Baseball Post-Season

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Alright, who will win it all?

Here's the match-ups (I'm not sure who's the home team, or if the first round is a best of 5 or 7 series):

St. Louis vs San Diego- Sweep by St. Louis. San Diego will make it interesting if their pitching is on point, but I don't see them doing much. Only way St. Louis loses the one is if their players get injured (Edmonds, Walker).

Atlanta vs Houston- Can Houston get enough runs to beat the Braves? Can the Braves' rookies play well in the post-season, and can CF Andruw Jones continue his power surge? I'm picking Atlanta, but it will go to the last game to decide.

New York vs Anaheim- If the Yankees can find enough starters to pitch well, I think they win this one. if they can't, Vlad and Co. should have a field day. I'm going for the upset, Anaheim wins.

Boston vs Chicago- This is the who cares matchup for me. Whoever wins, I want them to lose to either NY or Anaheim. I guess I'll pick the White Sox.

Overall, I want either NY or Anaheim in the World Series vs Atlanta or St. Louis, with the National League team winning it all in no more than 6 games.

[The Prince of Darkness]

Alright, who will win it all?

Here's the match-ups (I'm not sure who's the home team, or if the first round is a best of 5 or 7 series):

St. Louis vs San Diego- Sweep by St. Louis. San Diego will make it interesting if their pitching is on point, but I don't see them doing much. Only way St. Louis loses the one is if their players get injured (Edmonds, Walker).

Atlanta vs Houston- Can Houston get enough runs to beat the Braves? Can the Braves' rookies play well in the post-season, and can CF Andruw Jones continue his power surge? I'm picking Atlanta, but it will go to the last game to decide.

New York vs Anaheim- If the Yankees can find enough starters to pitch well, I think they win this one. if they can't, Vlad and Co. should have a field day. I'm going for the upset, Anaheim wins.

Boston vs Chicago- This is the who cares matchup for me. Whoever wins, I want them to lose to either NY or Anaheim. I guess I'll pick the White Sox.

Overall, I want either NY or Anaheim in the World Series vs Atlanta or St. Louis, with the National League team winning it all in no more than 6 games.

All that I know is that NY got lucky with that tiebreaker. Now they get to play Anaheim instead of Chicago.

I'm with you on STL/SD. SD should have had to forfeit their position to Cleveland. They will get killed by the mighty STL O. STL in 5.

For some reason I don't think that Atl/Houston will be as interesting as you do. I don't hav emuch of a reason either except to say that it will have something to do with that Braves mystique. Braves in 5.

NY/Anaheim. I am picking the Yankees because I just don't see anything but a crash collision between the Yankees and Redsox. However, the Yankees pitching will keep this interesting. Yankees in 7.

Boston/Chisox. This is the best series of the first round. It will be a war, but I'm taking the Redsox just because I like their toughness. Redsox in 7.

I think we will see a rematch in the WS simply because STL was the best team in the NL all year, and I don't see Atlanta stopping their hitters. I will take the Redsox over the Yanks simply because I don't see how that Yankee pitching can get them to the Series.
Redsox in 7, and Cardinals in 6.

Finally, I think the WS will be much better because STL will use that humiliation of last year to their advantage. They will still lose, however, because Boston will scratch and claw and just refuse to lose. Redsox in 7.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

All that I know is that NY got lucky with that tiebreaker. Now they get to play Anaheim instead of Chicago.

I'm with you on STL/SD. SD should have had to forfeit their position to Cleveland. They will get killed by the mighty STL O. STL in 5.

For some reason I don't think that Atl/Houston will be as interesting as you do. I don't hav emuch of a reason either except to say that it will have something to do with that Braves mystique. Braves in 5.

NY/Anaheim. I am picking the Yankees because I just don't see anything but a crash collision between the Yankees and Redsox. However, the Yankees pitching will keep this interesting. Yankees in 7.

Boston/Chisox. This is the best series of the first round. It will be a war, but I'm taking the Redsox just because I like their toughness. Redsox in 7.

I think we will see a rematch in the WS simply because STL was the best team in the NL all year, and I don't see Atlanta stopping their hitters. I will take the Redsox over the Yanks simply because I don't see how that Yankee pitching can get them to the Series.
Redsox in 7, and Cardinals in 6.

Finally, I think the WS will be much better because STL will use that humiliation of last year to their advantage. They will still lose, however, because Boston will scratch and claw and just refuse to lose. Redsox in 7.

If not Cleveland, SD should have had to give up their position to Florida or Philadelphia. The only way they prove they belong is to take St. Louis to the distance.

Now that I think about it, The Cards pitchers have a shot to shut down any team they face. Mulder, Carpenter, Morris can all do it, and go long innings as well. I'm sure they will get the best of the Braves hitters, especially the rookies.

I dunno if Boston has the starters to do it in the post-season. They aren't as bad as the Yankess, but Shilling hasn't shown anything since coming back. Their bats will carry them as far as they can, but I hope that isn't too far since the White Sox already won game 1. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Prince of Darkness]

If not Cleveland, SD should have had to give up their position to Florida or Philadelphia. The only way they prove they belong is to take St. Louis to the distance.

Now that I think about it, The Cards pitchers have a shot to shut down any team they face. Mulder, Carpenter, Morris can all do it, and go long innings as well. I'm sure they will get the best of the Braves hitters, especially the rookies.

I dunno if Boston has the starters to do it in the post-season. They aren't as bad as the Yankess, but Shilling hasn't shown anything since coming back. Their bats will carry them as far as they can, but I hope that isn't too far since the White Sox already won game 1. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I just found out last night that all the first series are just 5 games, so I must revise slightly.

Yankees in 4.
Alt. in 4.
STL in 3.
Redsox in 5.

You are right, though. Things do not look good for the Redsox after that spanking. The thing is that I remember a spanking that they took last year that led them to the WS. If anyone has the heart to come back from that it is Boston. The problem is that it is only a 5 game series. The key is how they respond in game 2.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Well I just found out last night that all the first series are just 5 games, so I must revise slightly.

Yankees in 4.
Alt. in 4.
STL in 3.
Redsox in 5.

You are right, though. Things do not look good for the Redsox after that spanking. The thing is that I remember a spanking that they took last year that led them to the WS. If anyone has the heart to come back from that it is Boston. The problem is that it is only a 5 game series. The key is how they respond in game 2.

I agree with you on all the first rounders, except Red Sox. Maybe it's because I really don't like the BoSox, or would be the only baseball fan bored with another NY vs Boston matchup. I don't think the BoSox has that chip on their shoulder like they had last year, and they can't play as loose as they did because they are the defending champs. If they play vs NY, the Yankees would probably be the 'dogs for the first couple of games, at least.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I agree with you on all the first rounders, except Red Sox. Maybe it's because I really don't like the BoSox, or would be the only baseball fan bored with another NY vs Boston matchup. I don't think the BoSox has that chip on their shoulder like they had last year, and they can't play as loose as they did because they are the defending champs. If they play vs NY, the Yankees would probably be the 'dogs for the first couple of games, at least.

Man, I just don't know. Yankees/Redsox is the epitome of a pick 'em. There is just know way to really analyze that series because it defies logic. You are right about Boston, though. I am still picking them, but since this is a five gamer, the White Sox are better than I thought, and Boston may not have that same hunger, they really could lose. I think that would actually be ok, though, because the Yankees/White Sox would be a good matchup too.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Man, I just don't know. Yankees/Redsox is the epitome of a pick 'em. There is just know way to really analyze that series because it defies logic. You are right about Boston, though. I am still picking them, but since this is a five gamer, the White Sox are better than I thought, and Boston may not have that same hunger, they really could lose. I think that would actually be ok, though, because the Yankees/White Sox would be a good matchup too.

I'm kind of surprised that the White Sox won game one, considering they were struggling during the end of the season (before the Cleveland series). The longer that series goes, the more I think Boston will end up winning it, just because of how bad ChiSox played in September.

Any idea when the MVP awards are given out? A possible Yankees/BoSox series will show the real MVP between Ortiz and A-Rod.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I'm kind of surprised that the White Sox won game one, considering they were struggling during the end of the season (before the Cleveland series). The longer that series goes, the more I think Boston will end up winning it, just because of how bad ChiSox played in September.

Any idea when the MVP awards are given out? A possible Yankees/BoSox series will show the real MVP between Ortiz and A-Rod.

Well now we are not getting that match up. I think that Boston will win the next one, but lose in game 4. That game last night is one that they would have pulled out last year. You were right about that hunger.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Well now we are not getting that match up. I think that Boston will win the next one, but lose in game 4. That game last night is one that they would have pulled out last year. You were right about that hunger.


Game 3 starter for the BoSox is Tim Wakefield. Curt Shilling is available. Wakefield has had a decent yea (I think), but he got torched by the Yankees in his last start. Shilling hasn't been consistent this year, but I think he pitched well his last start. In this "backs to the wall" game for Boston, who would you put on the mound?

[The Prince of Darkness]

Game 3 starter for the BoSox is Tim Wakefield. Curt Shilling is available. Wakefield has had a decent yea (I think), but he got torched by the Yankees in his last start. Shilling hasn't been consistent this year, but I think he pitched well his last start. In this "backs to the wall" game for Boston, who would you put on the mound?

I love the idea of putting Wakefield on the mound. The thing about knuckleballers is that you can tell right away if they have that movement or not on a given night. If he does not have it I would definately go to Schilling right away. It doesn't matter if he has looked good lately or not because he is your big game pitcher. You have to live and die with him. The other thing about starting Wakefield is this. If he does have his good stuff he is the kind of guy who can give you 11 innings if need be. Then you can start Schilling in game 4.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I love the idea of putting Wakefield on the mound. The thing about knuckleballers is that you can tell right away if they have that movement or not on a given night. If he does not have it I would definately go to Schilling right away. It doesn't matter if he has looked good lately or not because he is your big game pitcher. You have to live and die with him. The other thing about starting Wakefield is this. If he does have his good stuff he is the kind of guy who can give you 11 innings if need be. Then you can start Schilling in game 4.

I didn't think about that, when it comes to knuckleballers. I have seen (or read in the papers) when Wakefield has his stuff and go a lot of innings. It looks like he doesn't have to put as much of an effort to throw, so that helps with his endurance. I would have gone straight to Schilling (I knew there was something wrong when I typed his name earlier, but it still looks funny), because of his past experiences of last year and when he won it all with Arizona.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I didn't think about that, when it comes to knuckleballers. I have seen (or read in the papers) when Wakefield has his stuff and go a lot of innings. It looks like he doesn't have to put as much of an effort to throw, so that helps with his endurance. I would have gone straight to Schilling (I knew there was something wrong when I typed his name earlier, but it still looks funny), because of his past experiences of last year and when he won it all with Arizona.

Yeah, Schilling is tough, but don't forget that Wakefield won some big games for them in last years playoffs too. I think that the Redsox were in a similar situation last year(I forget the scenerio) and went to Wakefield. I remember the announcers were saying that they would pull the plug at the first sign of trouble, but then Wakefield ended up deep into the game.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Yeah, Schilling is tough, but don't forget that Wakefield won some big games for them in last years playoffs too. I think that the Redsox were in a similar situation last year(I forget the scenerio) and went to Wakefield. I remember the announcers were saying that they would pull the plug at the first sign of trouble, but then Wakefield ended up deep into the game.

For some reason, I'm changing my prediction. Bring out the brooms, because the BoSox are going to get swept. Yep, defending champs....outta there. The same can be said for Manny. He'll probably be traded after the season, maybe to the Mets.

[The Prince of Darkness]

For some reason, I'm changing my prediction. Bring out the brooms, because the BoSox are going to get swept. Yep, defending champs....outta there. The same can be said for Manny. He'll probably be traded after the season, maybe to the Mets.


Good call Rogue. It is funny what a difference a year makes. Two of those three games against the White Sox were games that Boston would have won last year. All that I can say is go Bartolo!!!! Now that Boston is out there is no way that I want to see the Yanks advance. I want to see some new teams in there.

What do you think will happen in the Houston/STL series? Houston looks like they are for real, but that last game might have drained them too much to compete with STL.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Good call Rogue. It is funny what a difference a year makes. Two of those three games against the White Sox were games that Boston would have won last year. All that I can say is go Bartolo!!!! Now that Boston is out there is no way that I want to see the Yanks advance. I want to see some new teams in there.

What do you think will happen in the Houston/STL series? Houston looks like they are for real, but that last game might have drained them too much to compete with STL.


I agree. Though I still think it would have been a boring series for me to watch, a NY vs Boston series has a mistique about it that just can't be touched. Now that one is gone, I wouldn't mind seeing the other hit the door as well. I will say this, if Steinbrenner even considers firing Torre, he is the dumbest owner in all of professional sports. Yeah, there has been some dumba**es, but firing Torre would make him #1 easily.

When does the Cards/'Stros series start, Tuesday? Man, that 18 inning game was the same as playing a doubleheader w/o any rest in between. St. Louis will definitely take game one. The Cards did one thing they needed to in the off-season, get better starting pitching. Mulder, Carp, and Morris will have good games, but it will depend on the bullpen to keep a lead. For the Astros to have a chance, they need to treat Puljos (sp?) like teams would treat Bonds in the regular season. Walk him with the bases empty, with a man on first, with two men on, hell, I would walk Puljos (sp?) with the bases loaded. I'll give up one run instead of at least 2 (knowing Albert, it will be 4 runs given up). Besides Al and Reggie Sanders, I don't know if anyone else on the Cards are consistent (or healthy) enough to be a factor. As far as the Astros, I'm not sold on them scoring a lot of runs, especially when Clemens pitch. They pitching staff has to be lights out to win this series, because the hitters are a bit sporatic, IMO. With that said, I'm picking the Cards in 6.

[The Prince of Darkness]

Did you see that last night Rogue?

I can't believe that the ump screwed that one up. I don't even know what the debate is about. It looked like a clean catch to me. Anyway, you know what that reminds me of don't you? Shame on me because I forget the year, but O's/Yankees the year that a-hole Jeffrey Maier robbed Tony Tarasco of that ball in Yankee Stadium. That one was worse because we were ahead in that game when the bad call happened whereas this one was tied. Seriously though, same situation. We were up 1-0 in the series, and were ready to go back to Baltimore 2-0. I truly believe that we would have won that series, and I'll bethcha that call costs the Angels a trip to the series. Serious momentum killer!!!

I'm actually happy about it, though. I don't think that the Angels would give STL a good series like the ChiSox will(especially without Colon).

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Did you see that last night Rogue?

I can't believe that the ump screwed that one up. I don't even know what the debate is about. It looked like a clean catch to me. Anyway, you know what that reminds me of don't you? Shame on me because I forget the year, but O's/Yankees the year that a-hole Jeffrey Maier robbed Tony Tarasco of that ball in Yankee Stadium. That one was worse because we were ahead in that game when the bad call happened whereas this one was tied. Seriously though, same situation. We were up 1-0 in the series, and were ready to go back to Baltimore 2-0. I truly believe that we would have won that series, and I'll bethcha that call costs the Angels a trip to the series. Serious momentum killer!!!

I'm actually happy about it, though. I don't think that the Angels would give STL a good series like the ChiSox will(especially without Colon).

I saw highlights of what happened. I thought the catcher had the ball in the glove, and it didn't hit the ground at all.

The Maier thing reminds me of what happened to the Cubbies a couple of years ago with Steve Bartman. Something like that will definitely kill momentum. It will be interesting how the Angels will do in their next game.

The Angels have better hitters that can match up against the Cards (Vlad vs Pujols), but the ChiSox definitely have better pitchers. Buerle (sp?), Contreas, and Garland can all go the distance, and I wouldn't be surprised if Buerle goes another 9 in his next start. You're right about the Angels. Without Colon, they will have to rely heavily on their bullpen.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I saw highlights of what happened. I thought the catcher had the ball in the glove, and it didn't hit the ground at all.

The Maier thing reminds me of what happened to the Cubbies a couple of years ago with Steve Bartman. Something like that will definitely kill momentum. It will be interesting how the Angels will do in their next game.

The Angels have better hitters that can match up against the Cards (Vlad vs Pujols), but the ChiSox definitely have better pitchers. Buerle (sp?), Contreas, and Garland can all go the distance, and I wouldn't be surprised if Buerle goes another 9 in his next start. You're right about the Angels. Without Colon, they will have to rely heavily on their bullpen.

The Jeffrey Maier thing was worse than Bartman. The umps gave Jeter a homerun for that while the Bartman catch just cost the Cubs an out. Both killed momentum, though.

Well last night Houston showed me something. I honestly did not think that they would win one of the first two in St. Louis. Now they have Clemens coming up in the next game, so anything can happen.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The Jeffrey Maier thing was worse than Bartman. The umps gave Jeter a homerun for that while the Bartman catch just cost the Cubs an out. Both killed momentum, though.

Well last night Houston showed me something. I honestly did not think that they would win one of the first two in St. Louis. Now they have Clemens coming up in the next game, so anything can happen.

I dunno. Wouldn't the Bartman thing have given the Cubs 3 outs and inning over? It just seems like they had a complete breakdown afterwards, and they couldn't do anything right.
Was the Maier thing in the playoffs as well? I can't seem to remember a thing.

I still think Houston will lose when Clemens pitches. I have no reason why they cannot score enough runs for him. It happened during one of the Braves starts, and it will happen at least once vs the Cards.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I dunno. Wouldn't the Bartman thing have given the Cubs 3 outs and inning over? It just seems like they had a complete breakdown afterwards, and they couldn't do anything right.
Was the Maier thing in the playoffs as well? I can't seem to remember a thing.

I still think Houston will lose when Clemens pitches. I have no reason why they cannot score enough runs for him. It happened during one of the Braves starts, and it will happen at least once vs the Cards.

So you don't remember that scenerio, huh? It was game 2 of the ALCS, bottom of the 8th with 2 outs and the O's were up 2-1. We also had a 1-0 series lead after winning the first in NY. That little bastard caught that ball, and the umps awarded Jeter a homerun, so the score was tied going into the 9th. The Yankees got a run in the bottom of the 9th to beat us, and then went on to win three of the next four. I forget who our closer was, but I remmeber him being lights out. Before that crap happened I remember thinking that we had them, and they would have had to win 4 of the next 5 including three games in Baltimore. Bottom line is that you could never say whether we would have won that series if we got game 2, but you sure would have liked the chances going back home at 2-0.

If Houston is going to have a problem with a Clemens outing they better not make it tonight. They can't let STL just erase the home-field advantage swap that quickly.

[The Prince of Darkness]

Obviously I am biased, but I think that was the worst call in the history of pro sports. I went through all of the emotions that someone goes through when a loved one dies...in about a 5 minute span. Rage, then denial, then gut wrenching sorrow. I experienced them all after that call. Incidentily, you know what I think the second worst call ever was? That game where Steve Young finally got the monkey off his back and beat Green Bay by hitting TO with that miracle td pass. A few plays before that happened Jerry Rice blatantly fumbled, and there was no call. Man if there was replay back then the miracle play would have never happened.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The worst call I can think if is during the '91 World Series between the Twins and Braves. Kent Hrbek taggin Ron Gant on first base and the Ump called an out, negating the fact that
Hrbek used a Greco-Roman wrestling move to get Gant off the base. Since I'm a Twins fan, I thought it was funny as hell.

Well, one team in the World Series, and they are scary. I don't think they can out-slug anyone if it turns into a high scoring series. One thing they can probably do is tell the bullpen to stay at the hotel, because those starting pitchers can all go the distance. I have a feeling Houston will beat St Louis, just because this post-season has been more about pitching than hitting. A-Rod, Vlad, Pujols, A-Jones, Ortiz, Ramirez, etc hasn't made a lot of noise this post-season because of the dominant pitching. I see that happening in the WS, too.

[The Prince of Darkness]

The worst call I can think if is during the '91 World Series between the Twins and Braves. Kent Hrbek taggin Ron Gant on first base and the Ump called an out, negating the fact that
Hrbek used a Greco-Roman wrestling move to get Gant off the base. Since I'm a Twins fan, I thought it was funny as hell.

Well, one team in the World Series, and they are scary. I don't think they can out-slug anyone if it turns into a high scoring series. One thing they can probably do is tell the bullpen to stay at the hotel, because those starting pitchers can all go the distance. I have a feeling Houston will beat St Louis, just because this post-season has been more about pitching than hitting. A-Rod, Vlad, Pujols, A-Jones, Ortiz, Ramirez, etc hasn't made a lot of noise this post-season because of the dominant pitching. I see that happening in the WS, too.

Oh yeah the pitching has been unreal, and that is why I would be shocked beyond belief if STL were to make a comeback. I mean Boston did it last year against mediocre Yankee pitching, but that is clearly not the case here. I will be happy with this WS matchup. It should be competitive, and it is a couple new teams. You know what I simply cannot believe? Way way back when the O's were playing really well,and the Astros were playing crappy, the O's swept them in an interleague series.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Oh yeah the pitching has been unreal, and that is why I would be shocked beyond belief if STL were to make a comeback. I mean Boston did it last year against mediocre Yankee pitching, but that is clearly not the case here. I will be happy with this WS matchup. It should be competitive, and it is a couple new teams. You know what I simply cannot believe? Way way back when the O's were playing really well,and the Astros were playing crappy, the O's swept them in an interleague series.

I thought the O's had a real good shot of contending during the first half of the season. I think the team should keep Tejada, Roberts, Mora, and any other young player and get rid of everyone else. They already started by cutting Big Boy Ponson before the end of the season, now they should cut Sosa, Mr. 'Roids, and even Javy Lopes if he's not putting up good numbers. I doubt they can get much from these guys in a trade, so they should save some $$ and go after P AJ Burnett (FLA) and a few other young arms. With the guys they keep on the team, they should have enough offense to compete next year.