San Francisco Bay Area

Speed kills.

Ask the Yankees circa 2004 when a stolen base by Dave Roberts in the bottom of the ninth kept the Red Sox—down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series and 4-3 in Game 4—alive and propelled them forward to the greatest comeback in baseball history.

Or maybe you could just look at the 1982 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers.

With the MLB playoffs just hours away, many fans are inevitably experiencing their own version of postseason baseball butterflies.

But it isn’t just the fans that are trying to quell their nervousness; it’s also a handful of players who are playing for more than just a shot at the Fall Classic.

No pressure, really.

Lurking in the dugouts of the eight remaining teams are a collection of various players who are not only trying to help their respective teams advance in the playoffs but are also trying to prove their free-agency worth.

In a perfect world, according to my most favorable teams they divisions would annually end something like this:

American League East: Baltimore Tampa Toronto Boston and New York

American League Central Minnesota Kansas City Detroit Chicago White Sox, Cleveland

American League West: Texas Oakland Los Angeles, Seattle

National League East: Florida, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Atlanta

National League Central: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Chicago, Houston, St. Louis

It would be easy, and appropriate, to enjoy the afterglow of the Giants' NL West division title by merely acknowledging the usual suspects: Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Brian Wilson, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe...

Wow. It is indeed a long list.

But it seems more suitable to tip the cap to two men who put that list of players together and made it click.

The San Francisco Giants eliminated the San Diego Padres with their 3-0 victory today, which makes them the NL West champions for the first time since 2003.

The Giants finished the 2010 regular season with a 92-70 (.568) record, earning the third seed in the NL. The Atlanta Braves, in turn, claimed the wild card spot. 

Therefore, the official 2010 playoff seeding and schedule are finalized. 

So, without further ado, here it is.

Expectations can be tricky things.

Often times, teams with high expectations fail to measure up, while squads without expectations do better than anticipated.  For the 2010 Athletics, the latter is true.

Without any considerable power threat on the roster (Jack Cust started the season at Triple-A), it was hard to imagine the non-explosive A's coming close to .500 record.  With two games the left, Oakland is two wins away from finishing 81-81.  

Andres Torres has been one of the best stories around Major League Baseball this season. He has been a journeyman for his entire career, and was virtually unknown. 

Now, his name is most likely spoken in almost every home belonging to a Giants fan. He has been one of the best clutch players on the Giants, 

In a Bleacher Report Community effort, the top Featured Columnists for MLB's top teams have come together to give the fans a thorough understanding of what to expect when your ace succumbs to playoff pressure, putting a close game in the hands of your bullpen.

Each Bleacher Report Featured Columnist has been a fan of their team, as have you, for as long as possible.

In speaking with these writers, they understand the history as well as the current state and future prospects for their bullpen.

Tonight, a showdown in San Francisco could pop the top off of what up until now may have been this year’s most underrated story in sports: the San Francisco Giants clinching an MLB postseason appearance for the first time since the Barry Bonds era.

Words that you never want to hear if you are a pitcher: “We are going to send you to Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews.”

Those are the words that Oakland A’s pitcher Andrew Bailey heard this morning. The odds have already been set to 3-1 that we will next see Bailey in August of 2011.