The month of October means the happy union of NFL football, college football, the beginning of the NBA season, and, most importantly, postseason baseball.  

After the St. Louis Cardinals and the Baltimore Orioles got through their respective one-game wildcard play-in games, the NLDS and ALDS got under way.  The Detroit Tigers opened their series against the A’s in Detroit, and the Cincinnati Reds went to San Francisco to kickoff their series against the Giants on Saturday, and both the Tigers and the Reds took 2-0 leads.  Detroit beat Oakland in game 1, 3-1, behind Justin Verlander, who struck out 11 in seven innings.  Yesterday, a back and forth affair ended with Omar Infante scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a Don Kelly sacrifice fly to win the game 5-4.  In the NL, the Reds won game one on saturday, 5-2, even though starter Johnny Cueto had to leave the game after facing only one hitter in the game do to back spasms.  Homers by Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips keyed the win.  In game two yesterday, Bronson Arroyo gave up only one hit in seven shutout innings, and the Reds walloped the Giants 9-0.  Game three of these two series will be tomorrow.

The other two series got started yesterday. The Washington Nationals continue to defy the odds and beat the Cardinals 3-2.  The Yankees and Orioles had to sit through a two and a half hour rain delay, but it didn’t affect either of the starters.  Both CC Sabathia and Jason Hammel allowed only two runs and the game was 2-2 going into the ninth inning.  Baltimore brought closer Jim Johnson into the game and he promptly gave up a leadoff homer to Russell Martin and four more runs after that.  Yankees win, 7-2.  The Cards host the Nats again in game 2 this afternoon at 4:30.  Jaime Garcia will start for St. Louis, Jordan Zimmerman will toe the rubber for Washington.  In Baltimore, Wei-Yin Chen will take the hill for the Orioles, while the Yankees counter with Andy Pettitte.  Game time is 8:00 pm.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  When was the last time a team from Washington, DC participated in baseball’s postseason? 

In other baseball news, the Cleveland Indians hired former Red Sox manager Terry Francona to replaced the fired Manny Acta.  Good hire for the Indians.  Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy resigned yesterday, after his team went 64-98 this past season.  

The Marlins have not yet come to a decision on what changes they are going to make, either in the front office with Larry Beinfest and Michael Hill, or with manager Ozzie Guillen.  It begs the question, what on earth are they waiting for?  The sad reality is that nobody wants to work for this owner.  I wonder why?  Mr. Loria truly believes he is the second coming of George Steinbrenner.  Trust me, he is not even close.  Mr. Loria chose to fire Joe Girardi and Fredi Gonzalez, and both of them have gone on to bigger and better places.  Another excellent baseball man, Edwin Rodriguez, was dumped after a 78-85 record over parts of two seasons in which the front office provided absolutely no support.  Mr. Loria demonstrated his player personnel know-how when he gave up the Marlins’ fourth and fifth best minor league prospects in order to sign Guillen to a four year contract.  If he fires Guillen, he has to eat the final three years on Guillen’s contract after giving up those prospects.  He also may have to eat the remaining contract on HIS closer, Heath Bell, and will probably watch another of HIS signings, catcher John Buck, sit on the bench or give him away to whoever will take him.  It would be really surprising if Beinfest and Hill are still around, after all the bad moves and the demise of a once-promising minor league system.  Trading Miguel Cabrera for NOTHING, trading Hanley Ramirez when his value was the lowest, don’t leave me with a warm and fuzzy.  I hate to sound like I’m defending Guillen, but a manager can only play the players he is given.  

As a team, the Fish ended 24th out of 30 teams in batting average with .244.  The Marlins had EIGHT players on their roster (at least 86 AB) that hit UNDER .216  

Donnie Murphy         .216

Gorkys Hernandez .212

Gaby Sanchez         .202

Brett Hayes .202

Bryan Petersen   .195

John Buck          .192

Scott Cousins .163

Chris Coghlan     .140

The pitching wasn’t much better.  Their bullpen was also 24th in MLB in ERA at 4.09, while converting only 38 saves in 60 opportunities.  Thanks again to Heath Bell for giving us your very best this past season here in Miami.  

Take your pick of any of the greatest managers in history.  Could any one of them have done any better this past season?  On a positive note, we do have a beautiful stadium.

In college football this weekend, the University of Miami got humiliated by the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, 41-3.  Three out of the top five teams in the nation lost on Saturday, including #3 LSU, who lost to Florida 14-6; #4 Florida State lost to NC State, 17-16, and #5 Georgia fell to #6 South Carolina, 35-7.  The new top five rankings have Alabama #1, Oregon #2, South Carolina #3, Florida #4, and West Virginia takes over the fifth spot. 

The Miami Dolphins went on the road this week to take on a very much improved Cincinnati Bengals team.  The Fins got out of Cincinnati with a win, outlasting the Bengals 17-13.  Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of 26 passes for 223 yards.  After two straight heartbreaking losses in overtime, this one feels good.  This Sunday, the Dolphins return home to take on the St. Louis Rams.  Game time is 1:00 pm and if the blackout is lifted, the game will be televised by FOX, Channel 7 in Miami.  

Reviewing the rest of yesterday’s games in the NFL,

SUNDAY

Indianapolis Colts 30         Green Bay Packers 27 IND +7

Reggie Wayne caught 13 passes for 212 yards, including the winning touchdown with 35 seconds left in the game

Baltimore Ravens 9 Kansas City Chiefs 6 KC +5

Three field goals by Justin Tucker

NY Giants 41 Cleveland Browns 27   NYG -9.5

Victor Cruz caught three touchdown passes, Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 200 yards

Pittsburgh Steelers 16 Philadelphia Eagles 14 PIT -3.5

Shaun Suisham kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired

Atlanta Falcons 24 Washington Redskins 17 WAS +3

Matt Ryan threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns.  The Falcons are 5-0 to start a season for the first time in their history.

Seattle Seahawks 16   Carolina Panthers 12   CAR -3

Steven Hauschka connected on three field goals

Chicago Bears 41 Jacksonville Jaguars 3 JAX +6

The Bears defense scored two touchdowns for the second consecutive week

Minnesota Vikings 30  Tennessee Titans 7 MIN -6

Percy Harvin caught 8 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and tallied another TD on a run

New England Patriots 31 Denver Broncos 21 NE -6.5

Tom Brady now 9-4 in head-to-head meetings against Peyton Manning

San Francisco 49ers 45 Buffalo Bills 3 SF -9.5

Alex Smith threw for 303 yards and 3 TDs, and the 49ers also ran for 318 yards

New Orleans Saints 31 San Diego Chargers 24 NO -3.5

Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ 52-year-old record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass and led the Saints to their first win of the season, erasing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter

MONDAY

Houston Texans @ New York Jets NYJ +9 8:30 pm    ESPN

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  When was the last time a team from Washington, DC participated in baseball’s postseason?  The Washington Senators played in the 1933 World Series.  The Nationals, who were the Montreal Expos before they moved to DC following the 2004 season, participated in only one playoff series during their 36 year residence in Montreal, when they lost to the LA Dodgers in the NLCS in 1981.       

The Miami Heat lost their exhibition opener against the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta yesterday, 92-79.  Trust me - no one cares who wins or loses in the preseason.  The Heat now travels to China, for two games in Beijing against the Los Angeles Clippers.  Game times (Miami) for the China games are 7:30 am on Thursday, and 12:30 am on Sunday, October 14.  Both of those games will be televised on NBA-TV on your cable or satellite system.

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com.  

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.