I really want to get into the baseball playoffs, but with the Yankees now out, I don't feel as motivated. I'm not surprised they lost, it was bound to happen. As for the rest of the Yankee-hating nation out there, I guess the playoffs don't seem as much fun without a villain to root against, eh? Barry Bonds may count, but until the Braves series, he was so pathetic in October, that it was hardly worth jeering him.

Speaking of the Braves series, I went to Games 2 and 5, thanks in part to free tickets from the company (given out to all employees) and the place still wasn't sold out. There was a nice energy early in Game 5, but that quieted early, and worse off, people were leaving after the eighth inning in a 3-1 game. (They may have been losing, but it's not like they were down 13-1 or something, jeez!) There are many excuses for why the stadium wasn't filled -- prices too high (Division Series tickets were about the same price as the regular season; LCS and World Series tickets that sell better are marked up in ridiculous fashion by Major League Baseball); people are working and can't make daytime games (then why did Minnesota sell out daytime games?); people tire of the constant success (then why is Yankee Stadium packed every year?). There is something to be said about people being spoiled here. Then again, maybe we need Larry Munson and Skip Caray calling games together, or pretending it's college football and paying off players to come to Atlanta (oh wait, that's already done).