Preview/Prediction

The dust has finally settled from this debacle of a season in Queens, NY, and needless to say, the Mets have plenty of work to do.

Sure the team was decimated by injuries, but even when healthy, this team has plenty of holes to fill if it plans on being a championship contender in 2010.

The Phillies continue on their quest Wednesday to be the first National League team to win back-to-back World Series since the Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds in the mid-70's.

They are one win away from getting back to the World Series for that second straight year. Former Phillies starter Vicente Padilla, and the somewhat snake bit Los Angeles Dodgers, remain standing, just barely, in their way.

After a devastating blown save and blown game by 100 mph pitcher Jonathan Broxton on Monday night, the Dodgers are hanging on by a thread.

Just when you thought the Phillies could not make things any more exciting, drama struck again Monday night in Game Four of the 2009 NLCS.

It has been a parade of "Can you top this?": The unlikely 5-4 NLDS Game Four victory this year against the Rockies highlighted by Ryan Howard's two-run, two-out ninth inning double or last year's dramatic Game Four NLCS 7-5 win featuring Matt Stairs' two-run eighth-inning home run in 2008.

The Yankees outlasted the Angels in Game Two of the ALCS on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series continues this afternoon in Anaheim. River & Sunset takes a look at some of the subplots orbiting Yankee Universe.

We're not close to the celebration yet

First off let me give kudos to Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee—who pitched an eight-inning shutout in an 11-0 whitewash of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia.

The St. Louis Cardinals enter the offseason in a frustrated, yet excited state.

They were just swept out of the playoffs. Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, Joel Pineiro, Rick Ankiel, and John Smoltz enter free agency. Tony La Russa and the entire coaching staff are free agents.

But, the Cardinals did make the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and have a great base of young talent brewing.

Decisions, decisions.

What should the Cardinals do?

I am here to help.

This is the fourth installment of a series in which I ponder personnel decisions that need to be made regarding players who were on the team in 2009. You can read the first three here , here and here .

In what might have been a game that could have put the Los Angeles Dodgers back against the wall, this series stands even at one game a piece. Charlie Manuel’s decision to remove Pedro Martinez after seven brilliant innings in Game Two, only to see his bullpen give away the game in the eighth inning.

The bright side is that Pedro will certainly be ready for a repeat performance in Game Six if it should go that far. As I have mentioned in earlier stories I like the way the Phillies rotation sets up for the rest of the series.

The National League championship series is tied at 1-1 heading back to Philadelphia.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slipped by surrendering home field advantage, but all it takes is stealing one win from the Philadelphia Phillies to shift the balance of power back into their hands.