The baseball regular season is a marathon race stretching from spring training in February through the last scheduled game September 29th.

Now, the postseason takes center stage. It begins on Tuesday and the division series is guaranteed to end by next Monday, sending four more teams home to join the 22 that left on Sunday.

Every game now has a special meaning. Every at bat will help define the career of a ball player. Hall of Famers don’t need much help with career definitions, but for the other 98% playing this Fall, what they do in October will be long remembered.

Pitch counts become less relevant. There is no tomorrow as a playoff series unwinds. Little ball becomes important, defensive weaknesses show quickly, and it becomes clear quickly that good pitching still is the best quality a team can have.

With that in my mind let’s look at the matchups.The Giants suddenly became the most efficient team in the NL over the course of the last month winning 28 of their final 38 games.

They became more than just Barry Bonds. Kenny Lofton gave Dusty Baker a decent leadoff hitter and an excellent centerfielder. Jeff Kent put up another MVP type season. Robb Nen closed almost every game he was asked. The bull pen was balanced and steady.

The SF pitching staff got the job done, beating the teams in the West quite regularly. Now, the Giants go up against the deepest staff in the league in Atlanta.

Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Kevin Millwood will get the ball to the bull pen with the game still on the line. This series will become a game of bull pen strength. In years past, I would say Atlanta would let the big three go the distance, but the two vets Glavine and Maddux are not as strong as of late. Bobby Cox has a seven man pen, it carried the staff all year, and he will use it liberally trying to get the ball to closer John Smoltz.

The Braves will pitch around Bonds from the first pitch on Wednesday. Every team has tried to use this strategy and every team has had trouble lately because Benito Santiago and Reggie Sanders have hit the ball behind Bonds, driving in key runs.

The key to this series is Giants batters getting on base ahead of Bonds, so he can’t be avoided. I don’t think this series will be any different than any we’ve seen over the past two years, it’s up to the Giants to foil the opponents strategy by playing good baseball and clogging the basepaths ahead of the best player in the game.

They need a split in Atlanta big time.

The Cardinals are primed to do some damage to the Diamondbacks. St. Louis hits and plays the game correctly. Can Matt Morris, Chuck Finley, and Woody Williams get past the Diamondbacks? The Cards will need Jason Isringhausen to be lights out and healthy.

Believe it or not, I think the key to the series is Curt Schilling. I think Randy Johnson will do his thing, but Schilling must shut the Redbirds down for Arizona to win.

Arizona hasn’t hit with any consistency, they don’t need much, but the big two better not falter on the mound or it is sayanora Arizona.

The Angels are gutty. They play small ball if they need to, hit doubles, hit homers occasionally and also have a starting staff that won’t scare anybody. They haven’t seen October baseball in NY and if the A’s couldn’t bring home the bacon the last two years, than I don’t seeing the Angels weathering the storm in NY. Andy Pettitte and David Wells hold the key to the series for NY, they have to beat an Angels team that hit lefties very well. These two pitched well against the Angels during the season.

The Yankees on experience alone, will get it done.

The A’s couldn’t have scripted their first round scenario any better than it has worked out. They play a Twins team with very little post season experience. They have the home field if game five is necessary. The A’s are 82-45 against righthanders. The Twins are throwing three righties at the A’s in games one thru three.

I still think lefty Eric Milton will pitch game three in Minnesota Friday.

And most of all, they aren’t playing the Yankees in round one.

The Twins have a distinct weakness against lefties, they will see two of the leagues best in Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, potentially three times.

The A’s may lose the series to the Twins, but they wouldn’t have asked for any other opponent in the first round.

The A’s must face a very good Twins bull pen, a good starter in Brad Radke, and a raucous crowd in the Metrodome, the series will be a good test for the A’s, if they beat the Twins, I think they are going to the World Series.

So, what do A’s fans have to fear. Only that the offense won’t score enough runs to allow some slipups by the bull pen.

Maybe the big three will pitch complete games, so the bull pen won’t be a factor? Why not, they are rested, young, and ended the year in great shape. I think the key to this series is having Mulder, Hudson and Zito get into the eighth ininng or better in their starts.

I would be nervous if Art Howe has to continuously go to the pen in the seventh inning. Eric Chavez, Miguel Tejada, and Jermaine Dye along with Ray Durham (back playing against another AL Central foe which he hits very well) are strong enough to carry the offense.

Starting pitching is the key in a short series and the A’s have it.

Every day is a new day, there isn’t much room for error. Game turning situations must be converted daily, there is virtually no tomorrow in a five game series.

If I had to predict who will advance, I’ll take the A’s, Giants, Cards, and Yankees in a spine tingling week of sudden death baseball.

Welcome to the party.

The hard stuff is over, now the fun begins.

Enjoy it.