Hello, playoffs! Should be some good games on Wednesday:

Rockies at Phillies, 12 noon PT — I’ve rambled at length about this series over at Hardball Times. Cole Hamels starts the opener against Jeff Francis. It’s hard to call Game 1 of any series a must-win, but the Phillies need to win behind Hamels to have any shot; the rest of their pitching staff is very suspect, and even their high-octane offense might not be able to overcome a loss today.
Angels at Red Sox, 3:30 p.m. PT — John Lackey goes up against Josh Beckett in this one. Two legitimate Cy …read more

I don’t even know what that headline means. Anyway, here are some of the more interesting games for Friday:
American League

Mariners at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Both teams are three games back of the Yankees in the AL wild card race. Miguel “Don’t Let the Career-High 13 Wins Fool You” Batista faces Justin Verlander. Whatever happened to Brandon Inge, anyway? That guy was good for, like, 5 minutes.
Indians at Angels, 7:05 p.m. PT — First off, we should rename these teams “Europeans” and “Animal Spirits.” Second, why did Cleveland sign Jake Westbrook to a huge contract extension in April? The …read more

I hope you had an excellent baseball weekend. I’ve got no complaints. Well, that’s not entirely true, but you didn’t come here for those.
Some great games on Monday’s schedule, including four big playoff contender showdowns:
American League

Yankees at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Mike Mussina and Justin Verlander hook up at Comerica Park. Mussina has given up seven runs in each of his last two starts and now sports a 5.22 ERA on the season. It might not be time to stick a fork in him just yet, but maybe someone should poke around a little. Yikes, and now …read more

It kills me that I keep having to list the Red Sox and Yankees in these things, but that’s the way the money bounces. Happy Friday, folks!
American League

Angels at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — This is the second game of a day-night doubleheader and features not only the AL’s two best teams but also a matchup of Cy Young contenders John Lackey and Josh Beckett. If you like offense, you might also want to tune into the first game, which starts at 10:05 a.m. PT. Ervin Santana goes for the Angels. Opponents are batting .341/.416/.626 against Santana away from …read more