What A Finish -- it's PLAYOFF time!

MIN sneaked into AL Central Championship seat with a win & a loss from DET today, last regular-season day. DET lost 5 in a row going into post-season (not to mention getting swiped by KC at home). Twins gained as much momentum as it could possibly get going into October to face OAK.

HOU disappointingly missed the playoff after a tremendous run in September. With a loss on Sat. that Andy Pettitte started on 4-day rest & STL winning their game, Astros' magical post-season chase slowly faded away. STL held on to keep its NL Central title without much grace, nor solid performance in Sep. It'd be interesting to see how far Cardinals can go into October with its struggling ball club.

SD won the NL West division ahead of LA only because of better head-to-head record, both clubs have 88 wins and won their last regular-season game on Sunday. (LAD won 7 in a row & SD won 2 straight to wrap up the season) NL West may be the strongest division and both SD & LAD will be solid contenders in post-season. (more on NYM & its problems in another discussion)

Check out each playoff franchise's World Series Championship history:

Last time they won it all
The Red Sox won in 2004 for their first title since 1918, and the White Sox won in 2005 for their first since 1917. There will be none of that profound drought-busting this year, because the Cubs (1908) again aren't a factor. But because that has been the trend, it still is worth noting the prospects for ending some relatively notable waits.

Padres: Never. They were one of the four expansion clubs in 1969, so that's 36 years without one (excluding the 1994 strike year). San Diego lost to the Tigers in 1984 and was swept by the Yankees in 1998.

Cardinals: 1982. Bruce Sutter closed it out against Milwaukee. This is the longest world championship drought in the rich Redbird history, surpassing the time before the first title. They lost subsequent trips in 1985, 1987 and 2004.

Tigers: 1984. Joel Zumaya was born a couple weeks after Sparky Anderson's Tigers beat the Padres for Motown's last World Series title. Detroit has not been back to the World Series.

Mets: 1986. It was Mookie Wilson's dribbler through Bill Buckner's legs that allowed a Game 6 and then led to a clincher the next night against Boston. The Mets made it back in the 2000 Subway Series but lost in five.

Dodgers: 1988. Kirk Gibson's miracle homer off Dennis Eckersley was the key blow against Oakland. No World Series appearances since then.

Athletics: 1989. Those were the days when Oakland was expected to be there every year, their second of three consecutive trips to the Fall Classic. It was the only one they won during that stretch, a sweep of the Giants remembered mostly because of the tragic Loma Prieta earthquake that created a delay between the first and second games in the Bay Area. The A's haven't been back in the World Series since, and during this decade have had trouble getting over a hump in early rounds.

Twins: 1991. Gene Larkin's single in the 10th won Game 7 of an unforgettable World Series against Atlanta. Minnesota hasn't been back.

Yankees: 2000. It was the third title in a row and No. 26 in all, by far the most in baseball. The Bombers then lost to Arizona on Luis Gonzalez's single in the seventh inning of Game 7 a year later, and they were shocked at home by Josh Beckett and Florida in a decisive Game 6 in 2003. This is something of a World Series appearance drought for the Yanks, who have gone consecutive years without being in one for the first time since 1995.

Here is the official 2006 Playoff schedule:

Tuesday, Oct. 3

ALDS Game 1: Oakland at Minnesota, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NLDS Game 1: St. Louis at San Diego, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
ALDS Game 1: Detroit at NY Yankees, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)

Wednesday, Oct. 4

ALDS Game 2: Oakland at Minnesota, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NLDS Game 1: Los Angeles at NY Mets, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
ALDS Game 2: Detroit at NY Yankees, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Thursday, Oct. 5

NLDS Game 2: St. Louis at San Diego, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NLDS Game 2: Los Angeles at NY Mets, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)

Friday, Oct. 6

ALDS Game 3: Minnesota at Oakland, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
ALDS Game 3: NY Yankees at Detroit, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Saturday, Oct. 7

NLDS Game 3: San Diego at St. Louis, TBA
NLDS Game 3: NY Mets at Los Angeles, TBA
ALDS Game 4: *Minnesota at Oakland, TBA
ALDS Game 4: *NY Yankees at Detroit, TBA

Sunday, Oct. 8

NLDS Game 4: *San Diego at St. Louis, TBA
NLDS Game 4: *NY Mets at Los Angeles, TBA
ALDS Game 5: *Oakland at Minnesota, TBA
ALDS Game 5: *Detroit at NY Yankees, TBA

Monday, Oct. 9

NLDS Game 5: *St. Louis at San Diego, TBA
NLDS Game 5: *Los Angeles at NY Mets, TBA

* -- if necessary