Until the Playoffs Begin...

With just under two weeks left in the regular season, there's very little talk about who's winning games against whom around the baseball world. Every playoff spot is basically locked up (if you don't count the Twins' surge, and with a starting rotation that's in shambles and with their second best hitter out for the season, I'd say the Tigers are a good bet to hold on to first place). Pretty much the only matchup that's yet to be determined is who the Rockies will play in the NL Division Series.*

*Back to basics for a sec: Normally it works out that the wild card team plays the team with the league's best record in the first round of the playoffs. However, there is one caveat: if the wild card winner is in the same division as the team with the league's best record, the wild card team plays the team with the second-best record in the league. This caveat will almost certainly come into play in the American League this year - the Red Sox (90-61; wild card leader by 7 games) will miss out on facing the Yankees (97-56; 7 wins better than both the Red Sox and the Angels). Meanwhile, in the NL, the race to the league's best record is still in full swing, with just 3 wins separating the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Phillies.

We know how the bigwigs on each of the eight playoff-bound teams are spending the rest of September: poring over statistics, studying film, and analyzing trends having to do with their future October opponents. Meanwhile, the other 22 teams are busy looking forward to next season: projecting performances for those players likely to remain for 2010, prospecting possible free-agent signings, and gawking over their highest-profile draft picks and September call-ups.*

*Some more technical info: each MLB team consists of 25 players (the 25-man roster) who are eligible to play in games during the season. 15 extra players, in addition to the above-mentioned 25, make up the 40-man roster. These extra 15 can be on the Disabled List or in the minor leagues, and they're not eligible for major league play unless placed on the 25-man roster. However, on September 1, all this changes, as from this date on, any player on the 40-man roster can play in major league games. The players included on the expanded roster are known as "September call-ups," as they were called up to the majors specifically for the month of September.

With very little meaningful baseball left to play, the writers and columnists have turned their gaze ahead as well: some inquiring how the contenders will shore up various holes in their lineup or rotation, some looking even further into the future, surmising who might win various awards such as the MVP or Cy Young. The consensus in these cases: Joe Mauer deserves the MVP in the AL, although Mark Teixeira very well may end up winning. Albert Pujols has the NL MVP pretty much locked up. Zack Greinke deserves the AL Cy Young, but could lose out to Felix Hernandez or even C.C. Sabathia. The NL Cy Young is a three horse race between Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and defending champ Tim Lincecum.

All this conjecture and forward-thinking has its place, but is that really all there is to talk about in the baseball world if the playoff teams are all locked up come September? We've been somewhat spoiled by a couple of really close races the last couple of years, so that people who write about baseball have always had something fun and dramatic about which to write. The lull in interesting news this time of year certainly works out for two-sport fans, who can get all their baseball ducks in a row before the start of football season. And of course it's nice to sit back and take a good hard look at the members of the playoffs before the tournament even starts.

So in light of the recent slowdown in captivating baseball activity, thoughts about life have taken the place of thoughts about baseball. Needless to say, baseball thoughts will return once the playoffs begin and then continue well into the hot stove season. But in the interim, all we can do is look forward to an exciting October.