Playoffs much more entertaining sans Red Sox, Yanks

	Watching a great player like Albert Pujols do his thing has made this postseason special. Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Watching the American League Championship Series, I was relieved that neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees were involved. Without them we were treated to some of the finest damn baseball any of us has ever seen. The bigwigs with the corner offices at MLB have long rooted for Red Sox-Yankees showdowns to boost their TV ratings. Instead, what we got this year was a far more interesting storyline than "The Curse of the Bambino" and "The Idiots."

For starters, there was a gremlin named A.J. Pierzynski, who had an uncanny ability to get under more people's skin than Andy Dick. If there is a controversial call in the World Series, look for ol' A.J. to be in the middle of it. Whether it's a dispute over whether or not a ball was caught cleanly on strike three or a controversial play at first, you can bet the White Sox's backstop will have something to do with it.

A.J. was soundly booed when he was announced before Game 3 in Anaheim (which is farther from Los Angeles than the Meadowlands is from New York City). How did he respond? He jacked a ball to deep center field that traveled farther and higher than a Manny Ramirez cut off throw.

Albert Pujols' decisive three-run homer in Game 5 of the NLCS in Houston on Monday night was as big a play as you will see in baseball. The crowd at Minute Maid Park got so quiet you could have heard a mouse peeing on cotton.

Talk about watching new and improved drama unfold on national television. Forget about A-Rod and Varitek, throw out Bronson Arroyo's dyed corn rows and Kevin Millar's Amish beard. Say hello to watching Astros' closer Brad Lidge go from hero to goat faster than FOX can cut away to Joe Torre picking his nose.