The Major League Baseball Playoffs are here, and while this column will not be printed until after the first day of action, I will still humbly submit my predictions.
First, to the American League: the first division series sees the Oakland A's open at Minnesota. The Twins have been the best team in baseball for the last couple of months, and on their turf and under their dome they are unstoppable. The A's have been horrendous in recent years in the playoffs: their general manager Billy Beane has admitted that Moneyball can only take a team so far. The lefty match-up in Game 1 between Johan Santana and Barry Zito should be fun to watch, and if the Big Hurt has a Big Series, it'll be interesting. Twins in four, with two Frank Thomas home runs winning Game 3.
The Detroit Tigers travel to Yankee Stadium in the other AL division series. The Tigers' pitchers are young and haven't been throwing well as of late, and with Sheffield and Matsui back in the Yankee lineup, permanent vacation is only a week away. The Yanks end the Tigers' promising season in four, unless Giambi gets caught with a needle in his butt or Sheffield knocks out one of his own fans.
ALCS
In the ALCS, the Twins travel to Yankee Stadium. Conventional wisdom is that pitching, like run defense in football, wins games in the postseason. Look for the Yankees to shut up the traditionalists with their patient and powerful bats. Their lineup is simply too strong throughout; their number nine hitter, Robinson Cano, could have won the batting title.
They take pitches better than any team and knock out opposing starters early. They could have a horrendous day and still score four or five runs, and barring major pitching meltdowns that Mariano Rivera cannot alleviate, I don't see the Yankees losing. The Twins, again, are good at home and have the superior pitching, so Yankees in seven, with the home team winning every game.
Money can't buy happiness, but bags of it can purchase a World Series appearance.
Padres vs. Cardinals
In the NL, the Padres are at home to the Cardinals in the first division series. The St. Louis boys almost did not make the playoffs and Tony La Russa has finally been exposed as a mediocre manager. And since this is the Princeton University newspaper, I am obligated to go with Chris Young '02 and the Padres. Young is a six-foot, 10-inch former Princetonian; he is the University's last great baseball player. Now he pitches for the Padres, who need all five games to take the series because they can't hit: two of their best hitters were deemed replaceable by the Mets this past off-season.
Mets vs Dodgers
The other NL division series sees the Mets and LA Dodgers meet in Queens in what is the most intriguing first round pairing. The Dodgers, after all, originated in Brooklyn: Brooklynites once had to "dodge" the trolleys that were a prominent mode of transport in their borough. In 2006, the Mets have the more potent lineup, providing they do not encounter any lefties, while the Dodgers have an edge in starting pitching. Watch for what should be the most fun first round pitching duel, with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, former teammates in Atlanta and future Hall of Famers, meeting in Game Two. Game Four sees the Mets' David Wright clinch the series with a late run-scoring double.
NLCS
The Padres travel to New York for the NLCS. They have the better pitchers – I'm still riding Chris Young – and Mike Piazza returns to Shea Stadium after having himself a monster regular season series there in early August. Look for him to hit a couple of homers for a lost cause, though the Padres do win two games handily against the Mets starters. Mets in six, with Billy Wagner getting Piazza to fly out to the warning track for the final out.
Subway series
So we have another Subway Series; more proof to New Yorkers that they are at the center of the universe. The Bandwagons are overloaded, September 11th is mentioned 10 times a game, and drunken fights color the stadium landscapes.
The Metropolitans will be the underdog, and the angle fed to audiences by announcers and journalists will be of an epic fight: the gutsy little team (Mets) going up against the overpowering collection of high priced talent (Yankees). The hustlers versus the fat cats.
In truth, the two teams are more similar than different, except on the field the team from the Bronx has the clear edge. The Mets can score runs at almost the same clip as the Yankees, but Met pitchers won't get a strike past the Yankee lineup.
Yankees in six.
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