If you’re like me and purged all interest in this baseball season after the disastrous loss by the Red Sox, you haven’t been paying much attention to the playoffs. But true baseball fans can’t stay away for long so I peeked at a few innings last night and consulted the box scores this morning. Here’s some up-to-date info about the standings and some background on the teams participating.

In the American League, the series between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees is tied 1-1 with the Yankees winning a rain-continuation game on Saturday, 9-3 and the Tigers winning yesterday, 5-3. Game three is tonight in Detroit at 8:30 pm. In the other American League series, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers are also tied 1-1. The Rays won the first game on Friday night, 9-0, while the Rangers won on Saturday, 8-6. Game three is today at Tampa beginning at 5 pm.

In the National League, the series between the St Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies is also tied 1-1. The Phillies won on Saturday, 11-6, while the Cardinals took yesterday’s game, 5-4. In the other series, the Milwaukee Brewers lead the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2 games to none. The Brewers won on Saturday, 4-1, and again on Sunday, 9-4. Both series resume tomorrow.

There’s an interesting congruence in both leagues with an old team playing an old team in one series, and a new team playing another new team in the other. Consider the respective histories of the eight teams:

Detroit Tigers: Established in 1894 and joined the American League as one of its eight founding franchises in 1901. Play in Detroit at Comerica Park. The Tigers have won the World Series four times (1935, 1945, 1968 and 1984)

New York Yankees: Established 1901 as one of original eight teams in American League. Play at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The Yankees have won the World Series 27 times.

Tampa Bay Rays: Established in 1998. Play at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida. Have not won the World Series

Texas Rangers: Established in 1961 as the Washington Senators. Moved to Texas as the Rangers in 1971. Play in Arlington at Rangers Ballpark. The Rangers have not won the World Series.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Established in 1998. Play in Phoenix at Chase Field. Won World Series in 2001.

Milwaukee Brewers: Established in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots of the American League. Immediately went bankrupt and moved to Milwaukee as the Brewers for the 1970 season. Remained in American League until 1997 when shifted to National League. Play at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Have not won a World Series.

St Louis Cardinals: Established in 1882 as the St Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association. Joined the National League in 1892. Known as the Cardinals since 1900. Play at Busch Stadium in St Louis, Missouri. Have won the World Series ten times (including 1967 when they beat the Red Sox in seven games and introduced me at age 7 to the miseries of Red Sox fandom).

Philadelphia Phillies: Established in 1883 as the Phillies in the National League. Play at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Won the World Series twice, in 1980 and in 2008.