2010 Playoff Picture: A Postseason to Remember

Even though there are still three games remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture for 2010 seems to be all but figured out.  This year's playoff will probably be one of the most exciting postseasons baseball has seen in quite some time.  Don't get me wrong, last year's postseason was full of excitement and lasting memories, but I feel that 2010 has a lot more to offer.

The teams involved in this year's postseason are full of excitement and there are reasons to pull for each team.  The appealing factor about this year's playoffs is that there are quite a few "Cinderella stories." It's a toss up between the Rangers, Reds, Giants, Braves, or the Padres (if they can pull it off this weekend). Having said that, these are not your traditional Cinderella stories like the Angels of 2002, or the Marlins of 2003. For example, the Rangers have been in first place for about 150 consecutive days, but they still have a Cinderella story quality to them.  The Rangers are very similar to the 2008 Rays in that despite winning their division, they are the underdogs in the American League.

The most surprising team in the National League and maybe even in the Major Leagues might be the Cincinnati Reds.  The National League Central Champs have exceeded all expectations this year and have enjoyed this wild ride by overtaking the St. Louis Cardinals.  Earlier in the season their was an altercation between the Reds and Cardinals which could have been the turning point in the Reds season. It's amazing though how the Reds pitching has been able to hunker down and come through this season. This same pitching staff however will face a tough challenge this postseason.

The Giants and the Braves have finally seen their rebuilding efforts pay off as they are both within one win and a Padres loss away from clinching a playoff spot. The Giants are full of exciting and young talent with Rookie of the Year candidate Buster Posey and 2-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.  In addition to those young studs, the Giants have veterans in Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and spark plug Juan Uribe. The question that the Giants have had these last few years have been on offense. They had the pitching figured out, but it was the offense that always put the Giants in question as far as playoff aspirations. The Giants answered their offensive needs by picking up Huff in the offseason, Burrell as a free agent after being released from Tampa Bay, Cody Ross and Jose Guillen in two separate deals from the Marlins and Royals respectively. Down in Atlanta, Bobby Cox had announced his retirement before this season began, so what would be a better way to send him off than to make the playoffs? The answer to that question would be to win it all. But before the Braves start thinking World Series, they'll have to go through the Giants and either the Reds or their division rivals and defending National League Champions Phillies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting the Braves down, in fact winning one for Bobby before he retires would be some story for the 2010 season.  

The non-Cinderella story teams in the playoffs still have some appeal to them.  The heavily favored Phillies in the National League still managed to make this season a memorable one by acquiring perhaps the most dominant pitcher in the game today in Roy Halladay. As a reward he threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history. Not only were the acquisitions memorable, but injuries which should have derailed the Phillies managed to keep them in the race and once the regulars returned, they jumped over the Braves to take the National League East.

The Tampa Bay Rays are not considered underdogs in this postseason because they have maintained a relatively healthy team this whole season. The Rays are currently tied with the Yankees in the AL East and playing for home-field advantage in the American League. The Rays have bounced back from last season's disappointing season. They will now have a chance to return to the Fall Classic where they lost to the Phillies in 2008.

Whether the Twins play at the Metrodome or at Target field, the end result is the same: playoff bound! The Twins have had a successful season at their new ballpark and an easier entrance into the postseason compared to last season where they played the Tigers in a tie-breaking one game playoff last season. The Twins received a huge blow during spring training when they lost their star closer Joe Nathan to Tommy John surgery. They overcame the loss and eventually added two closers to the fold in Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes. The Twins are still missing their star firs baseman Justin Morneau but he is due to return for the ALCS if they make it that far. In order to do that, they're going to have to beat either the Rays or the Yankees in the ALDS.

And finally, the Defending Champions New York Yankees. The Yankees arguably have the best motivation for the 2010 postseason which is to repeat as World Series Champions. In addition to the greatest and most obvious motivation, the Yankees will be playing with heavy hearts during this postseason as they will try to win one for "The Boss." Within two days, the Yankees family lost two of the most influential people in the organization, former owner George Steinbrenner (July 13th) and Public Address Announcer Bob Sheppard (July 11th).

This 2010 regular season has been one to remember, it has been known as the year of the pitcher, the year of the comeback wins, and the year of the unbelievable. With that being said, one can only dream of the possibilities that the 2010 postseason will have in store for us fans.

A Pair of Sanchezes Should be Recognized

The Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez and first baseman Gaby Sanchez have played exceptionally well for the Fish this season.  Anibal (12-9; 3.35) has finally been able to pitch a complete season, reaching a career high in wins (12), starts (28), innings (172), and strikeouts (132).  For those who don't know, Sanchez has battled through injuries requiring Tommy John Surgery while in the Red Sox organization and shoulder surgery with the Marlins. Anibal should seriously be considered for NL Comeback Player of the Year. If not in the National League, then he should at least be recognized within the organization.

The other Sanchez in the pair, Gaby, should definitely be considered for rookie of the year. Gaby leads all National League rookies in hits (145) RBI (78) and doubles (35). Unfortunately for Gaby, he is facing tough competition in Jason Heyward, Buster Posey, and Jaime Garcia. Not only has Gaby been a consistent surprise on offense but he has been a steady hand on defense. Gaby has only committed nine errors in 133 games, that comes out to a fielding percentage of .992.

The Fish have been fortunate enough to have both Sanchezes step up this season in an otherwise on and off season. Both of these players deserve some kind of recognition for their unsung performances. 

MLB New Postseason Ideas Creates a lot of Debate

Major League Baseball made some changes for the 2011 season by starting the season earlier in order to not have the postseason spill into the month of November.  For the players, this is a great idea.  For baseball fans who want to watch live baseball for as long as possible might not see it as a good idea.  None-the-less, that topic might not be as interesting as the idea of adding another Wild Card team from each league. This would be great for baseball! Business and TV ratings would rise up and baseball would make a serious attempt at reclaiming its title as America's Pastime. This idea has been thought about because the consensus is that it is too easy for a Wild Card team to advance through the postseason. By adding a Wild Card team, the two Wild Card finalists would either play a one game playoff or a three game playoff series against each other. This would weaken the Wild Card team because the team would have already used their star pitching. So for example, if this new playoff format were to have been implemented for this postseason, the Rays and the Red Sox would play a three game series. If the Rays beat the Red Sox in the series, they would go into the next series without their ace David Price and Matt Garza.  This would be tough for the Rays to advance through the postseason.  In addition, baseball purists who aren't even convinced of the current postseason format would not stand for this change.  The feeling would be that Major League Baseball would cheapen its postseason.  Think about that, more than half (16 of 30 teams) would reach the postseason every season.  So while it would be great for the business side and for the fans, I'm not sure that a new postseason format would be what Major League Baseball needs.

Despite Having Slim Playoff Hopes, J.J. Should Sit Out the Rest of the Way

The inconsistent 2010 Florida Marlins seem to be facing a dilemma.  Should Josh Johnson pitch again this season, or not?  To me, the answer is obvious, sit him.  Marlins ace Josh Johnson had been scratched from his last start due to shoulder and lower back complications.  Luckily, tests revealed no structural damages on the pitcher.  The Major League ERA leader has struggled in his last seven starts going 1-3 with and ERA of 4.25.  Out of those last seven starts, Johnson received three no decisions due to lack of run support or bullpen meltdowns.  The Marlins are currently eight games back behind the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card standings. In other words, it would take quite a run for the Marlins to make the playoffs.  The smart thing to do would be to shut J.J. down for the season and make sure he is healthy and ready to go for the 2011 season.  Although Ricky Nolasco's situation was a bit different, the Marlins should be consistent for once and follow suite with Johnson.  In this situation the risk is not worth the gain.