It's Elmer Fudds season

Those hats you see the Phillies wearing this postseason? The ones with the ear flaps? They call them Elmer Fudds after, well, Elmer Fudd.

I don't remember seeing them until last year when the Rays and Phillies made them popular during the World Series.

They look kind of goofy, but I'm sure they are warm. There are few things more annoying than cold ears while playing baseball up north in late October and early November. Except maybe cold hands, cold necks, cold feet, cold ...

Maybe they shouldn't be playing baseball up north in late October and early November unless the stadium comes with a roof, but that's another blog for another day.

Anyway, the Elmer Fudds are also a better look than wearing the ski masks some of the players wear.

If the Yankees hold of the Angels in the ALCS, expect the lasting image from the 2009 World Series to be Elmer Fudds.

In keeping with the baseball/Fudd theme, here's a memorable quote from one of my favorite Buggs Bunny cartoons ...

Elmer Fudd: [to Bugs as a game warden] Oh, Mr. Game Warden. I hope you can help me. I've been told I could shoot wabbits and goats and pigeons and mongooses and dirty skunks and ducks. Could you tell me what season it weawwy is?
Bugs Bunny: Why, coitenly, me boy. It's baseball season!

Oh, Mr. Maddon! Dennis says 9 = 8

About this time last year, the familiar one-panel cartoon was tucked into the funny pages of newspapers across the country, including those found in and around Boston.

Actually, it was Oct. 13, 2008 when Dennis the Menace stood at the blackboard, added 5 and 4 and came up with 8.

"No, Dennis," his teacher said, "we can't agree to disagree."

The cartoon, which I read that morning at a hotel in Newton Mass. (and I know this because I read Dennis the Menace every morning), left little impression other than that all-to-familiar feeling of standing at the blackboard and not knowing the answer.

Look closer: 4 + 5 = 9, except in the world of Dennis the Menace, where it equals 8.

Some readers took that to mean in the world of Dennis the Menace, 9 = 8.

Some of those readers were in Boston that day, preparing for the Game 3 of the ALCS between the Rays and the Red Sox.

And, the Rays advanced that far in the postseason (and would advance farther, still) because, Class? Nine equals eight!

Someone in the Rays organization or a Rays fan or a friend of manager Joe Maddon (I can't remember which) sent a copy of the cartoon to Maddon. It now hangs in his office inside the Trop.

It was proof, Maddon said, of just how far Rays mania spread in 2008.

Even Dennis Mitchell believed. Wonder what good ol' Mr. Wilson thought?

And to have it run in mid-October when the Rays were on their way to the World Series is something you can't make up.

Except, that wasn't the case.

Marcus Hamilton, who draws the Monday to Saturday Dennis the Menace one-panel cartoons, wasn't aware of the odd connection between Dennis and the Rays.

In a phone interview back in June, Hamilton explained he draws the cartoons weeks in advance, so to tip his pen to the Rays and have it run during the ALCS would have been a big risk.

Also, Hamilton said he is a football fan, and wasn't aware of the Rays remarkable run to the World Series or the 9 = 8 theme.

Way to kill a great story, Marcus.

When told of the non-connection, Maddon smiled and said, "Great. A total coincidence. This makes the story even cooler."

I suppose it does.

October Madness

Did you hear how quiet it was at Fenway Park on Sunday after Erick Aybar grabbed Dustin Pedroia's fly ball for the final out? Deafening.

Is it me or are baseball's playoffs taking on a March Madness feel?

You have a historic meltdown/comeback in the Dodgers' Game 2 win against the Cardinals.

You have Alex Rodriguez - Yes, A-Rod - hitting a two-run bomb in the ninth inning Friday to start the Yankees comeback.

You have the Red Sox, one strike from a win to three straight batters, yet going home after Jonathan Papelbon not only allows the first postseason runs of his career, but also blows his first postseason save.

Papelbon was protecting a two-run lead when he allowed a two-out, two-strike single to Aybar. He had two strikes on Chone Figgins before issuing a walk.

Papelbon had two strikes on Bobby Abreu, before Abreu lifted an RBI double off the Green Monster.

No way Vladimir Guerrero was going to let the count go deep on him. He swung at the first pitch and drove in the tying and winning runs with a single to center.

Red Sox Nation, screaming in all its glory when Aybar seemed ready to make the final out, stood stone-like as the Angels celebrated their three-game sweep.

The first week of the playoffs have been must-see cable TV.

Man, I love this game.

Cardinal Blue

When was the last time a team was down to its final out with no one on base and came back to win a postseason game when that final out became a game-changing error? Never, according to the folks at ESPN.

Never, at least, until Matt Holliday lost a two-out, bases-empty line drive Thursday in either the Dodger Stadium lights (likely) or the white towels waved by Dodger fans (unlikely) that opened the door to the Dodgers improbable 3-2 come-from-behind win.

Holliday makes the catch - and he made one error in 63 games with the Cardinals this season - and the series shifts to St. Louis tied at 1-1 with the Cardinals having the home field advantage.

But Holliday doesn't, and now the Dodgers are one win from advancing to the NLCS.

''I didn't see the ball,'' Holliday told reporters in L.A. after the game. ''Obviously, I can catch a ball that's hit right at me. It's very difficult to swallow. We had a chance to win the game. It was unfortunate that it happened when it did.''

St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright, who was in line for the win, had this to say: ''That ball got lost in 50,000 white towels shaking in front of Matt's face. It doesn't really seem fair that an opposing team should be able to allow their fans to shake white towels when there's a white baseball flying through the air. How about Dodger Blue towels?"

I thought about that as I watched the Tigers-Twin playoff game Tuesday and the NLDS games in Philly. Fans there wave white towels. The ball is white. Is it possible for a player to lose a ball in the towels?

I would think so. I wonder why it hasn't already happened.

I don't think it happened Thursday, because Dodger crowds are a tad laid back, and I doubt they would be waving towels when James Loney sent that catchable line drive toward Holliday in left field. Maybe before the pitch, but once the ball was hit? I don't think so. It wasn't like it was whistled down the left field line, drilled into the gap or sent sailing over the outfield wall. Loney didn't give the Dodger fans a chance to cheer. Holliday did.

Holliday is considered the goat, though Cardinals All-Star closer Ryan Franklin deserves equal blame. He didn't retire a single batter in the ninth.

Still, Holliday makes the catch and the biggest news Thursday was the Angels win against the Red Sox.

But he didn't, and we were treated to something we have never seen before in the long history of postseason baseball.

Boy, I love this game.

Great game on Tuesday. More, please.

Alexi Casilla is the first hero of the postseason, though technically, his heroics took place during an extended regular season, but let's not argue over minor details.

Tuesday's game between the Twins and the Tigers, Game 163 of the regular season for those two teams, was necessary to determine the AL Central champ, so it was every bit a playoff game. It was no different from a Game 5 of the ALDS or a Game 7 of the ALCS.

Winner moves on. Loser goes home.

The Twins were winners thanks to Casilla's 12th inning single that drove home the winning run in a 6-5 victory. This after Casilla's inability to properly tag at third base in the 10th cost the Twins what would have been the winning run.

The game was the perfect warm-up to the postseason.

The Tigers jumped to a 3-0 lead. They blew a 3-0 lead.

They trailed 4-3 and led 5-4.

Tigers closer, Fernando Rodney (He of the wayward toss into the Tropicana Field press box after a game Sept. 4)turned in the performance of his life, pitching three innings but took the loss.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire used seven relievers, and five turned in scoreless outings.

Tigers left fielder Ryan Raburn lost a ball in the lights and played a single into a triple that allowed the Twins tie the score at 5-5 in the 10th. Goat? Maybe. But it was Radburn who threw Casilla out at the plate to end the inning and extend the Tigers season for two more innings.

It was a game you didn't want to see end, unless you were a fan of the Twins or Tigers.

The game was necessary because the Tigers couldn't hold a seven game lead in the final month of the season. We know this about the Twins, they don't quit.

Minnesota came on strong at the end of the 2008 season and forced a one-game playoff with the Chicago White Sox.

Orlando Cabrera was the White Sox shortstop last year. He is the Twins shortstop this year.

Maybe Cabrera is the key to winning these one-game playoffs in the AL Central. He is to that division what Eric Hinske is to the AL East. Can't win the title without him.

This is the third straight year a one-game playoff was necessary to determine the final playoff team. The Rockies beat the Padres in a thriller in 2007. The White Sox beat the Twins 1-0 in 2008. Tuesday gave us the epic 12 inning Twins victory.

All three games were decided by one run. Two were decided in extra innings with walk-off victories. The other ended with diving catch in center field.

I don't know about you, but I kind like these one-game play-ins.

The postseason starts today. The Twins had 21 hours to celebrate their victory, fly to New York, get some sleep and prepare to battle the Yankees, winners of 103 games this season, in Game 1 of the ALDS that begins tonight at 6 p.m.

I wouldn't mind a repeat of Tuesday's dual at the dome as we go forward with this postseason.

Would it be too much to ask a few Game 5s and maybe a Game 7 in one ALCS be decided by such a contest?

And, if that's not too much, can the World Series go seven games? And can Game 7 go 12 innings?

Give me those, and I won't ask for anything else until next season.

Happy Anniversary, Game 1

I remember driving over the Sunshine Skyway and catching my first glimpse of Tropicana Field. The white, round building with the funny roof never looked better.

It was drenched in sun light. No kidding, it sparkled.

I was as excited as I had ever been to make the drive over the bridge and through the side streets of St. Pete to that ballpark.

It was Game 1 of the American League Division Series. The playoffs. And the Tampa Bay Rays were playing.

I remember thinking as I drove across Tampa Bay and watched the stadium dance under the sunlight that I never dreamed I would ever be making that ride for that reason.

The Rays had been the worst franchise in professional sports for their first 10 years. They finished last in their division and with the worst record in baseball in both 2006 and 2007.

But there they were, Oct. 2, 2008, the American League East champs, playing host to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS.

We didn't really know it at the time, but the entire baseball world would head to the Trop last October, because the Rays would take care of the White Sox, out-last the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series and play the Phillies in the World Series.

I remember having a good feeling about the Rays a year ago today as I made the ride from my house to the Trop. Carl Crawford would be back in the lineup, and I felt they could beat the White Sox that afternoon, which would give them the advantage in the best-of-five series.

They did, winning 6-4 behind the pitching of James Shields and two home runs from soon-to-be rookie of the year Evan Longoria.

Much like Longoria, the Rays were babes in baseball's postseason, but the intense light never got in their eyes. Maybe the rain in Philly, but not the glare from the postseason spotlight.

Tonight, the Rays play the Yankees at the Trop in a game that means very little except to Yankee starter CC Sabathia, who needs one more victory for a 20-win season.

The talk around the Rays as they finish out the season with one final three-game series is, What went wrong?

Let's leave that for another day. Today, let's celebrate the anniversary of Game 1 of the 2008 ALDS, a day we never thought we'd see, a day we wish to see again.

Pirates, Rays come up big

The Pirates and Rays put some money together and renovated the baseball fields at Norma Lloyd Park in Bradenton for the RBI Program, run by the 13th Ave. Community Rec Center.

Great move.

You won't find many major league teams that will work with another on a community project, mainly because it's hard to find two teams that share a fan base, Rays president Matt Silverman said.

The Rays and Pirates do.

The Pirates train in Bradenton. The Rays play across the bay from Bradenton. Actually, across the bay from Palmetto, but you can see Tropicana Field from several points in Bradenton.

Rays pitcher James Shields and Pirates pitcher Matt Capps, who lives in Bradenton, also kicked in, showing they do more than talk about caring for the fan base, they actually contribute to making something better for said fans.

The ball fields are beautiful. The kids in the RBI program don't know how fortunate they are to have a pair of diamonds of that quality.

It won't make them better ball players, though it could help the infielders with their fielding.

They key to their development is the input from the parents. Will they help maintain the fields? Will they help nurture the love for the game?

Football is the sport of choice in Bradenton, with every receiver hoping to be the next Peter Warrick and every quarterback hoping to be the next Tommie Frazier and every defender wanting to be the next Michael Jenkins or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

But there is nothing to say they can't be the next Lastings Milledge or Lance Carter or Joe Mays, a trio of major league players who learned their skills on those very ball fields.

Patrick Carnegie, the executive director of the 13th Ave. Coomunity Rec Center, who played ball on those fields more than a few years ago, had this to say Thursday morning as he glanced around the complex, "It really is a field of dreams, so you never know."

Hey kids, Play Ball!