AL Division Series
Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics
I think this is going to be a series that goes down to the wire, and Ken Macha has to decide whether he's going to go with Joe Blanton in game 4 or Rich Harden who has better stuff but got roughed up this weekend. In addition Rod Garenhire has to contemplate pitching Carlos Silva or the rookie Matt Garza. These decisions could decide the results of the series. I think between games 2-4 the As will pick up two wins, based on the fact that the Twins will be pitching Boof, Torn-Labrum, and Silva or Garza, while the As have a hot Loaiza, Haren, Harden or Blanton, better pitching depth for the As so it comes down to whether or not I believe that Johan Santana will win both games against Barry Zito. If the As pick up the first game I think they roll in 4 games, else it goes 5. The Pick: A's in 5, Barry Zito has a better post season pedigree than does Santana, in addition Santana is a 100 pitch pitcher and I foresee him and Zito splitting their 2 games and therefore I think the A's sneak out of the Metrodome on sunday with a victory.
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
If you gave Joe Torre a couple of cocktails yesterday and asked him how happy he was to see that the Tigers coughed up a big lead against the Royals and thus helped the Yanks to avoid Johan Santana twice in a 5 game set, well he'd probably do jumping jacks. This is the ideal situation for the Yanks, homefield against an inexperienced youthful team with almost no playoff experience, outside of Pudge and in addition they dominated them during the regular season. Match up these teams and what advantage do the Tigers have over the Yankees really none. Even the starting rotation which has been the Tigers strength, do you trust Nate Robertson, or the Gambler? Verlander has already hit his innings max and got rocked in many late seasons starts, same with Bonderman. Put simply, Jim Leiland was so desperate not to face the Yankees that yesterday during their extra inning loss to the Royals he used Kenny Rogers, their #1 starter for two innings, yet still lost.The Pick: Yankees sweep, too much lineup versus young pitchers and the Gambler
NL Division Series
San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have struggled mightily in unfortunately clinching their division and they get a Padres team which they trounced last season in the playoffs. But this year I think there will be a big change. The Padres have multiple pitching additions from last season and are no longer going to solely rely on Jake Peavy being a hero. Now the Cards on the other side of the spectrum need two wins out of Chris Carpenter who has been less than sharp his past few outings. In addition the Cards have minimal talent in the bullpen. The only thing that is working in the Cards favor is that their big 3 is back intact now that Edmonds has finally come off the DL. Yet, there is a thing to be said about finishing the season well and how much of baseball success is due to the ebb and flow of your performances. The Pick: A Whale's Vagina in 4 games, if Carpenter loses game one than the Cards will be a dead man walking.
New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Will the Mets lineup carry their pitching staff? This really is the lone question for the Mets, they know what they are going to get from Trashbag, Old Duque, Glavine and Maine and that is not much. But will their hitting handle Maddux, Penny and Lowe? The Pick: Dodgers in 4, the starting pitching difference is just too much to ignore, relying on a 43 year old, maybe?, El Duque as your ace not so good.
American League Championship Series
Another As vs. Yanks battle, this time the As are relying on a completely different roster than those that were dismantled by the Yanks in the past. However, here's where their issue lies, given the fact that I believe Zito will be forced to pitch game 5 against the Twins, they will probably lead off the series with Esteban Loiaza who will get rocked by the Yanks and begin a tailspin which will only be briefly reprieved when the As take a game against either Wright or Lidle whoever gets the start. The Pick: Yankees in 6, once again too much hitting and too much Wang, Yanks headed back to the series.
National League Championship Series
A battle of the west coast, the division that was much maligned last year dominates the NL this year. The Padres dominated the season series versus the Dodgers with one of the Dodgers victory being the miracle 4 HR + walkoff home run victory. Sometimes a team just has the others number and it appears as if the Padres can beat the Dodgers at will. The Pick: A Whale's Vagina in 7, better staff and homefield equals a squeeker for the Whale's Vagina
World Series
Here's the truth the NL is the stepchild to the AL and unlike 2003, the last NL World Series victory, the Yankees will not let down during the series. A rematch of the 1998 World Series where the Yanks trounced the Padres, this series will bring similar results. The Padres have a slightly better rotation and bullpen but it won't matter their lineup does not have the depth to compete with the Yankees and they'll put one out but that will be it. The Pick: The Yanks for #27 in 5, everything has lined up too well for the Yankees from the Red Sox and Angels not making the playoffs to avoiding Santana in round 1 to the Mets losing Pedro for the season if they don't pull this one out George is not gonna be happy with good reason.
Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics
I think this is going to be a series that goes down to the wire, and Ken Macha has to decide whether he's going to go with Joe Blanton in game 4 or Rich Harden who has better stuff but got roughed up this weekend. In addition Rod Garenhire has to contemplate pitching Carlos Silva or the rookie Matt Garza. These decisions could decide the results of the series. I think between games 2-4 the As will pick up two wins, based on the fact that the Twins will be pitching Boof, Torn-Labrum, and Silva or Garza, while the As have a hot Loaiza, Haren, Harden or Blanton, better pitching depth for the As so it comes down to whether or not I believe that Johan Santana will win both games against Barry Zito. If the As pick up the first game I think they roll in 4 games, else it goes 5. The Pick: A's in 5, Barry Zito has a better post season pedigree than does Santana, in addition Santana is a 100 pitch pitcher and I foresee him and Zito splitting their 2 games and therefore I think the A's sneak out of the Metrodome on sunday with a victory.New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
If you gave Joe Torre a couple of cocktails yesterday and asked him how happy he was to see that the Tigers coughed up a big lead against the Royals and thus helped the Yanks to avoid Johan Santana twice in a 5 game set, well he'd probably do jumping jacks. This is the ideal situation for the Yanks, homefield against an inexperienced youthful team with almost no playoff experience, outside of Pudge and in addition they dominated them during the regular season. Match up these teams and what advantage do the Tigers have over the Yankees really none. Even the starting rotation which has been the Tigers strength, do you trust Nate Robertson, or the Gambler? Verlander has already hit his innings max and got rocked in many late seasons starts, same with Bonderman. Put simply, Jim Leiland was so desperate not to face the Yankees that yesterday during their extra inning loss to the Royals he used Kenny Rogers, their #1 starter for two innings, yet still lost.The Pick: Yankees sweep, too much lineup versus young pitchers and the Gambler
NL Division Series
San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have struggled mightily in unfortunately clinching their division and they get a Padres team which they trounced last season in the playoffs. But this year I think there will be a big change. The Padres have multiple pitching additions from last season and are no longer going to solely rely on Jake Peavy being a hero. Now the Cards on the other side of the spectrum need two wins out of Chris Carpenter who has been less than sharp his past few outings. In addition the Cards have minimal talent in the bullpen. The only thing that is working in the Cards favor is that their big 3 is back intact now that Edmonds has finally come off the DL. Yet, there is a thing to be said about finishing the season well and how much of baseball success is due to the ebb and flow of your performances. The Pick: A Whale's Vagina in 4 games, if Carpenter loses game one than the Cards will be a dead man walking.New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Will the Mets lineup carry their pitching staff? This really is the lone question for the Mets, they know what they are going to get from Trashbag, Old Duque, Glavine and Maine and that is not much. But will their hitting handle Maddux, Penny and Lowe? The Pick: Dodgers in 4, the starting pitching difference is just too much to ignore, relying on a 43 year old, maybe?, El Duque as your ace not so good.
American League Championship Series
Another As vs. Yanks battle, this time the As are relying on a completely different roster than those that were dismantled by the Yanks in the past. However, here's where their issue lies, given the fact that I believe Zito will be forced to pitch game 5 against the Twins, they will probably lead off the series with Esteban Loiaza who will get rocked by the Yanks and begin a tailspin which will only be briefly reprieved when the As take a game against either Wright or Lidle whoever gets the start. The Pick: Yankees in 6, once again too much hitting and too much Wang, Yanks headed back to the series.
National League Championship Series
A battle of the west coast, the division that was much maligned last year dominates the NL this year. The Padres dominated the season series versus the Dodgers with one of the Dodgers victory being the miracle 4 HR + walkoff home run victory. Sometimes a team just has the others number and it appears as if the Padres can beat the Dodgers at will. The Pick: A Whale's Vagina in 7, better staff and homefield equals a squeeker for the Whale's Vagina
World Series
Here's the truth the NL is the stepchild to the AL and unlike 2003, the last NL World Series victory, the Yankees will not let down during the series. A rematch of the 1998 World Series where the Yanks trounced the Padres, this series will bring similar results. The Padres have a slightly better rotation and bullpen but it won't matter their lineup does not have the depth to compete with the Yankees and they'll put one out but that will be it. The Pick: The Yanks for #27 in 5, everything has lined up too well for the Yankees from the Red Sox and Angels not making the playoffs to avoiding Santana in round 1 to the Mets losing Pedro for the season if they don't pull this one out George is not gonna be happy with good reason.
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