Isn’t it the only way to justify our feelings of regret about losing out on him? If he turns out to be a bust, then we can all say: “It’s great that we didn’t waste our money on that guy.” If he turns out to be the real deal, a perennial all-star like Ichiro, then we’ll all be moaning: “He could have been the one to put us over the top!”

So, if you don’t want those feelings of regret and ‘oh, what could have been,’ the only thing you really can do is cheer against the Darvish and the Rangers if/when he signs on.

Also, let’s remember that Darvish is hardly a sure thing, especially considering the money that’s being thrown around.

Consider the most recent Japanese pitcher to come through the posting process: Daisuke Matsuzaka. After the Red Sox poured more than $100 million into him between the posting bid and his six-year contract, Dice-K has failed to live up to expectations. Sure, there have been flashes of brilliance, but hardly $100-million worth. And now Darvish will be feeling even more pressure.

And also, nobody should blame Rogers for not coming up with a bigger bid. Anteing up more than $50 million just to negotiate with a player is pretty loony. Now the Rangers still have to sign him to a deal in the $12-million per season range. That’s quite a bit for a guy that hasn’t thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball.

Realistically, the Jays are still more than one player away from the World Series. There are still some holes in the lineup and in the pitching staff, but at least now we know that the ownership is willing to throw some weight around for players that they think that can make a difference.

The Jays may have lost out this time, but down the road, Toronto’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in the open market.

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

Let’s just get this straight to begin with. Justin Verlander is a great player and was the best pitcher in the American League (for the record, I believe Clayton Kershaw had a better season with the Dodgers, but that’s besides the point).

The Tigers ace was dominant, he won games and he led the league in many important categories including wins, ERA and strikeouts. But the one number that should exclude him from the MVP race is 34 games out of 162.

I’m sure there are a million sabermetric stats that can back up his MVP win, but they don’t outweigh that one for me.

As for who should have won the award? It wasn’t the greatest year for stand-out candidates — something that seriously helped Verlander — but Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury and even Verlander’s teammate, Miguel Cabrera, would have been worthy winners.

I think that the writers that voted on this award may have lost sight of the real goal here — to name the most valued player in the league — and made a novelty pick to garner some attention.

If anything, I hope this leads to some official guidelines for MVP voting. That way they can get rid of two debates at once: Should pitchers be eligible and should players from a non-playoff team be eligible.

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

The home teams are in CAPS and the lines are from 5Dimes.

Detroit +1 over DALLAS
The Cowboys are still banged up and they failed to score a TD last week. Field goals won’t get it done against Detroit.

New Orleans -7.5 over JACKSONVILLE
The only thing that could slow down the Saints this week would be seeing another monsoon hit a Jaguars game.

PHILADELPHIA -9 over San Francisco
Since we’ve already seen the ‘Dream team nightmares’-style headlines this week, look for the Eagles to go all out here.

Philadephia Phillies over St. Louis Cardinals in 3 games.
Yep, it’s a straight sweep for the Phillies. With their rotation, there’s no way that they’re losing a short series. Come on, Halladay, Lee and Hamels? The Cards should feel good about making it, but that’s all.

ST. LOUIS +1 over Washington
The Rams really have to turn it around here, or basically write them off.

CLEVELAND (pick) over Tennessee
Let me see the Titans do it without Kenny Britt before I back them on the road against a decent squad.

Buffalo -3 over CINCINNATI
The worst-case scenario I see here is getting a push after a late Bills comeback.

KANSAS CITY +1.5 over Minnesota
The Chiefs showed some signs of life last week and the Vikings haven’t in any second half yet.

CHICAGO -7 over Carolina
Is the Cam Newton party finally over? A monsoon held back his stats last week, the Bears will this week.

Pittsburgh +4 over HOUSTON
The Steelers had it surprisingly tough against Indy last week, but the Texans showed that their defence isn’t what we thought it was when facing an actual contender.

Atlanta -4.5 over SEATTLE
The Falcons have to take off sometime soon if they want to repeat their division title.

New York Giants (pick) over ARIZONA
The Giants go from beating the Eagles in Philly to nearly being an underdog in the desert? Does that make sense?

New York Yankees over Detroit Tigers in 5.
The Yankees lineup is outstanding, but so is Justin Verlander. The biggest thing the Yanks have going for them is that they’ve beating the probable Cy Young winner both times they’ve faced him this season. I don’t believe that the rest of the Detroit staff can deliver, though.

Miami +8 over SAN DIEGO
It usually takes about four weeks and at least one upset for the Chargers to finally kick it into gear.

Denver +13.5 over GREEN BAY
The Packers can be passed against – they’re second worst in the league in pass defence – and Kyle Orton can sling the ball. Broncos should cover.

Milwaukee Brewers over Arizona Diamondbacks in 4.
I just don’t believe in the D’backs rotation. Is that really the same Ian Kennedy who stunk for the Yankees? Milwaukee’s rotation is strong at the top and their lineup is scary good.

New England -4 over OAKLAND
Many Patriots fans are worried about this matchup, but I honestly don’t see why. The Raiders can’t keep close in a shootout with them.

BALTIMORE -3 over New York Jets
This one should be a slugfest, but I trust the Ravens offence more than the Jets’ attack.

Indianapolis +11.5 over TAMPA BAY
The Bucs just don’t feel like a team that can blow you out. They’re more of a grinding team.

Tampa Bay Rays over Texas Rangers in 5.
Sure, it was mainly about the Red Sox collapse, but the Rays did have a hot September to come back from that deficit too. I’m a bit worried about using September call up Matt Moore as the Game 1 starter though.

Last week: 7-9
This season: 21-26-1

Sure, it can be argued that a couple big comebacks in football or hockey were better “five-minute moments,” but hardly any happened in a real-time five minute window. Do you know how long it would take to score a TD, get back an onside kick and then score again in real-time? Figuring in commercial breaks and it could be up to 15 minutes.

But from the time that Baltimore shortstop Roberto Andino’s blooper to left fell in front of Carl Crawford, scoring the winning run to put the Red Sox on the ropes, and Evan Longoria’s home run that barely cleared the left-field wall in St. Petersburg, it was a mere four minutes.

In other words, I’m glad I didn’t decide to drive home from work before the Orioles-Sox game ended.

And who can’t wait for the first round of playoff baseball to start?

While they have the easiest path to the playoffs, facing the Baltimore Orioles on the last night of season, the Boston Red Sox freefall might be something that we tell our grandchildren about. This was one of the best teams in baseball after snapping out of their horrific funk to start the season. Now, they need their archrivals, the Yankees, to actually compete against the Rays.

In fact, New York hasn’t even named a starter for today’s game. I wouldn’t even put it past them to trot out a couple of reserve infielders for what amounts to a meaningless game for them.

But back to Boston, I saw this stat the other day on Twitter – and double-checked it! – about how bad Boston has been recently: Since Hurricane Irene hit the eastern seaboard on August 28, the Boston Red Sox have a record of 3-20 in games in which they failed to score 9 or more runs.

Granted, that really highlights Boston’s inefficiency in the pitching department. It’s undeniable that they started their downward spiral when their starters began to get banged up. Heck, it if wasn’t for some unfortunate injuries, John Lackey could have been mercifully benched and kept back from racking up the worst ERA ever for a starter.

In the senior circuit, the race may not be as interesting as AL’s, since the Braves collapse wasn’t nearly as epic as the Red Sox’s, but a September record of 9-17 is still quite horrific. In fact, a three-game sweep by their opposition for the final post-season slot, St. Louis, should be considered the turning point in the race.

Personally, if I had to choose who will punch their ticket to October ball today, I’d root for nobody. How could you possibly root for denying the world of not one, but two play-in games on Thursday night? How great would that be?

But, no matter what happens today, if this is the tone that’s being set for the playoffs, I am more than ready for some thrilling October baseball.