Bruiser Chong

A failed bridge? I'll probably jinx it, but I'll be shocked if it's not Cubs/Phillies in the NLCS.

Are they gonna riot if the Mets don't come back?

I'll be interested to see how snuffbox puts a negative spin on this after the Mets go quietly in the ninth.

And fittingly, Derrek Lee grounds into a twin-killing to end it.

Ha, Bob Howry, ladies and gents. He's almost always connected to late-inning runs the Cubs give up.

Beltran ties it up on a huge homer. Meanwhile, the Brewers have one hit through six innings, but the Cubs have only managed the one unearned run. This is looking like we're in store for a down-to-the-wire finish in both games.

So we've got four teams involved in four separate games battling for two playoff spots. Three of those are currently two-run games, while the other is a one-run affair. How can you not love this?

The AL brackets could be set in stone if the Twins had one either games in this series thus far. I think it's asking a lot for the White Sox to get swept, so unless Twins lose today, I can't see how there won't be a game on Monday.

Such optimism!

They still have to be the favorites going into tomorrow. They'll have CC hurling against KEVIN HART. Plus the Mets are sending Perez out on three days rest when he wasn't even very good during his last start.

In a somewhat ironic twist, the Japanese player who's looked much like Kaz Matsui since June just gave Mets fans some breathing room.

Cubs have nothing to gain from this, other than getting to play the Mets in the first round, but wow. This is some ugly baseball, even if it is from the backups.

Pretty much. If you check out the basic numbers, this year's team is actually on par or better than the 2006 Mets from an offensive standpoint. But if you look at the numbers for the relievers, you get an idea of the big difference. All of the relievers who made a significant amount of appearances in 2006 had ERAs in the twos or threes. This year's team has some threes, but mostly fours and up. The starting pitching in 2006 wasn't even that great. At a glance, it looks like this year's rotation might even be a bit better.

Ryan Dempster will start Game 1 for the Cubs. I'm fine with this, though I might have considered Harden for Game 1. I think either way, given the numbers this season, it was important to have Dempster start one of the first two games.

Twins win it in extras. They've looked great against the White Sox; real sub-par against some suspect teams.

The Mets should've EASILY won that game. Ryan Theriot was the only regular in there for god's sake and Lou trotted out the cream of the crap from the pen. If nothing else, I hope tonight proved once again that experience or not, Howry is not worthy of postseason consideration. Also, Ward is a useless bat off the bench and Micah Hoffpauir would be a better fit for that role. Ward takes pitches, but he's got nothing else this season. Hoff is at least going to bring the threat of power to the plate, which is exactly what a bat off the bench is supposed to have.

Hank's problem is that he only seems to piss and moan about problems that are directly affecting his team. When he complained about the pitcher hitting in the NL, it was because that had led to his pitcher getting hurt. I doubt he's saying this latest blurb if the Yankees are the one with a suspect record heading to October baseball.

I believe the plan was to have Graham wrestle, but when it became clear he was in no shape to, they took him out of the match. I didn't realize they waited so long execute that angle. I'm imagining they announced on Superstars that weekend that Muraco was in and Graham was out. I actually never knew Graham was originally supposed to be in the match until I got a poster promoting the event several years ago and saw Graham with Hogan's team.

What a game. I love the battling attitude this team continues to show. And for what it's worth, none of that happens if Castro delivers a decent throw. Theriot was a dead duck.

Aramis you magnificent bastard!

FWIW, the Mets still have three outs and a shaky Kerry Wood on their side.

Lee you magnificent bastard!

Howry facing the heart of the lineup after giving up a leadoff triple is about the shiniest platter the Cubs could find.

WOW.

Honestly, how many situations like this does Howry have to provide to prove he doesn't belong on the postseason roster? It's a meaningless game for them, but Howry is TOAST.