MLB

OK, it's time to toss away the division series the way Jose Bautista tossed away his bat.

We're ready to move on to what should be two great championship series. But first—can I have that bat back for a sec?—let's revisit an extraordinary week of division series baseball.

There were 19 games, one shy of the maximum (only the Chicago Cubs wrapped up their series in four games). Most of the games were good, a handful were great...and then there was that Game 5 in Toronto.

If it seems like MLB's collection of young shortstop talent recently went through a dry spell, you're not wrong. Between 2010 and 2013, the shortstop position was indeed lacking in young talent.

Meet MLB's final four.

In the process of setting the 2015 World Series odds for MLB's four league championship contenders, there is one observation that is inescapable: Everyone left standing has an excellent chance of winning a ring.

The Kansas City Royals have the October experience, and the Toronto Blue Jays have the collection of unreal bats. But the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs have the rising stars who are poised to take over the postseason.

LOS ANGELES — Good morning, good afternoon and good night.

By the time Jacob deGrom passed the ball to Noah Syndergaard and Syndergaard forwarded it to closer Jeurys Familia, there were singe marks throughout Dodger Stadium. Skid marks on the backs of those pristine white Dodgers uniforms. The place smelled like burning rubber.

For a time, 2015 seemed like the year the Los Angeles Dodgers finally had things figured out. After four years of trying under the current ownership group, their magic formula for winning the World Series looked like it was on the right track.

In the end, however, the Dodgers find themselves going back to the drawing board yet again.

For the first time since 2006, the New York Mets are headed to the National League Championship Series after a 3-2 Game 5 comeback victory over the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. 

The Chicago Cubs already had a spot in the NLCS locked up following Tuesday's Game 4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, but the New York Mets secured their place with a dramatic 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday evening.  

With the matchup set and a pennant on the line, here's a preview of when and where you can catch all the NLCS action between two championship-starved franchises:

The decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series pitted ace pitchers Zack Greinke and Jacob deGrom against each other, but it was a second baseman who hit .281 with 14 home runs on the season who played the role of hero.

After the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to meet expectations for the third consecutive season, falling in five games to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series, you can be sure that changes are coming to the team.