2008's Final Regular Season Weekend

We have to say, although we love the fall and the NFL is a great distractor, it doesn’t wet our appetite like baseball season. We’re feeling a bit melancholy that baseball season has wound down to this, the final saturday of the regular season.

Last night the Cleveland Indians got a little bit of revenge for 2004 winning 11-8. Remember that last weekend, in Cleveland; Indians lose the series to the White Sox and miss the playoffs? Ozzie Guillen taunts the Cleveland fans with the choking sign? Does it ring a bell? Hey Ozzie, what goes around comes around. You can shove your little pins you put on your hat in your dickhole all offseason, cause in 2 days you’ll be starting it.

Then we’ve got the exciting races in the national league. The NL East and NL Wildcard are coming right down to it. We’ve got one horse left in this race, the Brewers. They’ve gotten huge home runs from Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder in the past week to keep them alive. Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre willed the Dodgers to the playoffs, making Adam Dunn and the former best team in baseball irrelevant.

In case you don’t know the scenarios entering today:

National League East
The Phillies (90-70) currently own a two game lead with two games to play in the East over the Mets (88-72). If the Mets lose or the Phillies win on either Saturday or Sunday, the Phillies are National League East champions for the second year in a row. Beyond that there are scenarios if ties occur in the standings: (1) If the Mets and Phillies end the season tied but ahead of the Brewers, the Mets would be awarded the National League East title. (2) If the Brewers and Mets win both of their remaining games and the Phillies lose their remaining two games, the Mets and Phillies play at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. (3) If all three teams finish tied in the standings, the Phillies and Mets would meet on Monday for the National League East title and the loser would host the Brewers on Tuesday to decide the National League Wild Card.

National League Wild Card
The Brewers (89-71) currently have a one game lead for the Wild Card in the National League. Their magic number is currently two over the Mets. If the Brewers finish tied for the Wild Card with the Mets, they will play on Monday at Shea Stadium. If all three teams – the Phillies, Mets and Brewers — finish with identical records, the Phillies and Mets would play for the National League East title on Monday and the loser would host the Brewers on Tuesday for the Wild Card.

Congratulations to the American League East Champions: The Tampa Bay Rays. I didn’t think they could do it. They are what every mid-market club should aspire to be. They give us hope for our Reds. Congratulations Rays. We are truly happy for you and hope that you play the Cubs Brewers in the World Series, a World Series that would be good for the sport.