A FEW MO' THINGS, 10/3/12

Programming Notes:  This week's weekly chat is being moved to Friday at 9:30.  We'll go 90 minutes.  Start prepping now.

-I know, I know, we just want the playoffs to get here.  We're in a day and age where we'd rather skip chapters and go straight to the ending than enjoy the story. And the suspense is killing you, right?  Where are the Reds gonna play?  When are the Reds gonna play?  Who are the Reds gonna play?

You need answers.

You demand answers.

You'll get them today.

And the playoffs will begin soon enough.

But first, we've got a regular season to conclude.  Maybe today, and perhaps tomorrow.

Baseball has gotten it right.  The idea behind adding an additional wild card team per league was to extend the drama as deep into the regular season as possible.  Mission accomplished.  And while today and tonight might lack the excitement of last year's final day (arguably the greatest regular season day in MLB history), there's some excitement on tap nonetheless...

Top seed in the National League is still undecided.  The Nationals play during the day, the Reds battle the Cardinals at night.  It's worth wondering both what the Cardinals will put on the field after backing into the final playoff spot tonight and how important the top seed will be to the good guys if the Nationals phalter versus Philly.

The AL West race comes down to a final head-to-head matchup between the Rangers and A's.  It's true that under the old format, this game could've amounted to an elimination game, since the Orioles have the same record as both, but the loser has to play the Wild Card game on Friday.  The idea behind the added postseason team was to create an incentive for winning the division.  The winner of today's game essentially gets a bye.

The AL East is also undecided.  The Yankees play the Red Sox tonight, Baltimore has Tampa Bay.  A New York win, and they're division champs.  A Yankee loss and an Orioles win, and we get a tiebreaker on Thursday at Camden Yards. 

Oh, and we have a guy going for the triple crown, something that happens once every 45 years or so.

We had six meaningful games being played last night, perfect for MLB.TV or Extra Innings subscribers, and ideal for MLB Network junkies.  We may have a first of its kind tiebreaker tomorrow, and we get Friday's Wild Card Games, perfectly situated on a night with no NFL or big college football, giving the sport's first ever postseason do-or-die center stage.

Are there inequities? Sure.  The Tigers have the seventh-best record in the American League, worse than two teams who've already been eliminated, and face no tiebreaking games.  But such things have been a part of the game since its inception.  The 1981 Reds had the best record in baseball, and didn't make the playoffs.  The 1973 National League champion Mets would've finished in fourth place in the NL West, and yet enjoyed homefield advantage in the NLCS. And numerous wild card teams had records better than champions of other divisions. These things happen.  The sport survives.

It's thriving now. For years, game 162 was a mere formality for nearly every team in the game.  And while it is for many clubs this season (and may well be for the Reds), we have enough that's still unsettled to make today worth paying close attention to (the move of the final game of the season away from a weekend was another smart move by the Bud Selig), and whets the appetite for the pest postseason in pro sports.

I know we can't wait for this weekend to find out where, when and whom the local nine will be playing.  We'll know after today.  Until then, enjoy of the regular season.

It'll at least be more interesting than today's other viewing option....

-Mat Latos goes into the postseason with some momentum, we saw the Aroldis Chapman we've been waiting to see, the bullpen was outstanding, and Dioner Navarro has better at-bats than many of his teammates.  There's some thoughts on last night's game, which I enjoyed while smoking two cigars. 

-My guys at CincyShirts.com are sending these to Reds players and coaches.  You can have one too.  Order by midnight Friday and save $10.

-Vin Scully is the best there ever was, ever is, and ever will be.  This is a lost art.

-Over/under on the crowd at Fifth Third for UC/Tennessee-Martin and UC/NC A&T matchups, both played on Sundays at 2:00 opposite potentially important Bengals games?

-Yes ladies, there is a Backstreet Boys Cruise.  They are promoting it by using as Usher song.  Makes sense.

-A great look at what I already wrote about from someone who's a far superior writer.

-Geno Smith got a ton of national pub for what he did on Saturday, and deservedly so.  Munchie Legaux is enjoying the attention he's gotten because of his heroics on Saturday against Va. Tech. 

Miami's Zac Dysert is finally get his due as well.  A look at not only his record-setting day against Akron, but what's he's done during his MU career, and some Ben Roethlisberger comparisons is here.   And there's a really good look at the legacy he's creating in Oxford here.

-My favorite weekly column is Greg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback.  This week, he looks at some of the silly numbers being put up in both the NFL and college football, and he offers some suggested tweaks to slow down the scoring...

Relax the chuck rule (and also call it the Charles rule, which is more dignified) to allow contact with a receiver up to 10 yards downfield.

Make offensive holding an officiating "point of emphasis." Right now an offensive lineman has to wrap both arms around a defender to be called. Any grabbing of jersey or arm should be a flag.

Enforce the illegal shift rule strictly. Modern no-huddle offenses involve the quarterback moving around to talk to teammates after he appeared to be set, the tailback leaving his stance to hear what the quarterback is saying, and other movements that sure look illegal. Just as the NBA allows traveling so long as you dunk, the NFL allows illegal motion so long as the result is more offense.

I love offense, but I agree 1000000%.

-This is the creepiest sandwich of all-time...

-More later, including today's radio show and a blog previewing it.  Stop by the Hoxworth Bengals Blood Drive today at the East Club Level at PBS.  Parking is free, each donor gets a Bengals t-shirt and is registered to win a signed Anthony Munoz jersey.  I'll be there from noon until 2:00.  Here's the info....