We have become so stat conscious that we forget the teams still have to play each other on the field.

Some of the things I have learned since playing in the playoffs and World Series is the importance of having a solid game plan and sticking to it. Let's just take the Tigers and A's in Game 1 of the ALCS.

What many people may not know is that both teams have been scouting each other for a month leading up to the series. Teams that think they may be going to the playoffs send out advance scouts a month before the end of the season in preparation for the postseason. Knowing that might help you understand why the Detroit batters knew exactly what to look for and how to attack Barry Zito and the A's at the plate.

It's the little things that may help you win a ballgame … what count Zito throws his curve the most, what count he throws his changeup, etc. Not that you want your players to overthink while they are in the middle of the game, but prior knowledge is huge when you're in a seven-game series. Much of this information isn't as easily obtained during the course of the year.

Yes, we've all heard about Kirk Gibson knowing when Dennis Eckersley was going to throw his backdoor slider. To get tiny but important details like that, as many as three scouts per team follow possible playoff teams for the last month of the season.

I spoke with Phil Garner yesterday about last year's NLCS and the Astros' approach to beating his opponent. As it turned out, it was very much like our team approach when the Reds faced the Pirates and A's back in 1990. It's not just formulating a game plan. It's making adjustments on the fly because every out, every pitch can have such a huge impact on one week in your baseball life.

Against Pittsburgh, we wanted to take Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke out of the equation. If we could stop them, we would take our chances with the rest of their lineup. Against Oakland it was Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Carney Lansford and Dave Henderson. We knew Ricky Henderson would do his thing, so we let him. We knew we had to get to Dave Stewart and Bob Welch early to take their bullpen out of play.

The numbers are great to know, but knowing how to pitch to someone, how to set up your defense and make sure you pitch to the other team that way are things that can win you a championship. I know, I was blessed to be a part of such a team.

Just so you know, Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke went 12-for-63 against us in the World Series. Canseco went 1-for-12 with a home run and McGwire was 3-for-14 with no homers or RBIs. Lansford went 4-for-15 and Dave Henderson went 3-for-13. Rickey Henderson went 5-for-15 with three stolen bases.

Maybe you don't remember the trade between Montreal and Seattle about 18 years ago but I do. I was playing for the Reds and there was a 6-10 fellow named Randy Johnson playing for the Montreal Expos, who was a little erratic but looked like he could have a great career.

Then there was an All Star pitcher named Mark Langston playing for the Seattle Mariners. The Expos wanted to win NOW and rent Langston for the rest of the year knowing they could lose him to free agency at the end of the year. The Mariners knew they probably couldn't re-sign Langston, so they took the chance on Johnson and did the deal.

As it worked out, Langston would help the Expos to 12 wins and then go free agent at the end of the season. The Expos did not bring home a championship. Now for the Mariners, they got an amazing young pitcher that would win 137 games for their club and get them close to a championship more than a few times.

When Randy was almost a free agent, the Astros traded for Randy and he won 10 games for them, and then went free agent at the end of the year. The Astros sent Freddie Garcia and Carlos Guillen to the Mariners.

Randy would go free agent after the season was over. The Astros didn't win and Johnson went to Arizona. The D-Backs would win a World Championship with Johnson. Now what about the two guys in the Seattle deal for Johnson?

Well, the Mariners would trade Freddie Garcia to Chicago and the White Sox would win a title with Garcia pitching against the team that traded him for Randy Johnson. And what happened to Carlos Guillen, he was traded to the Tigers a few years ago and they now have the best record in baseball.

I guess you may think this is six degrees of Randy Johnson, but I just wanted to show how one player can impact so many teams at the trade deadline. Sometimes the best trade you make is not making one at all.

 I know Roger Clemens is back, and some of the older players are doing very well. But in a few years, The Big Unit will be gone, so will Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr.

Who will carry on? I'll give you just a few names that will be great for a long time:

Joe Mauer, Twins: He's the best hitting young catcher in the show. He's 23 years old and leading the A.L. in hitting right now, hitting .368 in 66 games played. Mauer may never be a great power threat, but he's already one of the toughest outs in the bigs. He has an OBP of .438, has only struck out 27 times in 247 at bats with 33 walks. That's awesome

Matt Holliday, Rockies: How about this 6-4, 26-year-old hammer? He's second in the NL in hitting at .353, has smacked 15 homers and driven in 54 runs. His batting average on the road is at .326 and he's got one less home run on the road than at Coors Field. So don't say it's just because of the thin air....

Ryan Howard, Phillies: The 2005 NL rookie of the year from 2005 is not having a sophomore slump, he's killing the ball. He's getting better and better every day. Hitting .291 with 25 jacks and 66 RBIs, when he gets a little more patient up there his .OBP and batting avg. will go way up. This kid is a Monster.

Alex Rios, Blue Jays: All this 25 year old has done so far is hit .323 with 15 homers and 51 RBI. He's on a pace to triple his output from 2005. The knock on him was potential. Not anymore, he's arrived.

Others to watch: Oakland's 25-year-old left fielder, Nick Swisher, looks everything like Jason Giambi when he was an Athletic: Great eye, great power, and one hell of a clutch bat. He's hitting .286 with 19 long balls and 49 RBIs, with an OBP of .402. Swisher is like Adam Dunn of the Reds, who has 63 strikeouts and 50 walks. When the K's go down, the average and OBP will jump up even farther. I saved the best for last right now: Mets third baseman David Wright. He is a star right now. He's hitting .336 with 18 HRs and 64 RBIs. His OBP is .402 and he's only made eight errors in 70 games. When you talk about big plays, his name always comes up. Wright should be the starting third baseman on the NL All-Star team for years to come.

The future is now and that's just a few names. I've got a lot more for you coming soon.

Who will catch them you ask? The Cleveland Indians, that's who. Since the All-Star break, the Indians have made up a lot of ground, going 22-15, but in August are 14-5 and are only eight games back with 37 to play. Included in this final stretch are six more with the Sox and the last three games of the season in Cleveland.

Yes, the White Sox have been great, but not since the break — they are only 18-17 and just 7-11 in August. And the Big 2 — Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle — are both 3-3 since the break and the 25-year-old Garland has been hit hard in August, going 1-3 with a 5.26 ERA while having the league hit .330 off of him.

Yes, it's a stretch to think that Indians can catch the White Sox, but when you look at an offense that has nine players in double figures in home runs, a starting rotation that has been awesome in August — C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee are a combined 6-0 — it's not out of the question.

When you start to break down the two bullpens, Cleveland's may be better, I know their numbers are — so make sure you finish what you start. The race is only three-quarters of the way over, so don't get caught looking over your shoulder.

This is going to be an amazing finish in the AL Central. Oh, and don't forget the Twins; they are 12-8 in August and always finish strong.