Good Times Grimes

First pitch the Royals face is an inside the park home-run. Craziness.

Well, it's the Mets against the Royals for the World Series, starting tomorrow in Kansas City. New York looked dominant against the Cubs, so I'll pick them in 6.

The Cubs really need a win today to get back in the series. They're back in Chicago for the next three, so hopefully they can string a couple of wins together and make it interesting. The Jays had a good win last night, absolutely clobbering Cueto, who proved that he can't handle the crowd getting into him. I was thrilled to see that he was pitching in the first game in Toronto, as he's struggled on the road in the playoffs previously: He got pulled from the game last night in the 3rd inning after giving up 8 runs on 4 walks and 6 hits. The all important game 4 starts in a couple of hours. Jays win and the series is tied, KC wins and they have 3 chances to clinch a World Series berth.

The other difference is that the Pies wanted to hang on to Beams, whereas I suspect we were keen to get rid of Howe.

I absolutely agree. Sports can be very emotional, and I think celebrations like Bautista's make them even more exciting to watch. When the players get excited, the fans do too. Anyway, KC won game 2 to take a commanding lead yesterday. Poor David Price pitched a gem, but some painful defensive errors in the 7th inning cost the Jays the game. Very important stretch of home games coming up, starting tomorrow. Mets go up 1-0 in New York, with game 2 happening later this evening. Hope the Cubbies can get on the board and head home with the series on even terms.

How about we let him play a game before making him the new whipping boy?

What a game! That goes very close to being the best sporting event I've witnessed. Very disappointed by the way some fans carried on, and some have been arrested and charged for throwing things. Here are the two defining moments from the game. Texas' go-ahead run: I have no issue with the rule and agree that Odor should have been able to score, however I believe that once the umpire calls the play dead it shouldn't count. Granted, he made a mistake, but you can't continue playing once a ball is dead. What sort of precedent does that set? Should players continue playing every time the umpire calls the play dead just in case he's made a mistake? Bautista's home-run and bat flip (which has caused a lot of controversy in itself):

It's what us Demons supporters usually look forward to from round one at half time onwards. This year the anticipation began after round two, so it should reach fever pitch early next week.

Sounds like just the player we need to complete our list. We should take him.

Happy to see the Cubs advance...their fans have suffered as badly as we have.

Very happy about yesterday's results, with the exception of Houston/Kansas City. Houston seemingly had it in the bag but managed to cough up their 6-2 lead and now have to head to KC feeling deflated. I don't like their chances.

If Houston were able to knock off the Royals that would be a massive upset. I think today will be the Jays last game of the season...I have absolutely no confidence in Dickey, especially away from the controlled climate of the Rogers Centre.

I was about to post the same thing. Don't scare me like that, beelzebub.

I'm devastated, Macca. I was at the game yesterday and the whole crowd seemed to be in disbelief after the Rangers took the lead in the 14th. I think the Blue Jays have been overconfident and let being World Series favourites go to their heads. It would take a miracle for them to come back from this. I agree that the regular season needs to be shortened, and I quite like the idea of lengthening the first two rounds of the playoffs. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea to let in 8 teams from each League and remove the wildcard playoff. Really hoping that the Cubs can win today to even their series. They're the only other team in the playoffs that I would like to see win.

Good picks Macca. I agree with them all, though I wouldn't be surprised if the Astros pulled off an upset. Hoping the Cubs can win as well, but would have to think it's unlikely. Here's a good story about a Cubs fan's request to his professor to postpone a test so that he could see the Wildcard game.

White is not a KPP, OMac is still very inexperienced, and Frost only has 9 toes. I think TMac will be playing in the backline next season.

Goodbye, Yankees! Chicago v Pittsburgh in the NL Wildcard Playoff in a few hours. Go Cubs!

Didn't really say anything we don't already know. Deal won't be done overnight, but he loves Melbourne and the MFC and is open to extending his contract. Loves the city and would stay in Melbourne if he were delisted.

Did we offer both picks? If so, I'm glad it didn't pan out. I wouldn't even trade Brayshaw on his own for Danger.

I would be delighted if ANYBODY accepts Dawes for anything.

It was exciting, but I almost tore my hair out. Garlett had two loose men inside 50 and chose to kick it to the contest. Not the best option, but awesome seeing Hogan clunk it and then go back and kick the goal.

Given that he can't be taken as a Category B again, I'd say it's unlikely that he'll get picked up. On this topic, I'd quite like to see us use the international rookie list more than we have. I don't think that guys like Maia Westrupp are the type of athlete that the list should be used for. We should use it to try out athletes from sports where there is a bit of crossover in skills. Some NCAA basketballers could make good tap ruckmen, while it would be good to try some rugby players and American footballers as ruckmen in the Mike Pyke mould. Having played footy in different countries and against people from different countries, I think you'd be very lucky to train somebody that hasn't grown up with the sport to be a successful midfielder (Gaelic footballers are an exception). It's too difficult to teach people the basic skills that AFL players have developed from a young age, let alone to get them to AFL quality. I believe that there are many international athletes out there that possess the raw athleticism of a guy like Nic Naitanui and could become very successful AFL Players. Category B rookies don't take up a spot on your primary list, so it's really a low-risk/high-reward scenario.

It's hard to not have a soft spot for the Cubs. Their fans have arguably had a tougher time of it than us Dees supporters have. They should clinch a wildcard spot in the next few days as they're 10 games clear of any challengers. The AL is more interesting in that Minnesota and the LA Angels are keeping the heat on Houston for the second WC spot. It looks like the NL playoff picture is pretty well sorted out, with the Cubs and Pirates to play-off with the winner facing the Cardinals. The Mets look set to play the Dodgers. Kansas City are the only team to have clinched their division, though I'd be very surprised if Texas didn't finish on top of the AL West. The Yankees had a win last night, so the AL East is still up for grabs. The Jays should lock in a playoff berth this weekend, however it would be very disappointing to have to play-off for the wildcard if the Yankees can make up the 3 games that they trail us by.