2004 MLB Playoff schedules. Matchups: Red Sox/Angels, Twins/Yankees, Astros/Braves, and Dodgers/Cardinals. The Cubs, Giants and A's were eliminated over the weekend. (Yahoo!)

Got Them Giants' Fan Blues.

McCovey's line shot going straight to Richardson.

Stu Miller for Billy Hoeft. Manny Mota for Joey Amalfitano. Felipe Alou for Bob Shaw.

Jose Cardenal for Jack Hiatt. Matty Alou for Joe Gibbon. Bill Hands and Randy Hundley for Lindy McDaniel and Don Landrum.

Orlando Cepeda for Ray Sadecki.

Now batting, the shortstop, number twenty-two: Hal Lanier. Leading off, and playing left field, number twenty-eight: Jesus Alou.

And so on. (The Hardball Times)

Release the Hounds! "'Moneyball doesn't work.' Get used to that phrase, because you're about to hear it a lot for the next six months. Within hours of Oakland being eliminated from playoff contention by Anaheim, critics of Moneyball and Billy Beane were out in full force, from e-mailers, message board posters, ESPN personalities, and columnists across the country, jumping at the chance to attack the wounded animal that is the Oakland A's. And trust me, it's only going to get worse." (The Hardball Times)

Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir. Playoff predictions from an Angels fan. (6-4-2)

Rivals in Exile: Playoff Time. Playoff analysis from a Red Sox fan and a Yankees fan. (The Hardball Times)

Uncertainty reigns in races. Playoff musings from Peter Gammons. (ESPN.com)

The Long Shadow of 2004. "105 wins. I like it. In fact, I’d sorta been rooting for 105 wins for the last couple weeks, for three main reasons – one, because it bests the mark set by the '88 A's as the winningest of all Tony La Russa's teams; two, because I kinda wanted the '44 Cards (probably the best team in franchise history) to keep their record; and three, because it betters the win total of the 1984 Detroit Tigers. I know that might not sound like much to you, but when I was younger the Tigers were the paragon of excellence." (Redbird Nation)

Gopher Gofers. "Today’s Twins-Indians game had to be suspended after eleven innings and a tied 5-5 score so that the field could be readied in time for the Minnesota-PSU game, or as its known around State College, PA, the latest reason to fire Joe Paterno." (Mike's Baseball Rants)

Good Bye, Larry. Phil Fans Bid Jerk Adieu. (Mike's Baseball Rants)

Bonds wins batting title, shatters record for walks.

The 40-year-old outfielder hit .362 for the San Francisco Giants and finished with a .609 on-base percentage, topping his old mark of .582. Bonds walked 232 times, 34 more than the previous record, and his 120 intentional walks obliterated the old mark of 68, also set by Bonds in 2002.

Bonds' .812 slugging percentage led the major leagues for the fourth straight season but fell short of the record he set at .863 in 2001. With 45 homers this season, Bonds raised his career total to 703, trailing only Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). Bonds matched Aaron's NL record of eight 40-homer seasons, trailing only Ruth's major league mark of 11. He also became the first player in major league history with 13 consecutive 30-homer seasons.

(USA Today)

One Man is an Island.

ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian dropped a surprising fact in a recent online chat: Barry Bonds has never had a Hall of Fame teammate. This is unique; no current Hall of Famer ever played his entire career without sharing a clubhouse with at least one other Cooperstown-bound player. Bonds, a lock for enshrinement as he scales the all-time home run list and continues to rack up eye-popping numbers, would be the first to do so.

(Baseball Prospectus)