« Home | Great Values In Miami, Baltimore During Week Four » | Brown's Comments Are Egotistical And Misplaced » | Players Loyalty To Foley Is Clouded: He's A Drunk ... » | Undefeated Season Put To The Test » | Raiders Killing 'Em In Oakland » | Too Many Points On The Board; Take Underdogs » | Hold Off Rushing Harden To The Rotation? » | Tear Them Down! Raiders Are Blight On NFL Landscape » | NFL Week 1 Highlight: A Commercial? » | Eli The Younger Beats Peyton to Super Bowl? » 

Oct 3, 2006 

"Possessed" Dodgers Will Capture The Flag

2006 DIVISION SERIES PREVIEW

A'S VS TWINS
The battle of the "low budget" bad boys is really a misnomer. All that talk of big market/small market was a baseball talking point magnified by a decade of shrewd moves by the Yankees. Everyone, at least, in this postseason has a fair shot at the prize.

The question is this: can the biggest chokers of the Division Series era finally grow up? After four straight exits under dubious circumstances, can Oakland finally put away an opponent? Nine straight elimination losses say no. What's to root for? A poor start? Maybe 0-2 going back to Oakland might do the trick?

Unfortunately for the A's, the recent fall of the Tigers landed the most well-equipped October squad in their laps. Minnesota has the ear-splitting dome, the best pitcher of this generation and some quality bats led by the A.L. batting champion, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter.

They key to Minnesota's long playoff run rests in the capable hands of a highly talented and maneuverable bullpen. As past World Series champs have shown; a methodical management of the bullpen along with a scrappy style of offense has bred success.>>>>>>>>>Twins in Five.

TIGERS VS YANKEES
People like to think that St. Louis is the team hobbling into the playoffs. The Cards have what Detroit doesn't: experience. While the White Sox's season a year ago seems similar to the late-season performance of the Tigers. Lightning won't strike twice in the Central. Jim Leyland may have coaxed enough out of this very talented pitching staff to get him to the Division Series, but mustering enough to throttle the Bronx Bombers will be too much.

Detroit, though, won't be a push over for the Yanks. They still have a very capable offense with Placido Polanco, Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe, all players few have paid much attention to this season.

The Yankees got the draw they most desired, because a possible matchup with the Twins would have been an iffy fit. While their offense looks like the greatest ever assembled, they're really have an upgrade over many good offenses with Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano and possibly Jason Giambi, the rest are either injured or just over-the-hill big names. Gary Sheffield playing first might cost the Yankees dearly at some point this postseason.

The Tigers won't win this series solely because they won't be strong enough to challenge New York's very shaky middle relief corps with the game on the line. It's not even clear how reliable the recent injured Mariano Rivera might be.>>>>>>>>>>Yankees in Four.

CARDINALS VS PADRES
What a difference a year makes in perception. Last postseason, all the talk was about the 82-win Padres not deserving a berth. A year later, the venue has changed and it's the Cardinals who literally backed into the playoffs, narrowly averting the greatest collapse in sports history.

The Cardinals are battered, injured and manager Tony LaRussa seems at his wits end. It should be noted the Cards began their slide around the time closer Jason Isringhausen was deemed too injured to play this post season. Substitute closer Adam Wainwright will have to be a hero for the Cards to advance. That, or, Albert Pujols and others will need a monster offensive performance to take the game out of their weak bullpen's hands.

San Diego has some gamers on offense with Dave Roberts, Brian Giles and Mike Cameron. Their pitching should be the difference in this series. Ace Jake Peavy might have the most wicked movement on his fastball in baseball, but sometimes it moves too much; like right down the middle of the plate. Like Minnesota, the Padres need their starters to deliver the lead to the seventh and let the a clearly delineated bullpen committee take it to Trevor Hoffman.>>>>>>>>>>>>Padres in Five.

DODGERS VS METS
This cross-country matchup might be the best of the postseason. Too bad they couldn't do it in the NLCS. Just about a month ago, life hadn't look this good in Flushing since 1986. Suddenly, the Mets looked mediocre in a very weak National League. The Mets demise in September, though, looks more reminiscent of the last year's Chisox than the Detroit Tigers. The problem is that Chicago drew a faltering Boston and L.A. Angels team and the Amazin's have drawn the red-hot Dodgers.

This is matchup that renders numbers moot. The Mets lefty-laden lineup might, according to the numbers, eat up L.A.'s righties, but the Dodgers are a the proverbial wildcard team that has been so successful this century. Florida, Boston and Anaheim have all caught fire in the last two weeks and parlayed that into overwhelming an unsuspecting favorite.

One glimpse of the Dodgers last Friday and Saturday in San Francisco saw, as the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Shulman wrote, a team playing "possessed". Clutch hitting and tenacious baserunning are what World Series Champions are made of.>>>>>>>>>Dodgers in Five.

>>>>>>ALCS
Minnesota over N.Y. Yankees.

>>>>>>NLCS
Los Angeles over San Diego

>>>>>>World Series
Los Angeles over Minnesota.