3-Up, 3-Down
Posted October 12, 2005, 9:43 AM ET

I don't know about you, but watching the Braves, Red Sox and Yankees get eliminated in the first round of the Major League Baseball Playoffs was a beautiful sight.

It is time for some new storylines...even though the NLCS is a rematch of last year's thrilling Cardinals-Astros series.

The Red Sox exorcising "The Curse" last year was a fun story...but then the Red Sox Nation became so overbearing that it became easy to root against them again. Red Sox fans were so giddy and obnoxious, that I found myself rooting for the Yankees....what am I talking about?

Watching the poor Braves stumble all over themselves in that classic 18-inning affair in Game Four was hilarious. The Braves are too good for their own good. Bobby Cox did a masterful job during the regular season (again), but the Braves' bullpen was inept when it mattered the most.

The Braves' consistency is truly remarkable and it should be applauded, even by fans and teams that despise their success. Since 1991, the Braves have won 65 more games than anybody else in baseball...including the Yankees. But it is that dreadful month of October when baseball matters the most that the Braves have played like the Brewers.

Atlanta Brave fans have seen the ending to this movie way too often...in fact they've become numb during October, expecting the worst to happen. When you fall short in winning the World Series 13 out 14 times since 1991, you can almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

And the Yankees....what can you say about America's $205 million dollar team?

How about...."See ya!"

Not that I'm a fan of that stupid-ass Rally Monkey in Anaheim, but the Yankees falling short makes for great fodder on talk shows and great theater on the tube.

What will George do next?

A-Rod had a great regular season, but was 2-15 with no RBI in the series....and since Game 4 of last year's ALCS, he is a paltry 6-43 at the plate.

Will Torre get fired or step down?

The list of questions goes on and on....it is the Yankees and they are the best soap opera going whether they are winning or losing. Personally, I like it when they fall short.

And to top off watching the bluebloods of baseball get eliminated early in the Playoffs, is watching the Peter Gammons'-of-the-world at HYPE go completey into shock-mode. What will ESPN do without the Yankees and the Red Sox in the Playoffs? I won't be shocked if ESPN puts cameras in Boston and New York to see fans' reactions of their teams not playing as opposed to the storylines in Houston, St. Louis, Chicago and Anaheim.

I love the quote this week by Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox....when asked about the lack of an East coast team in the playoffs, he said: "There's a part of the country that is west of the Hudson."

And he's right....and it is a beautiful sight.