It's that time of year again...

It's the 4th of October, which not only means I gotta start thinking of entries for Thorzul's Nightmares of Cardboard contest (I had tons of ideas for 2010 inserts...then he limited it to 70- 90 Topps. Damn you!), it's also time for the PLAYOFFS!

Yes, the yearly event that tries man's souls (Or at least Alex Rodriguez's souls) is upon us. Eight teams have entered and only one will emerge victorious. My thoughts on the Eight-

AL:

Rays: Again, not happy about this one. When your division holds 3 of the meanest, nastiest, toughest teams in the league (and the Orioles), it's hard to be a wild card, knowing that you might have to face one of them. The Rays are tough, let me tell you that. The good news is that Crawford's a free agent next year. Mwa-ha-ha....

Twins: I'm glad they're in for Thome's sake. He's nearing the end of his Cooperstown-worthy career, and he's ending it the way he should- blasting homers out of Target Field. I've got nothing against the Twins this year. Although maybe the first few game of the ALDS might change that.

Rangers: Here's the team that hopefully, we'll need to worry about. Out of the 4 teams picked for the AL, the Rangers seem easiest to beat. I'm just hoping they get by the Rays.

Yankees: Your eventual winners. Yeah, you better bow.

NL:

Phillies: Probably the Yanks will go up against the Phils again this year: I'm calling it. Both teams seem completely unstoppable, so there's really only one possible outcome (well two, maybe a repeat of the 08 series if the Yanks get unlucky). The Phillies are so remarkably good this season, especially with their pitching- they can move mountains with just Hamels, Halladay and Oswalt.

Reds: I'm extremely happy that the Reds got in. It seems like such a fun team, and it's too bad that they gotta play the Phils. Not even Aroldis Chapman can stop us.

Giants: I saw these guys at home at the beginning of their rise. I saw them beat the Dodgers on their turf as the lead escalated. Now, the fun loving Giants that I saw 3 months ago have turned into the playoff bound NL West Champions, knocking back any predictions of LA or Colorado taking it.

Braves: Congratulations on the Wild Card, boys. I'd say you really deserved a crack at the playoffs. Just one problem- you're up against San Francisco. Good luck, Braves. You'll need it.

I think this will be a very interesting postseason. Hell, we might even see A-Rod crack a homer off Hamels again this year. Maybe I'll be in the park to see it again. Maybe.