Whoooo hoooo!

Totally non-political post ahead...

After the ticked-off rant of my last post, I thought it would be nice to close out the week with something positive -

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs for winning their respective division titles, and to the Arizona Diamondbacks for securing a playoff spot.

...The Red Sox had built up a significant lead through the spring and early summer over their scuffling rivals, the New York Yankees, only to see the Yankees get hot and close the gap in recent weeks.

However, a Friday night win over the Minnesota Twins and a Yankee 10-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles gave them the division title, knocking the Yankees of that particular perch for the first time in 12 years.

...With a 6 - 0 victory over the Cincinatti Reds, the Cubs, a woeful team at the All-Star break (8 1/2 games out and fading fast), came back from the brink of being a $300 million laughingstock and won the NL's Central division.

...And in a development that no one outside of certain offices at Chase Field could or would have predicted this past spring, the Diamondbacks' 4 - 2 victory over the Colorado Rockies combined with the New York Mets' loss to the Florida Marlins guaranteed that the DBacks will earn at least a wildcard berth in the playoffs.

Congrats to all, and even though I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan, special kudos to the Diamondbacks. Before the season started, the Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs were all expected to be playoff contenders, if not actually pennant-winners.

The Diamondbacks? ...Nah.

Somehow, though, with 2 games to go in the season, they have the best record in the NL.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, if only because the AL playoff bracket has four teams with at least 92 wins (no pushovers there, certainly), but I would love to see a Red Sox v. Diamondbacks World Series.

Purists might want the Cubs there, but I'm not a Cubs fan. Or a purist. :)

GO RED SOX!! GO DIAMONDBACKS!!

Whoooooo hoooooo!