Preview/Prediction

The words "superstar" and "Pittsburgh Pirates" haven't gone together since a young kid named Barry Bonds was making his clean mark on Major League Baseball as a five-tool left fielder during the Pirate's last winning season. That seems like a lifetime ago, when in reality it was roughly 20 years. Hard to believe that there are children in college who weren't born yet the last time the Pirates were any good or had a superstar.

Two years and a day after Jerry Manuel agreed to terms with the New York Mets to replace Willie Randolph as full-time manager, he finds himself out of a job.

After a successful stint as interim manager in 2008 with a 55-38 record, Manuel really struggled as full-time manager, leading the Mets to two consecutive losing seasons with a cumulative record of 149-175.

Well, it's official: the 2010 MLB playoff schedule is all set.

When the Braves and Giants won their games on Sunday, they clinched the final two postseason spots still up for grabs. 

Now, the real work begins. Regular season success is one thing; winning in the postseason is something decidedly different. Who has what it takes to win it all in 2010?

We're breaking down every matchup of the four division series, telling you not just who will win each game, but why. Let's begin with Wednesday's games.

Winning the Comeback Player of the Year is not nearly as honorable as a Cy Young or an MVP, but this award shows the players and fans that a player's re-emergence as a stud player has occurred in any given season.  

In the 2010 season, there were several players who brought themselves back into the spotlight by breaking a barrier that they have not touched in years.  Whether it was hit .300 on the season for the first time in 5 years, or any other type of statistical drought, the avid followers of baseball know who is worthy of being recognized for their hard work.

The Philadelphia Phillies are associated with the month October.  For the past two seasons they have been the Kings of this month without much adieu.  They now boast the top pitching rotation in the field and already owned one of the game's best line-ups.  A line-up that still hasn't hit its stride yet this season. This post-season has a different feel, as they now look to achieve success through their arms rather than their bats.

The Wild Card New York Yankees will start the postseason in Minnesota against the AL Central Champion Twins.

Both teams will be critique over the next three days, as the sports media and baseball fans will express their opinions while trying to predict the outcome.

It has been five years since the Atlanta Braves took a champagne shower in celebration of making it to postseason play. With an 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and a little help from the San Francisco Giants, the Braves wrapped up the wild card on Sunday.

On first glance, it might be tempting to view the Twins' first-round playoff draw as a bad omen.

The New York Yankees swept Ron Gardenhire's crew last October en route to a World Series title, and they will come back for a rematch beginning Wednesday. The Yankee mystique, restored in full last fall and very much in play even now, will pose a challenge to the Twins from the first pitch onward.

The San Francisco Giants are going to the playoffs for the first time since the ill-fated 2003 campaign.

Officially.

And the tortuous 2010 regular season really couldn't have ended any other way.

When the Giants swept the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week, the clincher seemed like a formality.

As the Atlanta Braves fought for the right to play into the second phase of the season on Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies started Cole Hamels against Atlanta’s Tim Hudson.

And then after Hamels came Roy Oswalt.

And then after Oswalt came …

And so it was for the Phillies on the final day of the regular season, their National League East title wrapped up long ago.

No Philadelphia pitcher worked longer than Hamels’ two innings, with manager Charlie Manuel using Game 162 as a “staff” day to get eight different pitchers some work.