NY-less Postseason.. Priceless

A bit of background on my living current living situation: I am a displaced Clevelander living in Franklin Lakes, NJ. I have 4 roommates. A fake Philly fan, a real Mets fan, a real Yankee fan, and a fake Yankee fan. The real fans are semitolerable, the fake fans are awful. Living in NJ, you find yourself around a lot of fake NY fans, which makes this postseason all the better. There are no October Yankee fans coming out of the woodwork to annoy the piss out of you. That is good.



Without further ado, your 2008 MLB Playoff preview...



American League: The Chicago White Sox were able to run the AL Central gauntlet of 3 teams in 3 days to win the division. The Indians had the best record in the central over the last 70 games or so. I'm not bitter. The Sox, however, won the crown, and the right to take on the upstart Rays in the first round. The Rays hold every edge in the series, except at the back end of the bullpen. Which could be a huge disadvantage. Also the White Sox have more experience than Tampa Bay. Should be a compelling series if only because Ozzie Guillen would like to know "how the fuck are we here right now?" Prediction: Rays in 5.



It seems as if the Angels and Red Sox square off every postseason these days. The Red Sox are getting some key pieces back in Mike Lowell and JD Drew, but the all important chemistry factor will be in question in the first couple games. Each team boasts stellar starting rotations. Each team has a dominant close out guy. Should be a very interesting series, with my prediction at Red Sox in 4.



ALCS: Epic battle of AL East teams, each winning a pair of one run games. The Red Sox ride their starters past the Rays in 6 games to head back to the World Series.



National League: The Cubs begin their quest for a first title in 100 years by hosting the Dodgers, who have been rejuvenated not by Manny Ramirez, but by Casey Blake. Seems as if everyone is jumping on the Cubs bandwagon this year, as they have all the pieces u could ever want. I am no different, I will say Cubs in 4.



The Brewers made the playoffs, no thanks to Ned Yost, and that should make everyone in Cleveland happier. Unless you question the front office's ability to evaluate talent, but that is neither here nor there. The Phillies come in as NL East champs for the second consecutive year, and would like nothing more than to put the pesky Brewers away for the winter. That will not be easy as Ryan Braun has picked up where superman has left off. The Brewers rotation though is sketchy at best once you get past CC. Phils in 4.



NLCS: Cubs beat the Phils handily in 5, and my roommate does not care one bit.



World Series: In a series that should have happened in 2003, but didn't because of Steve Bartman and Aaron Boone, the Red Sox take on the Cubs. Do the America's Darling Cubs finally shake the 100 year drought? Do they make the Tribe the national sweetheart? Doubtful. The Red Sox rotation is brilliant in the series, and the Sox make it back to back titles winning the series 4-2.

In other random news, I read last week that the MLB average home runs per game is at its lowest level since 1993. Torii Hunter came right out and said he thinks its because of all the steroid testing. Probably the most profound thought in recent memory.

Tribe Tidbits: The PTBNL from the CC trade should be named soon. Depending on Rob Bryson, the single A back of the bullpen power arm, this could be one of the better trades in history for both teams. Of course, you can never count your prospects before they turn into Ryan Braun... Eric Wedge thinks Hafner can become a productive hitter again. Possibly his .197 average gave him that idea...Wedge also thinks David Delluci will be around next year. It might be time for the organization uses the old DFA and eat his salary.

Thats about all for now.