In the AL, things were a lot different. The Orioles took an early lead, but gave it right back before a rain delay held things up. The rain delay would prove to provide an exciting end of the day. While this was going on, the Yankees were taking a commanding lead on the Rays, 7-0. But the Rays weren’t willing to give up. They scored six runs in the eighth inning and made it a ballgame again. Then in the ninth inning, the Rays were down one run with 2 out and 2 strikes on Dan Johnson, when he hit a game tying homer to force extra innings.

Back in Baltimore, the Red Sox were leading in the ninth inning and they could determine their own destiny. If they win, they at least get a chance to play the Rays for the playoffs. Papelbon entered the game to close it out and as Jim Rome stated, “These dude’s are overmatched against Papelbon. This freak is DEALING.” Literally minutes afterwards, the Orioles tied the game and preceded to beat the Red Sox in the ninth inning. The Orioles celebrated like they won the pennant, but you can’t blame them, they haven’t played a meaningful game in a really long time.

The Red Sox would retreat to the clubhouse to depend on the Yankees to bail them out (isn’t that ironic). Before the Red Sox could even settle into the clubhouse (seemingly 90 seconds after the Orioles won), Evan Longoria hit a walk-off game winning home-run to beat the Yankees. The Red Sox completed a colossal collapse, and did it in dramatic fashion.

If you take a moment and think about it rationally, the Yankees would have rather had the Red Sox in the playoffs since they are in a major slump right now and they prove to be the least threatening. But then again, the Rays have a better chance of beating the Rangers in the Divisional Round, and the Yankees should have confidence that they can beat the Rays in a series (or at least a better chance than beating the Rangers).

At the end of the day, the playoffs are set. The Detroit Tigers will play the Yankees while the Texas Rangers will play the Rays in the AL. In the NL, the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cards will play the Phillies. Stayed tuned for my official predictions.

[Photo Credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip via crescent-news.com]

The first big headline signing was the Washington Nationals signing of Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. This deal is completely insane and he is no-where near werth the amount of this deal. The Nationals weren’t going to contend next season, and this won’t help them contend in the near future and is definitely won’t help them towards the end of the contract. Scott Boras might be the world’s greatest negotiator. The United States should hire him for any and all negotiating needs.

The newest headliner is Carl Crawford signing seven-year deal worth $142 million with the Boston Red Sox. At age 28, Crawford can still be very productive and this will prove to be a great signing for the Red Sox. Crawford is coming off a tremendous season in which he was named an All-Star, he won a Gold Glove, he won the Silver Slugger award and he finished 7th in the AL MVP. His career .296 batting average and .356 on base percentage will prove to be valuable in the Red Sox line-up, especially with the addition of Adrian Gonzalez.

I also can realistically see Crawford’s power numbers increasing because of Fenway Park. Tropicana Field is 322 feet down the right field line ending with a 9.5 foot fence while Fenway is only 302 feet down the right field line ending with a three foot fence. Add in the fact that Fenway is 16 feet deeper in center field and 10 feet deeper in right center, Crawford should continue to be near the top of the American league in extra base hits. This increase in power would off-set any decline in speed that he has towards the end of the contract.

He doesn’t only provide offense to the Red Sox, he is also a tremendous fielder. Despite winning only his first gold glove this season, he has only committed 25 errors in his nine seasons.

A healthy Dustin Pedroia and Crawford setting up for David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez will be a tough line-up for opposing pitchers, not to mention a healthy Jacoby Ellsbury. Does this move put them as a front-runner in the AL East? Not yet, but it is a step in the right direction.

What are your thoughts of the signing? Comment below

[Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore via NYDailyNews.com]

American League Division Series (ALDS):

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
This is probably the most one-sided match-up in the postseason. I like the Yankees in this series. I think the Yankees are a more complete team and will benefit tremendously from home field advantage.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox
This is going to be a very competitive series, but someone has to win it and I think that someone will be the Angels. These two teams are way different. The Red Sox are more of the power team, whereas the Angels are the small ball speed team. Past history doesn’t bode well for the Angels, but I think this year things will be different. If the Angels win one of the first two games against Lester or Beckett, I think they will win the series thanks to home field advantage. Also, Varitek cannot throw anybody out so expect the Angels to run (and run a lot).

American League Championship Series (ALCS):

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Yankees will get their playoff nemesis in the ALCS. The Yankees have not had much past playoff success against the Angels, but as I mentioned before I think this season will be different and the Yankees will win the series. Why will this season be different? Well similarly to the Red Sox – Angels match-up, these two teams are way different (the Yankees are the power team and the Angels are the small ball team). The difference again will be the home field advantage, the Yankees home stadium is built perfectly for the team. Also, I honestly believe that the pitching is pretty even in terms of match-ups (Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte are just as good as Lackey, Weaver, Kazmir).

National League Division Series (NLDS):

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have one of the most amazing turnarounds that I have ever seen in the MLB. They were playing some pretty terrible baseball until they fired Clint Hurdle. After they overcame that “hurdle,” they have played some top level baseball and almost won the division. Despite that I feel that the Phillies will win this series. Cliff Lee was a top 3 deadline pick up this season, and the Phillies have a solid line-up with Utley, Howard and Ibanez. My one concern is the back of the pitching staff, the Phillies need to find a solid option to close out games. If they can’t find a reliable option, they may be in danger of the upset.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
I really like the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Acquiring Matt Holliday was a great move and they have probably the best rotation in the playoffs with Carpenter and Wainwright (either could win the Cy Young). Ryan Franklin is solid at closing out games. The Dodgers don’t have the pitching to win this series and they have not been playing their best baseball in September.

National League Championship Series (NLCS):

Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
I think the Cardinals will win this series and join the Yankees in the World Series. The Cardinals have as good a  line up as the Phillies with Pujols, Holliday (if not a better one). The real difference is the pitching, the Cardinals pitching is much better than the Phillies. I would take Carpenter, Wainwright and Pineiro over Lee,  Hamels and Blanton/Happ any day of the week. I would certainly take Franklin over Lidge/Madson.

World Series:

New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Yankees look to do what they did the last time they opened a new stadium- win the world series. Clearly the Cardinals have the better starting rotation, but the Yankees have better line up when looking at the line up as a whole. The key to this series will be the fact that the Yankees have home field advantage. It will be a hard fought series, but I look for the Yankees to win it in 6 games. The Yankees are hungry for a championship, as they showed in the off-season by getting Sabathia, Teixeira and Burnett. I don’t think anything will stop the Yankees from achieving that goal.

Questions or comments? Feel free to post a comment below or send me a tweet @MikesPickz