The advent of sabermetrics has changed the way we look at "clutch."

"Situational hitting" is luck. "Inducing weak contact" is luck. "Performing under pressure" is luck. It's all been proven with math and logic and regression analysis.

But screw that, because it's a pennant race, and even the most logical stathead has subjective ideas about who he'd most want to see step to the plate with his favorite team's season on the line.

To the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies, there is nothing more exhilarating than the last leg of any given season, especially when the playoffs are hanging in the balance

Oh wait, yes there is. How about dealing a crushing defeat to the team that is challenging you for first place, right?

The Phillies have masterfully put together one of the best Septembers in their recent history and have begun the process of claiming their place in yet another postseason by defeating the not so “Hot-lanta” Braves 3-1.

Doesn't the photograph of A.J. Burnett say it all?

I think it does (Yankee fans, including myself are used to it). 

Therefore, sit back, relax and enjoy, as you read "AJ Burnett and MLB’s 10 Contending Pitchers Who Do Not Deserve a Playoff Start".

Let's play ball.

The playoffs are around the corner. 

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The NL West has featured some of the more interesting pennant races in recent memory, mainly centered around the Rockies amazing comebacks in 2007 and 2009 to snag the Wild Card spots.

The year 2010 is no different, as the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are all within two games of each other entering play today.

In one line I will say this: Anything but a World Series in the year of the loss of George M. Steinbrenner, would be a disappointment. 

It has been a banner season for the Cincinnati Reds organization, as very few people forecasted this type of success.

With the success comes raised expectations, however.

With just a few weeks left, the Reds aren't playing very good baseball at the moment, and it's a bit concerning.

Going 5-5 in their last 10 games against teams like the Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Astros just fuels the fire for the Reds' critics who claim we are tired and have already peaked.

Talk about a rarity. We saw a very surprising September trade over the weekend. The reason September trades are usually non-existent is because players traded after August 31st aren’t eligible for the postseason.

Joey Votto, nor any of the Cincinnati Reds, needed a hit to cut their magic number to seven on Monday afternoon as the St. Louis Cardinals were shut out by the Florida Marlins in a make-up game played due to an early August rain-out.

Lucky seven.

In most years, the Pittsburgh Pirates would be fortunate to have one breakthrough pitcher. This year, they may have found two. And neither of them were Pirates at the beginning of the year.

Neither James McDonald nor Brian Burres were highly regarded by their former teams. McDonald was traded to Pittsburgh with an outfield prospect (Andrew Lambo) for all of reliever Octavio Dotel in July.

About a month ago, I wrote a prediction for next year's Detroit Tigers starting lineup. But my how things change. 

The Tigers are still out of the playoff picture, but are currently playing with no distractions and no worries about choking down the stretch.