As I pop through the various partisan blogs of the Toaster, I notice that there is a wide array of emotions among the writers and commenters.

You can head over to Bronx Banter, where the outlook is mostly positive from Alex, Cliff and company, although the commenters still seem wary that something could go wrong. But with the Yankees very likely headed to the playoffs, tensions have eased. Except when Kyle Farnsworth pitches. Then fasten your seat belts.

Over at Dodger Thoughts, Jon tries to maintain calm amidst an uproar of anger directed at the Dodgers front office, the Dodgers manager, the press, and sometimes the weather.

Mark over at Bad Altitude has had a season-long roller coaster ride with the Rockies who have looked very good, very bad, and now look good again, although they really don't seem to have any starting pitchers left.

Cub Town has been a roller coaster as well. But it's more like one that breaks down a lot. The Cubs are still tied for first, using this year's NL Central key to success: not screwing up as much as Milwaukee and St. Louis.

The A's are almost gone and Catfish Stew can take solace in pictures involving cute babies, or perhaps the success of either Cal or Nebraska football.

And Mike can include the Phillies in a rant. And I can't say I blame him some of the time.

Baseball fans who visit the Toaster are not casual fans. They know the game well.  They live and die with their teams it seems. I just hope that sometimes that all of us don't give up on our enjoyment of the game as we examine every decision with a microscope or ask for summary executions of players or managers that mess up. The ups and downs of a baseball season are unique in American sport. No other sport offers you the chance to have an exhilirating win and a devastating loss in consecutive days (or the other way around) like baseball does. I just like to sit back and see what plays out. Others may have different ways of following the game. I won't say which way is better. I just know which way is better for me.

Cheer, boo, sit on your hands, rail at the Baseball Gods or bad karma or whichever theology works for you. The season will end sooner than you think.

And then there will be winter. You will come home from work, turn on the TV, and your team's game won't be on TV. And you'll be flipping through the calendar counting the days until April comes.

Enjoy September. It's the best time of the year for baseball.