Tuesday, October 03, 2006

That's Just My Opinion, I Could Be Wrong

The New York papers are in what I call "hype overdrive" today, wasting good newsprint on the possibility of a Subway Series. I pray to God that doesn't happen. (I absolutely hated that back in 2000. And of course, the boys at Fox are down on their knees with me, as their ratings from that series were among the worst of all time.)

As baseball's postseason is about to kick off this afternoon, I thought I would toss my two cents in on the four division series that are about to start, and who I think will win.

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: I still like the Mets here, despite the huge loss of Pedro Martinez. The Dodgers have surprised a lot of people this season, but this will come down to which team pitches better. I'm curious to see how Derek Lowe pitches in Game 1, in his first postseason game since the immortal night of October 27, 2004. Steve Trachsel has to step up, and it will be interesting to see if that "personal leave" he took over the weekend will affect him.

Mets in 5.

San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals ended the season with a collective thud, dropping 9 of their last 12. They will be without Jason Isringhausen, their closer, and a big loss. I love the Padres here, as they will be seeking revenge for last year's NLDS sweep, and ended September strong. Plus all the ex-Red Sox makes seeing the Padres win a good thing.

Padres in 4.

Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland A's: This maybe the best of all the division series contests. In late September, I picked Oakland as my dark horse to win the AL pennant. Minnesota ended the year strong and wrestled the AL Central title away from Detroit. But can they win a five-game series without stud starter Francisco Liriano? This is definitely a five game series, and it may go to Minnesota because of their home field advantage.

Twins in 5.

New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers: You know who I'll be rooting for in this series, but it will come down to which team pitches better. The Yankees may have the bats, but I love the Tigers' young pitching, and they have a good bullpen. Plus, is Mariano Rivera healthy? If not, the Yankees go nowhere. The Tigers ended the regular season with an embarrassing sweep by Kansas City. We'll see if there is any carryover effect.

Tigers in 5.

In the immortal words of Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

But I hope I'm not.

7 comments:

BklynSoxFan said...

Heather: I also have friends in San Diego who are devoted fans of the team, live and die with them. So I am pulling for the Padres, along with the other fairweather, bandwagon jumpers....

Michael Leggett said...

Foulweather Fans do welcome the fairweather kind, sort of:

The Foulweather Fans Can Take anything;

The Fairweather kind, you won't see too far down the road.

Michael Leggett said...

Heather:

Welcome!

Stop on by @ all our blogs!

WelshSoxFan said...

I'd love to believe you're right about the TIgers - Yanks series, but the Tigers have been horrible of late and I think their young arms are going to suffer. It's hard to see anyone stopping the Yanks this fall - their pitching looks questionnable, but so does everyone elses. Could be a dark month round these parts

BklynSoxFan said...

Keep the Faith, WSF.

They're not a lead pipe synch to win anything. You never know who could get hot and take it all.

Christine E. said...

Hey Folks:

My picks: AL: Tigers or Twins

NL: Dodgers or Padres

And there is always the fall back: AS LONG AS ITS NOT THE SKANKEES...

:-D

Peter N said...

Unfortunately, the Yanks are looking stronger than ever. And Mr. Zito shut the Twins down yesterday. As for the Dodgers? I am rooting for them. Go DLowe..he's been on a tear.