“Momentum is always as strong as your starting pitcher is the next day.â€�
- Joe Maddon

Leave it to the well-read Rays manger to come up with such a profound statement. Chances are this saying is nailed up in his teams’ clubhouse alongside others from the likes of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Maddon’s right, and he’s used this pitching-first philosophy to propel his team into the ALCS.

If there’s one quality that ties each of the remaining four teams together, it’s that each of them can hit. They each have at least two big bats, lead-off men that can hit for average, and a bottom of the order that can consistently do some damage. When teams are this evenly matched at the plate, it’s often a single blunder on the part of a pitcher that can decide a game. As we’ve seen in the Division Series between the Angels and Red Sox, it comes down to the pitching. Both teams boasted fabulous rotations and excellent hitting, but it was the Red Sox middle relief and closer that really won the games.

With a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, the Tampa Bay rays clinched their first playoff spot in club history. And with their 5-4 victory over division rival St. Louis, the Chicago cubs are once again NL Central Champions.

The Rays’ Division Series playoff destination will shake out in the final week of the season. Assuming the Rays win the AL East and Boston wins the Wild Card, the Rays will open at home against the Central winner, either the White Sox or Twins, while the Red Sox would open at the Angels, who have the AL’s best record. Should Boston win the East and the Rays get the Wild Card, the Rays would open at Anaheim, while the Red Sox would host the Central Division champion. The Division Series is a best-of-five set.

What a magical run the Rays had this year. Finally, all of their young, exciting position talent came together and the pitching staff held up for an entire season. Too bad they don’t sell out in Tampa, because fans are missing one hell of a ride.

If the standings hold, they will host the Wild Card-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 1-2 in the first two games of a best-of-five National League Division Series. Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) would be in Philadelphia on Oct. 4-5. If the series goes to a decisive fifth game, it would be Oct. 7 at Wrigley Field. Philadelphia is only a half-game behind the Mets in the East, so the first-round opponent could easily change.

Teams from the same division cannot face each other in the Division Series. If Milwaukee, Houston or St. Louis wins the Wild Card, the Cubs, if they don’t blow their seven-game lead atop the NL standings, will play the NL division champion with the worst record. The West-leading Dodgers are Chicago’s likely opponent in that scenario, since they are 6 1/2 games behind the East-leading Mets.

How long before all the curse talk begins? Wait, it’s already started? The Cubs have the most balanced lineup in the NL and if Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden can stay healthy, the club also has an excellent 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. But obviously the major question surrounding this team is whether or not they can get over the hump. They certainly have enough talent to make a World Series run, now it’s all about execution.

Any Cubs fan knows that even with their team resting comfortably in first place and on the brink of capturing a postseason berth, you just can’t take anything for granted. Case in point, the front of the Cubs’ starting rotation is experiencing some arm troubles.

Carlos Zambrano will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his arm injury after leaving Tuesday nights start with a sore shoulder. Even though he says the situation isn’t serious, Rich Harden also admitted to having some arm “discomfort� and will skip his next start as a precaution.

Regardless of the severity of Harden’s condition or the contradictions built up the last few days, the timing of the media circus building over the pitching staff couldn’t be worse for the Cubs, coming on the heels of Carlos Zambrano leaving Tuesday night’s start with a sore shoulder.

With the balance of Zambrano’s season hanging on the outcome of today’s MRI exam, the double dose of soreness at the top of the rotation raises the scrutiny as high as the stakes in Harden’s next start, which should come Wednesday in St. Louis.

”Look, if he were available to pitch today, or tomorrow, or the next day, why would we wait for St. Louis?” Piniella said when pressed on the reason for Harden being given 11 days between starts. ”Doesn’t that make sense? He’s not available right now is all I’m trying to tell you. And he’s going to be available for the St. Louis series.”

Pressed again, Piniella revealed the ”discomfort.”

Everything is serious when it comes to Harden because he has a history of not being able to stay healthy. “Discomfort� might turn into something more and if Zambrano has to be shut down for an extended period of time, the Cubs can’t afford to have Harden sidelined. Worse case scenario, if both Zambrano and Harden were seriously injured, the Cubs would have Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis and Rich Hill/Sean Marshall as their postseason rotation. Yikes.

It was yet another important and exciting Sunday afternoon in the majors.

- Anaheim Angels closer Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez continued his tear and collected his 50th save of the season on Sunday in a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Twins. He’s the fastest to 50 saves by far, taking only 129 games to reach the milestone. His next stop: Bobby Thigpen’s record of 57. Say goodbye Bobby!

- Pedro Feliz hit a huge, clutch walk-off homer for the Phillies to lead them to a 5-2 victory over the LA Dodgers. The Phillies win, plus a Mets loss against the Astros, puts them just a half-game-back.

- For the fifth time in eight starts, Chicago Cubs SP Rich Harden struck out 10 or more batters. The victims this time around were the Washington Nationals. Harden pitched seven strong innings, giving up just two hits and one earned run in a 6-1 victory over the Nationals.

- The Red Sox were able to defeat the Blue Jays by a score of 6-5 with a walk-off homer by Jed Lowrie in the 11th inning Sunday. The Red Sox now focus their attention on the New York Yankees, who held off the Baltimore Orioles with an 8-7 win.