Porn star Jenny Hendrix loves the Jacksonville Jaguars almost as much as having anal sex. Now, Hendrix is parlaying her interest in professional football into a new gig as a commentator on PG13Football.com, an internet radio show.

Hendrix, star of "The Jenny Hendrix Anal Experience," says she hopes to use skills learned on the show to eventually get into sports broadcasting.
"No one else in the porn industry is doing this," she says. "There are a lot of girls in this industry who don't want to make a name for themselves."

One person who already knows Hendrix' name is Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, who called the show her first day on the job.
"He was familiar with my work," she says gleefully. "He says he saw it in a hotel."

Awesome.

Jenny Hendrix's MySpace Page
Porn Star Fan of Jags; Jack Del Rio Fan of Porn Star
There's At Least One Porn Star In The Jaguars' Corner

Essentially, they're just hopefully amusing, insightful essays about the games we obsess over in the postseason. We'll be filing pretty much every night about 2 a.m., which means, as always, the month of October will consist of as little sleep as possible. We hope you enjoy it ... and it's free now! Honest!

Fair And Foul [New York Times]
Out Of Bounds [New York Times]

The Rockies-Padres tiebreaker game ran 4 hours, 41 minutes, and though that was an extreme case, postseason games traditionally run much longer than regular season games. But TBS has allotted only 3 1/2 hours between games. Fortunately, they're going the Fox Family Channel route: The games will shift to TNT if there is spillover. Thank heavens for corporate synergy!

We're still not sure how this whole TBS thing is gonna work, but they're covering their bases in one regard. We had been concerned about that.

Russ Oats runs Purple Row. His words are after the jump.

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It has been 12 years since the Rockies made the playoffs, and they made it in quite a dramatic fashion. The Rockies knocked around Jake Peavy, but that wasn't enough. Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam, but that didn't give the Padres an edge. Clint Hurdle committed his regular Hurdlisms with his use of pinch hitters and the bullpen. Those moves, however, didn't kill the Rockies. It looked bleak after Hairston's homer, but if there is one thing this team has shown time and time again this season, it's that they never give up.

They could have given up after an 18-27 start, with one member of the Denver media calling for a boycott of the team until a new owner was brought in (and now is a bandwagoner). They could have stopped caring after the 1-9 stretch they had during June when Brian Fuentes blew four consecutive saves. They could have mailed in the rest of the season after losing the first two games against the Marlins in the middle of September, but they didn't. They went on a most improbable run and capped it off with an improbable extra-inning win against the Padres. If Matt Holliday doesn't exemplify the heart of a champion after scoring the winning run (all right, maybe he didn't touch home plate), then I don't know who does.

With the momentum from this victory it's hard not to like the Rockies' chances. Some will argue that teams with the best momentum heading into the postseason often don't win. Maybe the numbers prove that, but have any of those teams ever gone through what the Rockies just did? The Rockies will have two phenomenal rookie pitchers starting games two and three, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales. With everything coming up Rockies right now, I have all the confidence in the world that U-Ball and Frankie will deliver nothing less than stellar performances in their first postseason experiences. Ridicule me if that doesn't happen, but to quote a bit of Hendrix, "Purple haze / You're makin' me blow my mind."

It's been a rollercoaster ride for the Rockies this season, and they most certainly are the reason why my hair is grayer these days, but it's been well worth it. A World Series or an exit in the first round, it's been a hell of a season.

And Helton's finally playing October baseball! What baseball fan doesn't want to see him there?

Jim Pete runs Tribe Report. His words are after the jump.

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Dysfunction.

It's the word of the new millennia. You say your Mom looked at you funny because you called the neighbor kid a moron? Your Dad loves your Mom ... and your best friend's mom too? You're too lazy to feed your kids, so you set them at the table and pop open a box of cracker jacks and a ripped open bag of chocolate chip cookies? Your favorite baseball team didn't finish above third place in 35 years, and when the finally did, they get TWO OUTS away from their first title in 50 years, only to lose in extra innings?

Dysfunction.

Welcome to the life of a Cleveland Indians' fan, and 2007 seemed to be a microcosm of all that dysfunction. The season started with a near-no-hitter that turned into a snow-out. Not only did the game get snowed out, but the WHOLE SERIES did as well.

This is the team that was both a league leader in walks, showing their patience as a team, and strikeouts, showing their impatience as a team.

This is the team that had a leadoff batter who nearly led the team in Home Runs, Strikeouts (2nd most in the AL), Walks (5th in the AL), and OB% (12th in the league).

This is a team that had their newly signed closer retire before the season starter (Keith Foulke), and their newly signed closer only sign because Philly wouldn't sign him because of an alleged bum arm (Joe Borowski). Borowski then led the AL in saves, with an ERA hovering around 40.00 (actually 5.50, but who's counting). Both times he got his ERA under 5.00, he promptly gave up enough runs in his next outing to go back over 5.00.

The Indians opening day rotation included Fausto Carmona, only because Cliff Lee was injured. When Cliff Lee returned, Carmona was sent back down to Buffalo after winning two games in a row, and nearly pitching a complete game shutout in his last start. Carmona came BACK from Buffalo for last year's surprise, Jeremy Sowers, who couldn't get an out. Since then, Fausto Carmona has won 19 games, and should finish in the top five in the Cy Young voting. He's arguably Cleveland's best starter.

The Indians ace, C.C. Sabathia pitched some of his best ball from July 24 through August 24. In those starts, Sabathia gave up more than two runs only once in seven starts, and had seven innings or more in all but one start. During those seven starts, Sabathia went 1-3, with three no decisions. His only win? The game in which he gave up three runs. His only non-quality start? Same game.

***disclaimer—I am a Trot Nixon fan. He is one of those players that you respect because he is scrappy, and gives it his all. Of course, when his all at this point is standing with his feet in concrete in right field, and hitting seeing-eye singles two times out of ten at bats, well...you get the point. And if you don't, read on***

Cleveland signed Trot Nixon and David Dellucci at the beginning of the season to provide some veteran leadership and pop to the lineup. They were the big "offensive" signings for the Tribe. Combined, they are hitting .245, with seven home runs, and 51 RBI. Both proved to be lame, literally, as Dellucci missed half the season with injury, and Nixon missed the whole season, without injury. Nixon did prove to be an outstanding clubhouse presence, teaching the Tribe how to piss off unsuspecting players with the shaving cream pies during interviews. He also mentored Josh Barfield.

Cleveland had outfielder Franklin Gutierrez in Buffalo, behind Trot Nixon, David Dellucci, Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore, Alex Cole, Rocky Colavito, Ben Francisco, David Justice, Trevor Crowe, Russell Crowe, Charlie Spikes and Willie Mays Hayes. Gutierrez is now a fixture in the everyday lineup. He can hit for power, has good speed, and can field, unlike Trot Nixon, who moves like a constipated sloth in the outfield (I get it, his injuries have sapped his strength and speed and ability to play (SO WHY FREAKIN' PLAY!).

Josh Barfield was heralded as one of the big pickups in the offseason, when Mark Shapiro had dealt for him for Tribe future star, Kevin Kouzmanoff. Barfield, the son of former Toronto and Yankee slugger, Jesse Barfield, was considered a defensive stalwart, who would develop Robby Alomar type offense. Unfortunately for the Indians, and Barfield, he was more Jose Vizcaino than Robby Alomar. Now, he's taking over the Trot Nixon job of plastering interviewees with shaving-cream pies. That's ironic, because Barfield and Nixon have essentially become one player. Trot hits a seeing-eye single, and Josh Barfield runs for him (it's also rumored that they go to parties together, with Josh Barfield hiding under a trench coat with Nixon on his shoulders).

Asdrubal Cabrera was on the Indians 40-man roster, but let's face facts; at the beginning of this year, he wasn't on ANYONE'S list for making the cut at any point during the season for the Big League club. He started the season with AA Akron, to work on his offense. So, he hit .310 with 8 dingers and 54 RBI, as well as 23 SB. Up to AAA he went. After batting .316 in nine games, Cleveland called him up to supplement. Well, Barfield has been on the bench ever since. Here's the kicker: He's the best shortstop on the team. He plays second base, because Jhonny Peralta, who leads the team in errors, plays short.

Cleveland won their first home game against Los Angeles of Anaheim, in Milwaukee, and won their last home game, against Seattle, in Seattle.

Dysfunction.

At the end of the day, just how good are the Cleveland Indians? This is an extremely talented ballclub. When you look at the offense from top to bottom, you have the best leadoff man in baseball in Grady Sizemore, who can beat you with power and speed. Defensively, there aren't many better, and when he gets on base, it's a nightmare for the opposing pitchers. He can strike out too much, but at the end of the day, his OBP makes up for any transgressions with his hitting. He can beat you by himself.

Asdrubal Cabrera, the rook, bats second, and you've already heard about this kid. Cabrera is about as clutch as they come, is the sparkplug of the offense and is a defensive wunderkind up the middle.

Travis Hafner DH's and bats third. Listen, the guy is in a slump, I get it. Thing is, he's batting nearly .500 over the past five games and is regaining form. He can carry a club with his bat, and we just don't have to worry about his glove at any point. Travis Hafner just plain strikes fear in pitchers.

Victor Martinez is the best catcher in baseball. HEAR THAT MINNESOTA FANS. Yeah, I said it. V-Mart is the BEST CATCHER IN BASEBALL. There isn't a more clutch hitter on this club, and he's now throwing out runners at a 30 percent clip. V-Mart is the undoubted leader of this club.

Ryan Garko bats fifth and is the most underrated player on the club. I can't tell you how many times V-Mart has been intentionally walked to face Garko. Garko can hit for average, and for power, and at times, can remind some folk of that Hafner fellow. He goes through bouts of struggle at times, but continues to improve.

Jhonny Peralta bats sixth, and at first thought, is a liability in the field. That's just life. Offensively, Peralta has good power and is a clutch hitter at the bottom of the order.

Batting seventh is the old Tribe-Hand, Kenny Lofton. Yeah, he's batting seventh, and doing a hell of a job. The simple fact that he's doing it, and smiling about it says it all. He's a sparkplug no matter where he bats, and where he fields, in this case, left field.

You've heard about Franklin Gutierrez already, so I'm not going there again.

Finally, Casey Blake at third isn't going to remind anyone of Mike Schmidt, but he's the best nine-hole hitter in the league. He has a good glove, and just gets the job done.

The starters begin and really end with 19-game winners, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. They'll match up with anyone, and right now, are pitching their best baseball. Jake Westbrook will probably be the No. 3 based on his recent starts. When he's on, he can be as good as Sabathia and Carmona. When he's bad, well, he's bad. Paul Byrd is at the four slot, and he's really struggling. Still, don't count out this guy. He often steps up to the plate when his back is against the Wall. Cliff Lee and Aaron Laffey could still be a factor here, we'll just have to wait and see how it pans out.

The relievers start with the aforementioned Joe Borowski as the closer. Dos Rafael are the set-up guys, and are as effective as any tandem in the game. Jenson Lewis and Aaron Fultz are the next layer, and have been intensely effective. Lee will play a part here as well.

Overall, the American League is separated by cheap, see-through toilet paper. There's not a whole lot of difference between the four teams. What Cleveland possesses may be unique. They have a lights-out staff led by Sabathia and Carmona. They have one of the best pens in the league. They have an offense that boasts five hitters with 20 or more taters, and one more with 18, so they have some pop. They can also beat you with small ball, the big inning, and the come from behind wins (closing on 50 this year).

It just goes to show you...dysfunction...when you are used to it...isn't such a bad thing...is it?

Eric Gillin is the editor of Esquire.com and a founding editor of The Black Table. His words are after the jump.

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Red Sox fans: Stock up on Pepto Bismol, because your small intestines are gonna feel like a balloon animal filled with refried beans by the end of October. That is, if the Red Sox even make it that far.

While this year's edition of the Red Sox racked up the best record in baseball, thanks to consistent starting pitching, rock-solid fielding, improved team speed, and overall bullpen depth — all crucial factors to playing winning baseball in October — they don't exactly feel dominant. My dad, the kind of emotionally abused, cynical die-hard who insists the Sox will be swept in the middle of Game One, hasn't been able to watch a game past the 6th inning, because he can't take the stress. Deadspin's art guru, Jim Cooke, happily fled the country for the last two weeks of the season because he "couldn't bear to watch them choke against the Yankees." Bulletin boards are bemoaning moves not made ("Paging Mr. Teixeira, Mr. Teixeira, you have a telephone call at the front desk...") and hating on the ones we did make (let's just say Eric Gagne isn't condo-shopping in South Boston right now). For a team with home-field advantage and its first division title in 12 years, its Nation seems oddly subdued.

Part of it is that the Yankees — and a number of other squads — have outplayed the Red Sox since the All-Star break, humbling those boneheads that thought the division title was wrapped up in May. Part of it is injuries, after two key players — Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez — went down in the last month of the season. But a lot more has to do with how this team wins. They don't win the way the Sox used to win. They're the kind of team that needs four hits to score a run, never seems to finish opponents and loses the close ones. They play the absolute worst kind of baseball if you have a heart condition.

If they're going to win another World Series in 2007, it's not going to be pretty. Here's what you'll see from the Red Sox this October:

Four-Hour Games. The Sox have seen 25,357 pitches, second-most in the majors. On the plus side, this means they tend to wear down starters to get to the meaty center of a bad bullpen. But on the minus side, you're sweating through fifteen 3-2 foul balls to get there. After three weeks of this, you'll look like Burgess Meredith in Rocky III.

A Litany of Lefthanders. The Sox have a really obvious Achilles' heel that every manager will attempt to exploit: They're just 25-23 against southpaws this year vs. 71-43 for righties. (Let's just say no one's very excited about the possibility of facing C.C. Sabathia in the second round.)

Tough Losses in Close Games. Here's the real kick in the pants — the Red Sox are just 22-28 in one-run games. Here they are, with a record of 96-66, and they're under .500 in close games. Even worse, they're 2-5 in extra innings. This means that roughly one-third of Sox games were too close for comfort. Two horrible thoughts that plague Sox fans: How good would they be if they won more of those close ones? And what does it mean that they didn't?

Long Innings. The Red Sox have the second-best ERA in baseball, but if you want to truly understand why Sox fans are freaking out it's because they've only induced 145 double plays this year, the sixth-worst total in baseball. Part of this is because they let fewer people on base, but part of it is G-d hates Red Sox fans and created acid reflex disease specifically for them.

Blue Balls. The Sox have left more than ten men on base a whopping 51 times this year, way more than the Yankees (38), the Indians (32), and the Angels (29). Needless to say, the Sox have hit into 146 double plays this year, the fifth-most in all of baseball, which means that bases loaded, one-out explosion you were hoping would finally put away the other team? Don't hold your breath.

Okay. So it's not all bad. This is still a very good baseball team. They're just not exciting because a lot of those long, close games will be won because of things the Red Sox have historically been terrible at: namely, fielding, relief pitching, and running the bases. Add that to the nice mix of veterans who've been there before and explosive rookies who have carried the team over the last two months and you've got some serious potential to go deep into October.

But still. Those five nagging points above are keeping me up nights. Plus a litany of little, nagging issues — like whether J.D. Drew's recent surge is the ultimate cock-tease, or the fact Eric Gagne cannot seem to pitch a 1-2-3 inning, or how $102 million man Dice-K is 5-6 with an ERA of 5.19 since the All-Star Break — and you can see why Red Sox Nation is sweating like a child molester in gen pop.

Stock up on the pink stuff, Sox fans, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

• Rockies Celebrate ... But He Still Has Not Touched Home Plate! Matt Holliday never touched the plate and Tim McClellan knows it. He absolutely knows it. He stood back and did not make a call because he knew it. A thought process happened, and then he made the call in slow motion. They are interviewing Matt Holliday on TBS at this very moment and even he won't say he touched the plate. Quote, "The umpire said I did, so..."

What's more, I am flat out, right now accusing Tim McClellan of making a call that, if not downright influenced by a desire to punish Sandy Alderson and the Padres, was at the very least a call that ended a ball game which he had no evidence to make. A call that ended a team's season. I can't prove that it was consciously or subconsciously influenced by any bias. But I believe it. See, the non-call was already a call. It was saying he did not touch the plate. Never seen an umpire reverse a call? Guess what? You just did. [San Diego Spotlight]

• An Epic Game Of Inches. Tonight's game was the poster child for how the fate of a baseball season can rest on the smallest of margins. From Garrett Atkins' "double" that struck a suspiciously solid object behind the yellow padding to Matt Holliday's "to score or not to score?" slide, this cruel game toyed with the Rockies and Padres, leaving their fates twisting in the late October night until the dust had settled on Holliday's final dive. Ultimately, the Rox were rewarded for busting their asses all night even when the breaks weren't falling their way and it's that exact drive and determination that sets this team apart. [Up In The Rockies]

• Defeat. And then I can tell you that Hoffy came to the mound. This is where the lack of a picture makes sense. A picture can be worth a thousand words — and in this day and age, a link may well be worth a million — but I can be sure, within a zillionth of an inch, that the pain is these words will be worth far more than any image you may lay your feeble eyes upon. For when Trevor Hoffman came in, and gave up a double to Kaz Matsui ... I'm going to say this slow, just so you understand . . . K-a-z M-a-t-s-u-i . . . I knew it was over. A two-strike gapper? To Kaz Matsui? [And Here Come The Pretzels]

• Le Sigh. Not a whole lot else to say. Good luck, Colorado. Have fun in the post season. I'll save my Trevor Hoffman Needs to Retire post for another night. If you're a non-Padres fan and you're thinking about trolling, just know that the Ban Button is coming down quick and without mercy. [Gaslamp Ball]

• Matt Holliday's Face Pain Brings Joy To Colorado. Technically it was a "tiebreaker" game, and part of the regular season, and the expanded roster is still in play. Um, bullshit. Call it the "National League Wild Card semifinal." They earned the right to play an extra game, and it's played in October, broadcast on TBS, and they don't drag Cal Ripken from the sofa into the studio to talk about a regular season game, now do they? [Blogcritics.org]

• The Rockies Are God's Team. Remember that article about the Colorado Rockies that came out in USA Today last summer? "Baseball's Rockies Seek Revival On Two Levels," it was titled, and detailed their quest to bring themselves up from the NL West's gutter. But it also described an organization guided not by Moneyball, but by Christianity. [Lion In Oil]

• Meanwhile, In New York ... As The Rockies were beating the Padres, Mr. Met was attempting suicide ... and failing pathetically. Late Night With Conan O'Brien has the exclusive footage. With a cameo appearance by the Phillie Phanatic, who evidently has had a gastric bypass.

Forgive us for quoting, uh, the most recent post, but we think Rick sums it up well; if one of the Padres can find out where Matt Holliday lives, he can still drive over there with a ball and tag him. We think it's pretty clear that Tim McClellan made the right call — that is to say, no call — and then was swept up in the drama of the moment and backed away. You can tell by the way he so casually gives the safe sign; it's as if he's trying to act like, "Hey, duh, he was safe along, obviously." Umpiring's a tough job, but we think he did every single thing wrong there.

One thing we can't get behind, though, is instant replay. Maybe we can support instant replay to tell whether a ball went over a wall, but we don't think we're being out-of-touch purists to believe in the sanctity of the umpire. No game is more human than baseball, and its traditions are what make it what it is. It would be no fun whatsoever to see Lou Piniella arguing with a camera.

Regardless; We congratulate the Colorado Rockies on their postseason appearance. No offense to the Padres, who have to be just dying over having this happen to Trevor Hoffman ... but it's kind of fun having these Rockies here.

Mat Gleason, is also known as Reverend Halofan, of HALOSHEAVEN.COM. His words are after the jump.

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It is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gene Autry, so of course the Angels are going to win it all!

In this era of baseball fans putting on lab coats to analyze the numbers before accepting a team's WIN as meaningful, can I just interject that the Angels are gonna win one for the cowboy on his 100th birthday!

Do I sound like a moron yet? Well, at least I am enjoying my team's success instead of doing my math homework. Each year, baseball on the internet gets to be more like doing your taxes; numbers of the past adding up to an unpleasant feeling of wasted opportunities with a lousy payoff in the near future.

The baseball atheists, the Sabr number crunchers, joykillers determined to rid the sport of any storyline not composed on a slide rule, they hate the Angels. Madalyn Murray O'Hair said there was no god, and the SabrMutts say there is no "clutch." These Sabr piss-on-your-parade sourpusses categorically reject any team structured on the belief that the RBI will redeem the baserunner, that a hitter's batting average with Runners in Scoring Position is of significance and that his average with RISP and 2 outs might actually be his most treasured trait as a hitter. These notions are a reverse heresy!

The 2007 Angels are structured antithetically to fashionable statistical analysis models. When ESPN's token Sabr boy Keith Law flat out states that RBI is a meaningless statistic in a chat-tirade against Garret Anderson (within a week Garret had a ten-RBI game against the Yankees), you have to understand that the 2007 Angels are a threat to the cottage industry of pseudoscientific baseball analysis from which Law and his flannel-bedecked crony Rob Neyer write fanboy love letters to jocks disguised as Benjamin Bernanke quarterly reports to congress.

Ask any rational SabrMetric Analyst why Maicer Izturis should ever bat fifth in a major league lineup. Then ask any Dodgers fan if they wish Mike Scioscia was their manager.

Ask the Billy Beane acolytes if all of Joakland's visits to the disabled list negated Billy's statistical acumen for personnel placement.
Then ask how many Angels went on the disabled list in 2007; the answer is 13 players for a total of 18 visits, less than the A's, but not 17 games behind worth.

Asking these and other questions is uncomfortable in these rigid, measured times. Nothing diminishes the seductive allure of OPS like a high average singles team that can steal bases, go from first to third well and score on old-fashioned squeezes. It is enough to force a fan to watch the baseball game instead of the MLB Gameday.

Mike Scioscia's innovative, progressive lineup is backed by a damn good pitching staff. The bullpen is not as reliable as in the past, but Angel fans have been so spoiled that their historically dominant bullpen sinking to the level of bullpen of the decade has been tough for us to handle. We don't self-flagellate like Bahstin or vicariously point fingers in the NY Post, but a blown hold was a rare occurrence in Los Angeles of Anaheim prior to this season.

But you seven other playoff teams better not wait around for the pitching to collapse. The way to beat the Angels is with your pitcher keeping his game on the ground. Let the Angels get two hits an inning, ground into a double play and then pop up weakly. Chien-Ming Wang stands between the Angels and a ring. If Carlos Silva was in the postseason, I would be praying to face any team but the Twins.

Watch, though, as your big game pitcher gets distracted with fast guys on first waiting to steal, then sees that guy go from first to third on what seemed to just be a squibber past a diving shortstop. Just as big stud walks off the mound to catch his breath, they announce Vladimir Guerrero is at the plate - you know, Manny Ramirez with his head on straight, Alex Rodriguez with the successful personality transplant. Can you tell we are praying for Carlos Zambrano to be here in three weeks?

Behind Vlad is a healthy Garret Anderson. Now, the Stat-Street-Boys dislike a man they cannot quickly measure. Garret is far too nuanced for their numbers-eyeballing methodology. Garret does two things with a bat: he hits a fastball well. He is not too good on the curve or the slider and is especially bad on the changeup away. But if you repeat a pitch to him, the 2nd thing he does well is crush the living shit out that pitch.

How can a simpleton like Keith Law be expected to pay attention to subtle, in-game situations like this without the aid of a crunched numerical graph explaining the importance of an offense built around frenzied hitting - the very concept of frenzied hitting does not fit into the cobwebbed orthodoxy that the alleged stat revolution has become.

A statistical analyst at this Angels' postseason campaign is like an atheist at Hannukah - before you crack a beer, tell us again why we aren't the chosen people?

Jim McLennan grew up in Britain, so he never saw live baseball for the first three decades of his life. He's making up for it now, and rants, on a daily basis, about the Arizona Diamondbacks over at AZ Snake Pit. His words are after the jump.

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I was trying to think of a witty metaphor for the D-backs presence in the postseason. Ugly kid at the prom? Democrat at a Rush Limbaugh convention? But I think the closest would probably be the independent film that gets nominated as Best Picture: no stars, no budget and nobody's quite sure how it managed to get there. For this team has the lowest payroll in the division, is tied for last in NL batting average at the time of writing, has nobody who will hit .300 and only Brandon Webb will win 15 games. Hell, they've conceded more runs than they've scored. By just about any sabermetric measure, the team sucks. But they still have the best record in the National League. That sound you hear is stats geeks impaling themselves on their copies of the Bill James Handbook.

How are they managing it? I if knew that, I'd be a GM. But a few things stand out. Firstly, a lights-out bullpen, which means the team hangs onto a lead like a Michael Vick pit bull: we're 60-10 when leading after five innings. At any point thereafter, manager Bob Melvin can hand things over to the Four Relievers of the Apocalypse (Jose Valverde, Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz and Tony Pena), who have pitched 275 innings - basically a starter and a half - with a combined ERA below three. Add the most-productive pinch-hitters in the majors, so they can usually score runs when needed, and that's likely why they have a 32-19 record in one-run games, which largely explains why they're where they are.

This team could certainly reach the World Series, having won the regular season series against the Padres, Cubs and Phillies, with an overall record of 19-11 against them. On their day, this team can beat anyone in the National League. Hell, Micah Owings can do it all by himself, becoming the first pitcher in at least 50 years to have multiple four-hit games in one season. Is he a pitcher who hits, or a hitter who pitches? And much like him, when the D-backs are firing, they can hurt you a lot of ways. Center fielder Chris Young fell a couple of bases short of becoming the first rookie with a 30 HR, 30 SB season; Eric Byrnes discovered his wheels, doubling his stolen-base total of 2006, already a career-high. Nine different players hit ten or more homers. The Diamondbacks are an unstoppable force.

On the other hand, they could, equally well, get swept in the NLDS. Byrnes pops up an awful lot for someone who signed a midseason $30m contract. Stephen Drew leaves Arizona fans longing for the hitting stroke of ... er, Craig Counsell. Carlos Quentin flopped so badly, he was tossed back to Tucson. Much as we love Augie 'The Littlest Ballplayer' Ojeda, he is not Orlando Hudson, lost with a busted thumb for the season. And opponents are batting .363 off Livan Hernandez this month. The Diamondbacks do not have a chance in hell.

But, this year, Arizona fans have mastered the art of doublethink, and the above paragraphs, if a bundle of contradictions, are an entirely accurate (if not, perhaps, particularly helpful) assessment of Arizona's postseason potential. Nothing would surprise me any longer about this team: they have already surpassed expectations simply by getting here, and whatever happens, they've given the state its most unforgettable ride since the World Series win over the Yankees.

Who knows where it'll stop? Back in the preseason, when Will asked me for a preview, I wrote, "You can still get the Diamondbacks at odds of 66-1 to win the 2007 World Series. Frankly, that's a gift, and readers might consider contacting their overseas relatives in regard to this matter, before the sports books catch on." I hope you took that advice: I'll be in contact for my 5 percent shortly.

Alex Belth is is the author of Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights and the editor of Bronx Banter. He also writes for SI.com. His words are after the jump.

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The demise of the Yankees has been talked about ever since they won 114 games in 1998. It gained steam in Buster Olney's book, Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty and peaked when New York blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. But the '04 collapse, which would have sent many other organizations into a tailspin, didn't kill the Yankees. Yes, New York has lost three straight playoff series (a lifetime for long-suffering Yankee fans). Still, for the past three seasons, they have put themselves in early-season pickles only to rally to play in October. The Yanks can still absorb high-priced mistakes (Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa), and big-ticket free agents (Clemens, Damon) like no other team, but since GM Brian Cashman has been allowed to develop young players, Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and now Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain have all played crucial roles.

On top of that, of course, Alex Rodriguez is having the best offensive season a Yankee has had since Maris and Mantle in 1961. Moreover, he's won over his critics, producing over and again in big moments all season. With two games left, he's scored 142 runs, with 32 doubles and 54 home runs, a beautiful, zaftig statline with only one blemish — 0 triples. A Rod's 155 RBI is the most by a Yankee since Joe D (and it's only good for 10th-best in Yankee history). According to OPS+, Rodriguez has four of the five greatest offensive seasons of any Yankee third basemen, and his 2007 season is one of the five or 10 greatest ever for a third baseman. This year, he's ducked a front-page sex scandal, mentored Cabrera and Cano and generally terrorized the American League into submission.

But in New York, the playoffs are the thing, and Rodriguez desperately needs to avoid a repeat of the '05 and '06 postseason. He needs to have his Reggie moment. The Yankees don't even need to win; Rodriguez just can't go bust again. If he does, he's as good as gone. But if the Yankees win the World Serious, or if Rodriguez performs admirably in defeat, it's hard to imagine him playing anywhere else.

The Yanks have had more than Rodriguez this season too. Jorge Posada is having a career year and would be a stellar MVP candidate if it weren't for Rodriguez. Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano recovered nicely after struggling early, and Derek Jeter, playing through a balky knee late this summer, is having another representative season. Mariano Rivera's strikeout numbers are still strong, but he's sporting the worst ERA since he's become a closer. Of course, Joba Chamberlain has been enormous — he's the best young pitcher the Yankees have had since, well, a young Rivera.

The starting pitching remains the biggest question going into the playoffs. The Yankees have the weakest staff of all the American League playoff teams, yet it's not that hard to imagine Wang, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens doing well. Then again, it's not a stretch to picture them getting ripped either. I mean, who knows what they can expect out of Clemens, who was shut down with a leg injury for the final two weeks of the regular season. But the Yankees need their starters to show up in order to get passed Cleveland in the first round. The Yanks were 6-0 against the Tribe this year, but you can throw that right out the window; they didn't face C.C. Sabathia at all, and saw Fausto Carmona just once.

My sense is that if the Yankees make it past the first round, they'll be tough to beat. But as Joe Torre said earlier in the week, they'll need a good deal of luck on their side, along with the good pitching and timely hitting. For Rodriguez, as great as he's been this year, it's another make-or-break moment in his career. He'll be center stage, and his next career move will most certainly be determined in the weeks to come.

The Yanks will try and have their starters go six, and then hand the ball to Vizcaino, Joba and Rivera.

Mike Cetera is associate editor of The Beacon News in Aurora, Ill. His words are after the jump.

When a girl rips your heart out, stabs it, stomps on it, burns it and spits on it before shoving the mutilated muscle back into your tortured chest, you're not likely to take her out on another date. That's something most guys just wouldn't consider. But stupid men return for more punishment; this is the essence of being a Cubs fan. We are stupid men (and women).

And though we have been slow to heal since that disastrous late-inning collapse in 2003, a number of us have fully thrown ourselves back into the relationship during this clumsy march to the postseason. Despite all of the overwhelming evidence telling us to run, run far away, some of us have left ourselves vulnerable again. Here's why:

• Anything can happen in the playoffs. Last year's Cardinals team (not to mention the 2005 White Sox, which limped in to the playoffs before destroying everybody) are no longer curse words, but are spoken of with the kind of reverence normally given to grandmothers and clergy. Some claim the 2007 Cubs are the 2006 Cardinals, a team that its own fans (Read: Mr. Leitch) only begrudgingly supported down the stretch because they were just so awful. So it goes for this Cubs team, which has been about as inconsistent as it comes. The team has suffered through stretches where no one can hit, only to be saved by above-average starting pitching and a bullpen that (despite its maddening closer) has been stingy, particularly in the second half. When the hitting finally righted itself in August and September, however, the starting pitching began to look a bit flimsy, particularly "ace" Carlos Zambrano, whose stubbornness (he won't drink water, so he continues to cramp up) has begun to rival for biggest eccentricity his penchant for emotional outbursts. In the end, there just haven't been enough stretches where the pitchers and the hitters have been hot at the same time. Yet none of these inconsistencies matter come Wednesday. The team is in the playoffs.

• The offense: Homer-happy Wrigley Field has been a tough place to score runs in a hurry this year largely because of the oddity of the wind blowing in more often than not. No player entered September with more than 19 home runs. Since then, three players eclipsed that mark during an impressive stretch that saw the team all-but put away the Milwaukee Brewers. Because the home run ball has been tougher to come by, the Cubs have been forced to rely more on speed and fundamentals, two areas the team has been terrible at for years. The Cubs have more speed in the lineup than past incarnations — even if the stolen base stats don't show it — which could give starting pitchers fits. And speed, unlike power, isn't inconsistent. Specifically, look for Ryan Theriot to take extra bases and break up double plays.

• Alfonso Soriano: Yes, the Cubs paid too much. No, he shouldn't be a leadoff hitter. But he is as responsible for the Cubs' late-season surge as anyone else. Soriano hit double-digit home runs in the final month, and despite his shaky defense, saved at least two games by throwing runners out at the plate. The lesson: Don't run on his arm. Now, about those lifetime playoff stats ...

• Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol: In addition to Soriano, Howry and Marmol can be credited with saving this team. With Howry, it's not so much of a surprise. Historically, he's been stronger out of the bullpen in the second half than in the first. This year is no different. Going into the final weekend, Howry had an ERA of 1.95 since the All-Star break, allowing just 28 hits and seven walks in 37 innings. Meanwhile, Marmol, the Cubs likely future closer, has been a dominant surprise all year. In just his first full season, Marmol had an ERA of 1.45 and had 95 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings pitched heading into the final weekend. If the game is close when the Cubs go to the bullpen, this team will be in good shape.

• The no-name squad: Every team worth rooting for has a couple of guys who become fan favorites because it's clear they have limited talent. They made it to the top because they try harder. The Cubs are no exception. This year's David Eckstein just may be Theriot, who nobody heard of before the start of the season. He's provided a near constant spark, however. The Cubs also have benefited from some late-season call-ups, including catcher Geovany Soto, whose performance both at the plate and behind it have led a number of fans to not only call for Soto to make the postseason roster but for him to start in place of Jason Kendall, whose bat has only been mildly helpful since coming to the team in a trade. (And his defense may have cost the team games.)

• Nobody is bitching: The Cubs of recent vintage have been terribly hard to root for mainly because the team has been just plain awful, but also because the players were nearly impossible to like. Credit Lou Piniella for keeping the clubhouse griping to a minimum. Dusty Baker couldn't or wouldn't control his players, and it made everyone seem petulant. It's pretty hard to cheer on a team full of jerks.

All right. We're in. Some of us refuse to trust the girl we brought to the dance. More of us may just be suckers thinking that after 99 years we'll finally get some. Bring on the heartache.

• Nate Robertson's Gum Time. No doubt it was Gum Time tonight. I had two packs in. They had me miked up for the broadcast. Skip nominated me to get miked up for the game tonight. I don't know how much coverage I had out there. I think I was the only one to throw it in, but down 3-1, why not? So I threw in a couple packs, get a little rally going. They actually weren't in my mouth. Half of the gum was hanging out of my mouth. It was pretty ugly.

• Athletics Nation. Don't get me wrong, I don't like going down 2-0 at home. The A's are now officially the underdogs in the series no matter how you slice it, having simply been outpitched, outhit, and outfielded in two home games, off to face their nemesis, Kenny Rogers, in less friendly confines. But tonight's game was a microcosm of why there is hope for the series as a whole. Tonight, the A's looked like they were cooked only to rise up and get Milton Bradley to the plate representing the tying run, only to go a step further and get Frank Thomas to the plate representing the winning run. Perhaps the series will follow the same script and the A's have some rising yet to do. The A's are down, but they're far from out. Frank Thomas hasn't hit his last high fly ball yet. Let's hope his last one has the distance.

• Detroit Tigers Weblog. I'm still nervous. It was only 2 weeks ago that the Tigers played a home weekend series against the worst team in the league needing merely 1 win. They couldn't do it. Now the Tigers need 2 wins against a team that has proved to be very good, even if they haven't shown it yet this series. Some people are saying that the Tigers learned from that series, and that it made them a better team. I don't know if that's true or not, but as fans it would be silly to forget what went down.

• Tiger Blog. What a game by Alexis Gomez. I immediately questioned why Leyland would throw him in there, and then of course he started driving in runs. He hit a two run seeing eye single in the fourth and then a he hit a huge two run homerun in the sixth inning. The other questionable hitter in the lineup was Neifi Perez. He was the only Tiger who didn't reach base last night. It was a big fat nothing.

Yes, folks, the Tigers have that look, that 2004 Red Sox look, or 2005 White Sox look. The look of a team that is absolutely going to stomp everyone. We know that's an incredibly bizarre thing to say about a team that's named the Detroit Tigers, but they just won two games on the road and now have a chance to clinch a trip to the World Series in their own park. We would have never imagined it.

By the way, it is distressing to feel like you're a baseball fan, like you pay awfully close attention to the sport that you love the most ... and then some guy named Alexis Gomez knocks in four runs and you've never heard of him. At least it wasn't Neifi Perez.

Oakland Pitching Not Getting All A's [SI.com]

We repeat our caveat: It's very possible tonight's Cardinals-Mets game is going to rain out. (Fortunately, you know, there's some other baseball tonight, just in case, and we think it's unlikely Oakland's gonna get a rainstorm.) But nevertheless, the NLCS is scheduled to begin tonight, with the veteran glove-screamer Jeff Weaver taking on Tom Glavine, with whom you should never share a cab.

If they do end up playing, we suggest following along in the active commenting sections of Viva El Birdos, Detroit Tigers Weblog, Athletics Nation and Metsblog. No place is more fun to root around during the game than with the diehards. And feel free to chat around in here too.

And enjoy. We're sorry "Nip/Tuck" was preempted.

This is easier said than done. Two years ago, the Cardinals and Astros played in the best baseball postseason we have ever seen. (It's unreal how outstanding that series was.) Unfortunately, we lived in New York City, and there happened to be an ALCS that was drawing a bit of attention in the city. And we also didn't have cable. So we spent most of that week begging sports bars to give us one tiny television in the corner while everyone else in the place was losing their minds over Dave Roberts.

The arranagement is certainly strange: We think the average sports fan — and even the average advertiser, frankly — would rather be able to direct their full attention to one game, even if it's at 4:30 in the afternoon on a Wednesday than have to do deal with two of the most important games of the season running against each other. Particularly with one of them on the Nip/Tuck station.

Most people probably won't remember that mid-80s reference, and, honestly, that's probably to your credit. Though we did enjoy when, riding the subway the other day wearing a Cardinals hat, someone yelled "Hey, John Tudor sucks!" We loved John Tudor.

Anyway, again, if the rain stays away, the NLCS will kick off tonight. There's, uh, a prohibitive favorite.

Here's a roundup of predictions from around the Web.

• Peter Gammons: Mets in six.
• Buster Olney: Mets in seven.
• Cool Standings: Mets in six.
• John Donovan: Mets in five.
• Baseball Musings: Mets.
• Baseball Prospectus: Mets in six.
• DEADSPIN: Cardinals in seven. Come on. You expected anything else? We're helplessly biased. Also, Chris Carpenter would pitch a Game 7 on full rest ... so we'd like our odds in that one.

We're probably the only one, though, right? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

He hits 103 at least once last night in the Tigers' ALCS opening 5-1 win over the A's, and, like the rest of the game, the whole thing was past us before we knew it was coming. The Tigers took home-field advantage away from them A's before anyone realized what was happening, and, oh, now they get to send out Verlander and Bonderman. Is there any reason they shouldn't be favored to win tonight?

Yes, yes, we know, it probably sounds like we're jinxing them. But that team last night, that looked like the White Sox when they took off on their run last year. Like no one on the planet is going to stop them.

Or maybe we're just scared of Zumaya.

Mo' Town [Yahoo! Sports]

We know, as Cardinals fans, our occasional gripes and complaints can fall on deaf ears and perhaps even sound like whining, and the Detroit Tigers are Exhibit A as to why. We cannot possibly imagine how exciting having the Tigers in the ALCS must be. (And no offense to A's fans; we know you're in rarified air yourselves.)

Since the Tigers last were in the playoffs, in 1987, they've lost 100-plus games four times, 90-plus games nine times and finished with a winning record three times, counting this year. And tonight, they're in the ALCS. So Tigers fans have earned it.

So yeah: The League Championship Series are here. Games every night until after midnight, and sometimes even later. As unproductive as we typically are during the month of October, we still missed it.

ALCS Preview [Baseball Musings]

This series is as evenly matched as we could imagine. And we can't wait. Even if it's opening in a stadium with no upper deck.

Here's a roundup of predictions from around the Web.

• Peter Gammons: A's in seven.
• Rob Neyer: Tigers in seven.
• Cool Standings: Tigers in six.
• John Donovan: A's in six.
• The Hardball Times: A's in six.
• Baseball Prospectus: Tigers in six.
• Baseball Musings: Tigers.
• DEADSPIN: Tigers in seven. Sorry.

Let's hear your own personal jinxes in the comments.

It's the Oakland A's vs the Minnesota Twins. A's trying to clinch the series at home ... did you hear that? The A's can win a playoff series today!

Your pitching matchup is Brad Radke for the Twins and Danny Haren for the A's.

And your live blog begins after the jump. Play along with us in the comments, and email us if you have anything you want to add. Enjoy. It's going to be updating in real-time today, so it should be more fun.

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• 6-4-2, A Dodgers-Angels Double Play. Grittle Me This: Mets 4, Dodgers 1. "Why wasn't James Loney brought in, instead of Julio Lugo and moving Jeff Kent to first? Why are Mark Hendrickson and Brett Tomko on the team? After this outrageous postseason, will Kenny Lofton find a job on a major league team again? (You could ask the same question of Tomko and Hendrickson.) How in the h-e-double-toothpicks did this team even get into the postseason? Not much longer now. Don't they look peaceful in there?"

• Baseball Toaster: Dodger Thoughts. "Sorry, not giving up. Been through too much. The odds have gone downhill — so be it. I've lived through 1981, 1988. I lived through September 2006. It's rough, but I like being in the playoffs too much to turn my back on the Dodgers. Saturday's game has been set for 4:35 p.m. See you there."

• Gaslamp Ball. "This is not the Padres team of 2005. This is not the Padres team of 1996. The feelings that most of us are having right now are more like 1984 feelings. We were optimistic of the post-season back then. Then the Cubs smacked the Padres in the mouth ... twice! We were depressed. We were mad. And do you think we just rolled over? NO! Dammit. We BELIEVED! So, for all you youngsters out there with your iPods and your myspace and your TRL do not despair. There is no Cardinal mystique. There will be a Game 3 and a Game 4 and there sure as hell will be a Game 5 and then a Game 1 again! This franchise has done it once before and they can do it again."

• San Diego Spotlight. "All the talk is going to be about Pujols ... How can you let him beat you? You should have walked him...You botched the rundown, etc. It is true that Albert Pujols should be the one person that the San Diego Padres should know better than to mess with at this point. But to concentrate on Prince Albert the Pompous is silly. If you hold a lineup with the street cred of the St. Louis Cardinals to 2 runs, you should win the game. Period. I don't CARE who scored the runs, or who drove them in...If you would have told me at noon that the Cardinals were going to score two measley runs I would have been planning the victory dance. It's gonna take a miracle or Robin Williams doing stand up in the on-deck circle for us to see game five."

• Ducksnorts. "Okay, so what are some good things that happened on Thursday at Petco Park? It was tough, but I managed to find a few: Navy SEALS parachuting onto the field before the game; Trevor Hoffman receiving a guitar autographed by AC/DC's Angus Young before the game; Trevor Hoffman catching the ceremonial first pitch from Lee Smith; Ryan Klesko lining a sharp pinch single to left in what might have been his final home at-bat as a member of the San Diego Padres; Tremendous crowd support throughout the game even when the team was busy sucking eggs; Not having to watch the Cardinals celebrate in our house this year."

So, we're to Game 2 of this NLDS, and we're still not ready. You can say the Cardinals have a 1-0 lead, but not only is Jeff Weaver pitching today, but if the series goes the full five games, he will also start Game 5 ... on three days rest! So yeah: This probably needs to be taken care of in four.

It's the St. Louis Cardinals at the San Diego Padres. Your starters are Weaver for the Cards and David Wells for the Padres. It's a Yankees fan's dream matchup.

The live blog is after the jump. Feel free to taunt us in the comments and email Rick with your input.

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Pregame:

Karl Ravich: "The Cardinals do some high-fiving as they prepare to meet the Cardinals in Game Two." No stone will be left unturned in this one.

And our first commenter is ... Jen P. "violent spams? I'm sorry I wasn't here to see that ..."

Actually, we did receive a couple of those.

Welcome to The Show, and hello to all of you Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans who are here on the orders of Tommy Lasorda. Only 25 outs to go.

Top of the First:

Boomer, set loose on the gals of San Diego! You're with me, top of the first.

"You do not want to be diving into the bag with Albert Pujols running right at you." Thanks Boomer.

Bottom of the First

Poker? Norman Chad? Am I dreaming?

Oh, the game switched to ESPN. Whew!

Adrian Gonzalez = stud.

OUT! at the plate. ... and ... oh no! J.D. Drew is following him to home!

Top of the Second

I haven't seen quite enough replays of that play at the plate. Hey, what are those ripples on the top of the Padres' batting helmets? Also, we admire parents who name their children Geoff. Jeff just not quite good enough ... and there's a homer ... back, back, back ... foul! So our first "back, back, back!" comes early.

Bottom of the Second

Tommy Lasorda ... preaching to the choir. For these commercial spots to be effective, shouldn't they be running during "Crossing Jordan" on A&E?

David Wells' curve kind of reminds you of a rainbow after a nice storm? Wha ...?

Top of the Third

Seeing an old photo of a skinny David Wells is actually quite frightening.

"We'll be right back with an interview with Padres' manager Bruce Bochy" ... followed by an Lunesta ad. "Do you lie awak at night, unable to sleep?" ...

Top of the Fourth

We're not sure what we think about these live interviews of coaches. Among other things, the double over Preston Roberts' head occurs during the interview. What's next? Interviews of players in the field?

Pujols comes through, as Will knew he would. Oh man, a scoring nightmare on this one. Safe at second? You cannot be serious! Where was everyone?

So Boomer pretty much jinxed the Padres with that Bochy interview, I think we can all agree. "Wells in playoff form" indeed.

Will Leitch Update: Currently hanging from revolving fan, which is set to "medium".

That was one sweet catch by Dave Roberts. Boomer calls them "Redbirds." That seems wrong, somehow.

An inning called by Chris Berman, followed by a Taco Bell ad, kind of synchs rather nicely. "I'm full!"

Even better: An inning called by Chris Berman followed by an ad for "Jackass II." Sorry. That was mean.

Bottom of the Fourth

I'm kind of freezing my hinder off right now, and I don't really apprecaite watching all those "sun-drenched" Padres fans in shirtsleeves calling for the beer vendor. Hey, one of 'em is entering the Padres dugout, and Wells is pulling a five out of his wallet.

Top of the Fifth

Was that a pickoff of Molina, or simply the slowest steal attempt ever? And now we have Wells giving up a single to Weaver, which is always fun. He's now hitting .139. You know this bodes well for the Cardinals. Oops, Eckstein double play.

"We'll talk to Tony LaRussa after we return." Uh oh. Sorry, Will.

After seeing that FLOMAX commercial, I long for those Applebee's guys.

Jerry checks in, with a good point: "I didn't read Tuesday's blog, so I don't know if you noticed that Berman
"literally pulled the string" on his curveball. Today he said the Padres might "appeal to a higher power...literally". What the ... ? It's torture enough watching my teams decade long mental block with the Cardinals, in which a 2-0 deficit feels like 15-0, but to have to listen to Berman butcher the word "literally" and become obsessed with shadows is more than I can bear. Kill me now."

Bottom of the Fifth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0

All right, THE WIND IS GOING OUT TO RIGHT FIELD. We get it.

After that play by Scott Rolen at third, we just kind of get the feeling that the Cardinals are destined for good things here. The Cardinals and Padres have played 69 post-season innings, Boomer tells us, and San Diego has held leads in just four of them.

Now Klesko gets things going with a single. Two on, two out. So long, David Wells.

No, Jeff Weaver has not pulled a switcheroo with his brother. Strikeout ends the inning.

Top of the Sixth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Another hit (single) for Pujols. To right. Pujols 4x7 in series. And now Cards have just grounded into sixth double play of the series. Will sets ceiling fan to "high", revolves nervously.

Bottom of the Sixth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Weaver is out, and we have our first Boomerism. Now pitching, Randy "Linoleum" Flores. That's so 1970s.

Brian Giles grounds out, Barfield strikes out.

Adrian Gonzalez single, prompting LaRussa to go to the bullpen. A righty? Really? Josh Kinney.

Josh Bard did not like that call for a second strike. Jawing at umpire. Um, again with the "shadows"?

Bard K. Padres gone.

Top of the Seventh, Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Run, you %$^&*#@ brownie! Run!

Juan Encarnacion grounds out to second for first out. Looper up in the bullpen. We hope Meredith sticks around a bit, because we love that sidearm mojo. (submarine)?

Edmonds K. Belliard up. Another K.

Bottom of the Seventh, Cardinals 2, Padres 0..

Josh Kinney to pitch to Mike Cameron, who has one of SD's two hits.

Another closeup of Mike Piazza, just watching. Cameron flies out to left for the first out.

It's Russell Branyan time! Ah, he grounds out to first for the second out. If you're a Padres fan, that sinking feeling must be settling in about now.

Geoff Blum will rock your world, St. Louis. Things we'd like to not hear about for the rest of the game: Shadows. That's about it, really.

Blum walks, bringing us ... Piazza!

Piazza lines out to right. Good night, sweet Padres.

Top of the Eighth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Clay Hensely to the mound. Molina pops out weakly to center. Is it just us, or has this game slipped from exciting to catatonic? Rodriguez flies out to the warning track, brining up Eckstein.

Eckstein fans. But ... apparently not. Evidently he got a piece of the pitch. Padre suffering prolonged. We like the closeup of the guy wearing the old Padre brown jersey. Eckstein grounds out to short.

Bottom of the (yawwwwn) Eighth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

What can you say about Albert Pujols? Never enough, according to ESPN. As much as we love seeing him in the playoffs, we get the feeling that he is going to be the next NCAA Chevy Trucks commercial ... ominpresent, to the point of madness. Get used to Pujols closeups after every out. You will be seeing him in your sleep.

Tyler Johnson, Columbia, Missouri native, will now pitch to Dave Roberts. Yow ... struck out looking. 1 out.

Time for the hitting stylings of Brian Giles. Another K, looking. We've never really noticed Johnson this year, but he looks pretty nasty here. That curve is pretty much unhittable. Two out.

Padres have nine hits and one run in series ... make that 10 hits, as Barfield doubles down the line in left. Adam Wainwright is pitching, by the way. We would never take Johnson out of a game, ever. Gonzalez hitting. The Padres' season may be hanging on this.

Gonzalez grounds out to second. This is over.

Will Leitch update:. Will is telling everyone within earshot, "This is not over."

Top of the Ninth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Does anyone know, do Padres' fans have the same reputation for leaving the game early as Dodgers fans? We seem to see very few empty seats. Well, a 2-0 score in the playoffs will do that, we suppose.

Preston Wilson pops out, 1 gone.

Your Chevrolet Player of the Game, Albert Pujols, will now take a few swings.

A shot to left, which goes for a double. Shadows can't stop The Poo.

Rolen popout to first. 2 outs. Juan Encarnacion infield single.

Edmonds walks, bringing up Belliard. Bases loaded, folks.

Ladies and gentelmen, the Scott Linebrink Experience. And on his first offering, Belliard pops out to second. Thanks, and drive safely!

Bottom of the Ninth. Cardinals 2, Padres 0.

Dr. Phil would like Dennis to quit staying out late and get a clue. Stupid remote.

Adam Wainwright pitching to The Bard.

Molina throws out Bard on a "little nubber" in front of the plate. No, he wasn't bunting. Althougfh he probably should have been. Cameron at bat now. He was always our favorite Mariner when we lived in Redmond.

Yow, wild pitch to the screen. Is Charlie Sheen pitching?

Cameron strikes out. 2 outs. We never liked Cameron.

But don't lose hope Padres fans, because once again, it's Russell Branyan time!

And San Diegop is down to its last strike ... a term we never really understood, because what if he gets on base? Don't they get three more?

STRIKE THREE.

We hestitate to call this series, because of that whole Red Sox-Yankees thing in '04 (plus, there's the AL Central race this year). But going to St. Louis down 2-0, we suspect that Wells can finally quit worrying about watching his weight.

We miss the skinny high school David Wells.

We appreciate all readers for putting up with our initial live blogging efforts. Thanks for not killing us too much.

Final Will Leitch Update: There is a trail of discarded clothing leading out the front door, and an elderly woman passed out on the sidewalk. See you for Game 3.

An official scorer actually writes in to "clear" up the matter for us:

I have trouble personally with the notion of calling such a play a "double play," since each player was being an idiot of their own accord. I would prefer to call it a single, out advancing 9-4-2 and out advancing 2 unassisted. But then I looked in my trusty rulebook, and 10.12 says that we have to credit participation in a double play any time two players are put out between the time a pitch is delivered and the time the ball next becomes dead, or is in possession of the pitcher in pitching position. So DP 9-4-2-2 it is. And Martin, although he would've reached 2nd easily anyway, can't be given a 2-base hit because of rule 10.07, which actually notes that you can't be awarded a double if a preceding runner on 1st gets thrown out at 3rd. It doesn't say anything about a runner on 2nd being thrown out at home, though I assume that rule holds true by extension.

OK, our head is spinning, and we love it. We eat this shit up, really.

Just A "Routine" Double Play [New York Daily News]

(UPDATE: A reader writes:

That Bob Ley keeps scores at games makes us like him a lot more.)

(SECOND UPDATE: From our scorer, to answer some commenter questions:

3) Dude, the food in the press box ain't free. But you already know that."

Thanks!

Anyway, it's not raining in New York City right now, so we're ready to go. It's the New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers, Game 2. And look: A-Rod has been stretching all night and is ready to go!

Your starting pitchers are Justin Verlander for Detroit and Mike Mussina for New York.

And your live blog begins after the jump. Play along with us in the comments — we're still posting those at the end of each half-inning — and email us if you have anything you want to add. Enjoy.

(UPDATE: The live blog is actually working in real time now! So come on in! We swear!)

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Pleasantly, though, we have an unexpected tripleheader today, three Game 2s. But before we get too carried away, we need to look back at the Dodgers-Mets, which was probably the most entertaining game of the playoffs so far. We had several discussions last night as to how that LoDuca/Drew play at home plate would be scored — if you're the type of dork, ahem, who brings a scorebook to games — and how there were about five different huge hits by both teams. That series needs to go five games, just for the fun of it. (We'll be at that game tonight, by the way.)

In other words: This is already extremely fun. To quote MJD yesterday, "The Mets are selling seat cushions with the slogan, 'got postseason?' I think we've sufficiently pounded the 'got?' thing into the ground, haven't we? I don't even know what that ... no, I don't have postseason." Well, we do!

And right now, he's going to take the mound in Game 1 of the most intriguing Division Series matchup, with the Los Angeles Dodgers playing at Shea Stadium against the New York Mets. The predictions are veering toward the Mets, but we are not so convinced.

But anyway, yeah: Your starters are Maine for the Mets and Derek Lowe (!) for the Dodgers. Shea will be rocking, as much as a place with 50,000-plus people stacked in a directly vertical fashion can rock.

And your live blog begins after the jump, and you're in luck: You've got some new blood in there today. You're in the capable hands of The Mighty MJD. Play along with him in the comments, and email him if you have anything you want to add. Enjoy.

Top of the ninth inning:

Closer Billy Wanger's on for the Mets.. he'll be facing the 9, 1, and 2 hitters. First is Wilson Betemit... and Betemit's going to drive a double into the corner... tying run is now at the plate.

Gary Thorne keeps calling Carlos Delgado "Delgardo." Is there a hockey player named "Delgardo" or something?

Olmedo Saenz lifts a flyball into the centerfield... and that'll move the runner to third. Great throw by Beltran, though.... would've been a very close play if Beltran's throw hadn't pegged Betemit in the back.

And Wagner strikes Furcal out, swinging at a ball in the dirt. Two down now...

Ramon Martinez is on as a pinch hitter for Kenny Lofton. Wagner falls behind 2-0... and then Martinez gaps one, scoring Betemit. Martinez gets an RBI double, and the tying run is on second, with Nomar Garciaparra coming to the plate.

And Wagner struck him out... and the Mets win an entertaining Game One, 6-5.

Bottom of the eighth inning:

Jonathan Broxton is your pitcher. He has ridiculous sideburns, that are sort of faded from dark to light, going side-to-side... I don't know why anyone would do that. He gets Valentin to pop out for the first out.

Broxton also his a big ass. I thought it was worth mentioning.

Chavez grounds out to short for the second out, with a nice play by Garciaparra to dig the throw out of the dirt. Reyes knocks a hit into right field off of Jeff Kent's glove... Gary Thorne calls it a base hit, I'm rooting for an error. Paul Lo Duca is up, and Billy Wagner is up in the bullpen.

Hit and run executed by Reyes and Lo Duca... Lo Duca singles to right, and Reyes is on third. Big-ass Broxton might be struggling a little bit here. Beltran's up.

And after hitting a couple of hard shots foul down the left field line, Beltran walks. Bases loaded now for Carlos Delgado... Carlos Delgado who happens to be 4-for-4, by the way.

The Mets are selling seat cusions with the slogan, "got postseason?" I think we've sufficiently pounded the "got?" thing into the ground, haven't we? I don't even know what that... no, I don't have postseason.

And... he strikes out.

Mets 4, Dodgers 6

Top of the eighth inning:

Aaron Heilman is on the mound for the Mets... and Cliff Floyd's been replaced in left field by Endy Chavez. Tim Robbins loves Endy Chavez, by the way.

And hey, breaking news: JOE MORGAN HAS ARRIVED SAFELY AT YANKEE STADIUM. ESPN gives us a live shot at Joe getting out of a car at Yankee stadium... and really, that's not as crazy as it sounds. There was a decent chance that one of you would've tried to track down his travel route and murdered him on the way to the stadium. Thank you for not doing that.

JD Drew flied out to left, and then Russell Martin eventually grounded out to second base after fouling off 92 consecutive pitches. Marlon Anderson hits a slow roller down the first base line, and Carlos Delgado awkwardly tags him out on the way.

Dodgers 4, Mets 6

Bottom of the seventh inning:

Brad Penny's on for the Dodgers to face Jose Reyes. Penny, of course, is a starter... he's had some issues with back spasms and is trying to work his way back into the rotation. He starts out by issuing a walk to Jose Reyes.

Paul Lo Duca swings at a first pitch, and flies out to centerfield. That wasn't a lot of help. Beltran, 1-2 with a walk, steps up to the plate. Reyes steals second after a good jump, and the throw from Martin wasn't close. Full count to Beltran, go ahead run in scoring position... and Beltran walks.

Two on for Carlos Delgado. He's got a career .385 average against Penny, who couldn't find the strike zone with a sherpa guide right now. Beltran slaps one through the gap, and the Mets take a 5-4 lead. Delgado's 4-4.

David Wright follows that up with an RBI double... impressive work from the Mets here, and it's looking like a pretty poor idea to bring Brad Penny into this game. Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 down... and Penny's staying in.

Cliff Floyd now. And Floyd gets rung up on a ball low and away. Shawn Green, who owns Brad Penny, is at the plate now...Green ends up grounding out to first. Mets take control, though... 6-4.

Dodgers 4, Mets 6

Top of the seventh inning:

Pedro Martinez gets a big round of applause from the crowd... Yaaaay, thanks for pussing out and hanging us out to dry! Yay! That wasn't nice. I'm sorry.

Hey, Tim Robbins is in the booth... taking a page out of the ultra-successful "celebrity in the booth" segments that have been so effective on Monday night football.

Guillermo Mota's back on the mound for the Mets... and Marlon Anderson with a sweet little drag bunt for a base hit. a valiant effort by Valentin, but he couldn't quite make the play.

Wilson Betemit hits a grounder to the hole on the right side, and Valentin tried to get the force at 2nd, but the slide by Anderson broke it up... might have have gotten there in time anyway. Poor decision by Valentin there... the ball floated into left field, too, letting Anderson get to third. Runners on the corners, 1 down. Error charged to Valentin.

Tim Robbins is a lot like Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football... he's just sort of sitting there. Gary Thorne just asked him about his favorite player on the Mets. I hope he asks him about his favorite color, too.

And Mota gets a big, big strikeout of Julio Lugo for the first out of the inning. Furcal knocks a base hit into the centerfield, and the Dodgers move another run in. 4-2 Mets, runners on first and second, 1 out.

Mota vs. Lofton now... Lofton's 0-3 on the day. Swings at the first pitch, and Shawn Green makes the play (Mazel Tov!), and the runner moves to third.

Two down, now... Nomar Garciaparra at the plate. And now's a perfect time for Gary Thorne to ask Tim Robbins to describe the plot of his new movie. I wish Joe Theismann was here.

Ooooh, big bat from Nomar Garciaparra, and we're all tied up. Nomar Garciaparra rips a 1-2 pitch down the left field line... Mota's using the hell out of his change-up, and it caught up with him. He is no longer a bad-ass. 4-4.

Mota gets Jeff Kent swinging, and is finally out of the inning.

Dodgers 4, Mets 4

Bottom of the sixth inning:

Paul Lo Duca opens the inning with a base hit, and Beltran follows it up with a pop-up. Gary Thorne says the fans are chanting "Luuuu" for Lo Duca, which... I'm not sure that's exactly what's happening here.

Delgado's at the plate, 1 out, 1 on. And he slaps a base hit through the middle, and my man Lu Duca is going to hustle over to third. Delgado's three for three on the day, and Lowe's in a little bit of trouble here. Runners on corners, 1 down, and here comes David Wright.

The Dodgers get Penny and Hendrickson up in the bullpen, and there's a mound conference with Lowe. He'll stay in to face Wright.

Wright falls behind 1-2... and then launches an extra-baser into the right field corner ... Delgado scores from first... and it's a 2-run triple for David Wright. David Wright has your Derek Jeter right here, bitch. 4-1 Mets.

Derek Lowe stays in with 1 out and a runner on third... he's facing Cliffy Floyd. Lowe falls behind in the count, and they're just going to go ahead and walk Floyd here. And Lowe's being yanked. That's alright, he's got some pimpin' to do.

Mark Hendrickson is in to face Shawn Green with runners on the corners and 1 out. And Hendrickson retires Green easily, getting Green to reach lazily at a breaking all outside the zone.

Valentin steps into the batter's box for the Mets... and Hendrickson beans him. It wasn't anything intentional, unfortunately... he just went inside and caught a little bit of Valentin. The Mets aren't going to pinch hit for Guillermo Mota... he swings at the first pitch, and flies out to right field.

Dodgers 1, Mets 4

Top of the sixth inning:

Jeff Kent's leading things off for the Dodgers, and they finally get the bastard out. Guillermo Mota's on the hill for the Mets now, by the way. There are few names in the world that sound as cool as "Guillermo Mota."

I think Mota struck JD Drew out at least twice there, but the ump wouldn't give him anything... I think he's jealous because he isn't named "Guillermo." Full count to Drew now... oh, and that was a nasty pitch. Drew goes down.

Hey, it's John McEnroe in the stands. And just a word of advice... the tight t-shirt look isn't good for you if you're a painfully pale, thin white man in your 50s.

Mota opens up 0-2 to Russell Martin... and down on three strikes goes Martin. Guillermo Mota is a bad-ass.

Dodgers 1, Mets 2

Bottom of the fifth inning:

Unfortunately, Joe Morgan's leaving us. He's making his way over to Yankee stadium for the night game. I don't really feel like watching if Joe Morgan isn't going to be involved, but I'm going to soldier though it for you.

Jose Valentin grounds out sharply to first base while Thorne and Phillips interview... I dunno, some old guy in a Dodgers uniform. I don't know what the hell he said, but he wasn't happy about whatever it was.

Michael Tucker is on to pinch hit for the Mets. Full count for Tucker, before he lifts a lazy pop-up to short.

Reyes starts his at bat by swining at a ball that bounced a good two feet before it got the plate. He ends up striking out on a ball way outside of the strike zone, and Derek Lowe is cruising. He's got six strikeouts... Carolyn Hughes must be so proud.

Dodgers 1, Mets 2

Top of the fifth inning:

Wilson Betemit opens the inning by lacing a base hit to right center. The Mets get Feliciano and someone else up in the bullpen... Gary Thorne and Joe Morgan don't feel like telling who, evidently.

Derek Lowe lays down a bunt and moves Betemit to second. Bradford's the other guy in the bullpen.

Rafael Furcal at the plate now, with 1 out and a man on second. Furcal really looks like he grips the bat hard. I bet he has callouses on his hands, for completely different reasons than me. Furcal draws a walk.

Two on, 1 down now for Kenny Lofton. And at the 80-pitch mark, John Maine is leaving the game to a pretty nice ovation. All-in-all, not a bad litle outing for John Maine, although if that freak double play at the plate hadn't happened, we might all have a different opinion of it right now.

Pedro Feliciano is on for the Mets to face Lofton. Feliciano's got a 2.09 ERA this year. He's got Kenny Lofton completely baffled with his big breaking ball, and Lofton whiffs.

Two down now and... they're switching pitchers again? Come on... we're doing this in the fifth inning? This could be a looong game.

Chad Bradford's in to face Garciaparra... quick ground ball to Reyes, and the Mets are out of the inning.

Dodgers 1, Mets 2

Bottom of the fourth inning:

Hey, in-game interview with Willie Randolph... I will now make a list of all the things that he said were interesting enough for ESPN to justifiably bother him during the game for an interview:

Carlos Beltran grounds out to open the inning, and Lowe has the Mets bottled up pretty well so far. Delgado, the only Met with a hit, is now up.

Delgado gets a breaking ball down in the zone, and he hammers one to straightaway center, and Kenny Lofton couldn't catch that one if he had a rocket in his ass. Decent pitch, he just tattooed it. 1-1. Jose Reyes does some sort of mildly epileptic dance in the dugout to celebrate.

Lowe comes back to get David Wright swinging. 2 down, nobody on for Cliff Floyd.

And Floyd turns on one and just kills it to rightfield, and Shawn Green couldn't catch that one if he was one Kenny Lofton's shoulders while Kenny Lofton had a rocket in his ass. It's now 2-1 Mets.

Full count to Shawn Green now, and Lowe gets him looking on the inside corner.

Dodgers 1, Mets 2

Top of the fourth inning:

There's a car on fire in the parking lot, evidently... at least that's what Gary Thorne said. There's some kind of smoke billowing around beyond the left field wall. Being that we're at Shea, I'm guessing someone's car just got chopped and torched. I hope it was Sandy Koufax's.

Jeff Kent leads off the fourth wither another base hit, this one a liner into left center. His mustache infuriates me, and I'm not exactly sure why.

At the plate now is JD Drew... and he takes a called strike on a full count. He had already began walking down to first... looked like a pretty good pitch to me, hitting the outside corner.

Russell Martin, who reminds me a lot of Jack Parkman from Major League 2, steps in against Maine with 1 out and a man on first. He pops up and David Wright will handle it. Two down.

Marlon Anderson chases one on the dirt for strike three, and Maine's out of the inning.

Dodgers 1, Mets 0

Bottom of the third inning:

It's John Maine leading things off... from what I can gather John Maine has about as good a chance of getting a base hit here as Tommy Lasorda would. He goes down swining, and I'm not even sure he was trying.

Reyes flops a little pop fly into the centerfield to Kenny Lofton... the sun is making everything a struggle right now, but no one's goofed too badly yet.

Paul Lo Duca, who grounded out his first time up, is at the plate. When he came to the plate, he gave Lowe a wink and a nod, sort of acknowledging