1 playoff spot left, baseball season goes extras

The playoffs have yet to begin, and already the Boston Red Sox have a loss: Josh Beckett is out for the opener.

The defending World Series champions made the announcement about their October ace late Sunday night, pushing him back to Game 3 against the Los Angeles Angels because a strained muscle in his side.

At least Beckett is headed to the postseason. The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins still aren't sure, and the New York Mets are finished.

CC Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers, meanwhile, are in.

Already standing tall, Sabathia climbed on top of the Brewers dugout and sprayed fans with bubbly, soaking in the cheers.

A vintage scene, indeed.

For the first time since 1982, when it was a member of the American League and well before wild cards even existed, Milwaukee made the playoffs.

"It's our time," Sabathia said after beating the Cubs 3-1.

No such luck for the Mets, who began the day tied with Milwaukee. They lost on the field - and the out-of-town scoreboard - and again were eliminated by Florida on the final day. Making it worse, a farewell-to-Shea Stadium celebration followed.

"We failed. We failed as a team," star David Wright said after a 4-2 loss. "There's no pointing fingers. There's no excuses. We as a unit didn't get the job done."

The Twins and the White Sox still have hope in the AL Central. One slot left guys, and this year is going to extra innings.

"It's kind of an ongoing joke that it seems like nobody wanted to win the Central, so this is kind of probably the way it should go down, going into a game tomorrow when the season's supposed to be over," Twins closer Joe Nathan said.

On Monday afternoon, Detroit visits Chicago in a makeup from a September rainout. If the White Sox win, the would host the Twins in a one-game tiebreaker Tuesday for the division title.