Kuzul

With their thrilling 4-3 victory over the A’s in Oakland on Saturday, the Texas Rangers have finally made their long-awaited return to baseball’s promised land, earning their first postseason berth since 1999.

While it was nearly a foregone conclusion that they would eventually clinch the AL West, considering their significant division lead, nothing in baseball is ever set in stone until the other potential outcomes are mathematically eliminated. The Rangers were able to erase any lingering doubt, claiming the American League West division crown with a week’s worth of regular-season action remaining.

The ability to clinch with a week left should not be underestimated. Although their rotation has been set-up for postseason action for the last few weeks, the Rangers now don’t have to rely on dramatic “must-win” scenarios for at least a week, easing the burden on their staff.

Relievers can also be used judiciously, keeping them fresh for baseball’s “second season,” while still giving them the proper amount of work to keep them sharp and ready. Similarly, position players are now afforded the opportunity to heal their weary bodies, and opportunity that their opponents, Tampa or New York won’t have.

In baseball, it pays to adhere to the age-old cliches of “taking one day at a time” or “never looking beyond today’s game,” but now the Rangers can actually look ahead somewhat, with their clinching victory rendering the remainder of the regular season meaningless in terms of playoff ramifications.  

Texas knows that since the Rays and Yankees hail from the same division, they are unable to play each other in the first round of the divisional playoffs, so one must play the Rangers, and the other, the Twins.

Currently, with the Yankees and Rays embroiled in a tight division race, only separated by a half-game, the AL East battle is likely to go down to the final day of the season. As it stands today, the Rays lead the East with the best record in the league, and would therefore play the postseason entrant with the lowest winning percentage, the Rangers.

That could all change over next few days if the Tampa and New York were to exchange places in the East standings, in which case, the Rangers would then face the Yankees in the Division Series. Although the Yankees have been a strong team, and are the defending World Series champions, there are many factors that may contribute to that being a match-up that the Rangers would actually prefer, if given the choice.

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With only four games remaining in the 2010 campaign, venerable manager Bobby Cox is making his last push for the postseason.

We all know that…and knew (or hoped) that this would be the case from the first side-sessions down at the Disney Wild World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

But, the fact that Cox is in his final stretch brandishing a cap with a fancy “A” is starting to feel “real,” if you will.

After all, if the Braves manage to lose grasp of their current Wild Card advantage in the season’s final series, No. 6 is gone for good.

Regardless of how you will be soaking in that looming reality (hopefully that “gone for good” stuff hits us, as Braves fans, some time after Game “something” in the World Series as Cox is hoisted onto his team’s shoulders in victory), be it with jubilation, anguish, or something in between, there are some things that we are all going to miss about the man who led the Atlanta Braves through their greatest run in franchise history (Boston and Milwaukee included).

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For Los Angeles Dodgers fans, the realization that their club hasn’t played a meaningful game in the last month of the season remains tough to swallow.

Los Angeles is headed for a sub-.500 record and an offseason of turnover, a 500-foot home run from the last two seasons that saw the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series. 

For a club as tradition-rich as the Dodgers operating in the second-largest market in the country—a market that provides a wealth of knowledgeable and passionate baseball people—such unnecessary turmoil that has savaged the organization in the last year has left the team with a county of exasperated fans.

But what the mangled ownership fails to realize is that this is a fan base that lives for the Dodgers, dies for the Dodgers and, above all else, supports the Dodgers.

In 2009, Dodger Stadium packed in more fans than any other ballpark in America. The team thrived, Manny Ramirez drew, and the people cheered.

What about this year, a year that has seen the corpse of Ramirez come and go along with one of the most successful managers in baseball history in Joe Torre because the losing became too much and the absence of a front-office leader became too crippling?

Without much reason to, the fans still showed up.

Los Angeles trails only the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees in attendance this year.

Yeah, I know, population of a city has a ton to do with it, but it doesn’t have everything to do with it. Hell, Milwaukee currently ranks in the top 10 in attendance this year right behind the Boston Red Sox.

So, no, this isn’t St. Petersburg, where great baseball is going unwatched.

This is the feeble state of the Dodgers, where putrid baseball is undeservingly consumed.

Which is exactly why things need to change in Chavez Ravine this winter so that an organization worthy of October returns there, so that fans deserving of a World Series get there.

Here we present five potential changes that could help the Los Angeles Dodgers return to prominence in 2011.

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The New York Yankees are sputtering down the stretch and could find themselves as the American League Wild Card team once the playoffs get underway.

A.J. Burnett struggled yet again as the Yankees suffered a 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto Monday night.

New York’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is still stuck at one following their fifth loss in six games.

Make no mistake, the reigning World Champions have big problems as the postseason rapidly approaches.

Here’s a look at 10 reasons why the Yankees won’t make it out of the ALDS.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are the hottest playoff team in baseball right now, sporting the MLB’s best record at 94-63. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and recently had an 11-game winning streak. They are playing outstanding baseball and look to be in postseason form, and have also clinched their fourth consecutive NL East title.

With the Phillies playing this well, can they be stopped? They have been to the past two World Series, and won it all in 2008. It will take a lot for a team to stop the Phillies once the postseason starts.

The Phillies look like they will coast through the playoffs to another World Series. It is very possible that the World Series will be their first true challenge. With that being the case, lets look at 10 reasons the Tampa Bay Rays currently are the biggest threat to the Phillies.

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The list of things that went right with the 2010 Seattle Mariners season starts and ends with Felix Hernandez.

King Felix should be the favorite for the Cy Young after a stellar season that includes a 2.31 ERA (second in baseball), a 1.06 WHIP (tied for fourth in baseball), and 227 strikeouts (second in baseball). 

Ichiro Suzuki is pretty good too, recording his 10th straight 200-hit season early last week.

After that, however, the Mariners roster is a collection of misfits, underachievers, over-the-hill veterans, and colossal busts. 

Felix Hernandez is one of baseball’s best pitchers. But as that 12-12 record shows, he can’t do it alone.

Here are 10 offseason moves Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik should make to get Felix some help and put the Mariners back into the playoff race.

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The Minnesota Twins have clinched the AL Central and heading into the final week of the regular season they are likely to rest key players such as Jim Thome, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer.

A first round matchup with the New York Yankees is looking more and more likely with each Yankee loss and Tampa Bay win. 

Which team gives Minnesota the best chance to advance is a discussion for another time. The main focus here is going to be what the Twins need to do in the postseason to ensure they advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2002. 

Here we go…

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Felix Hernandez is having a season to remember.

The Cy Young Award is hardly a gimme in Major League Baseball.

Reserved for what is supposed to be the best pitcher in his respective league that year, the pinnacle of a season’s pitching achievements sometimes is not given to truly the top thrower.

Though his record may not portray Hernandez’s position among the best, the Seattle Mariners unquestionably boast a top candidate for this year’s AL Cy Young.

Among the competition are Boston’s Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, New York’s CC Sabathia, Tampa Bay’s David Price, Oakland’s Trevor Cahill, and LA’s Jared Weaver.

But none other than King Felix is the most deserving.

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It’s been a bad year for Cleveland Indians fans.

Most of us Tribe faithful had low expectations when the season began. This was supposed to be a transition year, as the fruits of one of the deepest farm systems in the game got their first taste of the big leagues.

But even if they weren’t supposed to be serious contenders, it’s hard to see the Indians flailing behind even the Kansas City Royals in the basement of the AL Central without wondering how things went this wrong.

It wasn’t just the kids’ growing pains that sent the season off the rails—it was consistent ineptitude from the established veterans who were supposed to set good examples for their whippersnapper teammates.

Face-of-the-franchise Grady Sizemore got bitten by the injury bug again in 2010, (not that he did the team much good when he was healthy). Travis Hafner continued his decline, and guys like Jhonny Peralta, Luis Valbuena, and David Huff all were mediocre at best.

And yet, buried somewhere in the metaphorical pile of vomit that has been the Indians’ season (I don’t think that really makes sense, but it’s a fitting image) there have been some things that should make us Tribe fans feel hopeful and—dare I say?—proud.

Here are 10 reasons why Cleveland still rocks.

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For as little wealth as the Orioles offered at the big league level this season, they made up for it with a plethora of minor league stars, and since these are the guys who are going to help lead the O’s out of the AL East basement, it’s time to get to know the baby Birds.

This All-Star team is full of all sorts of players: early and late-round picks, can’t miss guys and total shots in the dark, as well as the young and the old.

Without further ado, I give you the 2010 Orioles Minor League All-Star team.

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