Baseball Playoffs

This space is usually reserved for football, but as most of you know I consider football to be a mistress to my baseball wife. Sure, football is a nice weekend treat, something a little different, less effort to watch; but baseball is what I am married to. Paying attention nearly everyday over the long season and watching as much playoffs as I can stay awake for (Thank you Fox for the 8:30pm start times). Then again this is the time of year I'm especially glad to be home one day a week with Andrew -- I'll be watching Santana against Zito live, not on game channel or some other internet coverage.

So here are some thoughts:

I keep trying to come up with ways for the Yankees not to win. I've come close -- the Tigers regain their early season form and dominate with pitching. Not likely. The Twins (who I think would have been better off facing the Yanks in 5 not 7 games) get two wins from Santana and a couple of late wins with their solid bullpen. Tough. The A's -- with the best 1-4 starters in the playoffs -- win with their quality lefties against whom the Yanks are less effective. Rivera will be limited to only one inning -- forcing Torre to actually have to manage his shaky bullpen more frequently this postseason. Sheffield and Matsui are still coming back from injury, Shef at a new position as well. I will root for any and all of those scenarios, but I don't see a team that can score enough runs in enough games to put the Yankees away. Good pitching beats good pitching, especially in October. Now we will see what REALLY good hitting can do.

I'll go with the Yanks in 3 against Detroit and Twins in 4 over Oakland (their only hope to get to the Series is to win in less then 5, saving Santana for more of the ALCS). Yanks over the Twins in 6 -- their win one game that Santana starts, though not necessarily be leading when he leaves the game -- and to the World Series. Again.

I have followed the NL much less closely this season -- a function of playing in two fantasy leagues, both AL only. Still the Cardinals may have the best starter and the best player in the NL playoffs, but they can't post up Pujols who I would give the Bonds treatment too until the rest of the team shows something. Padres with probably the next best two starters win in 4.

Mets-Dodgers is the best of the Division matchups. Without Pedro the Mets look very different but I think they will have enough offense to get through the Dodgers, probably will take them five games, however.

Then the Padres pitching will assert itself -- Peavy will pitch like the Peavy who was supposed to dominate last year for the Pads Padres advance in 6 (sorry Glenn).

So we are left with Yankees-Padres. I think any of the 4 AL teams would be favored over most of the NL teams. Certainly that is the case in this matchup. Even with the pitching questions and losing the DH on the West Coast the Yankees will have more then enough offense to punish the Padres. Yankees in 5.

As I pointed out -- NY has plenty of questions and issues, but so do the other 7 teams, and none of them have enough pitching to make the Yankees pay for the shortcomings on the mound.

Happy October to everyone.