1.   And you thought the Colorado Rockies just making the baseball playoffs last year was a big deal.

2.   Asked to handicap the baseball playoffs, which began Tuesday, both begged off.

3.   A colleague at one of the other newspapers owned by The New York Times Company was in town covering the baseball playoffs.

4.   ABC has a commitment to broadcast the baseball playoffs.

5.   After all, the Orioles are in trouble in Cleveland in the baseball playoffs.

6.   All around the press level, where television monitors normally showed the Islanders, the baseball playoffs were on.

7.   But it will be hard to compensate for the loss of revenue if there are no baseball playoffs or World Series.

8.   But the baseball playoffs also begin next week, saddling NBC and Fox with a juggling act they must perform for most of October.

9.   Cleveland and Boston in the baseball playoffs will make me sappy about the game, lure me back, a fool for the sport once again.

10.   Disappointed viewers could console themselves with a baseball playoff.