2010 World Series

The clouds had started roll in and the rain had begun to come down. It left a lot of the fans in attendance at Rangers Ballpark wondering if Game Six of the American League Championship Series was even going to happen.

Just 10 minutes before the game was scheduled to get underway, the rains came to an end, the tarp was pulled off the field, and the game got underway.

The Rangers' ballpark is quiet, at least for now.

Workers have slowly started to trickle in, the local radio station is doing their broadcast from the home plate entrance, the ALCS banners have been hung for fans to see as they start to file in, and the anticipation has begun.

This Friday night is far different from any other Friday night in Rangers' history, because it's on this Friday night that the Texas Rangers, and their fans, will be able to celebrate a franchise first.

An American League Championship.

Did you ever think, in the middle of October, we'd still be talking about the Texas Rangers?

Normally this time of year is reserved for the Dallas Cowboys and football. Instead, the Cowboys have not only taken a back seat but they've been so bad that the Rangers have gotten top billing on just about every radio station in town.

Let me take you back to Opening Day here in Arlington, Texas.

If not for one inning, the Texas Rangers would be staring at a three-game-to-none lead in the ALCS against the team that is supposed to dominate in the playoffs.

They've dominated 26 of the 27 innings played, and they've outscored the defending champion New York Yankees 21-8, including an 8-0 shutout on Monday night.

With one game to go to decide who the New York Yankees will play in the American League Championship Series, it's time to jump ahead a little bit and do some assumption work.

Assuming the Phillies get past the Giants for the NLCS title and the Yankees win the ALCS, how would the Phillies and Yankees match up in the 2010 World Series?

Both these teams having pitching and they certainly have power on offense. But what sets these two teams apart?

Let's dive into a possible World Series matchup and take a look at who will take the World Series trophy home.

The Cincinnati Reds have been a dark-horse pick by a lot of fans for a few years and the team put it all together in 2010. Dusty Baker is now taking his third National League team into the playoffs.

Will this be the year he gets that ring?

The Reds offense, led by slugger Joey Votto and lead-off hitter Brandon Phillips, gets to face the toughest staff in the postseason in the Philadelphia Phillies.

The New York Yankees clinched another playoff spot on Tuesday night, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1.

The night belonged to ace CC Sabathia, who shut down the heavy hitting Blue Jays bats. Some are tagging the Yankees doomed in the playoffs, as the rotation is having some issues. Still, there are many positives in pinstripes too that tend to get overlooked. 

With the regular season about to end, playoff spots are getting filled by eight of the 30 MLB teams who compete each season.

For players on the Yankees and Phillies, October is a familiar time of year but for many it will remain a mystery.

Monday night, the Philadelphia Phillies won the NL East for the fourth straight season in a row.

Up in Toronto, the New York Yankees evening could have been a champagne party too. Instead, AJ Burnett imploded worse than ever on the mound and the Blue Jays won the game 7-5.

Burnett could not even get out of the third inning, and he was to blame for all seven runs scored.

Rock bottom?

The New York Yankees are not in the playoffs; their magic number remains frozen at three just for a spot in October.

Three appears to be getting bigger and growing harder to reach with each game. The Yankees need to stop playing Jekyll and Hyde since winning the first two games of their last series against the Tampa Bay Rays.