MLB Playoffs

The Cincinnati Reds have taken just about everybody by surprise this year.  Going into the season, they were not a team that was expected to be involved in the playoff race at this time of the year, much less own the best record in the National League and be a lock to make the playoffs barring a 2007 New York Mets-style collapse in the final month of the season.

With news that Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus has requested a trade, a team with an already cloudy future did not get any clearer. 

Here are five reasons why Cardinal fans’ motto for the rest of the season should be “playoffs or bust.”

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Today is September 1st and the Yankees are sitting alone in first place. The Rays are just one game back though, and have proven that they will not back down this season. The Yankees are also seven games up on the Red Sox for the Wild-Card lead, but with six head-to-head games left against them, that lead isn’t exactly air-tight. The Yankees also have the toughest schedule of all three teams so nothing is locked in place. Get ready for what could be an exciting month.

Although the Atlanta Braves have been leading the NL East for some time now, they made a number of trades to try and strengthen their team for the stretch run.

With the Phillies getting key players back in their lineup seemingly every day, the Braves were looking for guys like Rick Ankiel, Derek Lee, and Kyle Farnsworth to fill in some holes that the team had.

Aroldis Chapman needs to be playoff eligible. And before anyone starts an inner dialogue—yes, the Reds will be in the playoffs.

Secret weapon. Remember those?

Being a former secret weapon myself, as a cannon-armed quarterback for my flag football team in college, I am fully aware of their value. I remember being down late in a game. I was brought in to start a monumental comeback against the TKE fraternity's team.

I was 3-for-3 with two touchdown passes.

As of August 16, thirteen teams find themselves within six games of a playoff spot.

So while Boston, New York, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Texas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, and Colorado will relish playing each other, that doesn't mean they should glaze over the rest of the schedule.

With the second half of the Major league baseball season under way, here are some predictions as to what could end up happening when the regular season is all said and done. There will also be two bold predictions at the end, those of which would shock the sports world, and could happen if events fall a certain way.

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It was another disappointing October in Cleveland, as it has been each year since 1948.

It is perhaps a blessing that the Indians did not make it far enough to collapse on the big stage, as they routinely did throughout the '90s and again in 2007.

However, while the team as a whole did not reach the postseason, many Indians alumni got to experience the playoffs. Here's a look at the former hometown heroes who got a shot at glory.

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Last week, Rob Neyer challenged someone to find out just how many championships Mariano Rivera has been worth.

Despite what the media would have you believe, the New York Yankees haven’t won their 40th pennant yet. In fact, after Thursday night’s amazing comeback victory, the Los Angeles Angels are very much alive and kicking in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees may still be the favorite—especially as the series shifts back to Gotham—but the Angels aren’t done yet. They do, however, have an uphill battle in front of them.