NL Playoffs set

Hurrah for the NL Central, the best division in baseball!

That Angels/Red Sox series is going to be a doozy.

 

Phillies vs. Cubs in NLCS
Rays vs. Red Sox in ALCS

Rays vs. Phillies in W.S.

Rays W.S. Champs.

 

Cubs vs. Dodgers

Cubs over Dodgers in Game 1. I like Dempster at home just a little bit better than Lowe on the road.

Dodgers over Cubs in Game 2. Yeah, he threw a no-hitter against an Astros team that had no desire to be there, but other than that, Big Z has been awful. I like Buzzsaw Chad Billingsley to win this one. Panic among Cubs fans will set in immediately.

Cubs over Dodgers in Game 3. I love Harden in this game. He doesn't seem to care where he pitches, just goes out and shuts 'em down.

Cubs over Dodgers in Game 4. He's an unlikely big game pitcher, but I like Ted Lilly to close the series out. I didn't like Lilly as a #2 pitcher last year, but I love him as a #4 this year.

Ultimately, the Cubs will win the series because they have better starting pitching.

Phillies vs. Brewers
Phillies over Brewers in Game 1 - The 5th best starter in the league will win Game 1. Santana, Sabathia, Webb and Lincecum get the love, and they should, but Cole Hamels has put together a terrific season. Sabathia isn't going in Game 1 and Sheets is out, so the game 1 starter for the Fightin' Milwaukee Brewers is... Dave Bush? Do the Brewers throw Yovani Gallardo into the fire of Game 1 after he missed most of the season?

Phillies over Brewers in Game 2 - Sabathia seems like a no-brainer to win, but that is a fearsome Phillies offense. I'm picking the Phillies to win Game 2.

Phillies over Brewers in Game 3 - I'm not sure who the Brewers throw out there in Game 3, and after Hamels, I'm not high on anybody else the Phillies have. This game looks like playoff batting practice to me and I like the Phils offense better than I do the Brewers offense.

NLCS - Cubs vs. Phillies


White Sox vs. Tigers
Will the Tigers play like they care? Why would they start now? But, baseball is a funny game and the things you think are set in stone as going one way turn out to go the exact opposite direction. I'm not a huge fan of Gavin Floyd, but if anything's going to kill the Tigers, it's that they're starting Freddy Garcia, who last pitched months ago and was terrible when he did last pitch.

I think the Sox win easily to go into a one game playoff with the Twins.

 

Garcia has actually started twice in the last couple weeks and has done o.k. He's got plenty of incentive to beat his old team. I would put the odds at 2-1 in favor of the Sox, though. But I won't be surprised at a Tigers win.

 

It was a good game until another member of Detroit's woebegone bullpen came in and poured gas on the fire in the form of Alexei Ramirez's grand slam. Bottom of the 8th, 2 down as I type this.

ESPN just showed the probable pitching matchup of Nick Blackburn against.. well.. I missed it, but whoever it is, I like that guy, especially if it's Danks, against Blackburn at the Cell, mostly because it's at Chicago. Did you know that every Twins starter (Baker-Liriano-Slowey-Blackburn-Perkins) has an ERA that's more than 1 run higher at home than on the road? It's weird how the Twins pitch so much better at home than on the road. Who knew?

 

Who knew? Umm, me. Unfair home field advantage. They mess with the air vents, I tell ya. Blow that place up!

 

You might be right. We've had this conversation before, and I don't remember what I found about ERAs and such, but when pitchers allow more than 1 run less a game at home, something's not quite right.

As I said last night, I'm picking the Sox to win this game tonight, mostly because it's being played in Chicago. But, I'd like to know why they're playing this game in the first place.

A: Because baseball is does things that make no sense.

Q: Since the Twins beat the Sox 10 games to 8 in their head to head matchup, why haven't the Twins won the division?

 

I agree that should probably be the tiebreaker. The Twins are getting shafted this year, but what comes around goes around, you Twinkies. I think it is all moot, since neither team will likely beat the Rays (I hope).

 

No way this game should be played at the Cell. Having a coin toss decide the venue is ridiculous unless you go through a few different tie-break scenarios. I hope the Twins win. I don't want to spend my Oct evenings looking at Ozzie meltdown in the dugout.

 

White Sox vs. Rays
The Rays are the feel-good story of the season for some reason. The White Sox had to fight their way into the playoffs.

White Sox over Rays in Game 1
Call it a gut call. Call it wanting to see a Sox-Cubs World Series, but I like the White Sox to steal game 1.

White Sox over Rays in Game 2
Another gut call with Buerhle in the hill against Kazmir.

White Sox over Rays in Game 3
I don't know who's going to start, but the White Sox stun the Rays by sweeping them out of the playoffs.

Angels vs. Red Sox
Angels over Red Sox in Game 1.
For all the talk about Manny Ramirez (and please have the Dodgers lose so we don't have to hear about that clown again), the Red Sox offense has been just fine with Jason Bay in left field, thank you very much. Yes, he's not Manny, but would you rather have Manny playing hard when he wants to, or Jason Bay playing hard everyday?

Even though he got rocked in his last start, John Lackey's been terrific overall. I like Lester, and he's been Boston's rock of the pitching staff, but I'm chalking up Lackey's lackeyluster recent starts to lackey of intensity due to clinching so early. In Game, Lackey is Backey.

Angels over Red Sox in Game 2
I know DiceK won a lot of games, but, he'll always be DiceBB to me, because he's a fantasy baseball WHIP killer and I just don't trust him. Ervin Santana's had a very good seaon and I like him to win.

Red Sox over Angels in Game 3
I don't know how healthy Beckett will be, but he's a big-game pitcher and he'll be dealing, so to speak, in game 3 for the win at Boston. Despite his good season, I still don't trust Joe Saunders. Angels fans will start to get nervous.

Angels over Red Sox in Game 4.
I don't like Wakefield in this game. I simply don't trust knuckleball pitchers in the postseason.

2008 ALCS: Chicago White Sox vs. Anaheim Angels

 

I'm looking forward to a Phillies - Red Sox World Series.
No secret who I'm routing for in that matchup!

 

So much for me saying the Cubs would play the Phils in the NLCS.

I hope the Phillies beat the evil ones in the LCS.