The Tampa Bay Rays' catching situation was a questionable one when the season started.  Once they acquired Kelly Shoppach, fantasy owners in two-catcher formats were scurrying for any information they could get on who was going to get the bulk of the playing time.  Was it going to be Shoppach?  Was it going to be the incumbent, Dioner Navarro?

Going into Saturday night's Game Three, the Yankees had to be feeling very confident of their chances to sweep the Twins.

They were up 2-0 on the Twins and they had history on their side since Minnesota had not won a playoff game against the Yankees since 2004.

Now, that’s more like it.

This is the Rays that folks are used to seeing. They won with great pitching and timely hitting this entire season.  After failing to do that for the first two games of the playoffs, they found their formula in staving off elimination Saturday afternoon.

The Rays received a great starting pitching performance by Matt Garza, and they got the hits to tie the game late and then take the lead. Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano did the rest by closing it out.

The latest edition of the Brewer Nation Podcast (recorded on October 5th despite the label in the file name) is available for downloading and listening.

Click the link to launch the file or download the file first to save a copy!

Brewer Nation Podcast - 10/5/2010

They are riding amid an improbable pursuit, defining a miraculous tale no longer bombarded by a grim crisis. The Texas Rangers began a seemingly hopeless season in bankruptcy court, and became closer as a team when the news surfaced in spring training that Ron Washington had tested positive for cocaine. They built a social connection as a potent club and emerged into contention, which is heavily embraced as an ethical rebirth in baseball for a team that struggled in recent memory.

No one could argue with the Indians' decision to trade Chris Archer as part of the deal sending Mark DeRosa to the Indians prior to the 2009 season.  Look at the ERAs he has posted through his first three years:

The game was over. There was no chance the Braves come back in this one. Matt Cain was cruising along. When Cain was replaced by Javier Lopez, who promptly made Jason Heyward look like a statue, again, I had seen enough.

You see, I’ve been down this road before with the Atlanta Braves. I’ve watched thousands of Braves games over the past 23 years. 

As a six-year-old child in 1988, I watched the Braves finish with 106 losses. I saw them lose 90-plus in ’87, ’89, and ’90.

As so dubbed by fans and critics across the country, the 2010 Major League Baseball season has been the Year of the Pitcher. This title is well deserved, as perfect games were thrown by Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay and no-hitters were twirled by Ubaldo Jimenez, Edwin Jackson, and Matt Garza. And no one will forget the rather infamous 28-out perfect game that Armando Galaraga gave us.

On Friday night, the Phillies went up 2-0 against the Cincinnati Reds, coming back from behind to win 7-4. The Fightin' are on their way to Ohio and on their way to an NLDS series victory.

Think that is impressive? Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet, Phillies phans. This team is not only on the verge of competing for a World Series title, this just may well be the start of something truly special.

Um...can you say D-Y-N-A-S-T-Y?

After two exhilarating games the Philadelphia Phillies have more than shown exactly why they are not only the number one team in the National League, but  why there are the NLDS' top "student'.

Being down four to nothing, and dealing with a Reds team that's not only pulled out all the stops, but also debuted their "secret weapon" only to have him (Chapman) retired faster than his own 100+ MPH fastball.

The Reds seemingly crumbled under the pressure of a Phillies team that is as methodical as it gets when it comes down to getting back into a game.