Baseball

In an era of baseball that has been controlled by the big market teams, this year’s playoff landscape is certainly different from past seasons.

All right, maybe it isn’t completely different—the crop is still led by the usual suspects from New York and Philadelphia.

Still, the familiar names of the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels will not be heard in playoff baseball this year.

Patience is a virtue, everything happens for a reason, good things come to those who wait, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have to look before you leap.

Cliches aside, the Mets (and us fans) will have to be patient in finding out who will be running the show next year and hopefully beyond.

I was watching ESPN's "30 for 30" on the 2004 Boston Red Sox miracle comeback against the New York Yankees in the ALCS earlier tonight, and I realized something about our San Francisco Giants and their overpaid, but ironically worthless pitcher Barry Zito.

Perhaps the most evenly matched series will start in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Let’s take a look at the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers series at a glance…

Schedule

The Mets have begun their offseason transactions by relieving Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel of their duties.  This came as no surprise to fans as Manuel's contract expired once the season ended, and Minaya still had not proven himself to be a GM that will make the moves necessary.

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 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.

As of Monday morning, he is out as the Pirates manager. Russell was the third full-time manager since 2001, not counting Pete Mackanin's stint as interim manager after the departure of Lloyd McClendon.

So, after the Gene Lamonts, the McClendons and the Jim Tracys, who is suitable to manage this team and, dare I say it, turn this mess around?

Here are my op five candidates that I feel the Pirates should look at to fill the position.

The Indians' disappointing summer is finally over, finishing with a 69-93 record, but still beating out the Kansas City Royals for fourth place in the AL Central.

Before we look ahead to next season, let's hand out some awards for the Wahoo Warriors who deserve them most.

Not surprisingly, the Choo train tops the list.

Begin Slideshow

Owners of professional sports teams are a fascinating set.  Usually wealthy, some charismatic, some stoic, others intensely private.  Only a select few people accumulate enough wealth to own a professional sports team, so naturally they draw a fair amount of interest.