Alex Rodriguez

All season long, Yankee fans have rooted against the Rays.

Especially down the stretch, when both teams were locked in an epic battle for the AL East crown.

There were some epic moments, too. Like Robbie Cano's homer. Or arguably the best-pitched game by two teams in a game this season, with Sabathia and Price on top of their games. And of course, Derek Jeter's "hit by pitch" that almost cost the Rays the game.

Yep, plenty to hate about them Rays.

But this is the time to be rooting for them.

Purity of the game means passion and joy when on the field. It means players would be there competing even if there was no money involved.  Purists dream baseball, and live baseball when they are not near a field.   Baseball is who they are.  

I hope you are sitting down when you read this because it might shock you: The Cardinals picked up their option for Albert Pujols.

The fact that this "no-brainer of the century" transaction even made the headlines on ESPN.com made me laugh. After all, what are they going to tell us next, that we're in an economic downturn? 

In the first playoff game at brand-new Target Field in Minnesota, the Yankees' quest for a repeat of a World Series Championship began successfully Wednesday night against the Twins with a 6-4 win.

The Yankees sent ace CC Sabathia to square off against Twins' ace Francisco Liriano in Game 1 of the ALDS.

During the regular season, quality baseball, consistent pitching, and measured tactics are the key to victory. Come October, and these methods go out the door. It's all about who can hit the most homeruns. Outside of simply including the Yankees starting nine, here are the most prolific power hitters in the 2010 postseason.

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No matter what they say, over the final three-plus weeks of the season, the Yankees played as if they favored taking on the Twins in the first round of the playoffs over securing home-field advantage and having to play Cliff Lee and the Rangers.

New York (95-67) seems to have gotten what it wanted and will open up the best-of-five American League Division Series in Minnesota (95-67) on Wednesday night.

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.

Whether you want to see it or not, it's lingering: the possibility of having a rematch in the World Series is highly likely.  

Going into the playoffs the Philadelphia Phillies are the hottest team, winning 22 of their last 29 games.  The Yankees on the other hand, in a bold move decided to leave A.J. Burnett out of the rotation against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. 

First off, let me say that I'm a die-hard Yankees fan and I have been since I was six years old.  I'll be pulling for them to win number 28, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

This isn't the same team that won it all last year.

While they can pull it off, I think I've come up with five good reasons why they may have to wait until next year for 28.

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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.