"We've turned the last page on the calendar for this year. September is upon us and don't forget that the major league season ends earlier this year, on Sept. 28, a Wednesday. Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of pennant races this year and that's going to fuel Bud Selig's expand-the-playoffs brigade. The last thing baseball needs is for there to be no suspense right at the time the NFL season is starting. But that's what we have this year.

Barring some major collapses, the Yankees and Red Sox are both going to make the postseason. And that takes a good deal off the luster of their meeting in the Bronx on Sept. 23-25. The Indians still have six games left with the Tigers, starting with a three-game set that opens Monday in Cleveland, but injuries have them so beat up that it seems unlikely they can catch up in the AL Central. The Angels have only three games left with the Rangers, and also seem like long shots in the AL West.

It's more of the same in the National League. The Phillies (East) and Braves are both solidly entrenched and the Brewers are still comfortable in the Central even after getting swept at home by the Cardinals. In the West, the Diamondbacks are looking good as the defending World Series champion Giants desperately try to stay afloat.

So what's there to look for in the final month? I've got a few ideas."