All hail the A's, the first team to advance to the second round. They finally got the job done in a clinching game, and good for them. Even though hardly any of the players from any of the previous choke-job teams were still with the club, it still had to be on guys' minds. It's all that's been in the papers and on the ESPN shows the past two days.

They interviewed Eric Chavez on the field right after the game, and he actually said that the playoffs were quote "a crapshoot." Good for you, Eric Chavez! Obviously he's been drinking Billy Beane's Kool-Aid, but what's true is true. Who expected three of the division series to be sweeps and the Yankees' matchup to be the one that went extra games? OK, I am getting ahead of myself. The Dodgers and the Padres still technically have life left. But do you expect either to manage even one win? I don't, and that will be a sorry thing for the Rockies' division. Two years, three playoff teams, zero playoff wins. Yikes. Well, next year, perhaps Colorado will be in a position to change that...or, far more likely, a much-improved Dodger team.

A tip of the cap to Brad Radke, who is apparently retiring after the Twins' loss to Oakland. He pitched with his arm hanging on by a thread down the stretch. That's pretty manly. You're a man's man, Mr. Radke.

I'm on my way out for the evening, but Game 3 of the New York-Detroit series has been at once surprising and predictable so far. I didn't expect the Tigers to jump out to a substantial lead early, that's for sure. I thought if they were going to win any more games in this series they were going to do it by the narrowest of margins, and in the late innings. A-Rod grounding out weakly with a man on and two out in the first? Yeah, saw that coming. In the next half-inning, Jeter making one of his textbook amazingly flashy skin-of-his-teeth plays that a real shortstop would have made look routine? Check and double check. One of the ESPN chats today, I don't have time to check which one, said that part of the reason that Jeter's defensive metrics have improved in the last few seasons is that Alex Rodriguez is so good at going to his left from third that Jeter can cheat over toward to the hole even more than he already used to do. OK, I swear, win or lose, that is the last cheap shot I am going to take at Derek Jeter this postseason. The dude wins championships, I get it.