Fein's Five Thoughts of the Week

My five thoughts for this week in no particular order.

1. Man, it's going to be cold! It looks like just one series in each league will take place in a warm-weather city, Los Angeles. No Florida, no Tampa Bay, no Arizona or Houston, and Atlanta and Texas' chances waning with every letter I type. So bring your overcoat to the playoffs. There are a number of TV crews (and reporters) I know who root for warm-weather teams. That said, this isn't only going to have an impact on the fans and people covering the games in terms of dress code, this could make a monumental difference in the type of baseball we see. Certain players deal with the cold weather better than others. For some pitchers, there are serious issues with getting a grip on the ball when it's cold. And those inside fastballs can wreak havoc on hitters when the temps drop. It's hard to handicap who benefits from this. It's not like football where certain teams are used to playing and practicing in the cold weather. I think most baseball players will tell you they prefer warmer climates, but with the cities preparing to host playoff baseball right now, one thing is for sure... we are going to find out who deals with it better.

2. Brandon Inge is one of the true good guys in sports. I had an opportunity to meet Brandon and his wife, Shani this week in Detroit. We talked about the work they do with kids at a local children's hospital. It's a story you'll see on TBS when the postseason gets underway. Inge hit a home run for not one, but two sick kids this season. He's not just a guy who stops by the hospital once or twice a year, the Inges have made this a big part of their lives. If you're looking for a pro athlete who you can feel good about your kids rooting for, just glance over to third base in Detroit.

3. Did the White Sox waive the white towel too soon? The AL Central is far from a done deal. While Detroit is still the odds on favorite, trust me, having spent a couple of days there, nobody in Detroit is making any playoff plans until it's official. And while the Tigers have done things like lose repeatedly to the Royals, the Twins lost Justin Morneau for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his back. I know it's easy for me writing this after the Tigers struggles and the Morneau injury, but it would have been nice to have Ozzie and company part of the playoff chase.

4. From the "has anyone noticed" category, Alex Rodriguez is having arguably the worst statistical season of his career. Isn't it great. I'm not rooting against A-Rod here, I'm just thankful that the Yankees have had enough success that we haven't had to hear about A-Rod's "struggles" ad nauseam. Oh, by the way, this "off" year for Alex Rodriguez, as I write this, consists of a .286 batting average, 25 Home runs and 84 RBI despite missing the first month of the season. If he played for fifteen years and averaged those numbers, he'd still be a guy who got consideration for the Hall of Fame.

5. And I always like to save the controversy for last. Last week, I talked about Prince Fielder and his walk-off celebration. This week it's balls and strikes from the Angels-Red Sox series. If you missed it, the Red Sox got some generous calls in a come back win against the Angels. I'm not bothered by the complaining in this one. A lot of folks said, "hey, those things even out." No they don't. There is no guarantee that the Angels will have calls go their way in the future because they lost a game with bad calls. Just like there is no guarantee you'll get rewarded with a bloop hit after someone makes a great catch on a hard-hit ball. The league is too tough now, with too many good teams to have games decided on bad calls. The umpires are full-time employees. Yes, they will make mistakes, I know they are human, but don't tell me it doesn't matter and don't tell me those mistakes will even out. In addition to that game, a big win or loss can have a huge effect on the psyche of a team going forward. I'll move forward to prep for next week.

That's this week's Fein's five.

Marc Fein is an on-field reporter for TBS' coverage of Major League Baseball.