m not one of them. But still.

No, the reason people watch Dancing With Stars, American Idol, America’s Next Top Model (I swear, I’ve only heard of that one, never seen it. What? I swear!), is because we like knowing we have a say in something. That our opinion matters. That no matter how little our voice is, it’s getting heard.

Why couldn’t this work for the LCS and World Series MVP’s? It’s not like any of us care who wins the stupid award anyway. Or even remember who wins for that matter.

Actually, here’s a quick pop quiz: Who was last year’s World Series MVP.

…

Don’t you dare look it up!

…

The answer is Hideki Matsui. If I had given you 25 guesses, would you have ever gotten that? I wouldn’t have.

But, if you’d stayed up until 2:30 in the morning after Game 6 of last year’s World Series voting for Matsui, would you remember then ? I thought so.

This is just PART of the article on 10 Ways To Spice Up the MLB Playoffs. To read the rest, including thoughts on Steve Phillips, hot sideline reporters, and much, much more, please click here or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com

Also, to get updates on all of Aaron’s articles, podcasts and free giveaways, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres or by downloading the Aaron Torres Sports App for FREE for your iPhone or Android

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The moment the Texas Rangers’ Cliff Lee hurled his last strike Tuesday night; he not only killed the Tampa Bay Rays’ postseason dreams, but also gave the New York Yankees an official ALCS opponent for Game One on Friday night.

The Yankees will fly down to Texas to face the Rangers in the seven-game ALCS series, which for one team will lead to the World Series.

In all honesty, predictions were betting the Rays would beat the Rangers in the ALDS, but in a five-game series, there is no room to stumble.

The Rays didn’t start playing up to their ability until Game Three, and by the time Tampa caught up, it was Cliff Lee time in the deciding game.

Cy Young winner and certified bad-ass Cliff Lee is no stranger to pressure, especially in the postseason. Watching Lee’s postseason career is literally watching baseball history in the making.

In seven starts, Lee posts a 1.44 ERA, allowing nine earned runs, six walks, striking out 54 hitters and giving up just one home run over 56.1 innings.

Three of those seven wins were complete games; the last was this past Tuesday night to beat the Rays and lead the Rangers to the ALCS for the first time.

Except for changing uniforms like it’s Halloween in the Bronx, Lee and his famous left arm are no stranger to the Yankees. Neither are Yankees fans, who will get to see Lee in the Yankees’ first ALCS home game next Monday night, the third of the series.

If recent history can predict any game’s outcome, this would be it. Lee is the dictator when he starts; if he wants to win, he does.

The Yankees have shown signs of getting to Lee in the past with some success, but not in 2010 and certainly not in the postseason, which was witnessed in the 2009 World Series when Lee was a Philadelphia Phillie.

The Yankees are by no means underdogs in this series against the Rangers, except any game Lee pitches because the Bombers are at his mercy, but this time things will be different.

Overall, the Yankees have the better team; way more experience and are beyond determined to repeat.

Not just for the players’ own egos because the team owes someone else another World Series title, to say the least.

Mr. George Steinbrenner, known as the Boss, would not have it any other way and neither would his Yankees.

So, bring on the Rangers and Cliff Lee, because it’s time for the Yankees to show the Rangers how champions play.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Texas Rangers will face the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

Yes, you read that correctly, the Texas Rangers! One of just two teams coming into the season to never win a traditional postseason series are now four tough wins away from a World Series berth.

Those wins will definitely be tough to come by, as they face off against the reigning World Series champs in the Yankees.

That is not to say the Yankees don’t have question marks because they certainly do. They still have to decide whether or not to pitch the often erratic, sometimes brilliant A.J. Burnett.

That piles on top of the lack of bullpen depth for the Yankees. It’s Mariano then everybody else since Kerry Wood has looked a little shaky recently.

Whichever team wins the series, it should be a fun one to watch. Both teams pack a big punch offensively and play in hitter’s ballparks so expect some scoring when Cliff Lee or CC Sabathia aren’t pitching.

How will it all unfold? I have a few scenarios in my five bold predictions…

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The MLB playoffs are in full swing, and we have already seen our fair share of memorable moments in the respective Division Series games. However, the Phillies have been the talk of October thus far, thanks to Roy Halladay’s no-hitter, and their dominant sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Phillies are coming off of their fourth straight NL East title, and have been to the World Series in each of the past two seasons. In this day and age of free agency, a three peat in the World Series is a legitimate dynasty, and the Phillies seem to have all the components to do just that.

So here is a look at what makes the Phillies great, and the reason that this group could very well go down as one of the best teams in the history of the National League when all is said and done, and if they take home the championship as many feel they will.

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There will be joy in Texas, for mighty Ian Kinsler has hit a homerun.

The Texas Rangers, facing elimination in game five, and yet another first round postseason exit, were able to finally muster up some magic for a franchise that has not had much to get excited about. In 1996, 1998, and 1999 the Texas Rangers won the AL West, but each time they would fall to the Yankees in the ALDS, winning only one game in three postseason appearances.

This time however would be different, for the first time, the Rangers ALDS opponent was not named the New York Yankees.

This time they would face the Tampa Bay Rays. After taking games one and two behind the stellar pitching performances of Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson, the Rangers looked to have the series in the bag.

Texas was ahead 2-1 in Arlington with only five outs remaining when the Rays would mount a comeback to take game three 6-2. In game four, Tommy Hunter was hit hard by the Rays, and the Rays were never really challenged, cruising to a 5-2 win.

The Rangers would have to return to Tropicana Field in order to close this series. Having lost all momentum, many wondered if the young Rangers would have what it takes to close out this series on the road, against a team who had won the toughest division in baseball.

The Rangers, however, had one final trick up their sleeve. Who was this trick? Cliff Lee, postseason ace, Mr. October, with ice water running through his veins, went out to pitch game five for the Rangers. His opponent would be the same as game one, All Star Game starter, David Price. Lee proceeded to strike out 11, give up six hits and allow only one run in a 5-1 win over the Rays.

The Rangers would find clutch hitting in the form of Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, and Vladimir Guerrero, before Ian Kinsler would shut the door on the Rays in the ninth with a two-run homer.

The Rangers would get a 39 year old monkey off of their back, and are now headed to face the dreaded Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees hold a 9-1 record against the Rangers in the playoffs, but the Rangers hope to change that.

ALDS MVP: Cliff Lee-

Cliff Lee showed why he the Rangers would trade top prospect Justin Smoak in the first place. Cliff Lee has never lost a postseason game, and that did not change in this season. Cliff Lee went 2-0 in two crucial starts against a 19 game winner, posted 21 strikeouts, and only allowed two runs. Cliff Lee was the main reason the Rangers won this series, and the main reason they have a chance against the Yankees. If the Rangers manage to split the first two games, they will be looking at Lee in game 3, and the Yankees will be forced to pitch C.C. Sabbathia on short rest to even up the series.

ALDS MVP Honorable Mentions: Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, C.J. Wilson-

All of whom who played outstanding in this division series.

The Rangers have shook a major monkey off of their backs, but the season is not over yet. Postseason ace Cliff Lee is a Yankee killer, and C.J. Wilson is no slouch either. Can the Rangers find some more magic on the inside, and make a World Series run?

None of that matters right now.

A celebration 39 years in the making has just started in Texas.

For questions regarding the article please comment, or send me an E-mail.

Paul Ferguson is an intern at bleacher report.

Follow him on twitter at: @paulwall5

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The American League Division Series has now concluded, and the New York Yankees are set to face the Texas Rangers in the ALCS. While the Yankees had a relatively easy time of advancing by sweeping the Minnesota Twins, the Tampa Bay Rays took the Rangers to the limit, making it a five game series.

The series, which is set to start on Friday, October 15, could go either way based on how both teams have been winning their respective games. That being said, it looks like the stage is being set for the Rangers going to their first World Series. They have the advantage going in, and for the following reasons, they are poised to win the American League Championship Series.

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If anyone was surprised at Cliff Lee’s performance in today’s ALDS conclusion, they haven’t watched enough baseball to call themselves fans.

If this postseason has made one thing perfectly evident, it is that a true ace in the postseason is worth many times his weight in gold. What’s more astonishing is how accurately one may predict the outcome of a series, especially a short series like the divisional round, simply by assessing the caliber of a team’s ace.

In 2010, the four consensus best ace pitchers were: Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Lee and C.C. Sabathia. What four teams did they pitch for? The Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees. Which four teams advanced to the championship series? You guessed it, those same teams.

They simply aren’t the same as other pitchers in baseball.

The value of these type of aces cannot be overstated. They will give you consistently above average innings, often lasting into the eighth or ninth. This is what most separates them from pitchers like Francisco Liriano and Tim Hudson; they don’t leave a victory up to chance. If they start a game, they have a good chance of finishing it and disallowing the bullpen a chance to implode.

Regular season records are a good indication of how a team might play in 162 games, but a postseason is a race against time. Take the 2001 season, for example: the Seattle Mariners played baseball to the tune of a 116-46 record, but had to face Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, two pitchers contending for a Cy Young, in the ALCS. Looking at the composite box score shows the power of outstanding pitching: the Yankees outscored the Mariners 17-12 in the first six innings of the series, leading to a 4-1 Yankee victory. The same then happened to the Yankees, as they faced Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.

Expect the same in each league’s championship series.

Building for the regular season and building for the postseason are two dramatically different ballgames. While the Rays were probably the most complete team this season, with power up and down their lineup, and four above average starters, they were beaten twice by Cliff Lee in one series. After that, the Rangers only needed to win one more game in three to assure themselves a bid in the ALCS.

Future teams should take heed of the Rays and reconsider their rotations.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I apologize for this post coming out so late, but with a late New York Jets game last night and a busy day at work, I really didn’t have much time to write.

That being said, I thought Game 4 of the Atlanta Braves-San Francisco Giants NLDS was a pretty awesome game.

For that matter, I thought every game in this series was pretty amazing. Four games and each game decided by one run. I take that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

That is some serious nail-biting time if you are a fan of either of these teams. I don’t have any rooting interest in either of these teams, and I was nervous in all four games.

Unfortunately for the Braves, they came up on the short end of the stick in three of those games. The Giants once again won 3-2 in Game 4 to send them to their first NLCS since 2002 and send Bobby Cox into retirement.

This game was like all the rest in this series: tightly contested, solid pitching by both teams and one or two plays that really decided things.

The Braves had a 1-0 lead going into the top of the sixth, and Derek Lowe was just dealing. I have followed Lowe for 14 years, and for the first five innings I have never seen him as good.

His slider was ridiculous, and he hadn’t allowed a hit in 5.1 innings. That is until Cody Ross came to the plate. Lowe threw a rare flat slider, and Ross sent it into the left field bleachers.

It’s amazing who become heroes in the postseason. One of the main reasons Ross is even on the Giants is because they wanted to keep him away from the San Diego Padres. If the Padres don’t show interest in Ross, then there is a very good chance he never becomes a Giant.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Braves came right back as Brian McCann ripped a HR to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. But just like in Game 3, the Braves couldn’t hold the lead.

The Giants scored two runs in the seventh thanks to a couple of walks, a couple infield singles by Buster Posey and Juan Uribe and another timely hit by Ross.

Of course, the biggest decisions of the game was the decision by Cox to leave Lowe in the game with two on and one out in the sixth. The classic second-guess says that Cox should have pulled Lowe and let Peter Moylan face Pat Burrell.

I believed at the time and still do even knowing the results that Cox was correct in sticking with Lowe. Lowe to that point still only had allowed two hits, the Giants weren’t hitting the ball hard against him and Burrell was 0-for-2 coming into that AB.

People want to compare that situation to the Grady Little and Pedro Martinez situation in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, which is complete nonsense. The two situations were completely different.

The New York Yankees started to knock Martinez around pretty good that inning, and it was clear he was spent. Lowe was still dealing, and the Braves needed a ground ball in that situation, and who better to throw a worm burner than DLowe?

The Giants went into the ninth with a 3-2 lead, and Brian Wilson closed the door. Albeit it wasn’t pretty, he got the job done.

Here are some other observations from Game 4…

Madison Bumgarner was clearly pumped for this game. He averaged 91 mph on his fastball throughout the season but averaged 93 last night.

His adrenaline should have cost him because he was leaving a lot of balls up in the zone early. If the Braves weren’t so inept on offense, it could have hurt him.

Note to Brian Wilson: YOU THROW 97 MPH—STOP NIBBLING!

The Giants seem like this hodgepodge of players, but when you watch them on a day in and day out basis, they really play well as a team.

Classy move by the Giants saluting Cox at the end of the game.

Wilson might have gotten the “save” last night, but the real save should have gone to Santiago Casilla. He struck out two and allowed just one baserunner in 1.2 innings of work. Despite looking like he drank five Red Bulls prior to coming out to the mound, he did a phenomenal job of holding the Braves in check.

The Giants’ starters finished with a 0.93 ERA in this series.

The Giants will now play the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and Game 1 will be Saturday night in Philadelphia. Roy Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum is must watch TV.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Alright, the NLCS field is all set. It is going to be the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants. The uniforms have been washed, the shoes have been shined, let’s throw on our Roy Halladay replica jerseys and get to the ballpark.

We’re going to be playing some championship baseball in just . . . five days?!?!?!

Uh, okay.

(Psst: who’s in charge of scheduling around here? Oh right; the networks.)

Anyways, in order to attempt to hold your attention for the next week while we wait for baseball to come around again (seriously, the All Star Break isn’t this long), I’d like to present 10 Fun Facts regarding the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants, and the National League Championship Series.

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