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By uxley11, Section MLB
With the 2006 playoffs starting Tuesday that means there will be a million predictions between now and the World Series. With that in mind I felt I could give some of my knowledge and predictions for the playoffs even though none of my "favorite" teams are in. So lets get our hands dirty and diagnose this thing.
The first round series I am looking most forward to are the Dodgers and the Mets. Obviously, the Mets have home field throughout the playoffs because of their record. The Dodgers I feel have the best rotation in the playoffs and the Mets have one of the best run scoring offenses. Also, the Mets record at home during the season was an astonishing 50-31. The only team with a better record at home were the Twins at 54-27. The Dodgers have Lowe, Maddux, and Penny starting the first three games. This is compared to El' Duque, Glavine, and Trachsel. And the Dodgers also are one of the better offenses in the National League and will help out that trio of pitchers. I am looking forward to the game two matchup between Glavine and Maddux because of obvious reasons. I look for the Dodgers to win the series in four games with game two being their only loss. The next series will answer a lot of questions about the Tigers being contenders or pretenders. Based on the way their season ended I am going to have to say that they are pretenders. I don't think this will be much of a series because even though the Tigers have spectacular pitching the Yankees hitting is that much better. I mean come on the Yankees put up over 900 runs this season! The only thing that the Tigers have going for them is that they have the best road record in baseball. But going to Kansas City is like going in a candy store where being the visiting team going into Yankee Stadium is like walking into Hell. They just won't come out. But the Yankees pitching staff is also shaky, giving up more than 100 runs than the Tigers did this year. But I wouldn't worry about that because the Yankees will put at least seven or eight runs up on the scoreboard before the Tigers know what hit them. The Yankees have Wang, Mussina, and Johnson for the first three. I am not sure if Johnson will be available to pitch because of his herniated disc but as of yesterday he is on their roster. The Tigers have Robertson, Verlander, and Rogers on the mound. I don't think there is a spark in this Tiger team but I guess we won't know till' the series starts. I look for the Yankees to give Detroit the broom. The Cardinals played some of the worst baseball in recent memory the last two weeks of the season and if the Astros got on a role two days earlier we would be talking about a much better series. The Padres on the other hand are going into the playoffs on a roll and look to be the overwhelming favorites in this series. The Cardinals have one of the worst offenses in the playoffs but not the worst (Padres). But even though the Padres are behind in that category they have given up about 100 runs less than the Cardinals pitching staff. I think San Diego has the momentum going into the series and even though they can't hit as well they are going to be facing pitchers that should be in Triple A. The Cardinals send Carpenter, Suppan, and JEFF Weaver to the hill. The Padres send Peavy, Young, and Williams. And let's not forget Trevor Hoffman is the closer for the favorites. I see the Padres winning in four to take on their West Coast rivals. The final first round series could be the best depending on what you think. The last series lists Twins vs. A's. The Twins you could argue have been the best team since June, and the only team that you could argue that statement with me would be the Yankees. The Twins will have home field throughout this series and they are scary good at home. The Twins like I said earlier are 54-27 at home where as the A's are 44-37 away from Oakland. Minnesota, in my opinion, has the best to offer pitching wise even though they are without Francisco Liriano. They have Johan Santana whom they will use two times in this series if need be. And Minnesota also has a damn good offense. The A's have one of the worst only accumulating 771 runs. The Twins send out Santana, Bonser, and Garza in the first three. Oakland sends out Zito, Haren, and Loaiza. I think the first game of the series could be the best game of the first round because of the pitching matchup between Zito and Santana. I look for the Twins to win the series in five games. With the opening round out of the way it is time to discuss the NLCS and ALCS. My prediction are the Padres and Dodgers in the NLCS and the Yankees and Twins in the ALCS. I think the AL matchup is what everyone wants to see including me. The NL matchup puts NL West foes against one another to see who will put themselves face to face with the American League pennant winner. The Dodgers and Padres may not be the dream series that most of us on the East Coast may be looking for but I feel that it can be a great series and will be. This series pits maybe the two best pitching teams in the league against each other so I think this will definitely be a low scoring series. We could have a couple games in which the winner wins 2-1 or 3-1. If any series were to go into extra innings every game this one would have to be it. The Padres will have home field in the series but I don't think it makes that much of difference seeing that it is in California. I think the Dodgers offense will be very explosive during the battle and feel that they can give Trevor Hoffman a couple blown saves in the series. With that said I think the Dodgers have the advantage and will represent the NL in the World Series after beating the Padres in six. The Twins and Yankees will be like the World Series because I think either team will beat the Dodgers pretty easily because of the explosive offenses. The Yankees will have home-field advantage throughout the series and the winner of the series will have home field in the World Series. Both of these offenses are explosive so it will have to be a pitching duel. I think the Twins win this category and I also feel the Twins have more heart and more desire to win this series and to be the champions. The Yankees, because of their owner, George Steinbrenner, feel like they are expected to win. I see the Twins winning the two games in the Bronx and then another two in the Metrodome. I see this happening because the Twins didn't come this far to lose. The Yankees need to win this and I just don't see it happening. I see the Twins winning in six and representing the American League in the Fall Classic. The Twins and Dodgers may not be the Mets and Yankees but I think the series can still manufacture some excitement. With the Twins having home field I just don't see a way they can lose the series because they are guaranteed at least three games. The Twins will do whatever they have to including pitching Santana in every situation possible. Enjoy the Fall Classic for what it is worth but I see the Twins winning in five to be the new champions of baseball. The picks I made maybe popular or they may not be. I was going on baseball instincts when I made these picks. Everyone in Yankee nation may want to kill me right now because almost everyone in the world thinks they will win the series but I don't think they have as much heart as the Twins. Yankee fans enjoy the year because the Red Sox will be back next year. I hope this is an early celebration for you Twin fans but you never know because this is the Fall Classic.
Got anything to say. I want to hear it. Send emails to andrewuxley@insight.rr.com Story writing contestLog in or create an account to vote for this story!
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