Mike, I still think there is no chance in hell that even the great Jack McKeon would have done ANYTHING, AT ALL with this Reds team or past Reds teams. And I'm also cynical enough to believe that Jack McKeon has been lucky this year, taking over a team that fired its manager early in the season. I think managers are very important, don't get me wrong, in the area of how he completes a lineup card and makes changes and keeps a certain attitude in the clubhouse. But do we say that Jeff Torborg couldn't have gotten this team to the playoffs with Dontrelle Willis, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny leading the rotation, and the valuable additions such as Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Pierre, and Jeff Conine (who, in my opinion was the last straw that made the difference) adding to the team that already has Luis Castillo, Mike Lowell (unfortunately hurt), Derrick Lee, Juan Encarnacion, and the Lowell fill-in, Miguel Cabrera. Torborg didn't have near this firepower, ever, since he took the reins from Jim Leyland.

I mean...seriously...do you think the Reds would be in the playoffs under any circumstances this year?

Braves/Cubs...been through this one before, and no matter who the Braves play in a 5 game series I am always scared to death. Yes, they have a 6-2 record in LDS series, and they've swept 4 of them (including the '98 Cubs), but it doesn't make it any less nerve-racking. Speaking of been through this before, the Braves have played every team in the NL in a playoff series except for the Brewers and Expos. The Brewers had been in the AL when the Braves started this and haven't made the playoffs since 1983, and the Expos have never made the playoffs. So if the Braves win this series, it doesn't matter who wins the Marlins/Giants, it will be a repeat ('97 Marlins, '03 Giants).

Movies:

LOST IN TRANSLATION: I have seen this movie twice since it opened Friday. It is fantastic. I'm in love with Scarlett Johannson. Bill Murray has become the best actor out of Saturday Night Live's nearly 30 years of players, with a better career and better future than any of them. I don't see Mike Myers ever making a drama as touching as this, because I'm sure he'll always remind me of Linda Richman every time he does something serious. And Steve Martin, who has shown versatility in the past few years beyond comedy, has yet to have a vehicle in which everyone starts buzzing about it. Do I need to mention Dan Aykroyd or Chevy Chase? Watch this movie as soon as you can. Doing so well at Green Hills, even Hollywood's getting it this week.

STUEY: About 3-time World Series of Poker champ Stu Ungar, and the life he led wasting his card money on women, drugs, and other types of gambling. Michael Imperioli (Christopher from THE SOPRANOS) is very good. Shot in Nashville and contains Cafe OneTwoThree, Union Station Hotel, and so on, written and directed by a guy from Franklin, this movie is making a lot of waves in the festival circuit. Good stuff, check it out.