As a leadoff example, we offer the wrecking ball, which may be given a lengthy head start on Yankee Stadium.

And while the Boston Red Sox remain committed to playing in October, injury has made postseason ace Josh Beckett seem as hittable as a punching bag decorated with a mug shot of Roger Clemens.

Clemens has contributed to this break from tradition by not conducting an auction for teams interested in hiring an old right-hander for a couple of months. Even the performance-enhancing-substance chatter has been minimal, although we should point out that this is an Olympic year.

Although the potential loss of these baseball staples is regrettable, a swarm of (relatively) new contenders has barged in to mitigate the loss. A little fresh blood can do wonders for MLB public relations, unless that blood is produced by a jagged piece of maple-wood bat.

Anyway, while baseball officials are hooking up their replay hardware, the following teams will be sprinting toward October with the promise of maximizing our entertainment dollar:

Chicago Cubs

OK, so the Cubbies are a throwback to tradition — every 100 years, like clockwork, they rise up and win the World Series.

But it really could happen this year. As this is being written, the lords of Wrigley Field check in with the highest winning percentage in the majors. All eight regulars are threats to provide a big hit, they field and throw the ball consistently well and they have depth.

In Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden, the Cubs have a three-man playoff rotation at least equal to that of any other team in baseball. Kerry Wood may not be King Kong at the end of a stellar bullpen, but he's a really high primate with impressive set-up buddies.

Don't look now, but the White Sox have been leading the American League Central.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Joe Maddon Curse has been unable to prevent the former AL East laughingstock from entering Sunday with a 5 1/2-game lead over Boston.

(I suppose losing the Devil requires more than a tailoring job on the uniforms.)

Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria has been out, Carl Crawford is listed as a goner for the year, and closer Troy Percival has been on the DL often enough to have become a card-playing buddy of gurney-burned Yankee Carl Pavano.

Despite these injuries and the absence of a certifiable, MVP-caliber monster in their lineup, the Rays are harder to defeat than morning breath.

Milwaukee Brewers

These guys haven't participated in the playoffs since MTV had Michael Jackson's Thriller video in heavy rotation.

Ah, speaking of heavy rotation (I swear it wasn't planned), the Brewers coughed up homer-slugging prospect Matt LaPorta in a deal with Cleveland that brought southpaw Cy Young alum CC Sabathia to Milwaukee.

Success in the playoffs would be a refreshing change for L.A. (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

The 6-foot-7, 290-pound rental has gone unbeaten since joining the National League and has helped the Brewers stick around while the Cubs and Alfonso Soriano were celebrating a post-All-Star Game revival.

Vegetarian Prince Fielder and left fielder Ryan Braun lead a deadly lineup that should, at least, hold on for wild-card acclaim if right-hander Ben Sheets starts to pick it up.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The franchise that registered one playoff win in the last 20 years has added Manny Ramirez as the crazy straw that stirs the drink. With Manny being money, his new playmates have been bestowed the gifts of confidence and fastballs.

One grumpy recipient has been Jeff Kent, who — since Manny's arrival — is reminding us of how clutch and nutty he can be.

But do the Dodgers have enough gusto to forge another playoff win (should they overtake the Arizona Diamondbacks in baseball's coyote ugly division)?

Well, veteran Derek Lowe is a big-game pitcher, young right-hander Chad Billingsley is getting there and 20-year-old lefty Clayton Kershaw has been nasty of late. Their only match-up problems have been created by manager Joe Torre signaling to a bullpen that hasn't had Takashi Saito in the closer's seat.

Ramirez makes the Dodgers fun and a bit dangerous, but the bullpen makes them shaky and the fielders perform like a bunch of scrubs wearing gloves made by Everlast.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

A peculiar thing occurred while the Angels were busy establishing themselves as the AL's best team.

Management acquired a big contract (and bat) near the trading deadline. Now, a decent lineup headlined by Vlad Guerrero rolls in as a severely threatening lineup with Mark Teixeira in the middle.

The Halos are pretty good at everything (including managerial chutzpah), which has inspired World Series predictions from observers who fancy themselves savvy at baseball.

This franchise has been sort of in and out of playoff interest the last few seasons, but should be given credit for preventing Barry Bonds from claiming a World Series ring. By the way, it's been reported that the ball Bonds hit off of Percival in the 2002 World Series has just landed just outside Melbourne.

Chicago White Sox

If the home run hittin' Sox reach October, I offer two names and two additional words for your postseason pleasure:

Nick Swisher ... Ozzie Guillen ... open mikes.

New York Mets

If the Mets hold off Philly, expect every hot-seated manager to be dumped about five minutes before last call at your local bar.

Philadelphia Phillies

A World Series run by the Phils would be just the thing to remove any training camp pressure from Elton Brand.