So this is how baseball saves itself? It averts a strike at the 11th hour, loses its perennial favorites in the divisional playoffs and then pits two wild-card teams against one another in what is shaping up to be a humdinger of a World Series? Is it really that simple?

I could be wrong, having not lived in New York, Atlanta or Arizona for the last decade, but it seems like baseball is born anew after having rid itself of those cities’ teams early in the postseason. Instead of watching Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, yada, yada, yada, engaged in one tedious pitchers’ duel after another, this year we actually get to see two teams duke it out. Continue reading »