T1B

Red Sox/Angels:
The one series of the four where both teams have significant experience the postseason...both being champs within the last handful of seasons. The first game features two pitchers with big game experience. I don't expect either team to pucker under the pressure of the playoffs. The Red Sox will have Ortiz, Manny and Youkilis after having them in and out of the lineup throughout the last part of the season. Conversely, Matthews is not going to play in the series and Guerrero starts the series as a DH...the Angels will have to rely more on small ball with Figgins getting on base and creating runs. Both teams will benefit that the Game 1 starters will be able throw in Game 4 on 4 days rest when most series will only have 3 days between Games 1 and 4. My biggest concern with the Red Sox has been their bullpen down the stretch...not only with the setup men but Papelbon has even shown some weaknesses. In a close game, I'd favor the Angels' bullpen over Boston's but you combat that with the late inning heroics from the Sox middle of the order, I think they neutralize that advantage. I like the fact the Sox will have their full lineup and they throw out a better 3-man rotation than the Angels.

Red Sox in 4 games

Indians/Yankees:
I saw firsthand last year that the mighty Yankees can be neutralized and defeated by great starting pitching and a strong back-end of the bullpen. The Tribe have the best 1-2 punch for starting pitching that any team can throw out there of the 8 playoff teams in Carmona and Sabathia. I see both guys being able to keep the vaunted Yankee lineup in check and the Indians have the bats similar to that of the Tigers last year to be able to match the Bombers on the scoreboard. Betancourt is a quality setup man but the big question mark will be Borowski closing out games in the 9th. He's not lights out by any means but does the job. The biggest difference this year for the Yankees is their starting pitching. Having Pettitte back on this team has been probably a bigger impact than Clemens...especially when it comes to games in September and October. I see this one going the full 5 games and with Sabathia and Carmona likely going twice...I see the Tribe prevailing. A-Rod will show up in this series but he'll opt out of his deal after another early exit in the postseason.

Indians in 5 games

Diamondbacks/Cubs:
Considering the NL isn't exactly rolling out the same quality of teams the AL is...this year is as good as any for a darkhorse from the senior circuit to make it to the Fall Classic and become the next great Cinderella story that we've seen in the last few seasons. It's not about how you get there, it's all about just getting there and surviving and advancing. That being said, I think this is a perfect opportunity for the Cubs to shed the loser tag with three teams on paper they are equal or better than but they'll find a way to lose because that's just what they do. They have a very solid middle of the lineup and a great #1 starter. The Diamondbacks seem to be the perfect foil to another Cubs run in the postseason...a young team that not many expected to be in the playoffs that will play loose and care-free and can come away with the NL pennant. It's shades of when the Cubs ran into the Marlins in the NLCS when it seemed like they were destined for the World Series...they went 'Cubs' and lost in disappointing fashion. The baby snakes will break CubNation's collective hearts for no other reason than it's the way it's supposed happen.

Diamondbacks in 4 games

Phillies/Rockies:
This potentially could be the most entertaining series of the first 4 because of the orgy of offense I'm sure we'll be treated to and the fact both teams don't have the type of pitching that can shut down a powerful lineup. Both teams have solid young starters fronting the rotation but after that, it's pretty bleak. The Rockies get the nod as far as having the better bullpen but both teams are capable of blowing leads and with these two lineups, no lead is safe. Both teams are riding the momentum of dramatic finishes to their seasons and having to scratch and claw to get into the postseason. I favor the Phillies lineup a little more than the Rockies because of Rollins being the ultimate table-setter for the thunder behind him in the order. The Rockies don't quite have a guy that does the same thing as Rollins and I think he ends up being the difference when you consider how similar both teams are.

Phillies in 5 games

Angels
Yankmees
Cubs
Phillies

Shoalzie wrote: That being said, I think this is a perfect opportunity for the Cubs to shed the loser tag with three teams on paper they are equal or better than but they'll find a way to lose because that's just what they do.

The baby snakes will break CubNation's collective hearts for no other reason than it's the way it's supposed happen.

We don't fall apart until the NLCS fucker. :x

AA's
Yanks
Backs
Rocks

Rockies 15 out of the last 16 now...Lota fucking fun over here!

godzilla2002 wrote:Rockies 15 out of the last 16 now...Lota fucking fun over here!

Watch for a story to break about your closer using mud on the ball- before he came him ,cameras caught him dumping a cup of water over the brim of his hat which caused it to drip ont his jersey- he then rubbed dirt on the jersey..

not a surprise that loshe, the worst (formerly) starting pitcher in the NL (other than adam eaton), gives up the game breaking grand slam to the light-hitting slappy named kaz matzui.

what a fucking disgrace.

Shoalzie wrote:Phillies in 5 games

Unless they win 3 in a row, don't feel bad. The 2 asshat "experts" on Sportscenter both picked them to be in the WS, with one asshat picking them to win it all.

RadioFan wrote:

Shoalzie wrote:Phillies in 5 games

Unless they win 3 in a row, don't feel bad. The 2 asshat "experts" on Sportscenter both picked them to be in the WS, with one asshat picking them to win it all.

Considering I'm looking okay with the other three series, I can live with that. Picking the Cubs and Yankees to lose and to have those picks come true are a bigger deal to me considering how much I "love" their fans. The Rockies are a buzz saw right now. The D'backs (most likely) will have their hands full in the NLCS but those guys are a gritty bunch in their own right.

Screw_Michigan wrote:not a surprise that loshe, the worst (formerly) starting pitcher in the NL (other than adam eaton), gives up the game breaking grand slam to the light-hitting slappy named kaz matzui.

what a fucking disgrace.

Lohse should have never been in there to begin with. The Phillies had the lead, there were 2 outs and Kendrick is a ground ball pitcher. I thought Manuel has a strong chance to be manager of the year but the way he's managed these first 2 games has once again reminded me what a bad strategic manager he is.

The Red Sox have owned the Angels for 21 years in the playoffs, why would this playoff year be any different....sigh.

Cross Traffic wrote:The Red Sox have owned the Angels for 21 years in the playoffs, why would this playoff year be any different....sigh.

TAHNASK FOR SHOWING UPA IN THE SERIES YOU FUCINGA ANGEL FAGGOTS

ANGELS FUACING SUCK!!!!!!!

Toddowen wrote: I was upset that Micheal Irving and Deon Sanders ever got up off the carpet when they recieved blows that leveled them and had everyone speculating if they were going to become another Darryl Stingley.

Rack.

I would laugh my fucking ass off if some pitcher could go Conigliaro on Man-Ram....I hate that that fuck and everything he stands for.

Chicago Cubs: 99 Years of

Edit--Props to the Rockies on advancing to the NLCS

what exactly does manram stand for, besides laughing his ass off for being paid obscene amounts of jack to PLAY.

Big George threatening to drop the hammer on Torre if the Yankees get bounced...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

just when you thought george couldn't become a bigger stupider asshole than he is, he reaches deep down into his stupid asshole bag and comes through.

If I was Joe, I think I'd tell him to go fukk himself right in front of the cameras right now.

SNL needs to bring back that running gag they had, wtf was it called 'the steinbrenner health watch' or something like that.

I'll bet even rizzo hates that fukk.

3 series, 3 sweeps...Sox onto the ALCS. Schilling was great today and the bats are in top form...they've fully recovered from that late season slide.

yeah, I am almost hoping that the yanks can comeback so they can take a beatin' from the sox.

almost.

Credit the Yankees for answering the bell last night...they rightfully touched the Indians' 4th best starter. Great work out of the pen by Hughes after Clemens had to leave early.

The Yankees bring back Wang for Game 4 while Wedge opts to go with Byrd tonight instead of Sabathia. The Tribe still have two shots at finishing this series and they'll have Sabathia for Game 5 on 5 days rest but they'll likely have to face Pettitte in Game 5, who threw a great game in Game 2. It's a matter of if you want to finish the series now and not have to worry about facing a deciding game or do you just use Sabathia as a safety net in Game 5 and just roll the dice with Game 4 knowing you can't lose the series no matter what happens.

To me, you have two young horses and you should learn from Piniella, you worry about winning the game you're in now and don't worry about future games. The Indians do have the luxury of losing tonight and still having another shot on Wednesday to finish the series but the Yankees are going with the urgent move of going back to their Game 1 starter in Game 4 instead of throwing someone like Mussina. If you were to throw Sabathia tonight and finish the series, you'll still have Carmona available for Game 1 against the Red Sox on Friday and you could realistically throw Sabathia again in Game 2 on Saturday on 4 days' rest. Wedge isn't going to have Sabathia for Game 1 against Beckett if the series goes to Game 5 so I guess he can look at it from the standpoint that it won't matter if he throws tonight or Wednesday. However, that means he probably would have to hold him for Game 3 next Monday if he has throw him on Wednesday night back in Cleveland and then throw Westbrook in Game 2 instead.

I guess this entire discussion could be rendered meaningless if the Tribe win tonight with Byrd on the mound and Wedge would be able to start the Boston series with the top of his rotation up with the Sox having their rotation set as well. The Tribe were able to pound Wang (bad choice of words) on Wednesday so I guess they can feel good about finishing the series tonight have a few days to rest before the ALCS starts on Friday night in Boston. I certainly wouldn't want to give the Yanks a chance to steal this series away if they force a Game 5 but with Sabathia waiting for them on Wednesday, they can play pretty loose tonight.

smackaholic wrote:I'll bet even rizzo hates that fukk.

Most Yankee fans hate Steinbrenner far worse than the Yankee haytas do. Hell, most of the Yankee haytas on this board secretly wish he owned their team. OTOH, every Yankee fan with a respect for the team's tradition realizes that the team was better off before Steinbrenner bought it.

Aw, that's too bad...

(Not really)

No Todd, don't try to divert.

The entire baseball world lives for seeing the stake being driven through the heart of the Yankees.

Paydirt.

Props to the Indians. Quality pitching plus clutch hitting (the Indians outscored the Yankees 15-2 in the series with two outs) will usually get the job done. No excuses. The better team won.

Good luck, Indians. I'll be pulling for you the rest of the way. No way I can bring myself to pull for the Red Sox, and I'm an American League guy through and through, so you're my only option left.

Terry in Crapchester wrote:

smackaholic wrote:I'll bet even rizzo hates that fukk.

Most Yankee fans hate Steinbrenner far worse than the Yankee haytas do. Hell, most of the Yankee haytas on this board secretly wish he owned their team. OTOH, every Yankee fan with a respect for the team's tradition realizes that the team was better off before Steinbrenner bought it.

You are right. Steinbrenner's style of buying championships worked briefly early in his tenure. Since then it has been a miserable failure. Their run in the late 90s was the result of george being forced to keep his meddling mitts out of things. That team was actually home grown.

Just fukking die, george.

Toddowen wrote:Yeah....just devastating that we all weren't so blessed to witness another campaign for a championship by the Detriot Tigers again this year. The entire baseball world lives for that.

Not as much as they live for seeing your team crash and burn and see your jaded and arrogant fans flip out. Better luck next year, friend...

Yanks are the center of the B-ball world? Damn, ya learn sumtin new everyday I guess...

Toddowen wrote:But we still got our....how many championships is it? I lost count somewhere and don't want to put up an inaccurate number....I think it's something like 26 World Championships...right? By any account, it's a shitload more than any other team.

Championships are not as easy to buy as they used to be are they?
Good thing Wayne Huizinga bought his championship when he did!

War Wagon wrote:The entire baseball world lives for seeing the stake being driven through the heart of the Yankees.

IN
My reasons…
The Diamondbacks, Rockies and Indians payroll added together still does not match the Yankees!
My other reason Shoalzie already nailed…

Shoalzie wrote:they live for seeing your team crash and burn and see your jaded and arrogant fans flip out.

Toddowen wrote:Continued success back at you next season with another aimless and ongoing thread about a team that amounts to little more than divisional filler.

Hey, I enjoy everyday of the season don't just count down the days to another inevitable berth in the playoffs. You wonder why I call YankeeFan jaded? It would be sweet justice to see the Yanks return to their pre-Torre mediocrity after he's let go. You guys weren't nearly as 'hateable' back then.

I don't have a problem with Torre or Rivera or Jeter...there really isn't a player on the team that I single out as a bad guy. I think most "YankeeHaters" just get sick of the media coverage...where ESPN reports every single little detail about the team and acts like any minor thing they do is the biggest story of the day. I think with most things in this country...overdone coverage of a person or team or a single issue gets on the collective nerves of the people and they begin to root against those who get all the attention. Plus, I think most of us are put off by the ridiculous payroll. I won't lie that I'm jealous of the success the Yankees have had and to have one just exciting season like last year with the Tigers was amazing. I can't imagine being in the postseason for more than a decade.

The only thing I can compare your experience recently as a YankeeFan is my experience as WingsFan...the pro team with the longest active streak of making the playoffs. They haven't won the most titles all time like the Yankees but they've had a similar run since the mid 90s and they are a lightning rod for attention in their respective sports. I can honestly respect and appreciate what the Yankees have done but when a big dog like them loses, it is a big deal for everyone else. When Duke loses in the Big Dance, it's a big deal...when Tiger Woods doesn't win a major, it's a big deal.

I get excited when I see teams like the Rockies make an unexpected run and just see new teams in the postseason every year. During the late-90s, I think most "YankeeHaters" got bored with them making the World Series pretty much every year and winning it all. We like drama and upsets and surprises when our teams aren't involved anymore. I don't call for A-Rod or Posada to get hit in the head with a fastball like you seem to wish on Ramirez or other Red Sox players...I just don't want to see your team win all the time. To wish actual physical harm on another human being is pretty low...that's definitely one thing I'll take issue with. In the end, the scoreboard should be the only thing we can about.

Shoalzie wrote: I don't call for A-Rod or Posada to get hit in the head with a fastball like you seem to wish on Ramirez. To wish actual physical harm on another human being is pretty low....

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:

Shoalzie wrote: I don't call for A-Rod or Posada to get hit in the head with a fastball like you seem to wish on Ramirez. To wish actual physical harm on another human being is pretty low....

I'm sorry, he's actually super human. Hitting .500 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI in 4 playoff games. Ortiz is hitting .788 if you need him.