LDS Open Thread: Day Three (10/6)

The American League teams are off today--it's a travel day--so there are only two games today. But the two NL games should be great. Best of all, since they lost yesterday, it's highly unlikely that the Braves will wear those red monstrosities again today.

Game One (4:09): San Diego (Astacio) at St. Louis (Mulder) -- St. Louis leads 1-0
Game Two (8:19): Astros (Clemens) at Atlanta (Smoltz) -- Houston leads 1-0

As far as I can tell, rumors that there will be preludes to Clemens and Smoltz's Hall of Fame induction speeches before tonight's game are untrue. At the very least, the pitching matchup should make for some interesting viewing.

If you haven't noticed already, there's a new Nats blog on SBNation and it's quite good. They're simulating the playoffs using BP's adjusted standings. The Marlins aren't in those playoffs either (nor are the Nats), but it's always good to follow a parallel universe. At least that's always been my philosophy. Catch up with Day One and Day Two via the links.

In my humble opinion, the worst thing about the playoffs so far has been the Babe Ruth-inspired Bud Light ad. In case you haven't seen it (but if you've watched the games on television, I don't know how you could have missed it), it looks like video of Ruth calling his shot (although not at Wrigley Stadium). The commercial-Ruth is really pointing at a beer vendor in the outfield bleachers. The character hits a home run and circles the bases chanting about Bud Light and pointing out hot dog vendors. All things considered, the commercial is a joke (although I suppose it's effective, as I remember it). Aside from the fact that Ruth would be a normal sized guy (listed at 6'2", 215) in today's major leagues, it's just not a funny commercial. It also seems to be in fairly poor taste. I hope they stop running it.

And finally, here's your chance to vote in the Internet Baseball Awards (polls open through Wednesday). No, they won't be talked about in every major media outlet like those that come from the Baseball Writers' Association. But it's your chance to vote. As an added bonus, you have a chance to win premium access to Baseball Prospectus. That's definitely worthwhile. Vote early, vote often, and vote Dontrelle!

EDIT: Playoff ichthyomancy begins today. It's essentially the same as what we did all year, but with a few twists: you can pick one team to each game each day (no matter how many games there are and everyone who picks a winner gets a point). You can pick one player to star that day (and he doesn't have to be on the team you pick to win). You can also make one AAB pick (there will be a reasonableness test - i.e. no "they will sing the National Anthem" before the game type picks). No points for attendance guesses. We'll start today - unless people complain that there wasn't enough notice. Make your picks below. Also, if you have suggestions about how we should play this, make your case in the comments.

Discuss...