works. He lets us see what his mind sees. In the film room, he may say, `When this is the formation, and the front is doing this and the back is doing that, and the end is crashing, you want to be here. H

So here we are, in September baseball nirvana. Its a beautiful thing.Seven teams are scrambling for the finish line in the last week of the regular season, within two games of a playoff spot. And here we are, trying to watch or follow them all, with flat-screens, iPads, laptops and phones smoking.Now that is our definition of September nirvana. We have four days left in this baseball season. And ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be fun.I think its going to be whacked, said one baseball executive whose team has been trying to hang in this race. I think its going to be so emotional day to day. I wouldnt want to have to go on TV and talk about it ... because youre going to have a different opinion every day.So how do you keep your brain from overloading as you try to follow all this? Allow us to help you out here -- with our handy-dandy guide to what to watch this week:Intrigue north of the borderHave you checked those American League wild-card standings lately? Allow us to refresh your memory:Toronto 87-71Baltimore 86-72And guess which two teams finish their series in Toronto on Thursday?After Two rising stars, in Aaron Sanchez (Blue Jays) and Kevin Gausman (Orioles), battled Tuesday in a 5-1 Toronto win, Hyun Soo Kim gave the Orioles a much-needed lift with a ninth-inning home run?Wednesday; and two talented guys whose seasons have been roller-coaster rides, in Marcus Stroman (Blue Jays) and Ubaldo Jimenez (Orioles), are set to square off Thursday.The stakes are these: As close as those standings make this race appear, the Orioles probably had to sweep to win the first wild-card spot. If they wind up tied for the last two tickets to the party, the Blue Jays win the season series and still would host the wild-card game on Oct. 4.Survivor: AL West redemption islandMeanwhile, the Mariners and Astros might have waved adios to the Rangers a long time ago -- but theyre still breathing. After an epic Mariners win in the opener to their three-game series Monday night and a huge Astros comeback Tuesday, Seattle finished off the series with a blowout victory Wednesday afternoon.Realistically, though, even running the table at this point might not be enough for the Astros. Theyre now four games back of Baltimore in the loss column. So theyd need a 3-0 finish just to get to 86 wins.The Mariners, on the other hand, have charged to within two of Baltimore and are just a game back of Detroit.?A Seattle sweep would have put the Mariners in excellent shape, but they still very much are despite Tuesdays loss, considering they finish the season with four games at home against Oakland, while the Orioles spend the final days of the season on the road at Toronto and New York.Two tidbits to file away: (A) The Mariners are 10-2 against Oakland since the start of May, and (B) a Mariners-Orioles tiebreaker game would be played in Seattle because the Mariners went 6-1 against the Os this year.Drama in DetroitEvery time you think the Tigers are done for, they seem to rip off five wins in a row. And every time you think theyve taken control of their own fate, they play three games as messy as the three they played starting this past weekend.They went into the ninth inning Saturday with a half-game lead on Baltimore and a two-run lead over Kansas City. Then Francisco Rodriguez coughed up five runs in the ninth. That kicked off a brutal three-game losing streak in which their staff allowed 24 runs in the next 19 innings. And the upshot is, theyd dropped to two games back of Baltimore with six to play.As ugly as those past three losses had been and as bleak as their 2-14 record against Cleveland might have appeared heading into Tuesday, the Tigers are now in better shape than you might have thought.On Tuesday, Justin Verlander & Co. rocked the Tribe 12-0 before Miguel Cabreras heroics carried the Tigers to another win Wednesday night. Now, Daniel Norris (3.26 ERA since rejoining the rotation in August) gets his chance at Cleveland in Thursdays finale. Then theyll finish the season with three games in Atlanta, where the Braves have a ballpark to close up. So are the Tigers dead? Not yet.History in the NL?The bad news is, over in the National League, we have no head-to-head meetings left among serious contenders. The good news is, that might set up a finish unlike anything weve seen at any point in the division-play era -- which is now in its 48th season.The Mets have 74 losses. The Giants have 75 and the Cardinals are a game back at 82-76. Never, in any of the previous 47 seasons, have we witnessed a three-team tie in any race -- division or wild card -- in the final week of the season. So is this the year? Lets root for that, OK?The Mets pathAfter an emotional series in Miami, the Mets play their final three games in Philadelphia. They had Noah Syndergaard return to the rotation Tuesday (in a 12-1 win) after missing a turn with strep throat. That sets him up to start again Sunday in the final game of the season if they need to win. Hes the last ace standing. And the Mets have never needed him more.But no team faces greater pressure than the Mets do to get this over with fast. Suppose they have to burn Syndergaard on Sunday? Suppose theres a tiebreaker game Monday, with neither Syndergaard nor Bartolo Colon available to pitch it? As big a lifesaver as Robert Gsellman (3-2, 2.56) has been, it wouldnt quite be their dream scenario to go into a Gsellman vs.?Madison Bumgarner survival game -- or something like that.The Giants pathDont ask us how the Giants are still alive and kicking. Theyve won one series in all of September (at Arizona two weeks ago). They havent won a series at home since Aug. 26-28 (against Atlanta). They havent won a series against a team thats currently over .500 since June 10-12 (against L.A.).But if the wild-card game were today, they would be playing in it. Somehow. Now, to finish this deal, they might actually have to win some games, especially after being shut out by the Rockies on Wednesday night. The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill (blister permitting) penciled in to start against them this weekend. You think they would take any joy in sending the Giants home for the winter -- in an even year, no less? Yeah, us, too.The Cardinals pathThe St. Louis Cardinals are 34-43 at Busch Stadium. Is that crazy, or what? Well, its also relevant because they have four more home games stretched before them the rest of the way, against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.Games to circle: the dazzling Alex Reyes against the underrated Dan Straily on Thursday. (The Cardinals have hit .176 against Straily this year.) Then Carlos Martinez?faces Pirates phenom Tyler Glasnow on Friday. And an Adam Wainwright-Ryan Vogelsong duel is possible for Sunday.So why do we have a feeling well be seeing a Cardinals-Giants tiebreaker game Monday in St. Louis? Just a hunch.Five more stories to watch? Try this on for Cys: Four?days left, and theres no clear-cut leader in either leagues Cy Young derby. So dont underestimate the importance of the final start(s) of the year for Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Verlander, Chris Sale,?and a half-dozen other aces. Just two years ago, Corey Kluber wrestled this trophy away from King Felix in Clevelands 160th game of the year. So it happens!? Plant a seed: If you think home field matters, five of the six division winners have major incentive to play it out this week. The Dodgers (37-40 on the road but 53-28 at home) are just two games behind the Nationals (47-30 home, 45-36 road) for the second seed -- which determines who holds home-field advantage in their first-round matchup next week. And L.A. gets that edge if it finishes with the same record. In the AL, not much separates the Red Sox (46-32 home and 46-34 road), Rangers (52-26 home, 42-39 road) and Indians (53-28 home, 38-39 road) in the late-breaking three-way tussle for the No. 1 seed. The Indians lose out on every potential tiebreaker formula. But the Boston-Texas tiebreaker depends on division games this week, as they split their five games head-to-head.? 20 is plenty: In Tampa Bay, Rays ace Chris Archer started the season dreaming of winning 20 games. Hes suddenly in danger of becoming the first pitcher to lose 20 in a season since Mike Maroth dethroned Brian Kingmans 23-year reign as the last 20-game loser back in 2003. Since Maroth did it for the Tigers, no pitcher has ever even been allowed to start a game after reaching 19 losses. But as of now, Archer is still scheduled to pitch Thursday against the White Sox. Let us be the first to mention that Archer clearly doesnt deserve this fate. He could still lead the AL in strikeouts. And his eight criminally unsupported starts (six-plus innings, no more than one run of support while on the mound) are the second-most in the league. Coincidentally, the league leader in that stat -- Jose Quintana, with 10 CUSes -- is the opposing pitcher Thursday. Think either team will score?? Papis last stand: Have you heard that David Ortiz is retiring? Has word of that gotten around? Just checking. Well, this is it for the regular season. Finally. And its possible there might be some Papi festivities at Fenway this weekend. Just a hunch. No player has ever led the major leagues in either slugging or OPS in his final season. Unless he forgets to get another hit, Ortiz can count on clinching the lead in both categories this weekend. But heres a really fun rarity for him to shoot for: He needs three more home runs to hit 40 at 40, which would make him the oldest player ever to homer his age. Barry Bonds did it in 2004, at 40 years, 2 months. Ortiz is 40 years, 10 months old.? 2011 revisited? Finally, does anybody still have a vision of the final night of the season back in 2011? Pretty memorable evening, wasnt it? We know of at least two books that were written about just that one night, so it must have been an all-timer. Well, were all set up to have it happen again Sunday afternoon. There are 15 games scheduled that day. Theyll all start about the same time -- 3 p.m. ET. It isnt out of the question that as many as eight of them could determine which teams get to keep playing and which of them go home. Anyone else rooting hard for the sheer joyful madness of trying to keep track of all eight of them simultaneously? We just raised our hands. How about you?Melvin Frazier Jersey . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Vince Carter Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-evan-fournier-magic-jersey/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Custom Orlando Magic Jerseys . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Melvin Frazier Magic Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does.ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Glover Quin says he stays away from alcohol during the season, drinks more than 200 ounces of water daily and some weeks, hell allow himself to splurge and have one dessert.The Detroit Lions safety lifts weights four times between games and participates in every practice, passing on the option of taking a day off here and there as eight-year veterans are able to in the NFL. Quins regimen seems to be working very well.He has started 105 straight games, the longest active streak by an NFL safety and the longest among his teammates.Its something that I do take pride in, especially now that the number has gotten pretty high, Quin said Wednesday.Its definitely something that I think about in the offseason, during the week and week to week. It pushes you. I want to play in all the games. More importantly, I would like to play in every play of every game. And to do that, you got to practice.Detroit (2-3) will play the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) on Sunday.The Lions have made a lot of moves over the years that simply havent panned out, leading to just two winning seasons since 2001.Signing Quin as a free agent three years ago has been an exception. He has one interception this season, raising his total with the Lions to 15 to trail only Seattles Richard Sherman since 2013.He had an NFL-high seven interceptions in 2014, becoming the first Lion to lead the league in that category since 1967 when Lem Barney began his Hall of Fame career with 10 interceptions.Hes impressive to watch, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. Ive got great respect for him. Week in and week out, hes just there.The last time Quin was not out there on the field was Dec. 6, 2009, when Houston was at Jacksonville. That was Week 13 of that season, a fact recalled correctly Wednesday by Quin as if the Texans decision to leave him inactive in that game still bothers him.They said I had a concussion, Quin said. I didnt feel like I did, but they wouldnt let me play.Since then, Quin has started every game.The 30-year-old Quin is in his fourth seasson with the Lions.dddddddddddd He played for the Texans for four seasons, the last two at a new position. Houston drafted the Mississippi native out of New Mexico in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. After Quin made three interceptions in his second season at cornerback, he was moved to strong safety.We got a new D-coordinator, Wade Philips, and he liked more cover safeties, Quin said. I was always the guy who knew what was going on and was a communicative type guy.He still is.Quin talked with reporters at his locker for more than 20 minutes Wednesday and that was not an unusually long conversation. On the field, he is often seen speaking to teammates to show and tell them what to do and where to be.Hes been a great person to watch and learn from because of all of the experience he has, said 21-year-old cornerback Alex Carter, who is on Detroits practice squad.As a young guy like me, its amazing to see someone who has been in the league as long as he has and to see how hard he works every day. He understands what the offense is trying to do and how the defense works. He lets us see what his mind sees. In the film room, he may say, `When this is the formation, and the front is doing this and the back is doing that, and the end is crashing, you want to be here. His football IQ is immensely high.And, Quin seems to think it is simply intelligent to choose not to drink during the season.If you drink on a Tuesday night and you come into work a little hungover, your workout in the weight room probably wont be as tough as my workout, Quin said, explaining his reasoning. Your focus in the meeting room probably wont be as good as my focus. Your stamina at practice probably wont be as good as my stamina.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Larry Lage at http://www.twitter.com/larrylage and follow his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/larry-lage ' ' '