Monday, October 03, 2005

MLB Play-Off Preview

It took 162 games to get to this, the second season in MLB, also known as the play-offs. Here are my predictions and views on the first round of baseball’s post season.

American League
Red Sox vs. White Sox

Its Chicago’s pitching against Boston’s hitting. The Red Sox have the better offense and defense. Johnny Damon is hitting .316 and David Ortiz has 148 RBI’s. The Red Sox also have post-season experience on their side.

The White Sox have to feel lucky to even be in the post-season after nearly avoiding one of the biggest late season collapses in baseball history. The White Sox pitching has not been the same since the All-Star break and will hurt them in this series.

Prediction: Red Sox

Yankees vs. Angels
The Yankees have almost everything on their side here. They have pitching, offense, experience, and coaching. The Angels have defense and the Rally Monkey, oh yeah, and something called karma. New York has had a strange season and had to Rally to win the division. It will be interesting to see how they play now that everything is on the line.

Prediction: Yankees

National League
Padres vs. Cardinals
With Otsuka, Seanez and Hoffman the Padres have the Edge in the bullpen, but that’s it. The Cardinals could very well be the best team in baseball and will cruise through the first round.

Prediction: Cardinals

Astros vs. Braves
Pitching usually wins in the play-offs. Atros ace Roger Clemens has a 1.87 ERA while Braves ace pitcher John Smoltz is sporting a 3.06 ERA. The Braves bats should keep this series close and you have to give the kudos for 14 consecutive division titles. You have to wonder why they only have one World Series Championship to show for it though.

Prediction: Astros