David Pinto quotes Rich Lederer and adds a though:

Rich Lederer notes that the teams with the better big name starters didn’t do so well in two of the three sweeps:

In the meantime, there is at least one lesson to be learned from the Division Championship Series. The teams with the best starting pitchers don’t necessarily win these things — even if they sport two Cy Young Award candidates (as St. Louis did with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright) or two No. 1s (like Boston’s Jon Lester and Josh Beckett). Not only did the Cardinals and Red Sox lose their respective series, they didn’t win a single game. Zero. Zilch. Nada. None. Instead, it was three and done for both of these clubs.

Look, I’m as guilty as the next guy in perhaps paying more attention to the top two starters than other factors, including home field advantage. I mean, I picked the Redbirds and Sox to beat the Dodgers and Angels, respectively, in five games. In our NLDS roundtable, I wrote, “My heart and even my mind says Dodgers, but I’m a sucker for the top-heavy Pujols/Holliday/Carpenter/Wainwright fearsome foursome.” You might say I was overly enamored with the big names here. Shame on me.

There is no shame in those picks. In a short series, one hot hitter or a couple of hot pitchers can make a big difference. My bet would go on the superlative talent to get hot every time.

I'm not sure if this is true. I think I would rather pick the team with more talent spread throughout the roster. It increases the likelihood that someone steps up and has a huge series. s

From the 163th game on - when Brandon Inge ('s jersey) was nicked by a pitch with the bases loaded, but had to stay at the plate when the umpires missed the call - the playoffs have again proven that baseball is a game of inches and mistakes. There have been several horrible calls already by the umps (I don't rank Inge's HBP among them, that guy should tuck his jersey in properly) and several costly mistakes by player, most notably of course Matt Holliday's misplay, but the Twins Gomez slipping behind second base and then getting tagged out before the runner could score also cost the Twins the game and most likely the series (not that their chances were too great to begin with). In that spirit, I wonder why MLB allows TBS to show a virtual strikezone for every single pitch. I don't know how many basically identical pitches were called balls here and strikes there.

Phillies - Rockies is the only series tied at 1-1 and it is wide open. If the cold weather forces a delay, which then would allow the Phillies to throw in Lee and Hamels for two games each at normal rest, the advantage goes to the Phillies. In any way, this whole affair only demonstrates that the season is dragged on too long. Why not start a week early and drop a few off-days in the postseason so no games have to be played in ice-cold environment.

The Dodgers - Cardinals series was also supposed to be tied at one game apiece before Matt Holliday lost the ball in the sun or the towels waved by the fans (seriously?). The Dodgers must feel good about themselves, winning against Carpenter and Wainwright, but unless they win game three and sweep, this series is not over (well, duh!). If the Cards bring back their two aces for game 4 and 5, they have a good chance to advance to the NLCS after all.

The Angels go to Fenway Park with a commanding 2-0 and have Scott Kazmir pitching in game 3, so chances are good they will finally get past the Red Sox. What is different this year? First, the Angels are finally scoring some runs and the Red Sox lineup, while still pretty good, is not the juggernaut it once was (Big Papi is 0-8)

Finally, the Yankees will try to sweep the series in what would be the last game in the Metrodome. I guess nobody outside of Minnesota would have bet a dime on the Twins in the first place, but a lucky bounce hear and a hanging pitch there and a five game series can go either way. Unfortunately, the Twins had their chances in game 2 and threw them away. The Yankees can use Sabathia and Burnett again for game 4 and 5 and their offense is so much better, I would be very, very surprised if this one even goes back New York.

The Angels beat the Rangers 10-5 today, keyed by a Howie Kendrick two-out, bases clearing triple that just missed the center fielder's glove. The loss was probably the final nail for Texas' coffin as they trail LA by 7.5 games in the division and the Red Sox by 8 in the Wild Card.

This means the last interesting AL race takes place in the Central division, where the Tigers lead the Twins by 3 and the White Sox by 6.5 games. However, since whoever wins the Central will only bow down to the Yankees in the ALDS, does anyone really care?

Over in the NL, the East and the Central have been settled in what feels like forever and while the 5 games lead enjoyed by the Dodgers over the Rockies may not be completely secure, they have pretty much secured a postseason berth anyway. Said Rockies lead the Giants by 3.5, the Marlins by 4.5 and the Braves by 5 and Colorado is also leading the D'Backs 3-1 in the 8th while the Giants trail the Dodgers 2-5 in the 7th, it looks like the gap is widening.

Is the the less exciting end of September since the introduction of the Wild Card or is it just me?

Joe Posnanski comments on an article by Ken Rosenthal about the AL MVP.

Rosenthal: My top alternative is Youkilis. But I also can make cases for Jeter and Cabrera and, to a lesser extent, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira and Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. Heck, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez — who missed even more time than Mauer while recovering from hip surgery — might be the most valuable of all. The Yankees, 13-15 without him, are 79-38 since his return.

Posnanski: Ken wants honest debate in the MVP award … a worthy cause, but this seems an odd year to be demanding honest debate. You have a catcher — and a darned good catcher — hitting .374. He also leads the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He is the best hitter in the league, and he’s a Gold Glove caliber catcher. What honest debate is there to be had? How can anyone be more valuable? You can poke holes in his case — he missed some playing time at the beginning of the year, he doesn’t play for a great team — but I don’t think that’s honest debate. Nobody is close. Derek Jeter’s numbers are dwarfed — even with the difference in playing time. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis and Kendry Morales are all good hitters and they are all first basemen — quite a different role than a catcher — and Miguel Cabrera might be better than the three of them.

I did not really capture the essence of the two posts. They are actually more about the ancient question, what "most valuable" means and the less ancient question "how much influence should advanced stats have on assessment of players". I just want to join the chorus of those who sing the praise of Joe Mauer. Money quote: You have a catcher — and a darned good catcher — hitting .374. He also leads the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He is just so good, it nearly hurts.