For Whom The Tomahawk Chops (Hint: It's Not The Braves).

Let me pitch you a hypothetical situation: a team that is notorious for dropping important plays, at-bats, and full games in the postseason makes it back for the first time in 5 years, and people expect things to be different. You'd think they were crazy, right? Especially if you weren't a fan of said team in the first place.

This is my reality. I live in Atlanta, where the Braves were just eliminated from playoff contention by the Giants, who (unfortunately) move on to timidly face the Phillies in the championship series.

Now, I'm not saying the Giants beating the Braves means that San Fran's going to have much of an impact on the Phil's inevitable return to their 3rd straight World Series. Even if Atlanta managed to get past the Giants, they'd be in a similar spot, and I'd trust Lincecum/Cain/Sanchez to take on the Big Philly Three more than Lowe/Hanson/Hudson. So it's not as if I'm trying to play favorites, or that I'm biased, but let's face it, the Giants stand a much better chance against the Phillies than the Braves would have.

The only lowlight of this loss (to me, at least) is that it means the end of Bobby Cox's legendary career. Even though he only has 1 World Series ring in 3 appearances (a higher percentage than plenty of players and coaches), his 2,504 wins is good for 4th on the managerial wins list, his 32 year career is the longest of any manager, and 158 ejections also places him atop that specific list. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985, and won the NL Manager of the Year 3 times in a 15 year span (1991, 2004, and 2005). As much as I may not care for the Braves, I do have the utmost respect for Bobby Cox, and what he's accomplished in his incredibly tenure. Bobby, my hat (with the Yankees logo) is off to you.

The only undecided division series is the one between Tampa Bay and Texas. Game 5 is tomorrow, and as I stated in my previous post, it's the same matchup as Game 1 was, and I can only hope it ends the same way, with a Rangers win. I'd feel a whole lot better about New York facing Texas than I would Tampa Bay. That in no way means I feel great about Cliff Lee facing the Bombers again, but this may be his last chance to see things from the outside, as it seems almost inevitable that the Yankees will try to sign him in the postseason. As I've said this entire time, this series is up in the air, so I can't accurately predict the winner tomorrow, just state what I hope will come to fruition.

So, the Braves go into the offseason as they often do, the Giants advance to be slain by the Phillies, and the Yankees still lay dormant while the Rangers go into St. Petersburg for a do-or-die game with the Rays. More tomorrow.