Baseball Playoff Predictions

11:15 AM
"PLAYOFFS?! Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me? Playoffs?! I'm just hoping we can win a game, another game!" - Jim Mora, Sr.

S: Yes the above quote is in reference to midseason football and what this has to do with postseason baseball I don't know. But it's always fun to toss a Jim Mora quote into the mix once in a while, and here JM refers to the playoffs in such an emphatic and incredulous manner that it suits the crazy nature of this year's regular season race to October. Lots of questions here, especially on the NL side, the most important of which is probably: Can anyone beat the Yankees?

Matchups:
Oakland v. Minnesota
Detroit v. New York Yankees
St. Louis v. San Diego
Los Angeles v. New York Mets


11:33 PM
I: Can anyone beat the Yankees, indeed. That is THE question of the playoffs, and my answer is no. Four teams in baseball could beat the Yankees in a series.
1. Boston Red Sox (rivalry)
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (own the Yankees in the playoffs)
3. Minnesota Twins (But only with a healthy Liriano, who is out for the playoffs)
4. Houston Astros (had the pitching, but failed to win on the last day of the year)

No one else can conceivably pull it off. The lineup is too darned expensive, too darned good. The only way to get through it is to have quality starting pitching OR the knack to come through in clutch spots. In the American League, both Minnesota and Oakland have tried and failed multiple times to take down the Yanks in the last five years. Detroit is the wild card, both literally and figuratively. If their young, inexperienced pitching can handle the bright lights, they have the only shot in the AL. It helps that they catch the Yanks in the shortened first round series. But Todd Jones closing against that lineup? It's just not happening.

So, Saj, can anyone in the National League take out the Yanks in the fall classic?


11:55 AM
Short answer: No. Long answer: Truthfully anything is possible, but no, nobody can beat the Yankees from the National League.

Pedro undergoing rotator cuff surgery that will shelve him for eight months at least not only vindicates the Red Sox in not giving him a four year deal but it also means that the Mets as the last force of good to be able to stand up to the force of evil this season have been mortally wounded. Not a single team can match up with the Yankees offensively and not a single team left has a pitching staff good enough to neutralize them.

Looking at your list of the four teams that would pose a threat to the Yankees in a postseason series. Three of them have, or have had, outstanding pitching this season (Red Sox? Even I don't believe that this year). But now two are out of the playoffs and the third had a phenom starter, pitcher 1B in their dueling lefties traveling sideshow, run into the ground. Santana in a short series is great, but Santana and Liriano even in a long series is very dangerous.

But the one thing we can't forget is the possibility of virtuoso performances from guys who have the talent to produce them. The aforementioned Santana, the A's pitching staff, Verlander, Bonderman, Carpenter, Glavine, Maddux, etc. Lots of great talents and names pitching this postseason, can anyone step up?


3:01 PM
Agreed on most of that, except I don't think anyone CAN step up against this lineup except Santana. Glavine, Maddux? No way. The Tigers are the only hope, but those young guys can't shy away from the big lights of October. Here's how I see the playoffs playing out.

Detroit vs. NY Yankees
I don't think the young pitchers of Detroit and that untested bullpen can handle this Bronx lineup. The potential to topple the Yanks is with the Tigers more than any other team, but I really don't see Detroit winning ANY games. Yankees sweep.

Oakland vs. Minnesota
Santana wins games 1 and 5 and one of the starters steal a game in between. Twins in 5.

Los Angeles vs. NY Mets
All of a sudden, the Dodgers have the better pitching...and might have a lineup good enough to win some games in the playoffs. Penny and playoff-tested Derek Lowe might be able to keep this fantastic Mets lineup down. I can't say the same about El Duque and Glavine doing it to the Dodgers. The Pedro loss was huge for the Mets. Hayuge. If he was healthy, they're easily in the World Series. Without him, they can lose to LA and San Diego in either round. This is my most difficult pick of the first round. There's going to be a lot of hitting. Homefield decides it...Mets in 5.

St. Louis vs. San Diego
Carpenter is as important to St. Louis as Santana is to Minnesota. The problem is, Carpenter's not as good. The Padres have the better 1, 2, 3 starting pitching and a much better closer. Pitching wins in the playoffs. To top it off, they have homefield. Padres in 5.

Championship Series:
Minnesota vs. NY Yankees
I'll tell you exactly how this will play out. Santana will win every game in which he pitches on full rest. He will lose every game in which he pitches on short rest. Minnesota will be lucky to steal one win with another starter. What does this add up to? The Yankees can't lose. Either Santana wins games 1 and 5 and the Yanks pull it out in 7, or he's hurried into short rest after a 5 game opening round series and loses twice to that 130 million dollar starting 9. Regardless, it's mathematically impossible for the Twins to win this series. Stephen Hawking has already done the equations. For the sake of predictions, I say Yanks in 6...though it will probably only be 5.

San Diego vs. NY Mets
My upset of the playoffs. Pitching, pitching, pitching. Jake Peavy will be Josh Beckett from 2003. Pads in 7.


World Series:
1998 rematch. Same result. Yanks in 4.


8:00 PM
LDS's

Detroit vs. NY Yankees
The Tigers have the best chance against the Yankees not because of their pitching staff (If you're talking straight pitching staffs in the American League one through thirteen or fourteen, I'll take Superman Santana and that Minnesota bullpen or Zito et al. over Kenny Rogers, a bunch of rookies, and the shamelessly moustachioed Todd Jones) but because they have the advantage of the short series. There's luck involved in baseball, and when the sample size is smaller as it is in a five game series, luck will play a greater role in the outcome. But luck can't make a guy throw good strikes against the most patient and dangerous lineup in baseball, and luck can't keep the Tigers from swinging early and often at Wang's sinking balls. The only way I watch this series is if Derek Jeter decides to publicly berate Arod for booting a groundball prompting a fed up Arod to sucker punch him while screaming "I'M BETTER THAN YOU, G********! I'M F****** BETTER THAN YOU!!" Yankees in three.

Oakland vs. Minnesota
This series has Athletic postseason chokefest written all over it except this Athletics team actually might have what people always says wins in the postseason: pitching and defense. These will be the best pitched games of the playoffs with that rock solid A's rotation on one side and Santana and the Twins bullpen on the other. Yes, a guy named Boof Bonser will be starting Game 2 for the Twins, but these Athletics aren't exactly a team of mashers. Crystal Ball: I see the Twins bullpen pitching 12 innings this series. I see Johan Santana spitting fire from his mouth and causing the ground to shake with his mind. I see the age old prophecy that no team with Esteban Loaiza on its active roster will ever make it to the World Series remaining fulfilled. Twins in Five.

Los Angeles vs. NY Mets
Not much to say here except: The Mets now have the worst starting pitching in the playoffs. With Pedro out the Mets have to rely on Steve Trachsel and John Maine to give them postseason starts after El Duque and Tom Glavine who have, between them, a combined 95 years. I think half of New York just groaned while the other half smiled smugly. F****** Yankee fans. David Wright and Jose Reyes will the Dodgers to lose by virtue of their 8 billion watt smiles and their burgeoning star power, Mets in four.

St. Louis vs. San Diego
My theory on the Cardinals: La Russa knew he didn't have a shot at the World Series this year with his current roster so he put all his energy into finding a way to clone Albert Pujols. He wanted a Pujols at every position. Even pitcher. Foolproof plan I would say. Unfortunately for La Russa, and for Cardinal fans, it's actually impossible to create an exact clone of a 26 year old man in only four months time (who knew?). Since he put all his proverbial "World Series" eggs in the proverbial "cloning Albert Pujols" basket he now has a team where Jeff Suppan qualifies as the number two starter and Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright share the closer role. Meanwhile, the non-Pujols offense has been slumping and Jim Edmonds' daredevil act finally landed him a serious concussion in August. Not even going to discuss the Padres here, with the exception of Cla Meredith the sweetheart relief pitcher Boston sent to the Padres in the convoluted Loretta/Mirabelli dealings. I still love you, Cla. Padres in four.

LCS's

Minnesota vs. NY Yankees
If the Twins go five against the A's there is no way they can set Santana up for Game 1 of this series. And that would be the only way they could win: get three starts in seven games from him. I'd like to say that Santana wins his start(s) and Bonser, Radke, Silva pitch five to six serviceable innings and then throw things to the more than capable bullpen, but I can't. I just can't. This makes me miserable. Yankees in five.

San Diego vs. NY Mets
Now to say some good things about the Mets. They have a complete and electrifying offense which I do not trust San Diego's pitching staff to shut down. Jake Peavy had a great September, but let's not forget the rest of his year. Chris Young aside, three and four look like David Wells and Woody Williams who rival El Duque and Glavine in age. And this is probably the best staff in the NL playoffs. Also, if you tell me that you don't enjoy watching Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran in the field then you are lying, you filthy lying bastard. Let us not forget how well the Mets bullpen has coped with the loss of Duaner Sanchez, and let us also not forget how unbelievably awesome Paul Lo Duca is: http://www.jossip.com/gossip/paul-lo-duca/ (This Guterman character remained on facebook after she was outed by the media, feel free to check. Whore). Mets in six.

WS
NY Mets at NY Yankees
Subway series redux. I just vomited blood. Yankees in five. F****** Yankee fans.