ALDS- Twins vs. Yankees: Okay, so the Twins don’t really stand a chance.  There was a time that I thought whoever came out of the Tigers Twins battle would give the Yankees a run because those two teams had been playing meaningful baseball, but that’s what I thought the Tigers would win.  The Twins did end the season on a 17-4 run, with three of those losses coming against the Tigers, but the Yankees are just too good.  I’m not nearly as impressed with Yankee pitching as everyone else, but whatever, Yanks in 3. 

ALDS- Angels vs. Sawx: Man, I hate the Red Sox.  The Sox have won 12 of the last 13 playoff games played between these two franchises and ended the Angels season three out of the last five years.  That’s crazy.  I want the Angels to win this series badly, but I think the Red Sox bullpen comes through and sets up an annoying series with the Yankees.  Red Sox in 4.

NLDS- Rockies vs. Phillies:  The Rockies are riding some of that magic from a couple years ago it seems like.  However, the Phillies pitching is just too good, not to mention their mashers can take advantage of the Rockies home stadium just as much as those purple clad world beaters.  Just after dealing with Cliff Lee they get Cole Hamels and this series will go 2-0.  I think the Rockies give the home crowd reason to cheer and take game three, but it’s Phils in 4. 

NLDS- Cardinals vs. Dodgers: One of the interesting things to watch in the first game of this series was how LA intentionally walked Pujols twice with men on base, showing they weren’t all that scared of Matt Holliday.  It definitely paid off last night and will be something to keep an eye on.  I still like the Cardinals to win this series, but it could very well go the distance.  Cards in 5.

ALCS- Yankees vs. Red Sox: Classic match-up, blah blah, first series between these teams all year that won’t have two games on ESPN.  If Favre played for the Yanks or Sox, I’d have to end my life.  Anyway, it’s been a while since the Yankees have won this battle, so I’ll take the hitting of the Yankees to overpower Boston.  Yankees in 6.

NLCS- Phillies vs. Cardinals: Now this is a great match-up.  Both teams have amazing top two pitchers, and dangerous hitters throughout the lineup.  Everyone seems to be picking Cards and Yanks in the World Series, but I really think the Phillies make it back.  This would be a great series though. Phillies in 7. 

World Series- Yankees vs. Phillies:  Could this be the year for the Yankees?  Honestly, I didn’t think I’d pick them to get this far.  I don’t think their pitching or their manager will be good enough to get the job done.  The Phillies can match the Yankees from the plate and have superior starting pitching.  I’ll take the Phils to repeat.  Phillies in 5.

Don’t ever say we don’t listen to our readers’ input.  Due to the bitching and whining of NQTC’s Sox fans, I went out and found someone to write about the South Siders.  So here is General Zod, who will be writing once a week about whatever Sox story suits his fancy.  StevieY and I will be redirecting our Sox insults from the readers to him.  Enjoy!

The prognosticators have spoken!  Since the White Sox have lost 3 home runs from the line-up (Ken Griffey Jr.), 4 quality starts against the Royals (Javier Vazquez), and 2 healthy months of Joe Crede at third base, the White Sox are predicted to finish no better than third and likely dead last in the AL Central by baseball experts everywhere. With this in mind, let’s size up the division to see what the southsiders are up against.

First off, we have the Tigers who released veteran slugger Gary Sheffield in an effort to gain more versatility from the DH spot according to GM Dave Dombrowski…whatever the hell that means.  This move seems inexplicable since, according to most reports, Sheffield was back to health this year and considered a good teammate during his stay in Detroit.  He joins Damien Easley as the highest paid player to ever watch Tiger games from the comfort of his own couch.  Add to Detroit’s woes the fact that Joel Zumaya has rekindled his love affair with the disabled list and he has taken Dontrelle Willis with him.  Lastly, how could a team who signed Miguel Cabrera to a multimillion dollar deal have a minor league affiliate that is offering a 4 lb,
4800 calorie hamburger just a country drive away from Comerica Park?
Cabrera will likely gain 75 lbs. by the All-Star break with this tasty morsel tempting him every time the Tigers play at home!

Take the Indians…please (insert polite laughter)!  Here we have an offense predicated on productivity from two hitters, the first of which is Victor Martinez.  Martinez decided to hit his first home run last season towards the end of August and finished with a whopping total of two dingers.  You can blame injuries if you’d like, but unless this guy had his leg amputated, there is no injury in the world that you can blame this lack of productivity during a season of 250+ AB’s.  That leaves Travis Hafner to carry an even heavier load, a task he has not been up to since he signed his $57 million contract extension in 2007.  Unless Cliff Lee can repeat his stellar 2008 season and make approximately 80 starts this season, the Indians will need to score some runs from these two players in the middle of the order.

The Royals traded for Mike Jacobs and got a little better in an already promising bullpen.  Yawn.  If the Royals win more than 75 games, I will light myself on fire.

That leaves the dreaded piranhas, those pesky Twins from Minnesota, a team so close in talent to the 2008 White Sox that only ½ game separated the two in the standings.  This offseason they complemented that version with a gold-glove caliber, 30 HR threat third baseman in Joe Crede.  His right handed bat complements Justin Morneau’s thunder in the lineup the way the Twins had hoped Delmon Young would last season.  They had pretty good productivity from a starting rotation that got much better with the return of Francisco Liriano.  Still, the Twins bullpen was underwhelming last season and it’s difficult to discern any improvement that has been made.  Crede’s health is an even bigger concern on the artificial turf of the HHH dome.   Even Joe Mauer has suffered some back soreness that seems to be lingering throughout spring training and may impact part of this season.

The economic climate forced many teams to fill some holes with lackluster talent, and the AL Central is a perfect example of such a trend.  Last season was so close it took an extra calendar day to figure it all out, and this season will be no different.  So don’t let Peter Gammons get you down, Sox fans…we just might get to lose again in the ALDS this year too!