Last year at this time, the Terrific Girlfriend guest-posted with a brilliant review of the 2009 Brewers season - the 2009 Brewers Grades and Random Talent Show Awards. Well, since the 2010 season is almost a mirror-image of the 2009 season, it doesn't seem worth giving out another report card. Those looking for something like that, just go back and read the 2009 Brewers Grades and Random Talent Show Awards. That should about cover it.

But we can't let October go by without a new post from the Terrific Girlfriend. Here, then, for your enjoyment, is a look at some of 2010's greatest failed fan promotions. We all know teams, with an eye on the bottom-line, tend to do some questionable or outrageous stuff to lure fans to the ballpark, but the lengths to which they go aren't always noticeable until you see them all listed together like this. Heck, even the Yankees get into the crazy-business every now and then. I have to say, I'm glad I never had to go to a game like these...

With the economy in the toilet, many baseball clubs resorted to having additional promotions to boost revenue. Here are some that didn't go over so well.

Twins

"Island of Dr. Morneau Night". This took place after Joe Nathan was placed on the DL. The Twins announced that Justin Morneau would splice the DNA of several baseball players together with their mascot to create a new closer.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

Umpires, umpires, umpires. We cannot get through a playoff game anymore without having to deal with at least one questionable call. I wrote about it last year, and even mentioned it again last week. As I've said many times before, these things are not new.

While looking up video about the Loma Prieta/World Series earthquake this afternoon, I found the video posted below. If the embed doesn't work properly, fast-forward the video to 4:16, to the start of Dave Parker's at-bat:

The video only lasts twenty seconds before the earthquake hits and it cuts out. There's enough there to see something interesting, though.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

Today - Sunday, October 17 - is the 21st anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. As someone said on Twitter, it is now old enough to buy itself a beer.

For those who don't know it by that name, the Loma Prieta earthquake was the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area mere hours before the start of Game 3 of the "Battle of the Bay" World Series between the Giants and A's. The Series, which the A's were leading two games to nil, was delayed a full ten days before resuming. San Francisco's Candlestick Park was damaged in the quake, but the Series played on. (EDIT: I originally wrote that the games were played in Oakland. My mistake.)

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

And here we are with my final Baseball Bloggers Alliance award ballot for the year. This award is the Stan Musial Award, given out to the best player of the year. Think of it as the Most Valuable Player award if you'd like. My Ted Williams Award for top rookie and Walter Johnson Award for top pitcher ballots are also available.

Once again, I'm happy to hear from you where I'm wrong.

Stan Musial Award (Most Valuable Player)

A.L.: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Josh Hamilton batted .359/.411/.633 while playing good defense and leading his team to the postseason. The only knock against Hamilton is that he missed pretty much the entire month of September with a rib injury. Evan Longoria has the next best case, playing an outstanding third base with excellent numbers on the team with the best record in baseball. I'm a sucker for the Rangers' story, though (as a team), and I just don't know see Longoria as number one even after adjusting for his defense and home-park factors.

N.L.: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Joey Votto is the National League version of Josh Hamilton, only without the time-off in September. As the leader of the Reds, Votto led the team to a first-place finish with a .324/.424/.600 line. There were fine seasons from other NL sluggers - Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, even Aubrey Huff - but none were able to overtake Votto.

The Texas Rangers began their life as the expansion Washington Senators, coming into existence only because the city of Washington, D.C., did not approve of the original Senators franchise moving to Minnesota. Seven years later, the team was sold to owner Bob Short, and three years after that Short relocated the team to Texas. Short claimed that, in that small amount of time, he had already lost over $3 million (he bought the team for $9.4 million).

Neither the American League, with former Senator Joe Cronin as president, nor the Commissioner's Office wanted the Nats to leave town all that much, but, in the end, two Washington-based offers were declined in favor of the relocation. The $1 million annual radio/revenue guaranteed to the club, along with a rent-free stadium and $7.5 million in low-interest financing must have proved to be too much.

On November 23, 1971, the former-Senators were officially introduced as the new Texas Rangers. A large sign and a few ten-gallon hats marked the occasion. It was even reported that the team consulted the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency to make sure that they "wouldn't be insulted". After all, it's not like the Senators were the class of the American League.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

After two long, painful days of no baseball whatsoever, we're finally set to begin the LCS tomorrow when the Rangers host the Yankees down in Arlington. And that, of course, is merely prelude to the big Halladay/Lincecum matchup that Saturday will bring us. It's going to be a great weekend for baseball.

With the first round of the playoffs in the books, it's time for a quick update to the Wezen-Ball MLB Predictions contest. Here's the first update from last week, and here's the details about the contest.

To see the leaderboard and everybody's full predictions, side-by-side, click here.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

I wasn't smart enough to remember to alert everyone last night before it happened, so I'm trying to make up for that by letting you know now: Bill & The Common Man from Platoon Advantage and I did an LCS preview podcast. And it's even better this time because we were joined by two LCS experts: Dan McQuade, who you probably remember from his terrific guest post here back in August and who is a Phillies fan lucky enough to have tickets to the Roy Halladay-Tim Lincecum faceoff on Saturday; and Jason Rosenberg, who I hope you know from the excellent Yankees blog It's About the Money, Stupid.

The five of us, in part, offered our thoughts on what we learned from the LDS's, what we should hope to see in the LCS, and who we might be seeing in the World Series. It was a fun time and, at least on our part, flew by super-quick. It should be a good listen.

One thought: in the podcast, I predicted the Yankees would beat the Rangers in (I think) six games. This has been weighing on me. I hate picking the Yankees for anything, even when it seems pretty obvious that they're the better team. I can't really take back the pick, so I'll just say that I will take absolutely no joy in the Yankees live up to my prediction. I will be hoping beyond hope that they lose and lose good, and that the Rangers make it to the Fall Classic.

There. Just wanted to make that clear. To listen to the podcast, click the "Read More" link to be taken below. You can also find the podcast over here. And don't forget, you can always subscribe to the podcast through the link on the player. Feel free to do so.

Enjoy!

(Click "Read More" to listen to the podcast.)

Continuing my selections for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance awards this year, we come to the Walter Johnson Award, given out to the best pitcher of the year. I cast my ballot for the Willie Mays Award for top rookie yesterday.

As always, feel free to tell me where I'm wrong.

Walter Johnson Award (Cy Young)

A.L.: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Let's face it. This is not a "stats-vs-writers" thing. There is absolutely no way anyone can credibly argue that C.C. Sabathia or David Price is better than Felix. I understand some people's support of Francisco Liriano but, again, Felix is better than him in every way. The only reason anyone would vote for someone other than Felix is because of the wins column, and that just should not fly in this day and age. Felix Hernandez is the best pitcher in the American League this year the same way Roger Clemens was the best pitcher in the National League in 2005. C.C. Sabathia is not the best pitcher in the AL this year in the same way Bob Welch was not the best pitcher in the AL in 1990. We do not need to keep making those same mistakes.

N.L.: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

I love Doc. I was so glad when he was traded out of Toronto into a city with a much bigger stage and a much better chance at postseason glory. I was anxious to see how he would do this year - the change in leagues seemed like a perfect chance to see another Randy Johnson-in-1997-type season. The fact that he was able to live up to those expectations so easily - and with a perfect game to boot! - just makes me ecstatic. This Cy Young award is about as certain as these things can be.

As my annual duty as a member of the Baseball Bloggers Association, I will be posting my selections for the various postseason awards throughout the week. The BBA has taken the step this year to name their awards after great players in the past who best represent the award. I like this, and think it's a great little addition.

Sadly, I missed the deadline for the Connie Mack Award (top manager) already, so we'll just move on to the Willie Mays Award for top rookie. You can expect the rest of the awards throughout the week. Always feel free to let me know where I'm wrong.

Willie Mays Award (Rookie of the Year)

A.L.: Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers

The rookie of the year award always seems to stump me at least once every year. It just feels like we're "settling" for someone every now and then. Maybe it's just me. I'm choosing Neftali Feliz here over Austin Jackson for that exact reason. Jackson is probably going to win the BBWAA's award, and I can't quite shake the feeling that it's because the writers have no one else to vote for. Feliz, despite getting saddled as a closer (which I really, really hope doesn't pigeonhole him in the future), is the better rookie in my mind. His 40 saves are nice, of course, but we all know saves aren't a great statistic. Instead, it's his strikeouts and walks that really grabs me. Jackson had a nice year, but it's not enough to beat Feliz.

N.L.: Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves

There is no wrong answer here, provided you're choosing either Jason Heyward or Buster Posey. They both had absolutely fantastic years and they're both going to be All-Stars for many years to come. Frankly, I think it'd be sweet if the two split the vote evenly and shared the award. My one vote goes to Heyward, though. His hot two-month start, his ability to get on-base even after his injury, his solid defense in the outfield, and, most importantly, his two extra months of playing time all tilt it in his favor. Posey has hit for more power, didn't once slump even as the season progressed and the Giants entered the pennant race, and plays a fine defense at the tougher position. The two less months of playing time can't be ignored, though, nor can the fact that Posey played about a month of the year at first. Like I said, my vote goes to Heyward, but Posey is just as deserving.

With the Giants win over the Braves last night, we're down to our last game of the Division Series: a game-five elimination between the Rangers and Rays. I don't really know who I'm rooting for here, but I feel pretty confident I'll be happy for whoever wins. The fact that they'll then have to go and beat the Yankees only makes it better.

I have to say that the Rangers probably have the advantage, though, with Cliff Lee getting the start.

Tonight's tater trots should be posted shortly after they occur in the game. Be sure to check back often. And follow me on Twitter for other thoughts about tonight's game.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)