Fan News

With the San Francisco Giants taking care of the San Diego Padres Sunday afternoon, there won't be a Game 163 this season. And more importantly, we now know who will partake in this year's playoffs. 

In the American League, things were less exciting on the last day of the season as there were no playoff berths up for grabs.

Will the Yankees repeat? Can Bobby Cox's Atlanta Braves send their manager out on a high note? 

World Series 2010: 10 reasons why the Yankees will win the 2010 World Series, despite entering the playoffs resembling anything close to a Championship Team.

By Darcy Fournier

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.

Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore gets a lot of flack from the internet community (myself included) for some of the moves and comments he has made over the last couple of years. However, every now and then he does make some good moves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a starting rotation (with the possible exception of James McDonald) that would be kindly described as "undistinguished." They do, however, have strong late-innings pitchers in Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek.

But the Pirates have unexpected pitching strength where one would least expect it in a core of middle inning relievers who can pitch long.

Was there a more surprising 2010 performance than R.A. Dickey’s?  Signed as a minor league free agent, he didn’t open the year in the Mets rotation.  By year’s end, however, he had entrenched himself as their most dependable starter.

The playoffs are when legends are made. You can be a great player in the regular season, but if you fail in the playoffs, then you will be served a cold dish of doubt and ridicule.

Nobody wants to be Mr. May.

Just ask Alex Rodriguez. Until last year he was considered Mr. Regular Season, a choke artist, a joke, and overpaid. He still may be overpaid, but he has a ring on his finger to keep him happy.

You can say a lot of things about the New York Yankees.  They've got the most money, their offense is unbeatable, the list goes on and on.  However, one thing you can't say is that their starters are a lock every time they take the mound. 

A.J. Burnett has been up and down, Hughes has been shaky but good for the most part, and Javier Vazquez was demoted to the bullpen.

This has arisen many issues like, "Who starts Game 2?  Well they go with three starters like last year, or four?" 

In the 'Year of the Pitcher,' the batters never stood a chance.

There were five no-hitters thrown (but really six), including two perfect games. There were also nine one-hitters, and a major-league debut that featured 14 strikeouts by a certain Stephen Strasburg.

Several pitchers, among them Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, and Ubaldo Jiminez, have had so many jaw-dropping performances this year that they could populate this top 10 list all by themselves.

But 2010 was no ordinary year. It was the pitcher's year.

From the beginning of the season this year felt different for the Atlanta Braves. Walk-off wins were the norm and despite the Braves nine game losing streak in May the team came together to take the lead in the NL East while the Phillies were dealing with injuries.

Even as the Braves lost key players (Chipper Jones, Kris Medlen) they kept winning close ballgames. Late in the season, the Braves were overtaken by the Phillies, but the Braves seemed like a lock for the playoffs as recently as this past Friday morning.