MLB Playoffs

I am a Philadelphia Phillies fan, so when the playoffs started, I decided that I would hope for either the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Tampa Bay Rays to come away with the championship. You can obviously tell how well that worked out, but the one kind of strange advantage that I have gained is some sense of objectivity regarding the World Series. I don't really have a vested interest in either team.

For the fourth time in the last decade, the St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series. They don't know whom they will play, but they have locked up a spot in the Fall Classic.

No matter whom they face, it will be a rematch of one of their recent World Series appearances. The Boston Red Sox swept the Cardinals back in 2004, and St. Louis beat the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are currently locked in a battle in Game 6 of the ALCS.

Top 9th: Red Sox 5, Tigers 2

Note: Hit me up on Twitter @chris_stephens6 with your thoughts and analysis. I will get in as many of your tweets as possible.

The Boston Red Sox own a perfect 5-0 record when playing the sixth game of a postseason series at home, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Saturday as they try to eliminate the Detroit Tigers in this best-of-seven series at Fenway Park.

The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers will wrap up the ALCS this weekend, with the winner advancing to the 2013 World Series.

Boston has an opportunity to put the Tigers away at Fenway Park in Saturday's Game 6, but earning a date with the St. Louis Cardinals hinges on several, team-specific keys.

Everything from pitch selection and bat control to lineup construction and player psychology is going to influence the outcome. Even with all those variables, expect a nail-biting finish. Four of the first five installments of this series were decided by a single run.

On Friday night, Michael Wacha became part of baseball history.

We know the when and half of the who, but we don't yet know the where.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers bowed out of the 2013 NLCS, the player that helped spark their remarkable run through June, July and August, Yasiel Puig, suffered through a difficult series at the plate, in the field and through the voices of critics.

Deviating from the trend of nail-biting NLCS battles, the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-0, in Friday night's Game 6 to clinch the 2013 National League pennant.

Closer Trevor Rosenthal brought the series to an end with this strikeout of A.J. Ellis: 

Pandemonium followed.

All the Yasiel Puig critics are already getting started on their "I told you so" columns. The phenom's poor defensive decisions in Friday night's third inning allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to build a 4-0 lead in Game 6 of the NLCS.