2010 MLB Playoffs

In Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game is Wrong, Nate Silver and Dayn Perry tackled a question that had mystified fans and analysts for more than a century: What are the most important qualities for a team to have in the playoffs?

Through the magic of statistics, Silver and Perry found that only three aspects of the game had any correlation with teams doing well once they got to the postseason. The results: Good defense, a lights-out closer, and a pitching staff’s strikeout rate.

It's playoff time!

I know fans of the Yankees, Twins, Rays, Rangers, Giants, Phillies, Reds, and Braves are all gearing up with their jerseys, hats, and probably car flags to show their support as the playoffs get underway this afternoon.

What happened during the season means nothing at this point. Every team starts 0-0 and it become a whole new, albeit short, season.

The 2010 NLDS has arrived and it has pitted David against Goliath.
 
It’s the mighty Philadelphia Phillies against the “happy to be here” Cincinnati Reds.
 
Going from 78 wins to 91 is an outstanding achievement. The Queen city enjoyed quite the celebration when the team went out to Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati to celebrate the teams’ first postseason appearance since 1995 on Monday.
 
But is that it? Are you satisfied Reds fans?
 

Part 6 of 7 Phillies Championship Advantages

Professional sports teams have been known to win championships without it. 

Sometimes sheer talent and fortuitous circumstance converge together to achieve a successful outcome. 

Sometimes a team simply catches fire and makes an unlikely championship run. 

Speed kills.

Ask the Yankees circa 2004 when a stolen base by Dave Roberts in the bottom of the ninth kept the Red Sox—down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series and 4-3 in Game 4—alive and propelled them forward to the greatest comeback in baseball history.

Or maybe you could just look at the 1982 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Finally. With the completion of Sunday's Major League Baseball regular season schedule, we now know who's in, who's out, and which matchups to look forward to when playoff action commences Wednesday.

For almost three years now, I have had to listen to Braves fans complain over and over again about Mark Teixeira and what his trade in 2007 did to Atlanta’s future. When one looks at what Atlanta gave up to acquire Tex for two half seasons of non-playoff baseball, it’s kind of hard not to be upset if you are a Braves fan.

With the postseason set to begin on Wednesday, the Yankees announced their roster for the American League Division series against the Twins. As expected, AJ Burnett is on the roster––although he is not in the starting rotation––while Ivan Nova and Javier Vazquez has been left out.

The 2010 MLB Playoffs are finally here!

And though several of the races came down to the final day of the regular season, the American and National League Divisional Series matchups have been set.

Now, it's time for the Rays, Twins, Rangers, Yankees, Phillies, Reds, Giants, and Braves to fight it out for the 2010 title.

And, of course, you'll want to watch each and every game, so follow along to get the 4-1-1 on each Divisional Series matchup.

With no real expectation hanging over them, the Cincinnati Reds enter the 2010 playoffs amid little fanfare, overshadowed considerably by their NLDS opponent, the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. 

Despite winning the NL Central, the Reds face a tough draw in a championship-caliber Philadelphia squad.