Let's take a look at baseball's post-season rivals and predict who will prevail when the autumn leaves have touched down.
American League:
Oakland A's: They're a balanced team with solid pitching, but they're not particularly deep.
Detroit Tigers: Hands down, their record was the best in the majors for 85% of the season. But were they playing far over their heads? Their September record says "yes," so I expect they'll be respectable, and possibly make it to the American League Championship Series. But then they'll stall.
Minnesota Twins: This is a surprise team that I declared dead less than half-way through the season. Who knew they'd get great pitching, timely hitting, and become one of the hottest teams to streak into October? They have the momentum going in, and if they can keep it up, they could get to the World Series.
New York Yankees: This is a deep, talented, and resilient team. Fighting injuries to key players like Matsui and Sheffield for nearly an entire season, they made some smart trades, literally and figuratively "paying the price" to get to where they are. I look for the Yanks to represent the American League in the Classic.
National League:
St. Louis: Arguably the Cards have the least momentum as they begin post-season play. Nearly eclipsed by the Astros on the final day of the season, the Cards are shaky, at best. Add to this Manager Tony LaRussa's inability to win it all in past World Series chases, and you have a prescription for early tee times for the red birds.
San Diego: I have a blind spot when it comes to evaluating the Padres. For my money, they're so lackluster that you need to see if they have a pulse, most of the time. But with a winning record in 2005 of slightly over .500, they made it to the post-season, and here they are again, having improved only slightly on that percentage this year. But they're not a dominant team, and unless they get ALL of the breaks, I see them departing in the first round.
Los Angeles Dodgers: They play ball, literally, ten minutes from my office, so I'm not impartial when it comes to the Blue Man Group. Still, you have to respect what they've accomplished this year, coming back from the dead, and like the Twins, they have some of the best momentum as they enter the playoffs, having won their last 7 games. They're the National League's Wild Card representative, and literally, they could be the ace in the deck, and win the pot from the more favored players.
New York Mets: The Mets walked away with the Eastern Division crown about a month ago, because they are a solid team. Losing Pedro Martinez to surgery won't hurt their pitching staff, and their slugging is always a threat. Are they complacent or less sharp because they have been in the catbird seat for so long? This is really the only minus that I can see when it comes to their club. They just may have had it too easy of late, and be missing their earlier sharpness and hunger.
So, if I had to put up some dough, I'd predict a Subway Series between the Yanks and Mets, and I would predict the Yanks to take it in seven games.
But for the sheer joy of it, I'd prefer to see a Dodgers-Yankees match-up.
Either way, we're about to see some great baseball, so the fans will definitely win!
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