Thursday, September 29, 2005

It's an offday

Last offday of the year so let's talk playoffs. Namely who I like and don't like (like as in teams I think have a chance).

NL- Like
Houston-
Come on, Pettite, Oswalt, Clemens. If these three are all healthy (the only question is Clemens at this point)you don't want to face them in a playoff series.
St. Louis- Not as good as they're cracked up to be but the only team that can beat them is the 'Stros, so they've got that going for them.

AL- Like
Yankees (if they get in)-
Unfortunately, since I usually spend October taking as much glee from Yankees losses as I do Pirates wins. But seriously, who wants to play these guys right now?
Cleveland (if they get in)- OK, they might be hotter than the Yankees, except they've cooled off a bit of late. But if they get in, look out. They can hit and their pitching staff has been fantastic of late. Travis Hafner might be this year's David Ortiz.
Anaheim- Hey, they've got a guy named John Lackey on their team, how can they NOT have a chance? Oh yeah, plus that Vlad guy, AL Cy Maybe Colon, the BoSox sparkplug from last year (Cabrera). Yeah, they've got a chance.

NL- Don't Like
Padres-
This one should be obvious. They really suck.
Braves- A bunch of young guys, this is probably the worst of their 14 division champs. This is where Jeff Francoeur turns into Shane Spencer.

AL- Don't Like
White Sox-
I'm giddy over the impending Ozzie Guillen meltdown after a first round sweet. Their pitching has faded and they can't score runs. If the season was a week longer they wouldn't even be able to hold Cleveland off.
Red Sox (if they make it)- Their rotation is in shambles and their bullpen is worse. I'm pretty sure everyone in America hates Curt Schilling, teammates included. The only thing they've got going for is David Ortiz. I don't think that's enough this year.