\jeff{krimmel}

Thoughts on Baseball’s Postseason

We are at least one game into each postseason series, and I think we are already seeing some trends. In the American League, it is starting to look like the Red Sox are on their way out. Though the same was said of them last season when they fell behind the Yankees three games to none in the League Championship Series, I just can’t see this Boston team coming back to take three straight from the White Sox. Their pitching isn’t as good this season, and the White Sox are better than the Yankees were.

The Yankees-Angels series is looking pretty interesting. I would not be surprised to see a split in New York and have the two teams come back to Los Angeles for a game five. That Yankee line up is really something, but the starting pitching will always be a little suspect. Of the four American League teams, the White Sox are looking the strongest through two games, but much can change.

In the National League, it really was not surprising to see the Cardinals dismantle the Padres. The Padres finished with the worst regular season record of any playoff team, and I think they will get exposed in the next two games. As for the other series, it is really hard to view that series objectively when I was born and raised in Houston. That Astros offense is considerably weaker than the ten game one runs would have you believe, but with starting pitching (and relief pitching) like they have, anything is possible.

It surprises me to think about the Astros having lost Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent from last year’s team, a team that lost in game seven of the League Champsionship Series. Those two guys played pivotal roles in last year’s postseason, and it looks like the Astros will at least be competitive without them. A healthy Andy Pettitte can make that sort of difference.