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As the Atlanta Braves fought for the right to play into the second phase of the season on Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies started Cole Hamels against Atlanta’s Tim Hudson.

And then after Hamels came Roy Oswalt.

And then after Oswalt came …

And so it was for the Phillies on the final day of the regular season, their National League East title wrapped up long ago.

No Philadelphia pitcher worked longer than Hamels’ two innings, with manager Charlie Manuel using Game 162 as a “staff” day to get eight different pitchers some work.

Now that the regular season has concluded and the playoffs are about to begin, you're going to notice a lot of new Yankees fans suddenly showing up around the office.

The New York Yankees had a rough September, posting a 14-16 record for the month, and finalized it by losing the AL East to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Regardless, getting closer to the goal of repeating entails making the postseason and that first step has been accomplished.

For those who were concerned with Clayton Kershaw prior to the season, they certainly had their questions answered early and often in 2010.  While the Dodgers opted to shut him down early due to a heavy workload (he went from 171.0 innings in 2009 to 204.1 innings in 2010), that couldn’t put a damper on his amazing campaign.

Let’s take a look at the numbers before putting his success in perspective:

The 2010 MLB postseason has finally arrived.

After 162 games of scratching and clawing through the league, only eight teams remain. Each club has gotten here because of the supreme talent on its team.

Each team remaining has at least two players that are in the top tier of the league. Expect these 25 players to have the biggest impact in October. Whether it be a key home-run or a huge strikeout, elite players have the potential to etch their name in the history books.

The Tampa Bay Rays have won their second American League East title in their brief history. This season's division championship came down to the final day of the regular season. The Rays had the division in hand once the Yankees lost to the Red Sox but would've won regardless by defeating Kansas City.

As a diehard Atlanta Braves fan, I can honestly say that five years doesn't seem like all that long to wait, but it felt like eternity to me.  In five years, I have gotten married, had three kids, had three jobs, joined the Army, and have seen several family members go to be with the Lord.  Well, Braves fans, the wait is over.  The Atlanta Braves have clinched the Wild Card and are set to face the San Francisco Giants in the National League Divisional Series, starting October 7, 2010 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.&nbs

The eight playoff teams have been decided. Due the the nature of the short series, each team has a legitimate shot at winning championship.

However, there were 22 teams that proved incapable of making the postseason.

Most of those squads were not expected to battle for a postseason berth. But a few teams were supposed to be contenders yet disappointed the prognosticators and their fans.

So which teams were 2010's biggest underachievers?

According to sources from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ken Macha has managed his last game for the Milwaukee Brewers. His option for 2011 will not be picked up, and he'll be relieved of his duties on Monday.

Macha has managed the Brewers to back-to-back losing seasons after the team made the playoffs in 2008.

A 162-game season came down to the last game.

The Phillies and Reds clinched their divisions early on, but the NL West and Wild Card spots came down to the wire. In the regular season's final game, the Braves, Padres, and Giants fought it out on the field and engaged in intense scoreboard watching off it.

But the hypothetical three-way tie didn't materialize as the Braves managed to squeeze by the Phillies in an 8-7 victory, and the Giants took care of business in San Francisco shutting out the Padres, 3-0.