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.

With two months of the season to go, and between 13 and 18 teams still having a real shot at the wild card race, teams were willing to go after players. Granted, they weren't the big name players that many people speculated would be traded, but some outstanding players nonetheless.

Carlos Lee was huge for the Texas Rangers, who got him from the Milwaukee Brewers. They have a better chance of winning their division outright then they do of winning the AL wild card. They are only four games out of first in the AL West, so why not go for the win?

The Yankees lead the AL in the wild card race, but they want their ninth straight AL East title. Cory Lidle and Bobby Abreu for four minor leaguers, that's a steal.

Greg Maddux will be a great fit in LA and credit Jim Hendry of the Cubs with having a lot of class; he let Maddux have some meaningful starts down the stretch and he got a Gold Glove infielder in Cesar Izturis in return.

Now for the almost trades, don't believe the hype, Everyone can be had for the right price, but not too many GMs are going to give up the moon and the stars for rental players. Soriano, Zito, Clemens, Oswalt, Tejada (just to name a few) came with hefty price tags and I'm sure their GMs were asking for ridiculous scenarios in return.

With some of the free agents, you may as well keep them and get a compensatory draft pick in return when they sign with someone else during the off-season. Plus they might help you win now without losing your future.

The trade deadline always looks to good to be true, and usually is. That being said, the grade I give this year was an A, because almost every team was helped in almost every trade. Isn't that the way it should be? Help all the teams, not just the powerful ones.

Baseball is very strong right now because everyone involved wants to see it continue to prosper and let all the teams have a chance to win.