2007 MLB Playoff Picks

I know I was supposed to do this before the playoffs started, but I didn't get a chance to. Anyways, I gotta go here soon, but I'll go through and throw out some picks.


Yankees vs Indians

This is a very intriguing match-up, and it's tough to pick. The Indians possibly have the best two pitchers in the playoffs this year. Sabathia and Carmona have been dominant this season. The Yankees meanwhile have Wang, a tired looking Pettite, Clemens (who hasn't pitched in 23 days), and some other terrible pitchers. The Yankees have a better offense, but the Indians have a spry underrated offense and they could possibly get a lot of runs across, especially against the Yanks starters.


However, this is the big x-factor. The Indians closer is Joe Borowski, who is horrible and has an ERA over 5. Do you really think he can handle the Yankees line-up in the pressure cooker situation of the playoffs? Meanwhile, the Yankees have the red hot Joba Chamberlain (which will be the single most annoying subplot of the playoffs as announcers ramble on and on about the Joba rules) and of course the Sandman, Mariano Rivera. I think the Yanks can steal one in Cleveland and then finish it out in New York.

My pick: Yanks in 4

Angels at Red Sox

A few weeks ago, as the Red Sox huge lead over the Yankees kept slipping away, I was more worried. Now, they're healthy, their pitchers seem to be getting back on form, Manny's back, J.D. Drew actually has a soul, and Big Papi is being Big Papi again. As Bill Simmons says in his playoff preview:

"In 2007, he stopped locking in. He looked tired. It looked like his knees were bothering him. Something wasn't right. Statistically, there wasn't a significant difference from 2004-06 except for the home run drop ... but something wasn't right. You could see it. Then he caught fire in mid-August, kept it going into September and morphed into the old Big Papi again. In the process, the Red Sox stopped resembling the team that broke out to a 36-16 start thanks to starting pitching, two great relievers and a solid offense; now they have decent starting pitching, one great reliever, three decent relievers and a much more dangerous offense. In other words, they look like the 2004 team, mostly because David Ortiz looks like the 2004 David Ortiz again. For the other seven playoff teams, this is a bad thing."

It seems like the Sox have been saving up the past few months to try and peak in the playoffs. I like they're starters, bullpen, lineup, and defense. As far as this series goes, the Sox have owned the Angels all year, and especially their ace John Lackey. The Angels have some spunk, and you never know what they are going to do. The Red Sox just look a lot better on paper though. However, in the playoffs, usually what's on paper is not what ends up happening. I mean, an awful looking Cardinals team came in and won the World Series last year. So, you never know what's going to happen.

My Pick: Red Sox in 4

Rockies vs. Phillies

The N.L is a lot harder to predict that the A.L. Part of this is because all the teams finished very strong, and partly because the players and teams are not nearly as well known. This is a really tough series to judge. Both teams came in really hot down the stretch, with the Rockies coming in really really hot , winning 14 out of 15. I think the Phils just have more talent on offense and better pitching in this one. Even though I just watched Colorado win Game 1, I think it may be a case of peaking too early. But who knows?

My Pick: Phillies in 5

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs

This could be a very weird series. Arizona is the first team since the 1906 White Sox to have to worst batting average and the best record in the league. I think their offense is pretty terrible. After Brandon Webb, their pitching is good, but not great.

On the other side, the Cubbies were only able to squeeze their way out of a terrible NL Central. They do have a pretty good offense (for NL standards) and good pitching. I don't know, I think this could come down to who wins the big game 1 pitching match-up of Zambrano and Webb. If Arizona can force it to a game 5, I might give them the edge, but I think I'm going to go with the Cubs.

My pick: Cubs in 4

ALCS

The Yankees scare the snot out of me against the Sox. They've owned us in August and September, winning 5 of the last 6. It almost seems like they've gotten back that edge over the Sox. Either way, it's going to be a gut-wrenchingly stressful series and Armageddon could happen because of this series. After the 2003/2004 series it's impossible to pick what's going to happen in these series, but since Big Papi is looking good again, I'll go ahead and say he makes a big hit in game 7 at Fenway to win the series.

My Pick: Sox in 7

NLCS

I think if the Cubs win a series and start gaining some steam, they could end up being really tough. With their crowd behind them, I think it will be very tough to win in Wrigley. The Red Sox and White Sox proved there's no such thing as curses anymore, so I'm going with the Cubs.

My pick: Cubs in 6

World Series

Cubs and Red Sox? Wait, how did that happen. But hey, no matter who's in the world series all the AL teams are a lot better than the NL teams (which I hate since I'm a big NL fan). Again, this was the case last year, and somehow the Cards got hot enough to fly through and win it all. However, this year I think the disparity is even bigger. I'm saying a big win for the Sox (come on, did you really think I would pick against my 2nd favorite team to win it all?)

My pick: Red Sox in 4