The Detroit Tigers earned an unwanted place in baseball history, becoming the first team to miss out on the playoffs after having a three-game lead with four games left.

"We have nobody to blame but ourselves for not wrapping it up last week at home," Jim Leyland said. "Shame on us."

That doesn't change how Detroit's manager felt about a key moment in the 163rd game of the season.

Replays appeared to show that Brandon Inge's jersey was grazed by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 12th inning at Minnesota, but the umpire didn't put him on first to force home a go-ahead run.

"I'm really upset that it ended the way it did, having Brandon get hit by a pitch because that totally changes that game," Leyland said.

"I can understand how the ump didn't see the pitch hit him, but to say video was inconclusive upsets me because everybody in America saw that it did."

It's still not a good idea to ask Kevin Youkilis and the Red Sox about jinxes, even when it seems Boston is holding one heck of a hex over the Los Angeles Angels. "We don't believe in curses," Youkilis said. "We never believed there was a curse in Boston. I don't believe there's a hex [on the Angels]. It's just two teams going at it."

The Angels have lost 12 of their past 13 postseason games against the Red Sox, including 9 of 10 over the past three series.

Los Angeles hasn't even led Boston for eight total innings of those past 10 games, and the Angels' only win was a 12-inning nail-biter last season, snapping an 11-game losing streak in the matchup.

Winning the World Series last year didn't exactly make Philadelphia prime time. Its first two games this postseason are afternoon starts at Citizens Bank Park. "Being the defending world champs, I think it's kind of a little weird that we get both games at 2:30," said pitcher Cole Hamels, who is Philadelphia's Game 2 starter. "I definitely don't think it's fair for the fans because this is all about home-field advantage or just baseball in general."

Joba Chamberlain remains a hot topic in New York, but there's no debate about his role for the Yankees against Minnesota. After going 9-6 with a 4.75 ERA as a starter this season, Chamberlain is back in the bullpen for the first round of the playoffs. "He can do anything from being a one-inning guy to being a two-, three-inning guy," manager Joe Girardi said.

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