Playoff Prospectus: Division Series, Day Three
10/07The National League had the stage to itself Thursday, which was a good thing for the Braves, and not so good for the Padres.
Playoff Prospectus: Props for the Ozzeroo
10/06Bobby Jenks has gone from failed starter to playoff closer, and Ozzie Guillen deserves much of the credit.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Division Series, Day Two
10/06Better games were the best news on Wednesday, which featured a surprising slugfest and a couple of key errors.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Division Series, Day One
10/05Talking points from the first day of the second season.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros
10/05Baseball like it used to be--in 1968--is the likely order of the day in this matchup between a great starting rotation and a good one.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
10/04Christina previews the Yankees/Angels series, who are perfectly poised to exploit each other's weaknesses.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals
10/04Dayn previews the series that pits the underwhelming Padres against his beloved Cardinals.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox
10/03It's a classic matchup between a team that scores a lot and one that stops the opposition from doing just that.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros
10/13In a matchup featuring two powerful offenses, the Cardinals and Astros march into battle. Chris Kahrl breaks it down.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
10/12It's the marquee match-up fans and Fox have been waiting for, Red Sox-Yankees. Derek Zumsteg breaks down the two teams and predicts--what else?--a down-to-the-wire battle.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros
10/06These teams meet in the first round for the fourth time in eight years. Will this matchup turn out any differently than the first three did?
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
10/05The Cardinals punched their ticket in July. The Dodgers, 72 hours ago. Don't let that fool you: this is a great matchup.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Boston Red Sox vs. Anaheim Angels
10/05The Red Sox and Angels might be the two best teams in baseball right now. Unfortunately, one of them is six days away from golf season.
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
10/04The Yankees score runs, the Twins prevent them. So what does that mean for the Division Series?
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
10/08The Yanks took far more balls per plate appearance than any other playoff team, but relatively few strikes. That's a sign of a mature, disciplined team. Taking bad pitches could be especially beneficial against the Red Sox: Boston's two best starters, Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, are not known for their stamina, and the bullpen is in tatters between Byung-Hyun Kim's breakdown and their heavy use in the Oakland series. Knocking Pedro out an inning earlier because of higher pitch counts could well be a game-winning strategy. Despite their refined approach at the plate, the Yankees don't have a better offense than the Red Sox, who outscored them by nearly 100 runs during the regular season. The Sox remain the best offense in baseball, with a lineup that has absolutely no weaknesses in it. Both of these teams have the capability to knock a starter out early and put up crooked numbers in multiple innings. Even if you don't want to get into the numbers, think only about the two main criticisms of these offenses over the course of the year: Yankees: "Alfonso Soriano isn't suited to hit leadoff." Red Sox: "Walker, Ortiz, and Nixon can't hit lefties." Think about that. The problem for the Yankees is that the leadoff guy has too many extra-base hits, and too few walks. The Red Sox somehow have to work around the issue that their three worst hitters, who average about a .950 OPS against righties, don't hit lefties particularly well. Think the Tiger front office would like those problems?
continue reading chevron_rightchevron_rightPlayoff Prospectus: Chicago Cubs vs. Florida Marlins
10/07It's the all-underdog series, where virtually everyone outside of the greater St. Louis and Miami metropolitan areas seem to be entertaining fuzzy Cubby thoughts. After all, the Cubs are supremely telegenic, feature a healthy dose of celebrity, and some of the best pitching on the planet. But there's another organization in this series, one with a recent World Series win a couple of owners ago to its credit, something achieved with almost galling ease compared to the decades of North Side misery. Moreover, these latest Marlins are an interesting collection of homegrown talents, other people's prospects, a rented superstar, and the definitive retreaded manager.
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