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Congratulations to the Cincinnati Reds for wrapping up the National League Central Division title last night in dramatic fashion, with a walk-off home run from Jay Bruce to defeat Houston. It is the first time the Reds will play in the postseason in 15 years, and their successful year is another feather in the cap of their manager, Dusty Baker. Cincinnati has always been one of the great baseball towns in the country, and, even though they haven’t exactly drawn in the fans in droves, it’s great to see a good, young team rise to the top. I wrote a post on this blog after the Reds were swept by division rival St. Louis earlier in the season that pretty much was an obituary for the young team, that they were overmatched by the much more experienced Cardinals and the series sweep was a sign of the big, bad Cards putting the upstart young Reds in their place. I couldn’t have been more wrong, as the Reds pulled it together and ran away with the division as St. Louis traveled in the other direction and fell out of the race. When a team stays on an even keel and rights the ship after being swept like the Reds were, it’s definitely a credit to the manager. Baker has now managed winning programs in San Francisco, with the Chicago Cubs and now with the Reds. It will be interesting to see how far he can take them in the playoffs. In the NL, the Phillies will be overwhelming favorites to make their third straight World Series appearance, and with the NL West teams battling it out amongst each other and tiring each other out, the Reds may emerge as the team with the best chance of dethroning the Fightin’ Phils. Baseball has been fighting to keep fan interest the last few years after the steroid era soured the game for a lot of casual fans, and with some of their playoff games lasting into the late hours of the night when young fans have long been asleep, so here’s hoping there are some exciting surprises in this year’s postseason. It might not be great for the almighty TV ratings, but I think a Reds vs. Rays or Giants vs. Twins World Series would be great for the game, and would be a great stage to showcase rising stars like Joey Votto, David Price, Evan Longoria, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Joe Mauer, etc.