Baseball

The American League and National League Championship Series have presented diametrically opposed series.  Whereas the Cinderella Kansas City Royals have looked like Goliaths in romping to eight consecutive postseason victories, the San Francisco Giants have a chance to become the league's preeminent franchise with their third championship in five seasons.

The MLB postseason is where a player's abilities in the clutch really come to the forefront and when a team's high-priced stars are asked to earn their hefty contracts.

Judging a player's performance in the clutch is certainly not an exact science, but the following two situations are when the pressure is really on:

Exactly two weeks ago, the Kansas City Royals were two outs away from being eliminated from the playoffs. Now, just one game from clinching a spot in the World Series, that number is up to 108.

The Royals remained undefeated in the postseason Tuesday night, topping the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, and capturing a commanding 3-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost a heartbreaker Tuesday, as Randy Choate’s throwing error in the 10th inning gave the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 win in Game 3 of the NLCS.

However, Choate’s rough outing with the game on the line didn't define the Cardinals’ Game 3 loss.

It rained all day yesterday in Kansas City, so much that Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Royals and Orioles was postponed.  The rainout gives both teams an extra day of rest, but which team does the rainout help most?

The San Francisco Giants' luck with wild throws continued in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. 

With two men on and no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, a wild throw to first from St. Louis reliever Randy Choate allowed Brandon Crawford to score the game-winning run, giving San Francisco the 5-4 walk-off victory. The Giants now lead the series 2-1.

Prior to a year in which they are expected to contend, the Seattle Mariners have a few key decisions to make during the offseason.

Seattle finds itself in the rare position of trying to win now rather than building toward the future. The last two times the Mariners were coming off a winning season (2007 and 2009), they made disastrous signings and trades that resulted in poor records the following year.

The Kansas City Royals are one game away from the World Series after downing the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

The Orioles jumped on top in the second inning when Steve Pearce and J.J. Hardy hit back-to-back doubles, Pearce scoring off of Hardy’s hit. It was the first time this series that the O’s had a lead in a game.

Between all their riches and all their star power, the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball already had good reasons to fear the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now you can add another to the list: The Dodgers have gone and hired a certified baseball genius to run the show.

Since the growth of Twitter, it has allowed fans and players to connect like never before. One Kansas City Royals fan sent a tweet to Royals rookie reliever Brandon Finnegan, asking him if he could hook him up with playoff tickets.