Fan News

The Diamondbacks lineup, when healthy, is fairly potent. They are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored (16th with 694 through Saturday) and fifth in home runs (175).

Their home ballpark helps to inflate power, so using a spot start pitcher against them never seems like a very good idea.

Over the final week of the season, though, things may be different.

Count yourself extremely fortunate, denizens of Yankee Universe.

Had your team not found a way to dig itself out of Mariano Rivera's mess on Sunday night, you'd be suffering through a brutally painful Monday morning.

If Robbie Cano was unable to pad his MVP resume with a game-tying RBI single off Jonathan Papel-blown in the ninth; if Juan Miranda couldn't heroically draw a bases-loaded walk off Hideki OkanIgobackto2007 in the 10th, your team's little slump would have quickly transitioned to a national story.

Bill Hall did all he could, helping put Boston in the lead against Mariano Rivera (foreground), but his Red Sox ultimately fell, their playoff chances taking a huge blow. Photo: daylife)

The remaining regular season schedule is set up to allow Phillies right hander Roy Halladay at least two more starts before the Phils  begin their post season push; however , its more than likely  that tonights start against Washington will be Roy’s last before the play-offs. 

The final week of the 2010 regular season has arrived and the Rangers and Twins have already popped the champagne.

The Rangers success can be attributed to finally having solid starting pitching. Nolan Ryan really does make whatever he touches turn into gold.

The Phillies have clinched at least a Wild Card position, while the Yanks and Rays are battling for the AL East crown. The loser gets the Wild Card.

Thinking back to April most experts wouldn't expect the upstart Reds to be one game away from clinching their first playoff birth since 1995.

After dropping two of three from the Giants in Colorado, the Rockies are likely out of playoff contention.

Frankly, after the season the Rockies had, they are lucky to still be in playoff conversation. At the All-Star Break, they were 49-39. Just 15 days later, on July 28, they were 51-50.

From then until late August and early September, they were simply a mediocre team. They then went on a conveniently placed 10-game winning streak which put them right back into playoff contention.

The lesson was nothing new for the Rockies. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are very tough to hit. They are huge reasons why the Giants are leading the National League West despite having nothing more than an average Major League lineup.

It seems as if the NL West teams want to make the end of the MLB regular season interesting. Although the Colorado Rockies are falling behind and are now 4.5 games behind first place, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants do not seem to want full rights to that first place position.

The Minnesota Twins have clinched the AL Central and heading into the final week of the regular season they are likely to rest key players such as Jim Thome, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer.

A first round matchup with the New York Yankees is looking more and more likely with each Yankee loss and Tampa Bay win. 

Which team gives Minnesota the best chance to advance is a discussion for another time. The main focus here is going to be what the Twins need to do in the postseason to ensure they advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2002. 

Here we go...

Part 1 of 7

With the Philadelphia Phillies standing on the precipice of a fourth consecutive postseason berth, the focus of the team and fan base is two-fold. 

First, take care of business and nail down a fourth straight NL East crown. 

Second, take a look towards the end of year championship tourney to see how the Phillies stack up and are positioned for success.