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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.

With the MLB playoffs just around the corner, San Francisco Giants are on verge of eliminating the San Diego Padres from the divisional race and claim their first NL West crown since 2003. 

Barry Bonds isn’t the big bopper in the lineup anymore and Jason Schmidt isn’t the ace of the pitching staff. 

Instead the 2010 Giants have a young catcher by the name of Buster Posey leading the way on offense and a pitching staff led by two time NL CY Young Award winner Time Lincecum.

In their 49 years of existence, the Mets have had trouble filling some positions: They never really boasted an outstanding shortstop before Jose Reyes, and David Wright became the best third baseman in team history the moment he eclipsed Howard Johnson-- which, truthfully, wasn't that hard.

Oakland, CA simply cannot support the Oakland Athletics. Moved to Oakland from Kansas City for the 1968 season after the completion of the then state-of-the-art Coliseum in Oakland, the team has enjoyed profound success in the “other” city by the Bay – capturing 4 World Series Championships and 7 AL Pennants since 1968. Their time in the Oakland sun, however is fading fast. Here are the reasons why relocation is the only answer to the A’s small-market dilemma and potential (and theoretical) new homes for the vagabond A’s.

On August 25, the San Diego Padres were the class of the National League. They were 76-50 and had a six game lead over the San Francisco Giants. The Padres were the surprise team of baseball, picked by most experts to finish in fourth in the NL West. 

Led by young starting pitching and a reliable closer in Heath Bell, the Padres had led the division a majority of the season. Manager Bud Black had done a phenomenal job with the club and was the front-runner to win NL Manager of the Year. 

The San Francisco Giants crept closer to a postseason berth, while the San Diego Padres suffered another heartbreaking loss Thursday night to move towards the brink of elimination.

Madison Bumgarner worked out of several jams and the Giants blasted three home runs en route to a 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, offense was again the problem for the Padres, who tallied just three hits in the 1-0 loss to the Cubs.

Here's a look at the latest news from the top teams heading into the postseason, and some very early predictions for each playoff team.

One more.

That's all the San Diego Padres can afford before their off season officially begins a lot sooner than they thought it would.

Looking back to the end of August, the Padres had what most would consider a big lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants. Fast forward one month, and not only is their lead gone but the deficit has reached its breaking point after losing 22 of their last 34 games.

Even though last night's Orioles game against the Detroit Tigers was washed out by the blanketing rain that flooded much of the Mid-Atlantic, the sun was still shining at Camden Yards. That sun stands for the feeling that the Orioles have created around Baltimore.

This season marks the 13th consecutive losing season for the O's, but the team's recent resurgence under manager Buck Showalter has the city feeling that it might not have to endure a 14th.

According to reports, manager Jerry Manuel and GM Omar Minaya will not be returning to those roles next season. Jon Heyman of SI.com released the news.

This should not be a surprise of anyone around baseball as the two men have been under fire last past two seasons. With yesterday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Mets are assured a second straight losing season.

San Francisco Giants have been one of the hottest teams in all of Major League baseball since the start of September. After a rough August that saw them play unimpressive baseball to the tune of a .464 winning percentage for the month, they have bounced back to be one of the best teams in baseball.