Clinched

A day after Dustin Pedroia tucked his baby into bed and then celebrated a loss by dumping beer on his teammates, the Phillies played like it were 2008 and then celebrated their third straight NL East championship.

Congrats to the Phils. And thank you for ending Christine's constant whining that you were going to blow this. Now I get a few days reprieve before she starts worrying about how the playoffs will be lost. {No way. The Phillies are going all the way.}

Even though this is the first time in recent memory that they've clinched on a weeknight, the vibe was reminiscent of the last two clinchers. Heck, they even had solid pitching (once Kyle Kendrick relieved Pedro Martinez), and the vaunted bats lived up to their hype in the 10-3 win over Ed Wade's lowly Astros.

The Phillies join the 2004-2005 and 2007-2008 Red Sox as the only reigning World Champions this decade to return to the playoffs the following year.

So for the third consecutive season, the SoxandPhils are both in the playoffs. We came damn close to the epic showdown last year - is this the year? We're just 14 wins away.

The Phillies will proceed to the playoffs without grizzled veteran Jamie Moyer, who needs surgery but should be ready in the spring for his 24th season.

Red Sox: Not much to say. Fielding the B-squad, they lost to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays 12-0. Minor league catcher Dusty Brown pitched the 9th inning. He has thrown a strikeout in the major leagues before he attained his first hit as a batter. He gave up a run, but he wasn't among the worst three pitchers on the night for the Sox. And he was the third position player to pitch for the Red Sox this year. Remember the heralded pitching depth we had?

I guess they were still hung over.