The baseball playoffs are finally upon us after a long and grueling season that came down to the final day for four different teams.

The Boston Red Sox knew they were going to have a shot at the playoffs; they just didn't know whether it would come after Sunday or after a one-game playoff against the Cleveland Indians today.

But after the Chicago White Sox successfully knocked off the Indians early Sunday, the Red Sox knew they were in the playoffs and it didn't matter if they won their game or not.

The Indians' loss guaranteed the Red Sox the wild card for the third straight season, the same wild card they won last year before winning the World Series.

For the Indians, the season ends in disappointment. They were the same team that was making a charge at the White Sox for the division title only to fall short and try to gather the wild card.

This season should not be a complete loss for the Indians.

A team that found themselves trailing the White Sox by 15 games at one point nearly made the impossible comeback.

The mere thought of this team winning the division should be enough to tell them the heart they showed is something to be proud of. But of course, the team would probably tell you differently after falling short of the playoffs.

In the National League, there was still hope for two teams entering play on Sunday. The Houston Astros' lead was one game over the Philadelphia Phillies entering Sunday, and a win by the Astros over the Chicago Cubs or a loss by the Phillies to the Washington Nationals would send the Astros to the playoffs for the second straight year as the wild card team from the National League.

Instead of having to count on the Nationals to defeat the Phillies, the Astros took their fate into their own hands by getting past the Cubs 6-4 Sunday, locking up the wild card and a date with the Atlanta Braves in the first round.

For the Phillies, it was a season that was supposed to be brighter for them. Before the season started, a lot of people had them favored to win the NL East, finally knocking the Braves from their pedestal atop that division. It wasn't to be, though, as the Braves locked up the division title for the 14th consecutive year, leaving the Phillies searching for the wild card.

The Phillies will most likely look back at this year and think about what could have been.

All year the talk was how inconsistent this team was, how they were unable to beat the teams they should and how they were coming up short at just about everything they did.

For the Astros though, this is a season to look at and think about what they have done.

A team that was left for dead earlier in the season after being 15-30 at one point decided that they were going to do something this year.

The starting three of Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, and Roy Oswalt turned the Astros' season around and were the leaders of this team as they found a way to win games without their star first baseman Jeff Bagwell, who had season-ending surgery in June.

This postseason looks to be one that all baseball fans should enjoy.

Some teams are storming into the playoffs, while others are just limping in and happy to be there.

A season that has been full of surprises will more than likely see the postseason leaving fans stunned when all is said and done.

Chris Barsotti is the State News sports editor and can be reached at barsott1@msu.edu.