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.

 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.