MLB playoffs mega day takeaways: Rays-Yanks is real ALCS, Dodgers not a lock

Perhaps that's the ultimate takeaway from what we'll call the penultimate quadruple-header in Major League Baseball's playoffs. Day One of the Division Series round saw all four matchups tipping off, and if you're looking for a hard and fast maxim of What Works and What Is Smart, keep it moving.

Sure, you could pay $60 million a year for a guy to hit just one timely home run , and maybe more to come. Or enter the playoffs with virtually no starting pitchers. Or hand the ball to an ace that's undergone three major arm surgeries.

All those maneuvers came up aces on Saturday, Oct. 3, when four teams got the jump in this best-of-five round.