Kuzul

I don’t claim to have watched every game this postseason, due to the unfortunate  condition of having things to do during the day. And yet, somehow, I’ve managed to see many, many blown calls. This is rather alarming, seeing as MLB lacks any process to review these mistakes. 

You may have heard of some of them. There was the ball that Yankee’s right  fielder Greg Golson trapped before it could even bounce (a feat that I bet few Hall of Famers could lay claim to). There was the three-run home run Ranger’s third basemen Michael Young hit after swinging and missing with two strikes (the only play here that I haven’t seen).

There was Giants catcher Buster Posey scoring the only run in Tim Lincecum’s gem, despite being tagged while stealing second earlier. I would even add Phillie’s second baseman Chase Utley‘s trip around the bases in Friday night’s game. 

I’m a little skeptical that Utley got hit by Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning. I would have to say that my suspicions were aroused when Utley managed to show absolutely no reaction to apparently getting nicked in the fingers by a 102 mph fastball (I’m guessing fingers; if you forced me to guess what part of the body he was hit on based on his reaction, I’d have to guess “personal space bubble”).

Chase, here’s some advice: in a couple of weeks, you’re going to get some time off. Get some acting lessons in that time in case this situation arise again. That performance looked like Keanu Reeves next to Derek Jeter’s Shatner-esque show a few weeks ago. 

I would also love to see the following play at second again, but apparently, TBS has taken the Division Series-wide stance of “Maybe if we ignore the close plays, they’ll go away.” We got two camera views following the original play, one of them apparently taken from the cell phone of a drunk fan standing on an building adjacent to the stadium (just my two cents).

TBS, some more advice: don’t be afraid to show close plays repeatedly. People love to have something to be angry about. Especially anything involving the Yankees or Red Sox in any way. 

In any case, Bud Selig has apparently decided that the adage “Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it” is actually an Ancient Phoenician curse never meant to be heard by the ears of man.

After ignoring calls for more instant replay after last year’s playoffs (and last year’s regular season, and the Armando Galarraga game, and the Phillies-Marlins game, and…), Selig has continued to ignore calls for more replay (shocker, I know), claiming he hasn’t heard anyone close to the game request more replay.

For his sake, we’re not going to go too in depth with that claim; he doesn’t need anymore help to look dumb (although, in Bud’s defense, maybe those close to him have assumed that the need for replay was obvious and that Bud didn’t need THAT much help to make such a leap). 

Look, whatever your reasoning is, Bud, it’s not funny anymore. We can put a fifth umpire in the booth to review any close plays, and it won’t slow down the game (especially compared to the time a manager takes to come out and argue). It doesn’t even have to be strikes and balls, it can just be close plays on the field.

 I don’t really know what’s holding this up. Do you think umpires don’t deserve the right to correct their mistakes? Is it some crippling case of technophobia? I mean, you’re looking worse than my grandfather, and he didn’t know you had to delete e-mails to save space UNTIL THIS YEAR. He even STILL uses his VCR because he can’t figure out how to work a DVD player. This is pitiful. Or maybe this is the cause of some wild bet with Murray Chass to see just how fast you can turn people against you? 

Whatever, the case, you can’t just continue to ignore the problem. Maybe you can say “the bad calls even out over the whole season”. That’s because the regular season consists of somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 bajillion plays.

The playoffs aren’t that forgiving. Any one play can alter who wins the game, or even the series, and guess what? There aren’t enough games to say it’ll even out later. What is it going to take, a blown call that affects which team wins the World Series? 

Oh, wait…

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Four errors, three hit batsmen, two innings where the seams came off the baseball, and one massive implosion.

That pretty much sums up the Cincinnati Reds’ performance in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds lost to the Phillies 7-4 and now are on the brink of elimination.

This was a game of two halves.

Before the Reds’ implosion, they actually led 4-0 in this game. They got a leadoff HR by Brandon Phillips, they capitalized on two Chase Utley errors in the second, and then got a rocket shot off of the bat of Jay Bruce to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.

Bronson Arroyo on the mound was mixing up his pitches and keeping Philly batters really off balance. I thought Arroyo was pretty good. Did he get lucky on occasion like when Jimmy Rollins ripped a one-hop line drive to Phillips, which turned into a double play? Sure, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Everything seemed to be going their way. Then the fifth inning happened.

With two outs and a runner on first, Shane Victorino hit a groundball into hole between first and second and for some odd reason, Phillips tried to smother the ball. I am not sure what he was thinking there. The ball bounced off his chest and Victorino reached.

The very next batter, Placido Polanco hit a sharp groundball to Scott Rolen, which he proceeded to boot as well. Back to back errors and the Phillies were set up with the bases loaded for Utley. If you give the Phillies extra outs, they are going to make you pay and that’s exactly what they did.

Utley ripped a single to right and the Phillies cut the deficit in half to 4-2.

If Reds fans thought that was bad, then the seventh inning was a nightmare.

After the Phillies tacked on another run in the sixth thanks to Red pitchers hitting two batters and walking two batters in the inning, Dusty Baker went to Aroldis Chapman to hold the lead. Yeah, that didn’t quite happen.

Chapman hit Utley to lead off the inning. In Chapman’s defense, it didn’t appear Utley actually got hit. Derek Jeter was vilified for faking getting hit a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if their will be the national outcry over Utley’s acting job? I am guessing no.

After striking out Ryan Howard (Howard had no chance), Jayson Werth hit a slow roller up a long third, which Rolen proceeded to throw to second. Utley was called safe and the whole dynamic of the inning changed.

Why Rolen decided to throw to second is beyond me. All his momentum was headed towards first. To try to throw across your body to nail a fast runner at second is very hard to do. Rolen would have easily gotten Werth at first.

If the dynamic of the game changed on the Rolen play, the dynamic of the series changed on the next AB.

Rollins hit a little flare to right and Bruce lost the ball in the lights. Utley scored and when Phillips dropped the relay throw, Werth scored, the Phillies took a 5-4 lead and never looked back.

Game. Set. Match.

There are some games where teams get beat and there are games where teams lose. The Reds got beat by Roy Halladay on Wednesday night. On Friday night, the Reds lost.

This loss was a disaster and really showed why the Reds are about two years away from really contending for a World Series. World Series contenders don’t lose games like that. They win games like that.

One thing lost in this game was how mediocre Roy Oswalt was for the Phillies. He really didn’t have much tonight. His fastball was flat and he couldn’t get his change or curve over for strikes.

I am sure he will be better the next time out, but he really wasn’t good in Game 2.

The Reds will be game playing in front of their home crowd for Game 3 on Sunday night, but the Phillies will find a way to pull it out in the end. World Series contenders usually do.

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

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On Friday night, the Phillies went up 2-0 against the Cincinnati Reds, coming back from behind to win 7-4. The Fightin’ are on their way to Ohio and on their way to an NLDS series victory.

Think that is impressive? Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, Phillies phans. This team is not only on the verge of competing for a World Series title, this just may well be the start of something truly special.

Um…can you say D-Y-N-A-S-T-Y?

Look, this isn’t just a knee-jerk reaction to a couple of victories over a Cincinnati team that, while talented and deserving of being here, seems nervous and every bit as inexperienced as can be.

No, there are many reasons to objectively envision the winning ways going well beyond this season. Sure, Jayson Werth is eligible to declare free agency following the World Series, and by all accounts, will probably not return.

But this team and its management has shown a willingness to do what it takes to keep on keepin’ on. The Roy Halladay trade and subsequent contract extension was pure brilliance, my friends.

Now, I know that many of you questioned Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr’s sanity when he traded Cliff Lee, but let’s face it, if they had kept Lee they would not have gone out and acquired Roy Oswalt and then there would be no H2O!

So let’s forgive Amaro and instead focus on why this team can potentially be great for years to come.

How do we love thee Phils? Let us count the ways…

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The New York Yankees are riding a wave of momentum heading back home up two games to zero over the Minnesota Twins. After relying on veterans CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte the first two games, the Yankees will be throwing 24-year-old Phil Hughes in hopes of closing out the series.

Hughes had an up and down year in 2010, although his statistics may indicate a more successful season. He finished the season 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 176.1 innings.

The win-loss record jumps out first as 18 wins had him among the league leaders in the AL. However, Hughes benefited greatly from the Yankees offense and was able to win many games despite not having great outings.

Hughes began the year showing all the promise in the world as he carried a sub-three ERA into mid-June. After that his performance began to level off, whether it was a result of fatigue or adjustments made by opponents.

The Yankees were careful to watch his innings limit in his first full season as a starter. In April the Yankees certainly would have hoped to not use Hughes in the playoffs, instead opting for AJ Burnett or Javier Vazquez in this third starter role.

Unfortunately the poor performances by both of those players forced manager Joe Girardi to go with the young Hughes in the playoffs. I give Girardi a lot of credit for forgoing the veteran options and going with the pitcher who truly gives the team the best chance.

Now the pressure is on, Yankee Stadium in October and a spot in the ALCS on the line. For a young guy like Hughes the key will be his ability to control the emotions of the moment and focus them into his pitching. His fastball and curveball command must be spot on as the Twins hitters will no doubt be looking to take advantage of the friendly dimensions of Yankee Stadium.

Hughes is known as very laid back and that demeanor should help him here. There have been moments in the past where Hughes has seemed to be a little too amped up and he has lost control of the zone. In addition Hughes’ performance as a reliever in last year’s playoffs were shaky at best.

A good sign for Yankee fans may be Hughes’ last start against the Red Sox where he matched Daisuke Matsuzaka inning for inning in probably his biggest start of the year.

If Hughes can build on his last start and find his command early the Twins may be looking at another sweep at the hands of the Yankees.

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They say things come in threes right?

Well, things certainly came in threes on Thursday. We saw three divisional round games with three bad umpire calls that lead to three victories.

We had the Michael Young check swing incident in the Texas Rangers–Tampa Bay Rays game. We then had the missed third strike call in Lance Berkman‘s at-bat in the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins game. Then for the hat trick, we had another blown call that led to the game’s only run in the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves game.

In the bottom of the fourth, with Buster Posey on first and Pat Burrell at the plate, Posey attempted to steal second. Burrell swung and missed and Braves’ catcher Brian McCann came up firing.

It appeared that Posey was out by at least a half a step, but second base umpire Paul Emmel called him safe. Naturally in the same inning, Cody Ross singled to left on a ball that Omar Infante should have had and Posey scored.

It turned out it was the only run of the game and the Giants defeated the Braves 1-0 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five NLDS. While the blown call was pivotal in this game, the story of this game was Giants ace Tim Lincecum.

After allowing a lead-off double to Infante, Lincecum settled down and pitched one of the all time great playoff games. He allowed only one more hit the rest of the game as he went distance and struck out 14.

While his fastball was very good last night, I thought it was his slider that was off the charts. He threw 20 of them and threw 16 of them for strikes. The slider to strike out McCann in the top of the first was unhittable.

I give credit to Bruce Bochy for leaving Lincecum in the game in the ninth. Many managers in that situation would have immediately gone to their closer and played it safe. The feel of the game called for Lincecum going out to take the mound in the ninth.

Of course, I am almost certain that if Lincecum allowed a runner on base, Bochy would have turned to Brian Wilson, who was warming up in the pen to end close things out.

As for the Braves, Lincecum’s dominance really exposed them offensively. Where is the offense going to come from in this series?

Bobby Cox had Alex Gonzalez batting fifth? Let me repeat that. Alex Gonzalez was batting fifth in a playoff game! He might be a nice guy, but the reality is that he hit .240 with a .291 OBP with the Braves.

If McCann or Jason Heyward don’t do damage, who is in this lineup? I have a hard time answering that question right now.

The Braves will try to get even tonight with Tommy Hanson. Game 2 is scheduled to start at 9:37 PM est.

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

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Now we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, not quite yet. With a two games to none advantage in the American League Division Series battle against the Tampa Bay Rays, the mood surrounding this Rangers ballclub is rather positive. After comprehensively beating the Rays in the first two games, on the road no less, this Texas ballclub is brimming with confidence.

For a team that was viewed as underdogs by many against whichever AL East foe they faced, the Rangers appear remarkably in control of the series that they find themselves involved in. With a 5-1 opening victory over leading Cy Young candidate David Price, led by a dominant Cliff Lee, the foundation was laid. Backing that up with a similarly impressive outing by C.J. Wilson, augmented by a potent offensive attack, Texas is looking like a force to be reckoned with.

A franchise traditionally associated with powerful, slugger-laden offenses, the Texas Rangers finally appear to have discovered that the key to greater success is a well-rounded club capable in all facets of the game.

Thus far in the ALDS, this new team philosophy appears to be reaping its rewards. No longer a one-dimensional club, the Rangers have constructed a team centered on its strong pitching, but still able to slug with the best of them. These primary strengths are complemented by efficient base-running and solid defense to give this Texas team a multidimensional attack less susceptible to being easily shut down.

Starting Pitching

As everyone should now by now, success in baseball always starts with strong starting pitching. The Rangers were a club rarely associated with dominant pitching through the years.  Team president Nolan Ryan has worked tirelessly to reverse that perception and his hard work is paying dividends.  Led by its two lefties, Cliff Lee, the highly-coveted ace, imported from the Seattle Mariners in a June trade, and C.J. Wilson, a homegrown talent converted from a late-game relief specialist to a starter just last offseason, the Rangers find themselves in good hands.

Cliff Lee was brought here specifically to lead the rotation into the playoffs, in their quest to reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history. His impressive postseason resume from 2009 was one of his primary attractions, and he lived up to the hype as well as he could in his Rangers postseason debut.

Pitching in hostile territory in Florida, Cliff Lee set the tone for the series with his dominant Game 1 start. The stoic lefty ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing three singles in the first four batters to load the bases, a less than confidence inducing start to the proceedings. However, he quickly recovered to strike out Carlos Pena and Rocco Baldelli, stranding the bases loaded. That would be the last trouble he would face for the remainder of the game. After the first, Lee would allow only two other hits, a second inning double to Ben Zobrist, and a solo home run, also to Zobrist, in the the seventh inning while the Rangers already led comfortably 5-0.

His impeccable command was on display once again, as he became the first American League pitcher to strike out 10 batters in a playoff game while not walking a single hitter. It has only occurred seven times in MLB history, and Cliff Lee has now accomplished the feat three times, twice last year with the Phillies. Overall, Lee pitched seven innings, allowing five hits, no walks, with 10 strikeouts, exceeding the Rangers wildest hopes.

Following Cliff’s lead, C.J. Wilson offered his own highly dominant performance to further deflate the hopes of a stunned Tampa Bay Rays club. After allowing a lead-off single to Jason Bartlett to start the game, Wilson didn’t allow another hit until the bottom of the seventh inning. In between, he walked two hitters, but that would be all he would permit to reach base in his 6.1 innings of work, while striking out seven Rays. If he is able to consistently pitch like that following Lee, the Rangers like their chances against anyone in baseball. The baton is now passed to Colby Lewis to keep the train rolling in Saturday’s Game 3.

Relief Pitching

When your first two starting pitchers in a series pitch deep into the game, both reaching at least the seventh inning, it greatly reduces the stress on your bullpen. That’s precisely how any manager draws it up, a deep, effective starting performance, then hand the ball over to your elite relief arms. No messing with questionable middle relief, no stressful decisions on which relievers to use. You want your starters to transition seamlessly into your best setup men, then directly to the closer. Simple.

After two games in the ALDS, Ron Washington has been able to do just that. Thanks to his dominant starting pitchers, he has only needed to use his most reliable bullpen arms for a total of 4.2 innings. Both Darren O’Day and Darren Oliver have pitched in each game, with Oliver pitching three innings, allowing no hits and one walk, while striking out two. O’Day has face three batters, allowing a single, but striking out the other two. Closer Neftali Feliz was used in Game 1 to finish off the opening victory. He made it interesting to start the ninth, walking the first two hitters, but then retired Ben Zobrist on a liner to right and struck out the last two hitters to preserve the win. Order was restored.

No one can predict if the Rangers’ starters will continually work into the seventh inning as they have thus far, but even if they don’t, Ron Washington has a handful of reliable arms to hand the ball to late in games.

Offensive Production

A team usually doesn’t count on their run production increasing in the postseason when you’re facing the best pitching staffs in the game, but that’s precisely what the Rangers have done over the first two games of the ALDS. After averaging 4.86 runs per game in the regular season, placing fourth amongst American League clubs, the Rangers have increased that rate to 5.5 runs per game with 11 runs scored in the series thus far. Of course, it’s only a two game sample, but that bodes well for a team making its first playoff appearance since 1999, proving that they won’t wilt under the glare of the bright lights in October.

Through two games, the Rangers are balancing their strong pitching performances with a robust offensive attack, making it difficult to key in on any specific weak point in their game. Shutting down the opposition and scoring runs, the two primary aspects of a successful baseball team.

Thus far, the Rangers are tied with the Yankees with their 11 runs scored, are second to New York in total hits, have hit the most home runs of any playoff team, and have the highest slugging percentage in the postseason. Possibly the most encouraging sign for the Rangers is that they have accomplished that all on the road, where they struggled to a 39-42 record during the regular season. Many wondered if the team could hit enough away from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to win crucial road games. Well, the team has stepped up and answered that question emphatically.

Also encouraging is that the Rangers are producing offensively, and they haven’t yet gotten a lot out of their two biggest hitters, Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero. It has been a balanced attack, seeing four different players hit a home run each, with six different hitters collecting an RBI. This bodes well for the team going forward. If opposition is able to focus in on a couple of key hitters, it makes it much easier to stifle an offense, but if you never know where the damage is coming from, each batter is a critical situation for your opponents’ pitching staff.

Looking Ahead

With home-field now secured for the remainder of the ALDS, the Rangers are in prime position to advance beyond the Division Series for the first time in club history. The Rangers are a much more potent offensive club at home in Arlington than on the road, and will look to put the Rays out of their misery in the next two games. Texas was 51-30 at home this year, so heading back to Rangers Ballpark to try to conclude the series should bolster the team’s confidence even further. Although the Rangers don’t want to look too far beyond Game 3 on Saturday, their advance scouts have their eyes on their potential ALCS foes, with the Yankees looming as favorites to advance alongside Texas. If that matchup eventually occurs, it would represent an opportunity for the Rangers to exorcise their franchise’s playoff demons against the only team they have ever faced in the postseason, a team that has defeated Texas in three consecutive playoff series dating back to 1996.

Like I said, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves just yet though. For now, let’s look forward just to Saturday’s Game 3 in Arlington as the Rangers will look to finish off the Tampa Bay Rays as quickly as possible, and then we can start making arrangements for the American League Championship Series.

Please check out further coverage of the Rangers’ Playoff action and analysis of their postseason aspirations by Scott Gyurina.

MLB Playoff Predictions: Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays Positional Match-ups

Texas Rangers Pitching Well-Armed For Deep Playoff Run

Texas Rangers: How They Can Beat the Yankees In the Postseason

Texas Rangers’ 3 Biggest Question Marks Heading Into Postseason Action

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Was that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro in the middle of the celebratory pile-up on the Citizens Bank Park infield Wednesday night after Roy Halladay‘s no-hitter? 

If so, who could blame him?  

Front office personnel joining on-field celebrations is a bit unconventional, but Amaro had to be particularly pleased with Halladay’s first postseason performance. 

Actually, he must have been downright jubilant. 

Halladay had been the apple of Amaro’s eye for quite some time. After a lengthy flirtation to swing a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays to bring him to Philly during the 2009 season, Amaro decided to go in a different direction. 

Of course, the new course of action brought last year’s postseason hero to town in the form of Cliff Lee. The “Plan B” deal was lauded as brilliance on RAJ’s part and sent the Phillies to a second-straight World Series. 

Amaro received similar acclaim when he finally pried Halladay away from Toronto last December. Some lamented that he parted with a couple “untouchable” prospects, but who could really take issue with adding arguably the best pitcher in baseball to an already powerful team?

The glow of excitement surrounding a Halladay-Lee starting duo quickly faded when the other shoe dropped.

Amaro shuffled Lee to Seattle to “replenish the farm system.”

Needless to say, Amaro took considerable heat. And, when the Phillies struggled and fell to third place, seven games off the pace, the climate got hotter.

Criticisms resurfaced about dealing Lee. When the Phillies toyed with re-acquiring the beloved lefty and he was then dealt to Texas for seemingly more than what the Phillies had received, the winter trade that sent him packing was looking like a colossal error.    

Since that time, a few things have changed. 

First, Amaro continued his fixation with acquiring other team’s staff aces. As the trade deadline was approaching in late July, the Phillies GM pulled off another blockbuster deal to land Astros hurler Roy Oswalt. 

Meanwhile, 2008 postseason hero Cole Hamels returned to form after a seeming championship hangover that lasted throughout all of 2009 and spilled over into the outset of this season. 

“H2O” was born.   

Next, Halladay displayed the reason for Amaro’s infatuation as he put together what appears to be a Cy Young campaign. He wrapped the bow on the package with a division clinching two-hit shutout. 

Down the stretch, “The Big Three” earned its name on merit.

The only test left was to perform well on baseball’s big stage. Halladay was unproven in that regard, having never previously reached the playoffs in his hallowed career. 

By the time Amaro settled in to watch Halladay’s opening pitch on Wednesday, he was surely aware that Lee had just produced another sparkling effort to run his postseason record to 5-0 with a microscopic 1.52 ERA.  

Should Halladay have faltered, a 21-10 regular season would quickly be old news. And, the game was no lay-up as he faced the National League’s most prolific offense in 2010. 

Halladay did not let his suitor and biggest supporter down. In fact, he rewarded him with one of the greatest postseason performances of all-time. 

The tall, deeply intense right-hander mixed a seemingly unending array of pitches on his way to a “no-no.” 

Halladay’s dominance spanned from beginning to end, with just one walk being the only thing keeping him from the perfection that he had achieved earlier in the year. 

He painted the edges of the strike zone with darting fastballs, diving curve balls, and free falling change-ups—as well as a myriad of other hybrid permutations. 

When catcher Carlos Ruiz pounced on a swinging bunt and gunned a throw to Ryan Howard from his knees, the masterpiece was complete. 

A celebratory scrum ensued as Phillies players piled onto their new postseason hero. 

Halladay had now answered all the questions and validated the Phillies affection— in a huge way. 

The only question that now remains: Was that Ruben Amaro on the pile? 

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Last night was the most dominating playoff performance by a Giants starting pitcher possibly ever.

Complete game, two hits, 14 strikeouts.

It was only Lincecum’s second complete game of the season. He also matched a career high in strikeouts. He struggled a bit in the first inning but figured it out after that.

Lincecum seemed to be overly excited and gave up a leadoff double to the Braves’ Omar Infante. The double seemed to settle him down and Timmy was able to pitch his game.

He was in complete control.

The question now remains, how will Matt Cain follow this performance?

If there is a pitcher on the Giants’ staff that has always seemed born for playoff baseball, it is Cain. He has been San Francisco’s most consistent pitcher all season but had his worst outing of the year last Saturday against San Diego.

Cain has a 2-2 career record with a 4.03 ERA against the Braves.

He is usually as stoic as can be on the mound. It doesn’t ever seem like anything bothers him. Tonight will be the night to find out for sure.

The mystique of the playoffs has worn off for the lineup and for at least one pitcher. If Cain commands the strike zone, as he usually does, then it should not be much problem for him.

Seeing Lincecum pitch as he did may ease Cain for his start. But if he begins to struggle and become predictable in his pitch selection, it could be a long night for Cain.

One thing Cain is used to dealing with, playoffs or not, is lack of run support. The Giants had opportunities last night to score runs and were only able to capitalize once.

The case could be made that Infante should have made that play. If he had, they may still be playing right now.

The Giants have an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series before taking the flight to Atlanta for Games Three and Four (if necessary). Atlanta does not play well on the road but is the best home team in the National League.

Cain is the key. Pitching is the key.

Cain was built for the playoffs. Now, it’s time to prove it.

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The 2010 MLB Playoffs are only just underway—each NLDS series is only one game old—and we’ve got both drama and storylines. Rarely has the first six games of a baseball playoff season been so eventful.

As we head into this weekend’s games, here’s a look at the storylines that have begun to develop. Some teams are doing the opposite of what we expected, while Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees are doing exactly what we expected.

Let’s have a look.

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Well, the 2010 Major League Baseball playoffs are finally upon us, and who on your team is the best out there?  What about battles like Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, and Joey Votto; Jorge Posada and Joe Mauer; and Roy Halladay against CC Sabathia.

To say the least, this should be one heck of a postseason.

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