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As you read in David Brown's Star power: 20 players capable of dominating fall headlines piece, the Arizona Diamondbacks roster isn't exactly packed with star power or impact players. In fact, only Justin Upton represented Arizona on that list, which is exactly how I would have written it as well.

I'm sure a valid argument could be made for 21-game winner Ian Kennedy to join Upton. Maybe even catcher Miguel Montero or outfielder Chris Young, but they're only sure bets if the list was 25-30 deep.

But therein lies the beauty of the Diamondbacks in 2011. Few households names. Player-for-player, possibly the least talented team in these playoffs. But they're a well-constructed, well-prepared squad that will outwork you and make you earn what your keep.

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Because of that, they're easy to root for. But likeability and grindiness won't win you too many playoff games. They are going to need contributions from a

MayorsPlayoff baseball means it's time for a few friendly bets between mayors from the respective cities involved. And we have one to report from the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals NLDS, which is set to begin on Saturday afternoon at 5 PM EST.

Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter (pictured left) and St. Louis mayor Francis Slay (right) have agreed to wager a few cold ones, with the the losing mayor sending a supply of locally-made beers to the winner.

Should the Cardinals win, Nutter will be shipping away a variety of beverages from Philadelphia's vast selection of microbreweries. Should the Phillies win, Slay will of course be parting with a supply of St. Louis-based Budweiser.

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Though you'd think the bet was tilted in St. Louis' favor, Mark McDonald, a representative of Mayor Nutter, felt the need to release a statement defending Philadelphia's microbrews, while engaging in a little trash talk.

"We produce some high-quality

MMoore55Joe Maddon sure knows how to grab your attention, doesn't he?

The Tampa Bay Rays skipper did it again on Thursday night, naming rookie left-hander Matt Moore his starting pitcher for Game 1 of their ALDS against the Texas Rangers.

Of course, Maddon's main purpose wasn't to attract attention with his decision. With James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson and David Price unavailable after working against the New York Yankees this week, his options were limited.

After arriving at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Thursday afternoon, Maddon determined that it was the 22-year-old Moore who gave them the best chance to win Game 1.

Yes, even though Moore has only three major-league appearances — and one start — to his name. Bluebird Banter did the research and found that no pitcher has ever started Game 1 of a postseason series with less big-league experience. Moore will break the mark of Bob Wolcott, who started a game for the 1995 Seattle Mariners after seven appearances.

Maddon says he's confident in

CrawfordAn apology may not cut it this time for Carl Crawford. Not after his sliding attempt to save the Boston Red Sox season came up short in their heart-breaking 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

And not after his former squad, the Tampa Bay Rays, completed their September surge and overtook Boston for the American League wild card on Wednesday night.

It was almost as if the ending had been scripted. In fact, the entire night in baseball felt that way pretty much from beginning to end. But for Baltimore to rise up against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth with back-to-back, two-out doubles by Chris Davis and Nolan Reimold, which tied the game at three. And then for Robert Andino's sinking line drive to find Carl Crawford.

It just had to be Crawford. There was no other possible ending to this story.

[Related: Red Sox collapse rocks team's foundation]

And one can only imagine what was going through his mind as the ball traveled and continued falling. It was his chance for redemption. A chance

127443102We've seen our fair share of inside-the-park home runs in 2011. Among those were a couple first career home runs that stayed in the yard courtesy of Chicago Cubs speedy outfielder Tony Campana, who rounded the bases at Wrigley Field on Aug 5, and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, who did so back on Aug 20.

In addition to the successful attempts, we also saw a highly amusing attempt that fell a little short, when Ryan Braun face planted coming around third on Aug 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

But what we haven't seen is all three put together. Yes, I mean an inside-the-park home run that was the first of a player's career, that also included a face plant.

That all changed on Tuesday night, when San Francisco Giants third baseman Conor Gillaspie took the plunge, dusted himself off and still crossed the plate during their 7-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. {YSP:MORE}

Gillaspie's comical trip around the bases came in the seventh inning. With Brett Pill on first,

Fielder3HRThe likelihood of Prince Fielder not making Milwaukee his baseball home beyond 2011 wasn't weighing very heavily on Brewers fans' minds Tuesday night. They were way too busy waving their flags and cheering as Fielder's three-homerun, five-RBI eruption led them to a big 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Surprisingly, the three-homer game was the first of Fielder's already prolific career. And to make it more impressive, each swing took on a greater importance as the moved along.

He started with a solo homerun in the third that momentarily tied the score. Rickie Weeks then followed with a monster homerun of his own. His second was a two-run moonshot in the fifth that gave Miwaukee a 4-3 lead. And then the third, final, and most decisive homerun was a two-run shot off Jared Hughes in the seventh that broke the 4-4 tie, and provided the difference in the game.

Watch Fielder's three bombs

The homers were Fielder's 36th, 37th and 38th of the season, tying him with Matt Kemp for

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That's not the final image Seattle Mariners fans wanted to see of Felix Hernandez in 2011.

Thankfully, though, the story it appears to tell isn't nearly as bad as the reality.

Hernandez was forced to leave his final scheduled start of the season on Saturday after he was struck directly on his right forearm by Michael Young's line drive come backer. It sounded bad, it looked bad, and judging from the looks of anguish on Felix's face immediately after, it didn't feel good either.

Watch Hernandez get smoked

Hernandez was immediately taken to the clubhouse for x-rays. Moments later, a collective sigh of relief could be heard all the way from Arlington to Alaska as those x-rays revealed no broken bones. Despite that, Hernandez still had his arm wrapped in a cast after the game, but the official diagnosis is only a bruise.

Of course it's probably a pretty significant bruise. One that would likely cost him a start or two under normal circumstances. But all things considered, very positive

126253552One year removed from a disappointing 65-97 campaign where the finish dead last in the National League West — 27 games behind the San Francisco Giants  — the Arizona Diamondbacks completed their surprising surge to the top of the division, unseating those Giants with a 3-1 victory on Friday night.

The division championship is the fifth for Arizona in their 14-year history, and their first since 2007.

To be honest, I thought the 2007 season was the beginning of a West Coast dynasty for Arizona, with its young nucleus of Justin Upton, Chris Young, Brandon Webb, among others, in place. Unfortunately, injuries and other unforeseen drops in production knocked them off track for awhile.

But they're clearly back on track now thanks to the tireless efforts of Kirk Gibson and general manager Kevin Towers, who worked together to retool a roster, and rehab an ailing state of mind in the clubhouse.

Friday's clincher was a perfect illustration of how far the team has come in that one year with