In Search of Good Times

With the Minnesota Twins finally claiming the final spot in baseball’s postseason with last night’s 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers to claim the American League Central title, the playoffs have finally been set. Of course, that means only one thing: it’s time to make predictions!

Of course, those predictions will likely go up in smoke almost immediately after I post them, but so be it. Someone has to be willing to make them – I might as well put myself out there and endure the ridicule.

With that out of the way, its on to the predictions:

National League:

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies:

The Phillies come into the playoffs with a few question marks – most importantly in their bullpen, which was the reason, ironically, that they won the World Series last year. The Rockies, on the other hand, have rocketed through the final weeks of the season – much like they did back in 2007 when they stormed to the World Series.

Despite losing talented starter Jorge De La Rosa for this series because of a groin injury, I like the Rockies to make it through this series. Despite the powerful Phillies lineup and the 1-2 punch of Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, I think the Rockies have enough depth through their lineup and bullpen to find a way to win the series. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they’re hot.

Winner: Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals:

The Dodgers have scuffled mightily down the stretch, and have as many questions as anyone at this point. Chad Billingsley has had a rough few weeks, and their offense has also had question marks up and down it.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are armed with two great players anchoring their lineup in Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, and they have three excellent starting pitchers with Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Joel Piniero. The one Achilles heel that they have, however, is the back of their bullpen, where closer Ryan Franklin has been a train wreck lately.

I’m still going to take the Cardinals, though, because I don’t want to be on the other side of Pujols and that starting rotation.

Winner: Cardinals

American League:

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels:

The Red Sox have seen their pitching staff round into form of late, with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz pitching as well as any group in baseball. Combine that with a reinvigorated David Ortiz and midseason acquisition Victor Martinez, and the Red Sox are again ready to contend in October.

The Angels also have a strong team once again, with John Lackey and Ervin Santana anchoring their rotation and Cuban revelation Kendry Morales anchoring their lineup. They do, however, have a much weaker bullpen than in the past, starting with Brian Fuentes, their closer, who isn’t nearly as good as the departed Francisco Rodriguez, whether he had over 40 saves this season or not.

These two teams seem to meet every year in the playoffs in the division series, with the same results – the Red Sox knocking off the Angels. I think that’s going to happen again this year.

Winner: Red Sox

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees

The Twins have stormed into the playoffs, winning 17 of their last 21 games (including last night’s win) – all without their second-best player, first baseman Justin Morneau. But they’ve gotten huge contributions from players like Jason Kubel, Denard Span and Michale Cuddyer that have helped carry them in Morneau’s absence, and, as always, the pitching staff is consistent.

The Yankees, on the other hand, are well rested and confident, as they probably should be. But there’s no doubt that they have some serious problems. Their starting pitching could be a mess – CC Sabathia has been more than shaky in the postseason, A.J. Burnett is already getting into his own head, as the Yankees revealed when they took one of their better hitters out of the lineup in Jorge Posada to allow Jose Molina to catch Burnett in Game Two, and Andy Pettitte is fighting a balky shoulder. Plus, the Yankees bullpen is very shaky outside of the great Mariano Rivera.

With all of that being said, it’s still probably the smart pick to take the Yankees. But I think the Twins, like several other wild card teams in years past, are riding a hot streak right now, and I think they can jump their past history against the Yankees and topple Goliath.

Winner: Twins

World Series pick: Cardinals over Red Sox