Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Time to talk about teams other than the Mets
Well, it's October, and you know what that means. Yes, it's time for ESPN to begin inundating us with non-stop stories about Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. But in between all of that, you might happen to notice that the most wonderful time of the year is upon is. That's right, playoff baseball. And while this is a Mets blog and thus I really have no business commenting on the playoffs, I figure I might as well throw out my predictions anyway.
St. Louis vs. Los Angeles
Offensively, there's no comparison. The Cardinals' league-best offense can start Mike Matheny and Tony Womack every day and still blow the Dodgers' bats out of the water. A lot has been made of the Cardinals' mediocre starting pitching, but the fact is that the team allowed fewer runs than anyone in the league. And it's not the Dodgers' staff is going to scare anyone. Odalis Perez vs. Woody Williams in game one may be a mismatch, but after that LA starts sending out the Jeff Weavers and Jose Limas of the world and things don't look so one-sided.
Cardinals in four.
Anaheim vs. Boston
With Oakland's unfortunate ouster from the postseason picture, the Red Sox are left as the only team I really have to root for, however little Boston fans might welcome the support of a Mets fan. Fortunately for me, they may also be the best team left. Boston outscored the rest of the league by fifty runs while also allowing fewer runs than all but three teams. Of course, one of those teams was the Angels, but they still don't seem to have the starting pitching to match up with Boston. Kelvim Escobar, by far their best starter this year, doesn't go until game three, at which point they may already have been dug a deep hole by Boston's twin aces. Pedro Martinez has been shaky lately and can always be something of a question mark, but if he can bounce back with a decent start, Boston shouldn't have too much trouble with this series. And even if he can't, they should have enough bats to cover his back.
Red Sox in four.
New York vs. Minnesota
Will Johan Santana be enough to shut down the mighty Yankee lineup while the Twins offense takes advantage of the most questionable starting rotation Joe Torre's put forth in years? Well, he's unlikely to start more than two games, and the Twins, like everyone else, need to win three to advance. So probably not. Brad Radke's had a pretty fine year himself and the Twins have some nice arms in the bullpen, but I still can't see them holding down the Yankee bats long enough to take this series.
Yankees in five.
Atlanta vs. Houston
The Team That Wouldn't Die vs. Roger Clemens and the Astros. Met nemeses abound and it's hard to get excited about either potential outcome. I'm still having trouble fathoming that the Braves won the division on the strength of their pitching and the three guys they're sending out to start playoff games are Jaret Wright, John Thomson and Mike Hampton. Leo Mazzone might be a miracle worker and a hall of famer, but I still like Clemens and Oswalt in these matchups.
Astros in five.
New York vs. Boston
Again. This isn't the first time it's looked to me like the Red Sox had the better team, of course. And they haven't gotten it done yet, of course. Last years circus/series may have shown that trying to predict a series between these team is a fool's errand, but I really don't think the Yankees match up well this time. Anything can happen in seven games and invariably does when these teams are involved. But the Yankee pitching is going to have to step up more than it has all season to get the job done here. This really feels like "the year" to me.
Red Sox in seven.
St. Louis vs. Houston
Houston was my pick to win this division before the year started. They've got those starting pitchers. They've got a pretty fine lineup. And they're the hottest team in baseball. But until something proves otherwise, I think the Cardinals are for real and that thirteen game gap between these teams during the regular season didn't happen by accident. The Astros did win ten out of eighteen in the regular season, but I still think Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen and friends will be too much for them in the end.
Cardinals in six.
Boston vs. St. Louis
I actually had to look up who won this year's All-Star Game to remember who has homefield advantage here. Turns out it was the American League. So, thanks in part to the efforts of the game's MVP Alfonso Soriano, Fenway hosts as many as four of these games. This deep into the postseason I'm doing as much guessing as anything, with a little hoping mixed in as well, probably. But in the battle of two high-powered offenses, I give the edge to the team with Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez on the mound for four games.
Boston in seven, because you know it won't come easy. ¶ joe | 2:23 AM |
Well, it's October, and you know what that means. Yes, it's time for ESPN to begin inundating us with non-stop stories about Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. But in between all of that, you might happen to notice that the most wonderful time of the year is upon is. That's right, playoff baseball. And while this is a Mets blog and thus I really have no business commenting on the playoffs, I figure I might as well throw out my predictions anyway.
St. Louis vs. Los Angeles
Offensively, there's no comparison. The Cardinals' league-best offense can start Mike Matheny and Tony Womack every day and still blow the Dodgers' bats out of the water. A lot has been made of the Cardinals' mediocre starting pitching, but the fact is that the team allowed fewer runs than anyone in the league. And it's not the Dodgers' staff is going to scare anyone. Odalis Perez vs. Woody Williams in game one may be a mismatch, but after that LA starts sending out the Jeff Weavers and Jose Limas of the world and things don't look so one-sided.
Cardinals in four.
Anaheim vs. Boston
With Oakland's unfortunate ouster from the postseason picture, the Red Sox are left as the only team I really have to root for, however little Boston fans might welcome the support of a Mets fan. Fortunately for me, they may also be the best team left. Boston outscored the rest of the league by fifty runs while also allowing fewer runs than all but three teams. Of course, one of those teams was the Angels, but they still don't seem to have the starting pitching to match up with Boston. Kelvim Escobar, by far their best starter this year, doesn't go until game three, at which point they may already have been dug a deep hole by Boston's twin aces. Pedro Martinez has been shaky lately and can always be something of a question mark, but if he can bounce back with a decent start, Boston shouldn't have too much trouble with this series. And even if he can't, they should have enough bats to cover his back.
Red Sox in four.
New York vs. Minnesota
Will Johan Santana be enough to shut down the mighty Yankee lineup while the Twins offense takes advantage of the most questionable starting rotation Joe Torre's put forth in years? Well, he's unlikely to start more than two games, and the Twins, like everyone else, need to win three to advance. So probably not. Brad Radke's had a pretty fine year himself and the Twins have some nice arms in the bullpen, but I still can't see them holding down the Yankee bats long enough to take this series.
Yankees in five.
Atlanta vs. Houston
The Team That Wouldn't Die vs. Roger Clemens and the Astros. Met nemeses abound and it's hard to get excited about either potential outcome. I'm still having trouble fathoming that the Braves won the division on the strength of their pitching and the three guys they're sending out to start playoff games are Jaret Wright, John Thomson and Mike Hampton. Leo Mazzone might be a miracle worker and a hall of famer, but I still like Clemens and Oswalt in these matchups.
Astros in five.
New York vs. Boston
Again. This isn't the first time it's looked to me like the Red Sox had the better team, of course. And they haven't gotten it done yet, of course. Last years circus/series may have shown that trying to predict a series between these team is a fool's errand, but I really don't think the Yankees match up well this time. Anything can happen in seven games and invariably does when these teams are involved. But the Yankee pitching is going to have to step up more than it has all season to get the job done here. This really feels like "the year" to me.
Red Sox in seven.
St. Louis vs. Houston
Houston was my pick to win this division before the year started. They've got those starting pitchers. They've got a pretty fine lineup. And they're the hottest team in baseball. But until something proves otherwise, I think the Cardinals are for real and that thirteen game gap between these teams during the regular season didn't happen by accident. The Astros did win ten out of eighteen in the regular season, but I still think Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen and friends will be too much for them in the end.
Cardinals in six.
Boston vs. St. Louis
I actually had to look up who won this year's All-Star Game to remember who has homefield advantage here. Turns out it was the American League. So, thanks in part to the efforts of the game's MVP Alfonso Soriano, Fenway hosts as many as four of these games. This deep into the postseason I'm doing as much guessing as anything, with a little hoping mixed in as well, probably. But in the battle of two high-powered offenses, I give the edge to the team with Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez on the mound for four games.
Boston in seven, because you know it won't come easy. ¶ joe | 2:23 AM |
