Nights like yesterday's are what they make the MLB Extra Innings package for -- pivotal games being played from coast to coast. The Braves and Angels clinch. The White Sox, Red Sox, Yankees, and Indians all lose. Feel the excitement.

With the Braves safely in the postseason, tonight might have been a good night for Clint Hurdle to pull his cavalcade-of-rookies stunt, but Helton, Holliday, and Ardoin are in the lineup. The final series of the year against the Mets will be sort of interesting for those of us who take baseball far too seriously, as the Rockies are trying to beat their franchise-low win total (67) and New York is trying to assure that every team in the NL East will finish above .500 (Florida and Washington also have to win two games apiece for this to work).

A sign that I'm one of those nutty baseball people mentioned above: on "Pardon the Interruption" this afternoon, neither Mike Wilbon nor Tony Kornheiser was able to name 4 current Anaheim Angels. Off the top of my head, I was able to list 21, and I forgot Orlando Cabrera and Chone Figgins whom I'm sure I would have remembered eventually if I'd taken more than two minutes. I'm pretty sure I can name at least ten people on every current major league team. I might cut it kind of close with Tampa Bay and Toronto, but I feel confident. I suppose this is not normal.