The Rays Tank: NLCS, ALCS matchups set

The New York Yankees are evil. I don't know about you guys, but I can't stand them. When they win, the sky is cloudy and the days are long. I can't stand their fans, their stadium, Mark Texiera's face. Nothing would have made me happier than the Orioles continuing their magic run and knocking the Yanks into an off season spiral, mired with A-Rod fallout and second guessing, and the O's had their chance.

You Fighting Showalter's, you... YOU LET US ALL DOWN.

In a series that set baseball offense back 80 years, the Yankees just proved too much for Baltimore, topping the O's 3-1 Friday evening, behind a dominant complete game effort by C.C. Sabathia, who, like Justin Verlander the night before, put his team on his larger-than-normal-sized back and cried, "Hop on, pretty boys! C.C. is all over this one like Captain Crunch!"

There was a minor controversy about a potential Nate McLouth homerun that umpires ruled a foul ball. The play was reviewed but upheld by the umpire crew. What do you guys think?

Meanwhile, The Washington Nationals opened their game with a double, triple and homerun, and would continue to thump Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, busting out to a 6-0 lead. Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson made the game interesting by allowing St. Louis to crawl back with three runs in the 4th and one in the 7th and 8th, but this was in the bag; the Nats were going to win and shut everyone up about Strasburg for a couple of days. Hell, I had my recap written by the middle of the sixth.

And then it all fell to pieces in the top of the 9th...

Drew Storen completely melted down, loading the bases and allowing the Cards to score 2 runs and tie the game on a ground ball that deflected off shortstop Ian Desmond's glove, and then 2 more off a Pete Kozma single to right field, giving the Cards their first lead of the game 9-7. Jason Motte slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth and the Nationals fans were left stunned. Baseball!

I couldn't help but like this Nats team; the Natitude; Harper's swagger; Werth's beard. They were just a fun bunch, and in some ways reminded me of the 2008 Rays. I was pulling for them. Not going to lie, having both the Nats lose and Yankees win in one day... kinda sucked.

Have some links.

• The League Championship Series dates and times have all been set.
• Jack Moore of Fangraphs.com asks if Jason Hammel can continue to shut down lefties?
• Stay classy, Chipper Jones.
• Justin Verlander's grandfather thinks his grandson and Kate Upton are a "good looking pair." No #%(^, old man. She's Kate Upton, she'd make a good looking pair with anybody, even me.
• A group associated with Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has purchased a 7-acre plot of land across from the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Could this group have baseball stadium sized dreams?