So ends the regular season

I'd imagine Jake Peavy is still the NL Cy Young, even with a pitiful performance against the Rockies in Monday's tiebreaker. It's almost a good thing that the Rockies put the Padres and that offense (or lack thereof) out of their misery before the official start of the postseason.

The stars of the show were the Rockies and Padres' bullpens. Yes, both teams were showing a lack of patience at the plate. But you had guys like Manny Corpas, Heath Bell, Brian Fuentes, and Doug Brocail blowing through hitters. This game went into extras, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

The scariest part, however, was the realization that Jorge Julio > all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. That's two times in the last three days that Hoffman has blown his team's chances to advance to the postseason. With Hairston's 2-run homer in the top of the 13th, we appeared poised to tell a great story about a guy picked up from the Diamondbacks and becoming the most clutch batter in the NL West in September.

Instead, it's the same tune on a different day. Trevor Hoffman with the blown save. The final RBI was driven in by the unlikely source of Jamey Carroll. Yes, we can argue about that play at the plate. I personally didn't think Holliday touched home plate, and he should have been called out when Barrett retrieved the ball and tagged him. But all of that is fairly meaningless. Were that the first out of the inning, Todd Helton was still in scoring position. On that play, he more that likely would have moved to third. And the chances of Trevor getting a ground-ball double play the way he was throwing seem unlikely.

Congratulations to the Rockies on playing hard when it means the most. For San Diego, however, it's been proven that your closer cannot close in big games. I would imagine Hoffman will be back unless he announces retirement in the offseason, but it's a difficult spot for this team to be in. Their offense is not great. If the team is dependent on pitching, they need a closer who will deliver in big games or they won't win. It's that simple. To be fair, Jake Peavy also has not performed in big games. But he's still young, where Hoffman is nearing 40.

Then again, all-time saves leaders don't just come around everyday. And it's hard to know whether a guy like Heath Bell can settle into that role until you try him. But that's a dilemma for this Padres team to figure out.

Is Matt Holliday the National League MVP? He's the NL batting champion, that's for sure. And with the Brewers and Mets both not making the playoffs, the race may come down to Holliday and Rollins of the Phillies.

That concludes the 2007 regular season. And now, for the postseason schedule:

Wednesday, October 3rd
3:00pm ET: Rockies @ Phillies (Game 1)
6:30pm ET: Angels @ Red Sox (Game 1)
10:00pm ET: Cubs @ Diamondbacks (Game 1)

Thursday, October 4th
3:00pm ET Rockies @ Phillies (Game 2)
6:30pm ET Yankees @ Indians (Game 1)
10:00pm ET Cubs @ Diamondbacks (Game 2)

Friday, October 5th
5:00pm ET Yankees @ Indians (Game 2)
8:30pm ET Angels @ Red Sox (Game 2)

Saturday, October 6th
6:00pm ET Diamondbacks @ Cubs (Game 3)
9:30pm ET Phillies @ Rockies (Game 3)

Sunday, October 7th
1:00pm ET Diamondbacks @ Cubs (Game 4, if necessary) on TNT
3:00pm ET Red Sox @ Angels (Game 3)
6:30pm ET Indians @ Yankees (Game 3)
10:00pm ET Phillies @ Rockies (Game 4, if necessary)

Monday, October 8th
6:00pm ET Indians @ Yankees (Game 4, if necessary)
9:30pm ET Red Sox @ Angels (Game 4, if necessary)
If only one game will be played on Monday, then game time shifts to 7:30pm ET

Tuesday, October 9th
6:30pm ET Rockies @ Phillies (Game 5, if necessary)
10:00pm ET Cubs @ Diamondbacks (Game 5, if necessary)
If only one game will be played on Tuesday, then game time shifts to 8:30pm ET

Wednesday, October 10th
5:00pm ET Yankees @ Indians (Game 5, if necessary)
8:30pm ET Angels @ Red Sox (Game 5, if necessary)
If only one game will be played on Wednesday, then game time shifts to 8:30pm ET

All games on TBS, except Game 4 between the Diamondbacks and Cubs at 1pm on october 7th. If there is an overrun on any of those games [and I'm sure there will be], games will be run to their conclusion on TBS. A new game will be started on TNT and switch over to TBS at the conclusion of the previous game. Should make for some DVR fun.