Final points and standings

Sheehan/Bell: 232.33
Aaron 2: 197
Bunting: 195.67
Jill Love: 195.33

...Like I said: brutal. Kinsler was the difference there, and he did the literal minimum required to elbow Jill out of the money. Ouch.

Ben: 172.67
Aaron 1: 167
John: 142
Joe: 122.33

With 28 total entries, that's $196 for the first-place finishers, $56 for Aaron 2, and a modest $28 for yours truly. I'll be spending mine on a squirrel hat. Juuuuust kidding.

STL 6, TEX 2

On the narrow point, this is not a surprising result given Game 6. Taking a larger view, this is not what anyone would have predicted this postseason.

Well, except Sheehan/Bell. Heh. Congrats, guys -- and Cards, and Cards fans.

Points now; final standings and wrap-up shortly.

STL: 18 (3 for the W, 15 for the Series win)

Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 2
Young, M: 2

Carpenter, C: 9 (6 IP + 5 K - 2 BB)
Wilson, CJ: 3.33 (1.1 IP + 2 K - 0 BB for once)

These points gave our lone STL picker(s) a decisive lead and win...but Kinsler's 2 TB meant that a past leader missed the money by only a few tenths of a point. Brutal.

Back in a sec. Use the time to check my math, please.

STL 10, TEX 9

That...is why we watch baseball. A. May. Zing. Texas alone had three blown saves; utter madness. Loved it. And I have to spend Game 7 basically watching it go down on Twitter at a work event, ARGH.

Everyone picked up points somewhere, pretty much, as follows:

STL: 5 (3 for the W, 2 for the extra innings)

Beltre, A: 4
Hamilton, J: 6
Kinsler, I: 3
Pujols, A: 2
Young, M: 3

No change in the standings, but Sheehan/Bell widened their lead, and Jill Love needs to pray that Kinsler is confined to a single or she might fall out of the money, even with a Texas win tonight.

TEX 4, STL 2

Incessant IBB-ing of Pujols seemed to neuter the Cardinals, but not our leader, holding Carpenter and maintaining the lead.

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 4
Hamilton, J: 1
Young, M: 2

Carpenter, C: 9 (7 IP + 4 K - 2 BB)
Wilson, CJ: 3.33 (5.1 IP + 3 K - 5 BB)

Still Sheehan/Bell in the lead with 198.33; Jill Love hanging in with 192; Aaron 2 with 188.67. Bunting also unable to close the gap thanks to Kinsler's recent absence, 187.34; Ben and Aaron 1 trying to make a horse race out of it with Beltre, 163.67 and 155 respectively; John, 133.67; Joe, 119.

Tonight's a night off before the Series returns to St. Louis on Wednesday night, 8 ET. Lewis v. Garcia, Texas up 3-2.

TEX 4, STL 0

A gem by the disgustached Holland; the Rangers even the series at 2 each.

Points:

TEX: 3

Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 1

No change in the standings, but I've put totals after the jump.

STL 16, TEX 7

...BOOM.

El Hombre. What can you even say. I couldn't decide whether I felt pained at watching Texas's pitching get slapped around like a little brother, or privileged to see Pujols do what he does. I went with the latter, because: that guy! Even the ESPN radio guys, who have seen a little bit of baseball in their lives, were like, "...That guy!"

And that's not even getting into his total bases, which we will do presently with the points -- which I strained an oblique lifting, by the way.

STL: 5 (Blowout City and Albert's the mayor)

Beltre, A: 5
swingin' from the arms, it's Hamilton, J: 1
swingin' from the restless ghost of George Herman Jr., it's Pujols, A: 14
Young, M looking like a piker with: 6

So, yeah. DID I MENTION THE FOURTEEN TOTAL BASES OMG.

Don't get up; Sheehan/Bell will elbow my ass out of the money and mention it themselves, after the jump.

TEX 2, STL 1

No change in the leaders after Texas claws back to win. Aaron and I closed the gap on Jill Love a bit, though, and opened it a bit on Sheehan/Bell.

Jill Love 182.67
Aaron 2 178.34
Bunting 177.01
Shee/Bell 170.33
Ben 147.67
Aaron 1 136
John 116.34
Joe 109.67

The action goes back to Arlington, 8 PM ET on Saturday. See you then!

STL 3, TEX 2

CJ did better than he looked, but the BBs killed him...and, to an extent, us.

STL: 3

Beltre, A: 3
Kinsler, I: 2

Wilson, CJ: 3.67 (5.2 IP + 4 K - 6 BB)
Carpenter, C: 9 (6 IP + 4K - 1 BB)

Jill Love still holding the lead with 179.67, followed by Aaron 2 with 173.34 and Bunting at 172.01.
Sheehan/Bell coming on with 170.33
the two-hitters-left club: Ben 141.67, Aaron 1 132
John 112.34
Joe 106.67

Lewis v. Garcia tomorrow at 8 ET, weather permitting. See you then!

The Classic...and who's left

Funny how the NL Central always finds a way to bunge up this pool. Either the Cubs somehow get into the postseason, everyone picks them, and they get swept; or the Cards look strong, everybody picks Pujols, and he hits two flares to short center and THEY get swept; or the Cards look like also-rans and nobody picks them and they go to the Series. Bastards.

Anyway. Following Milwaukee's unexpected departure, we lost the following picks:

MIL

Braun, R
Fielder, P

Gallardo, Y
Greinke, Z
Marcum, S

And a bunch of poolites lost their entire slates...including a couple of people currently in the money. I considered leaving those folks in for a game or two, just to see how it goes, but unless Ian Kinsler is beaten to death with CJ Wilson's arm, it's just not going to be possible for anyone with no picks left to win anything. So, if your slate got blanked, you will no longer appear in the updates.

Leaving us:

pick twins Reid 1 and Green
Green
Tim
BSD
Keith
Costa
Pepper

Congrats on getting this far, and I hope we'll see you next year.

For the few, the proud, the pickers of CJ Wilson still standing, rest up -- we'll see you back here Wednesday for the first game of the World Series in St. Louis.

Oh, dear: STL 12, MIL 6

Jeez. Well, okay. Congrats to the Cards, who are just rolling right now, it seems like. Condolences to the Brewers...and to most of the rest of the pool, summarily benched by the series loss.

The points, although really I could just email these to Mr. Bell for all that it affects anyone else. Heh.

STL: 15 (3 for the win, another 2 for the blowout, and 10 for the pennant win)

Pujols, A: 5

Marcum, S: 1 (1 IP + 1 K - 1 BB)

It's probably telling that neither Braun nor Fielder got a base tonight.

Your full standings after the jump.

TEX 15, DET 5

I mentioned on Twitter last night that I wanted someone's dad to invoke the mercy rule. The Texas offense, and specifically the Cruz portion, is impressive, but there comes a point where it's just sad. Kudos to Detroit for trying to hang in there until the middle innings...and to Tejas on a second straight AL pennant. It's a damn good team; I think it's going to go the distance this year.

But a few poolians...aren't. While you enjoy that brutal segue, the points:

TEX: 15 (3 for the W, 2 for the drubbing, 10 for the CS series victory)

Beltre, A: 3
Cabrera, M ain't going out like that: 8
Hamilton, J's incorrect beard: 1
Kinsler, I: 2
the jangling carcass of Martinez, V: 3
a love letter to John from Young, M: 8

No pitcher points. And we bid farewell to

Cabrera, M
Martinez, V
and Cy Young heir apparent Verlander, J

Meet the new boss, NOT the same as the old boss, after the jump!

STL 7, MIL 1

The NLCS goes back to Milwaukee with the Cardinals leading the series 3-2. For all we've heard about the Brewers' domination at home, a short series is...a short series. Could go either way at this point, I'm thinking.

Not much movement, except for our lone STL backer. The points:

STL: 5 (the blowout)

Braun, R: 2
Pujols, A: 1

Greinke, Z: 3.67 (5.2 IP - 2 BB and 0 K...sigh)

The standings after the jump.

MIL 4, STL 2

Milwaukee evens it up; over here, the leaders hold the line. We'll see how things look after Greinke's start tomorrow night, but for now, points and standings!

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 2
Fielder, P: 2
Pujols, A: 1

DET 7, TEX 5

Los Tigres stay alive! Points a-swarming! A change in the leaders!

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 3
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 3
Young, M: 3

Verlander, J: 12.33 (7.1 IP + 8 K - 3 BB)
Wilson, CJ despite kind of sucking up the joint: 9 (6 IP + 5 K - 2 BB)

STL 4, MIL 3

The anticipated pointfest failed to materialize, as neither starter looked sharp and the Milwaukee bats didn't do their usual thing -- and St. Louis takes a series lead.

STL: 3

Braun, R: 1
Pujols, A: 3

Carpenter, C: 5 (5 IP + 3 K - 3 BB)
Gallardo, Y: 2 (5 IP + 2 K - 5 BB)

Standings after the jump...

Groundhog Game: TEX 7, DET 3 (11)

I had to change the channel after Tim McCarver mangled the word "treacherous" (and...all the other words), but I didn't need to watch to know that I regret not picking Nelson Cruz for the second year in a row. Your points:

TEX: 5 (3 for the W, 2 for the free baseball...didn't forget this time, woo!)

Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 1
Young, M: 1

No change in the leaders -- still Reid 1 and Green at the top, followed by Aaron 2 and Broomfield/Romine. Check back in a few for the post-NLCS-game update.

Shut up

Shut up, Tim McCarver. Shut up, Mitch Williams. Shut up Larry Bowa shut up Tim Kurkjian shut up Joe Buck. Just. Shut. Up.

DET 5, TEX 2

The NL didn't play today; I kind of can't believe the pearl-clutching commentary about how, thanks to the can St. Louis opened on Milwaukee last night, the series IS OVER if Milwaukee loses on Wednesday. This, after the same commentators basically called it for MIL in 5. I agree that the Crew has some pitching issues, and this is nothing against the Cardinals; I just can never believe how willing the sports commentariat is to freak the eff out over the results of one game.

Anyway, on to the actual action from tonight, in which 1) the FOX commentary, as usual, made the idiocy I just mentioned seem downright sane and bearable, and 2) Detroit gets right back in it with a strong performance from Fister and the hitters -- and our lineup reshuffles back to its former state. ...Well, provided I did the math correctly, and THAT hardly seems likely, does it! Har har! I am an overtired moron! ...Okay then. Points.

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 6
Hamilton, J: 3
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 4

Current standings after the jump!

Correction!

I forgot to award points for the fact that Texas won in extra innings last night. Sorry! An extra two points for all TEX pickers...and those two points mean that I just crawled into the money, replacing Broomfield/Romine in third. Don't worry; it won't last. Updated standings after tonight's game.

I apologize for all the math biffs this year. Catch anything else I missed? Email or comment. Thanks.

STL 12, MIL 3

Okay, Busch squirrel -- nice hex! Crazy pointage all over the shop, and not just for the estimable M. Bell, either, as St. Louis evens the series 1-1.

The damage:

STL: 5

Braun, R: 3
Fielder, P: 6
Pujols, A: 10 (!)

Marcum, S: 4 (4 IP + 1 K - 1 BB)

The leaders stayed steady, but we've got a couple peeps threatening, after the jump.

Reid 1 and Green: 123
Aaron 2: 118.67
Broomfield/Romine: 116
Bunting 2: 115.67
Tim 1: 111
Jill Love: 110.67
BSD: 109
Keith: 108.66
Sheehan/Bell: 102
Ben 2: 100.67
Aaron 1: 98
Maria 2: 91
Costa 2: 89
Pepper: 87.33
Reid 2: 72
Bunting 1: 70
John: 65.67


ALCS Game 3 tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 8:05 ET. Detroit needs to make a statement that isn't "we aren't hitting."

TEX 7, DET 3

I liked Detroit's chances; Detroit's lineup doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

Your points:

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 5
Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 3
Young, M: 1

No pitcher points here, and no change to the leaders. Stand by for the NLCS results -- or to get your face stepped on big-time by Sheehan/Bell.

MIL 9, STL 6

updated 10/10 9:30 AM to correct Aaron 2's total; no change to leaders/standings

Not the pitchers' duel we went out on in the PHI/STL series, for sure -- but we got a lot of points going, which is cool. And they are as follows:

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 6
Fielder, P: 4
Pujols, A: 1

Greinke, Z: 10 (6 IP + 6 K - 2 BB)

Slight change to the leaders; Reid 1 and Green holding the top spot with 118, followed by Aaron 2 with 112. 67 and Broomfield/Romine with 111. 

The expected separation between have(all their picks left)s and have-nots has begun to manifest, as prior leaders who lost teams/players drop down the standings. 

Also in the 100s: Bunting 2, Keith, Tim 1, BSD
90s: Jill Love, Ben 2
80s: Maria 2, Sheehan/Bell, Aaron 1, Costa 2
70s: Pepper
60s: Reid 2, Bunting 1, John

Today's ALCS game got cancelled due to weather, but it's set to roll tomorrow at 4:19 ET (...whatever), followed by STL/MIL at 8:05 PM. See you then!

TEX 3, DET 2

What's with rain refusing to allow Verlander starts to continue? Didn't see the game, but get the sense from the box score that it might have been overmanaged for a Game 1. Any road, the points:

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 1
Cabrera, M: 1
Kinsler, I: 1

Verlander, J: 7
Wilson, CJ: 5.67 (lotta walks)

Heading into NLCS Game 1, Reid 1 and Green still in the lead, followed by Aaron 2 and Keith.
90s: Ben 2, Jill Love, Broom/Rom, and Bunting 2
80s: Maria 2, Aaron 1, Sheehan/Bell, Tim 1, BSD
70s: Costa 2, Pepper
60s: Reid 2, Bunting 1, John

The fun resumes at 4 PM ET today, Garcia v. Greinke in Milwaukee.

LDS wrap-up

Alllll righty! First, our current scores (verified by Broomfield LLP):

Reid 1 and Matt: 101
Keith: 96.66
Aaron 2: 94
Ben 2: 87.67
Broomfield/Romine: 84
Aaron 1: 83
Tom: 82
Bunting 2, Maria 2: 81
Warren 2: 80.66
Maria 1: 80
Sheehan/Bell, BSD, Lauren: 79
Tim 1: 78
Broomfield, Jill Love: 76
Ben 1: 75
Costa 2: 72
Pepper: 70.33
Jill Hate: 69.33
Reid 2: 61
Bunting 1: 60
Costa 1: 59.66
Warren 1: 55.34
Tim 2: 53.66
John: 53

STL 1, PHI 0

...Wow. Not only would I not have predicted Philadelphia's exit this early, but I would not have predicted it at the hands of Tony "Overmanager" La Russa. And what a way to go -- via a great pitching duel. Fantastic baseball.

Not...so great for the pool, though, obviously. A number of picks are complete toast. On the plus side, Philly hitter picks had made a weak enough showing that some people may not be too affected by their departure.

To the pointmobile, let's go!

STL: 9

Utley, C: 1
Victorino, S: 3

Carpenter, C: 15
Halladay, R: 14

Aaaaaaaaand leaving us:

PHI
Howard, R
Pence, H
Utley, C
Victorino, S
Halladay, R
Hamels, C
Lee, C


Full standings in a sec!

MIL 3, ARI 2 (10)

Congrats, Brewers -- you got the NLCS; you won't have to face the Phillies (...I know, I know. More on that later); and you snagged a passel of points for your pickers thanks to the extra-innings heroics.

Points:

MIL: 11 (3 for the W, 2 for the free baseball, 6 for the division)

Braun, R: 3
Upton, J: 4

Gallardo, Y: 9
Kennedy, I: 9

Leaders and leavers after the jump...

DET 3, NYY 2 and Excel meltdown

...Uch. While trying a new sorting technique, I managed to unsort the entire pool and had to backtrack. I think I've got it all straightened out, but Broomfield has found a few mistakes already, so if you think the points are wrong/misattributed, speak up.

In the meantime, A-Rod looks to be wearing the goat horns again as the Yankees fall to the Tigers. Not saying it's fair; just saying it may be what we see in the tabs tomorrow. I didn't pick the Yankees to win, but I thought their odds got really good when they survived Game 4.

It probably doesn't matter much -- I don't think either of these teams can beat Texas in a 7-game series -- but it does knock a bunch of picks out.

Tonight's points:

DET: 9 (3 for the win + 6 for the division crown)

Cano, R: 5
Granderson, C: 1
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 2

Nova, I: 5
Sabathia, CC: 3.33

Departures and leaders after the break.

ARI 10, MIL 6

Updated 10/6/11 5:11 PM with correct math/standings...sorry, and thanks for catching the screw-up, Broomie. Anyone else catches me doing "arithmetic," send an email.
 
You know, this series looked the most eminently sweepable to me. ...Well, maybe Philadelphia/St. Louis looked more sweepable, but I just didn't think Arizona could contain the MIL hitting attack, like, at all. To a certain extent, that's been true (see: Arizona's failure to pick up blowout points this evening), but the series is even at two each.

The primary pool effect, of course, is to carry Milwaukee a few more rounds so that those picks get more points. But we do have a new leader this evening. Ladies and germs, the return of former champ Ben to the money!

STL 5, PHI 3

...Cool. St. Louis ties the series at 2 apiece. This isn't a super-shocking turn of events -- getting to Oswalt is not that difficult this season -- but here's the interesting part: MLB lists the probables for Friday as Carpenter and TBA. Not that I like the other options much better if I'm LaRussa, but starting C. Carps on short rest hasn't worked out very well so far. And who does Manuel go with? Does it matter?

...Man, I love this time of year. I wish sports radio would shut up about football. (And...everything else.)

Points:

STL: 3

Pence, H: 1
Utley, C: 4

No change in the leaders. See you back here after the nightcap.

NYY 10, DET 1; ARI 8, MIL 1

Can't say I saw these results coming...although AJ does seem to know how to turn it on when he absolutely has to. But the handcuffing of the Milwaukee offense was a surprise.

In any case, your points:

NYY: 5

Cano, R: 1
Granderson, C: 2
Martinez, V: 4
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 1

ARI: 5

Fielder, P: 1

Marcum, S: 4.67

Standings/notes after the jump.

PHI 3, STL 2

I "watched" most of the game on MLB.com in a conference room. Stupid employment. It didn't change the standings much, but as the lone Hamels picker, I felt pretty good about it -- and the lone Pujols picker should feel pretty good too.

Points:

PHI: 3

Pujols, A: 7
Utley, C: 1
Victorino, S: 1

Hamels, C: 11 (6 IP + 8 K - 3 BB)

Standings after the jump!

TEX 4, TB 3

I'm sad to see the Rays go -- but gone they have. Beltre pickers, meanwhile? Not sad AT ALL, and I don't blame them. Your points for the afternoon game:

TEX: 9 (3 for the win + 6 for the division series)

Beltre, A: 12
Kinsler, I: 4

Departing the points race:
TB
Longoria, E
Price, D

I'll update the points shortly with the PHI/STL game, but for the moment, it's Aarons aweigh -- Aaron 2 with 67; Aaron 1 with 66; and Jill Love, Matt, and Joe tied with 62.

DET 5, NYY 4

I'm away from my desk all day today, so I probably can't update as fully as I'd like until tonight. That said, the NYY/DET game last night was something of a nail-biter...and thanks to some wildness on the part of Captain Crunch, the Sabathia pickers didn't do as well as they might have liked.

Points:

DET: 3

Granderson, C: 3

Sabathia, CC: 2.33 (5.1 IP + 3 K - 6 BB)
Verlander, J: 16 (8 IP + 11 K - 3 BB)

Joe Reid 1 and Matt now tied for the lead with 62, followed by Broomfield/Romine with 59 and Keith with 57.33. Tim 1 and Joe Costa 2 just off the pace.

The games begin at 2 PM ET today.

TEX 4, TB 3

Should Maddon have left Price in? Could that have bought his line-up some time? I don't know what difference it would have made. I'll give the Rays credit for staying in it, though.

Points!

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 1
Hamilton, J: 1
Kinsler, I: 2

Price, D: 8.67 (6.2 IP + 3 K - 1 BB)

Slight shuffle of the leaders -- Keith clinging to a lead with 55, Aaron 2 54, Maria 1 with 52, and Lauren and Tom just off the pace at 50. But don't get too used to those stats, with two popular picks dueling in Detroit...

STL 5, PHI 4

St. Louis, surprisingly, comes back to 5-4 and holds the lead -- but it's Lee pickers, as usual, who gain the biggest ground:

STL: 3

Howard, R: 1
Pence, H: 1
Pujols, A: 2

Carpenter: 2 (3 IP cancelled out by 3 BB; 2 K)
Lee: 13 (6 IP + 9 K - 2 BB)

Standings after the jump!

MIL 9, ARI 4

Arizona isn't looking like they can hold up against MIL's offensive attack. We'll see what happens at Chase Field, but for now, big points for MIL pickers:

MIL: 5

Braun, R: 7
Fielder, P: 1
Upton, J: 4

Greinke, Z: 12

Money leaders are now Keith, Aaron 2, Sheriff Joe One, and Greensy.

DET 5, NYY 3

Cabrera rewards his pickers and Detroit stays alive. The points:

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 6
Cano, R: 1
Granderson, C: 4
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 4

Keith, Aaron 2, and Warren 2 in the lead currently.

NYY 9, DET 3

Tigers and Yanks dodge the raindrops for an NYY blowout in the nightcap. Remembering that Verlander and Sabathia pickers already had their points assigned, here's the points for this game:

NYY: 5

Cano, R: 8
Granderson, C: 1
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 2

Nova, I: 7.33 (seems like it should have been more, but...4 BB)

Again, if any of these stats look funny, please email or comment. Mistakes happen; just read last year's archives. My source is MLB.com if the numbers look right but you just want to look things up yourself.

Current standings after the jump.

TEX 8, TB 6

That series is now tied 1-1, with points as follows:

TEX: 3

Hamilton, J: 1
Kinsler, I: 3
Longoria, E: 4
Young, M: 2


No pitcher points here. Aaron 2, Warren 2, and Ben 2 in the money currently.

PHI 11, STL 6: Everybody on the board

I missed most of the game proper. On the plus side, my parents picked a restaurant that had the game on the TV. On the minus side...mute. Boo. The Cards tried to mount a top-of-the-ninth comeback, but fell short, and the Phils got the blowout.

But all poolies are now on the board, with lots of points to go around in the sunset game:

PHI: 5 (3 W + 2 blowout)

Howard, R: 4
Pence, H: 2
Pujols, A not screwing his pickers totally for once: 1
Utley, C: 5 (where'd that come from?)
Victorino, S: 3

Halladay, R: 15 (8 IP + 8 K - 1 BB)

Aaron 2, Warren 2, and Keith currently in the money, with Ben 2, Jill Hate, and the Mariae not far off the pace.

MIL 4, ARI 1

All righty! NLDS underway with a win for MIL. Just very quickly, your points and your temporary leaders before the evening games get going...

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 4
Fielder, P: 6
Upton, J: 1

Gallardo, Y: 16 (8 IP + 9 K - 1 BB)
Kennedy, I: 8.67

The current leaderboard: Aaron 2, Keith, and Ben 2. Sure to change after tonight's action.

corrected 10/2/11 with accurate final score -- thanks, Keith

DET 1, NYY 1 (ppd)

Okay, so: according to MLB.com, Detroit-New York Game 1 resumes tomorrow night at the time previously reserved for Game 2 -- and tonight's starters, Verlander and Sabathia, will not return. Sooooo, obviously nobody gets game points, because nobody won, but pickers who had Verlander and/or Sabathia will take their innings/points, as follows:

Verlander: ooh, 0 (1 IP + 1 K - 2 BB)
Sabathia: 6

No TB points eligible.

Standings at the end of a weird Day 1:
Aaron 2, Sarah 2, John, Joe Reid 2, and Jill Love -- 10
Joe Costa 1 -- 8
Warren 1 -- 7
Keith, Warren 2, Tim 2, Dave -- 6
Aaron 1 -- 3
Sheehan/Bell -- 2

Tomorrow's slate, after the jump.

TB 9, TEX 0

...Hmm. All righty, then.

Well, despite spitting the bit, CJ Wilson picked up a few points for his backers; TB's momentum continues; and Warren looks like a genius.

After the evening show, your points:

TB: 5 (win + blowout)
Hamilton, J: 3
Longoria, E: 2
Wilson, CJ: 10 (5 IP + 6 K - 1 BB)

The Aarons, Sarah 2, Joe C., John, Joe R 2, Jill Amor, Warren 1, and Shee/Bell all on the board in roughly that order. DET/NYY in 10.

High hoooooopes: ALDS

The AL fun begins today at 5:07 PM in Tejas, where Tampa sends the rookie Moore to the mound against CJ Wilson. At 8:37 PM, Detroit tries to bring the pain to the Yankees in the Bronx -- Verlander v. Sabathia -- and most of the pool diving right in. All times eastern; all games on TBS; ESPN.com has a solid sked right here.

Tomorrow is a complete effing barrage of baseball -- or, as I like to call it, "Sarah prom" -- starting at 2:07 PM with D-backs/Brew Crew; Cards v. Doc Halladay at 5:07; Big Game James at 7:07 (that game is on TNT, and evidently there's a "Holland" of some sort?); and at 8:37, hee! Fister versus Nova in New York.

Looking for an overview/preview for the serieseseses? Hardball Talk is quite good.

Looking to tipple with your fellow poolies? Jill, Ben, and I welcome all, big and small, at Cody's -- Court and Dean Sts., beautiful Brooklyn NY. If you can't attend in person, we look forward to your smug/despairing texts and comments.

The Picks

Voila -- les picks! I misspoke in my email; we did have duplicates last year, and we have a couple of dupe slates this year as well. We'll see whether that makes any difference, because it usually doesn't matter.

Most popular team pick: PHI, for the second year in a row. Miguel Cabrera is the most popular player pick, interestingly. (Even more interestingly: a couple of people finally wised up and picked the Flyin' Hawaiian, who usually ends up racking up total bases in the postseason while the pool stands by all "God-DAMMIT why didn't we pick that guy." Which...probably means he'll bust out this year. Heh.)

Doc Halladay and Cliff Lee tied for top pitcher pick. Hope you were sitting down for that one. Heh.

Full list of picks is below. Please email/comment on any mistakes you see, and watch this space for scheduling and updates. (And for a different, less microscopic font. Sorry! This is a problem every year.)

Also! Pool kickoff/beerfest at Cody's on Court St. in Brooklyn, tomorrow night. Come! Drink! Heckle!

Jeremy Broomfield NYY PHI Granderson, C Teixeira, M Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Broomfield/Romine DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Greinke, Z
 

Sarah Bunting 1 DET PHI Cabrera, M Pence, H Verlander, J Hamels, C
 

Sarah Bunting 2 TEX MIL Kinsler, I Braun, R Wilson, CJ Greinke, Z
 

Aaron Cameron 1 TEX PHI Hamilton, J Beltre, A Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Aaron Cameron 2 TEX MIL Kinsler, I Braun, R Wilson, CJ Gallardo, Y
 

Joe Costa 1 NYY PHI Granderson, C Longoria, E Sabathia, CC Lee, C
 

Joe Costa 2 NYY PHI Cano, R Fielder, P Verlander, J Lee, C 

BSD DET MIL Martinez, V Fielder, P Verlander, J Greinke, Z

Matt Green DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Halladay, R
 

Keith Johnson NYY MIL Cano, R Braun, R Sabathia, CC Gallardo, Y
 

Tim O'Reilly 1 DET MIL Cabrera, M Fielder, P Verlander, J Greinke, Z
 

Tim O'Reilly 2 NYY PHI Swisher, N Pence, H Sabathia, CC Lee, C
 

Dave Pepper NYY MIL Cano, R Fielder, P Sabathia, CC Marcum, S
 

John Ramos TEX PHI Young, M Howard, R Wilson, CJ Lee, C
 

Joe Reid 1 DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Halladay, R
 

Joe Reid 2 TEX PHI Granderson, C Pence, H Wilson, CJ Lee, C
 

Ben Richardson 1 NYY PHI Granderson, C Pence, H Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Ben Richardson 2 TEX ARI Kinsler, I Beltre, A Kennedy, I Gallardo, Y
 

Tom Rogers NYY PHI Cano, R Victorino, S Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Sheehan/Bell DET STL Longoria, E Pujols, A Verlander, J Carpenter, C
 

Lauren Shotwell NYY PHI Cano, R Pence, H Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Jill Stempel Love TEX MIL Cabrera, M Fielder, P Verlander, J Wilson, CJ
 

Jill Stempel Hate NYY PHI Teixeira, M Howard, R Nova, I Halladay, R
 

Warren Tormey 1 TB ARI Longoria, E Upton, J Price, D Kennedy, I
 

Warren Tormey 2 NYY PHI Granderson, C Utley, C Sabathia, CC Halladay, R
 

Maria Wonsetler 1 NYY PHI Cano, R Howard, R Halladay, R Lee, C
 

Maria Wonsetler 2 DET PHI Cabrera, M Victorino, S Verlander, J Halladay, R

...Just kidding!

Tampa wins (and Boston loses) the AL wild card in spectacular fashion. (Can you believe there are people who think baseball is boring?)

So it's

NYY v. DET
TEX v. TB

Proceed. Well, unless you just had 15 strokes like I did. I'll be over here, drinking gin in an effort to calm down...thins the blood, don'tcha know.

Nail-biting

11:47 EDT on Day 162 of the 2011 season, folks. We still don't have ALDS locked down, but here's our NLDS match-ups:

PHI v. STL
MIL v. ARI

We may not know who's playing whom in the AL for another day, but it looks like NYY v. DET is for sure, and TEX v. either TB or BOS. Feel free to turn picks in if you feel sure right now; if an extension is necessary, I'll let you know.