Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are testing their respective theories regarding proper defensive alignment for NHL teams …

It’d work a lot better with actual players, guys.

Anyway, we are approaching nirvana time for sports aficionados, with all four of the major professional sports in action to a degree. The NHL is wrapping up its preseason, while the NBA is beginning theirs. More on those later. Like, some other post later.

The wild card round in baseball ended in appropriate fashion on October 3, with the New York Mets entering the top of the ninth inning trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0. This being the 2024 Mets, where, as the saying goes, anything can happen and usually does, naturally, Pete Alonso swatted a three-run homer off of Brewers' normally lights-out closer Devin Williams, and the Mets went on to win 4-2.

By now, New York’s fan base must own stock in every blood pressure medicine manufacturer. The Mets started the season looking like afterthoughts. On June 12, they were nine games below .500. Then came the miracle milkshake. Grimace, of McDonalds fame, threw out the first pitch at Citi Field. The Mets then did their best to make up for how you can never actually buy a milkshake at McDonalds because the machine is always out of order and started winning. And winning. And winning some more, leading them to a wild card berth no one expected and now a divisional series matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Thus, we are set for the division series. In each league, the two survivors of the wild card round now take on the two division winners who finished the regular season with the best records. They’re rested and ready. Or rusty and rickety. Or both. Anyway, starting October 5 we have:

• Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians Guardians

Cleveland is the best team in baseball you haven’t heard a word about all year. The Guardians have quietly gone about their business, winning behind a stud bullpen and an offense that does just enough to win. The Tigers have won with lots of pitching, both starting — starting pitcher Tarik Skubal is all that and a bag of chips — and mastering the fine art of being overall far better than anyone anticipated going into the season. The Tigers are on an epic tear; can the Guardians slow their roll? The series least anticipated may turn out to be the most competitive of the four on tap.

• New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

It’s about eighty miles in a straight line between Philadelphia and New York City. Which has nothing to do with the series, but I thought I’d throw it in there anyway. The Mets have mastered the heart attack-inducing path to victory, while the Phillies spent the regular season rolling over pretty much everyone courtesy of excellent pitching, both starting and relieving, and hitting. Philadelphia has no discernible weaknesses, and when you can roll Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper into the batter's box, look out. Logic states the Phillies are the clear favorites. They are. But the 2024 Mets have been the 2024 Mets as of late, so don’t write this one off.

• Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees

Talk about your stereotypical David versus Goliath scenario. Kansas City got here by riding the coattails of one superstar (Bobby Witt Jr.), while New York spent its season alternating between blunderbussing opponents behind the duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, or plain blundering. The Yankees live and die by the long ball, which, when you have Judge and Soto back-to-back in the lineup, means more living than dying. However, they are not defensively sound, and unless it’s a home run trot, have no clue on how to run the bases. New York may well bash its way to the league championship series, but this series is by no means a given.

• San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers

Katie bar the door. These are two teams that genuinely hate each other. Their respective fan bases genuinely hate each other. The Swinging Friar would genuinely hate the Dodgers mascot if they had one. And why don’t the Dodgers have a mascot? Anyway, this series marks Shohei Ohtani’s first postseason appearance. The pressure won’t get to him. Or Mookie Betts. Or Freddie Freeman. Los Angeles has no shortage of professional hitters. Neither does San Diego, with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Where things get interesting is on the mound. Both teams have dealt with a series of injuries to their starting pitchers that would make the average NFL team sympathetic. Each team’s bullpen has usually been capable but less frequently commanding. And did I mention all parties involved genuinely hate each other? This one should be fun to watch … from a safe distance.

Have a fab Friday, everyone.