Baseball Playoff Predictions

It's back. My baseball playoff predictions. Last year I somehow managed to bungle every single playoff series. These predictions definitely should not be used for any sort of wagering. Here goes:

American League

Boston Red Sox vs California Angels
First of all, the Angels were the California Angels when I was growing up. I don’t like these cute marketing nicknames like Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and since it’s my blog I will refer to them as the California Angels. Both teams are solid. Both managers have won the World Series before. The Angels have a better defense but the Red Sox have the home run advantage, hitting 166 to California’s 123.The Red Sox have the better pitching in Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Red Sox in five games.

New York Yankees vs Cleveland Indians
Cleveland has a great pitching duo of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. New York has the hitting edge, out-homering the Tribe 201-168 and out-slugging them by .463-428. This is A-Rod’s time to silence his critics and I believe he will do so but the Yankees have pitching concerns. Are Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina ready? If the Yankees can handle Sabathia, they win this in four games. I have a feeling if Joe Torre wins the World Series for a fifth time, he will retire on top.


National League

Chicago Cubs vs Arizona Diamondbacks
This is a fairly even series, with the Cubs holding edges in average .271 to .250 and runs 752-712 but the Diamondbacks out-homered the Cubs 171-151. A pair of 18 game winners start against one another in game one as Carlos Zambrano (18-13 for the Cubs) vs Brandon Webb (18-10 for Arizona). How the Cubs do against Webb is key. They beat Webb earlier in the year but Webb holds a 4-1 career record against the Cubs. Manager Lou Piniella has managed a World Series winner in 1990 for Cincinnati. Big question mark for the Cubs is how Ryan Dempster handles the closing role. He was awful after the all star break. I can't root for a team with a snake on its hat. Cubs win in five.

Colorado Rockies vs Philadelphia Phillies
Phillies have the edge in offense, out-homering the Rockies 213-171, out scoring them 892-860 and out slugging them .458-.437. Experts are calling for a slugfest, since both ball parks are hitter friendly. I like the Phillies Pitcher Cole Hamels to excel in this series and I have a feeling Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard will have a field day against Rockies pitching. Sure, he hit just .241 with a pair of homers against the Rockies this year but now it’s the playoffs and he’s got a ton of talent. The Rockies need to figure out a way to stop Phillies Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who hit .344 against the Rockies this season. Whichever team can neutralize the other's offense will prevail in this series. I like the Phillies in four games.