Start the Playoffs Now

I think it's okay to begin the baseball playoffs tomorrow. Football season has started and it's difficult to refocus back to the slow gait of baseball. It gets lost in the shuffle until we hear Joe Buck's voice in October.

That's mainly because watching a last place team try and figure out who can throw the ball over the plate is really no fun at all.

I'd push for having football on five nights a week. Tuesday and Wednesday are the only blackout nights when we get to watch the Nats and the Orioles play out the string.

I'd like to watch the Rays and the Red Sox or something with meaning like Torre and the Dodgers. The Red Sox have the Rays number it seems--they've had it all year--and the playoffs should be interesting.

The Orioles have won exactly three games over the last fifteen and have been outscored by nearly 100 runs. There is no point in watching the debacle unfold any further. The team is offering attendance to the games for a buck--that should tell you something about the product on the field.

We've rushed some young arms (Loewen, Ray) and this has resulted in injuries. We've traded a promising arm--John Maine and received nothing in return. There is pitching that has shown promise and maybe next year we will have something on the hill to cheer for. Cabrera has looked good and then digressed. Guthrie has grown as a starter. Olson continues to grow.

Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman are the future. Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold are the future. Andy MacPhail is the future. Matt Wieters is the future of this ballclub.

And like the last eleven years in September, there is no need to watch one more game.