Things are definitely hotting up in the AL. The A's beat the Red Sox last night (or should I say Mulder beat Pedro?) to tie for the AL Wild Card lead - this is the first of seven games that will oppose the two clubs over the next ten days, so the first round goes to Oakland. The remaining six games may go a long way to deciding not only the Wild Card race, but the AL East title itself. The Red Sox lost ground on the A's, but luckily for them, the Yankees were beaten by the Royals in Kansas City. The Royals also did themselves a big favour with their win, since their closest rivals - the White Sox - lost to Anaheim, despite putting together a four-run rally in the ninth inning.

So nothing is settled in the AL Wild Card, and even less in the NL - there are still five or six teams with a legitimate shot at winning the race, although the Phillies and the Marlins have a couple of games' lead over the clubs behind them. I'm all for the Wild Card if it means seeing either of those teams in the postseason. Unfortunately, I'd like to have my cake AND eat it here - I'd like to see both of these teams in the playoffs, the Marlins because I'd like to see how the D-Train would pitch in that kind of situation, and the Phillies because, well, they're the Phillies. Maybe I should give Commissioner Selig a call and see if he can come up with a way of having both teams make it.