While the Cleveland Indians failed to make the playoffs this season it hard to miss former members of the Tribe this October. The most high profile ex Indians are the Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez and Milwaukee Brewers ace CC Sabathia who led there teams to the playoffs practically on their backs this year after coming over in mid-season trades.

Sabathia and Ramirez are hardly the only names that once adorned Chief Wahoo on their hats that have a say on who will win the World Series. The Philadelphia Phillies, of course, are managed by former Indians skipper Charlie Manual. The Dodgers starting third baseman is Casey Blake who starred with the Tribe for most of this decade and became a fan favorite for his working class style of play. Bob Howry, a relief pitcher who played a few years back with the Indians, now is trying win a ring and break the 100 year curse for the Chicago Cubs.

The Philadelphia Phillies have defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 today in the opening game of the National League Divisional Playoff Series. The Phillies, winner of the NL East, used a 3 run third inning and withstood a Brewers late rally in the 9th to get the 1-0 edge in the series.

Chase Utley provided the offensive spark for Philly contributing to all three runs for the team as he drove in 2 and scored a run the third inning. Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings as he yielded only 2 hits to the Brew Crew and struck out 9. Brad Lidge made things intersting in the 9th but managed to get out of the inning and earning the save after giving up a run and ending the game with runners at second and third.

The series continues in city of brotherly love tomorrow at 6pm and can be seen on televsion on TBS.

Game 163 was the charm for the Chicago White Sox who defeated their AL Central division rival Minnesota Twins to win the division today. The White Sox won the game behind the solid pitching of John Danks who went 8 scoreless for the Sox while Jim Thome sealed the deal with a solo home run in the 7th inning for the only run of the game.

The White Sox are the last team in the Major League Playoffs which start tomorrow. Chicago's team in the junior loop faces the AL East champion Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thrusday. The other American League playoff series starts tomorrow at 10 pm with AL West champ Los Angeles of Anaheim hosting the the American League Wild Card entry Boston Red Sox.

The National League playoffs open tommorow at 3 pm with the Milwuakee Brewers, in the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century, traveling to Philadelphia to play the Phillies. Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers square off against NL Central champion the Chicago Cubs at 6:30 pm tomorrow.

Here is the entire schedule, along with the tv listings, as the eight teams vie for a World Series Championship.

Former Yankee Roger Clenens is said to have been "heartbroken" after his former team left him out of Sunday night's Stadium farewell festivities, including a video montage honoring the Yanks greatest pitchers.

A relative of Clemens spoke to the NY Post on Monday, detailing how Clemens was sitting at home in Texas watching television, hoping for some recognition after helping to win the Bronx Bombers two World Series titles. That moment never came.

The Yankees played the video, which celebrated its best players at every position. But Clemens was nowhere to be seen.

Watching along with Clemens was his wife Debbie, and mother-in-law Jan Wild.

Wild, 70, said "Debbie and I held his hand while we watched the game, and he was heartbroken. Not mad. He still loves baseball and the Yankees, but it was sad what they did to him."

Clemens, who was named in the infamous Mitchell Report as having used steroids, was not included in the festivities, while other Yankee greats such as Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte, and Jason Giambi - all of whom have been mentioned in the steroids probe - were included.

For millions of baseball fans across the globe Sunday will be a sad day. The curtain will close at Yankee Stadium as the New York Yankees move to a new park in the Bronx next season. Major League Baseball isn't letting the "House that Ruth built go quietly". Mlb.com will pay tribute to the park throughout the day on Sunday. 18 consecutive hours of classic Yankee Stadium footage will be featured on the official site of Major League Baseball as they show past stars that roamed the park like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson provided fans with thrills and memories that will last a lifetime.

The tribute with also have a community feel to it as well as a live chat will be placed in the site so you can discuss your memories of the great stadium with other fans throughout the world. Famed baseball writer Hal Bodley will his vast array of memories he has compiled since breaking into the business in 1950.

Here is the schedule of events on Sunday:

12:00 am: Classic games from Yankee Stadium -- Relive all of the heart-stopping and emotionally charged moments from 'The Cathedral of Baseball.'

Former Cleveland Indians stars Jim Thome and CC Sabathia had days that they will never forget today. Thome, who currently plays for the Chicago White Sox, slugged his 536 dinger of his career which tied him on the all time home run list with one of the all time greats in the history of the game Mickey Mantle.

"This is special to do that, for sure," said Thome who has 29 long balls this. "It's special to hit a home run whenever you win a game, but to tie Mickey Mantle is really, really special."

CC Sabathia has a day he'll cherish but also regret. Sabathia, traded by the Tribe in July, threw a one hitter for his new team the Milwaukee Brewers. It was bittersweet, however, as the lone hit came on a ball that if the hefty lefty was a little more fit he might have been able to field. On a dinky bouncer to the right side. Sabathia failed to field the ball swiftly while Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche managed to leg out the only hit for the Buccos.

Some of Sabathia's comrades fumed about the official scoring saying that it should have been ruled an error.

"That's a stinkin' no-hitter that we all got cheated from," Brew crew manager Ned Yost complained after the game. "I feel horrible for CC."

Major League Baseball will institute instant replay for the first time in the history of the sport in three games tonight. The new rule will be put in place throughout the league starting on Friday. Thursday games that will test the new rule are the Minnesota Twins at the Oakland Athletics, the Texas Rangers at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Philadelphia Phillies at the Chicago Cubs. The new rule only will apply to umpires calls on home runs and comes after a number of botched calls earlier this year had managers and players up in arms over the bad calls.

"I believe that the extraordinary technology that we now have merits the use of instant replay on a very limited basis," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said. "The system we have in place will ensure that the proper call is made on home run balls and will not cause a significant delay to the game."

The acting head umpire will determine whether or not to review calls and will have the final ruling on the field.

A new poll of Ohioans shows that Cleveland's professional sports teams have stronger support than Cincinnati's, however, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the strongest support of all Ohio sports organizations.

In professional baseball, the poll found that voters preferred the Cleveland Indians to the Cincinnati Reds 51% to 34%. In pro football, Cleveland was favored over the Bengals 55% to 30%.

Interestingly, OSU football is closer to Ohioans' hearts than either of Ohio's two pro football teams. Participants backed the Ohio State football team over their favorite NFL team 58% to 28%. Ohioans also prefer NCAA basketball over the NBA, backing the OSU Buckeyes over the Cavaliers 42% to 38%.

The poll of 1,300 likely Ohio voters was conducted by Quinnipiac University earlier this month.

Manny Ramirez got his wish and got traded from the Boston Red Sox. Ramirez, who had been outspoken about his relationship with Boston management the past few weeks was the key deal involving the BoSox, the Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates shipped left fielder Jason Bay to Boston while Pittsburgh will receive Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss from the Red Sox and Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris from the Dodgers

Ramirez agreed to drop his no-trade clause in exhange for voiding a club option next year. That means that Ramirez will be the biggest bat in the corp of free agents in the 2008 season. Would anyone else like to see Ramirez end his career in Cleveland and lead the Indians to the World Series next season?

Following the bench-clearing brawl between the Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs Thursday evening, seventeen players and managers were ejected, and one fan was taken to the hospital. Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo was arrested and charged with felony assault, and is expected to be arraigned today.

Midwest League president George Spelius has said that he's not yet ready to make a decision regarding sanctions after last night's fight. In the game, 15 players were ejected along with two managers. One fan was taken to the hospital after being hit by a ball thrown by Castillo. He threw the ball towards the Dragons dugout during the fight, but it ended up in the stands, striking an observer.

Spelius is reviewing video footage of the fight between the two single-A clubs, and has said that he is talking to team officials and umpires as well.

The Peoria Chiefs are affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, while the Dayton Dragons are affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.