Down the Stetch They Come......

Its autumn time again.... what a great time of the year. The weather is getting cooler, football is now in full swing and the playoff races in baseball are coming down the home stretch. With only 9 days left in the baseball season, we still have some interesting races to watch.

In the American League, one division has been settled for some time now. The Angels clinched the West with little resistance and is now playing only for home field advantage. Whether they succeed or not however, they will match-up with the winner of the AL Wildcard. Due to some unique and pretty stupid baseball rules, two teams from the same division can not play first round.

K-Rod and Vlad look to lead the Angels back to the World Series

As for the AL East it appears they have all but secured two playoff teams, the Red Sox and the surprising Rays. The only question is who will get home field and play the AL Central and who gets the wildcard and has to travel to Anaheim.

The AL Central is the only real race left in the AL where someone is going to be left out. Going in to Saturday's action, the White Sox had a lead of 2.5 games over the Twins. The teams still have 3 games left against one another in Minnesota. The Twins will likely need to win 7 of their last 8 games and/or sweep the White Sox to still come away with the title.

As for the National League, they also have one division where it has pretty much already been decided. The Cubs have a 9 game lead in the NL Central going into Saturday, leaving them only one win, or one Brewers loss away from clinching the division title. The Cubs are also very likely to end with best record in the NL and home field advantage. Who they will be playing however is still a long way from being decided.

The Cubs hope to celebrate in the postseason for the first time in ages

The NL East and wildcard races are definitely the most open as we head down the stretch. The Mets and Phillies are in a seesaw battle at the top. Whoever fails to tie up the division will have to out battle the Brewers for the wildcard. Just a short time ago, the Brewers looked almost certain to make the playoffs, but so far have had a terrible September. They now trail the Phillies by 1.5 games in the Wildcard. With Ben Sheets likely out for the remainder of the season as well, they have an uphill battle.

The NL West is a division that has become much more clear of late. After battling the Diamondbacks at the top of the division for months, the Dodgers, who have been rejuvenated by the deadline acquisition of Manny Ramirez, have now opened up a 3.5 game lead. With only 9 days left and a cupcake schedule remaining the Dodgers should easily hold on to the title.

Manny being Manny has been enough to vault the Dodgers to the top of the NL West

So what will the first round playoff matches look like?

I'll say the Rays and White Sox will both hold on to their division leads, setting up ALDS matchups of Angels vs. Red Sox and Rays vs. White Sox.

In the NL, I think the Phillies will win the NL East and that the Mets will out battle the struggling Brewers for the wildcard leaving matchups of Cubs-Mets and Phillies-Dodgers in the NLDS. Where things go from there is anybody's guess.

For the first time in our lives, both my Cubs and Gaddeus' Dodgers should be in the postseason though, meaning the Sportsfellas will be paying close attention this year..... and with a possible NLDS or NLCS Cubs-Dodgers showdown, things could get pretty interesting this October.