and the Dodgers have the best NL record, very nice. and they get the home advantage in the possible first 2 series starting with St Louis.

still hoping for a Yankee and Dodger World Series....

and got 3 tickets for division series so I get to see all the games at Dodger stadium and for now Game 1 of the next if the Dodgers make it.

It's a tie. Twins and Tiggers have to play a tie-breaker at the Metrodome on Tuesday. And this is the last year at the Metrodome. Nice way to end the Swan Song, isn't it.

Tigers score 1 run the first two games vs. Chicago... pathetic.

The Angels ended the season on a high note (w/ dominating pitching and a clean sweep). Should have great momentum facing the Roid Sox again.

Let's see how my predictions went.



If all things go well, I will have nailed this one. AL East, I got the order for Baltimore and Blue Jays wrond. For the Central, I got one prediction correct by saying that no team will stand out in that division. The A's choked this year. What gives.

I wasn't that great with the NL, although the Giants had a good run for a while. I predicted the Rockies to be a joke. Well, early in the season, they were, until Tracy took over, and than they played like the 2002 Angels. I got the NL Central completely wrong, with the Cubs falling apart in the offense department. I got the NL East Wrong, although Atlanta did improve a whole bunch, like I said, and they look like they could be contenders for next year. I will do my postseason predictions later (after the tiebreaker game).

Twins win the tiebreaker in a very dramatic game.

My postseason predictions.

Angels vs. Boston.

Angels Pros - Best Batting average in the majors, the surge of Morales and Hunter helps. Great defense in the infield, especially the shared roles of 3 middle infielders. They have 6 switch hitters, some of which do better with Southpaws. The starting pitchers had the lowest ERA in September. Saunders is undefeated at Fenway. Have a 4-man rotation, and two former starters (Santana and Palmer) in the bullpen. Have a 5-4 record against the Sox this year. Have homefield advantage. Also, Rick Reed is not one of the umpires.

Angels Cons - The Catchers cannot pick off people. Fuentes, despite his save record, is having struggles finishing off games. Their record against the Red Sox. Not that great against Beckett or Lester.

Boston Pros - Starting rotation has dominated the Angels. Papelbon is a threat to the Angels. Their postseason record against the Angels. More HR than the Angels. Their fielding percentage is tied with the Angels.

Boston Cons - The catchers (especially Varitek) cannot pick off runners for jack (the opposing teams have had a 90% success with stealing bases), and with the Angels playing the running game, this will break off alot of DP oppurtunities. A 6-game losing streak in the dog days of September does not help matters either.

Results - Despite postseason woes, I think it's the Angels turn to win (maybe in game 4). They did improve in 2008 with at least winning one game. With improved offense and deep starting rotation, the curse will be borken this time.

Twins vs. Yankees.

Yankees pros - Power hitters, with 7 men hitting at least 20 homers. Smart choices with starting pitching in playoffs. Have homefield advantage. Have a perfect record against the Twins.

Yankees cons - Aside from Rivera, their bullpen is not that deep. Despite using three of their best starters, they don't have any backup in case the starters do not click. CC's postseason record is not good.

Twins pros - Won 17 of their last 20 games. Have momentum. the 3-6 batters (Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, and Kubel) are a force to be reckon with. Metrodome is the best homefield advantage of any team in baseball. Bullpen is strong, especially Nathan, who is second in saves this year.

Twins cons - With the tiebreaker being Tuesday, they will have no resting day before game 1. Only two games at the Metrodome, if they are lucky. The aces had to start the last games, meaning that they may not get to the aces until at least game 2 or 3. Did I mention, their record against Yankees (admitting, most of them were close ball games).

Result - Despite momentum, Twins will not match up to the money and steriods of the Yankees. Yankees will do it in 4 games (with one loss being at the Metrodome). Athough if the TC's can take them, that would make me happy.

Dodgers vs. Cardinals.

Dodgers pros - homefield advantage. Top batting average in the NL, having one of the more well rounded offenses. No standout players, but great amount of HR's spread out. Great depth in defense. Deep starting rotation, especially since some are in the bullpen if needed.

Dodger cons - Their shaky record against the Cardinals this year. Their offense has not been strong against the dominating pitching staffs of the Cards. Manny tends to kill more rallies than start them late in the season.

Cardinals cons - The lowest ERA among starting pitichers. Have beaten the Dodgers with ease this season. The Pujols/Halliday combo is one of the MLB's most dangerous duos to face.

Cardinals cons - The bullpen has been shaky lately. Meaning that the starters have to be at their A game, or they will face pressure.

Results - The Dodgers may have to play the patient game with this one (meaning taxing the starters to get to the blowpens). Even if so, it will not be enough to beat the Cards with dominating starters. Cards in 4 games.

Phillies vs. Rockies

Phillies pros - More HR's than any team in the NL (with Ryan still one of the league leaders in that category). Offense as a whole has improved over last years World Series winning season. The addition of Cliff Lee has definetely helped the starting rotation. Home field advantage.

Phillies cons - The bullpens have the highest ERA in the majors. Brad Lidge has blown more saves than any closer this year. Got swept by the Rockies the last time.

Rockies pros - Going from the second worst record in mid May to winning a Wild Card after Tracy took over skipper duties. Have had a long streak of wins under Tracy's management. Solid offense, solid defense, and solid starters (especially late in the season, which shows good signs). Solid all around.

Rockies cons - Can't hit against Southpaws. Have a losing record against the Phillies this year (although much of the losses were early in the season before Tracy took helm). Considered Underdogs.

Result - Rockies have a chance here, but Phillies will have the edge (in game 5).

soo....

Very nice, Scott! I pretty much agree.

Bad out call against the Rockies. He was safe at third by a mile

Two bad calls now. Lee was out at 2nd.

Cliff Lee sure was a great pick-up. I know a friend said that early as he said the only reason that he didn't have the wins was that no one was hitting for him.

Too bad he just lost his complete game shutout in the 9th but I don't think anyone in Philly cares...as they want a dominating win, which they got.

Wow, Lee went to distance today. I said for the Phillies to win this one, they better stay away from the bullpen, and they did, cause they didn't have to use any of them.

Great job Phillies!

Awful job by the MLB - sticking the game in the afternoon and not providing a realistic option of streaming it over the web. Way to screw over the fans!

Yay, the Dodgers take game one, and all this against Carpenter. Good start for the Dodger Blue.

Derek Jeter!!!!

great start to the playoffs, here's hoping that the big teams move on for a great next round...

Dodgers - Phillies
Yankees - Angels

sorry to Boston, but I think angels are more deserving this year. I don't think Boston's team is as good as 2007 - as both their pitching & hitting has been mixed this year. And without the great trade for Martinez, who knows where the Red Sox would have finished!

and Philly-Colorado get the 1st game again...that sucks for the fans & is it fair for the players/team?

Is that call made for who wouldn't get the higher tv ratings - as NY, LA, Boston are probably bigger tv markets and probably get better tv ratings....

Probably.

In any case, fuck you MLB! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/baseballforall3

Now it's even. The Rockies have a good shot at this now that the next two games are in Denver.

YES!!! The Angels shut out Boston to take game 1. Lackey so needed that win. Great homer by Torii Hunter too. Great way to start the series.

still think this will come true but would love for rockies to win as that would be better for LA!