NLCS and ALCS Predictions

In the National League the Dodgers and the Phillies will square off in a rematch from last years series which the Phillies took 4 games to 1. Gone is Derek Lowe and Pat Burrell but welcome Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. This two teams remain mainly intact from the clubs that met last year. Because of the similarites I give the Phillies the nod again in 6 games. The Phillies upgraded as they added Ibanez, Lee, and Martinez. The Dodgers made some minor adjustments also as they added Padillia, George Sherrill, and Orlando Hudson. I think the pitching for the Phillies will again outlast the Dodgers staff as they can throw out a lineup of Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Happ, and Martinez. These starters will be able to keep the LA big hitters in check and help take the pressure of the weaker bullpen which would have been a stronger group if not for Lidge's struggles this year. Joe Torre's descion making will keep the Dodgers in the series but the lineup for the Phillies with the weak link being the the 9th spot will be too much for the Dodgers pitchers. The one, two, three punch of Rollins, Utley, and Howard is backed up by a solid 4-6 hitters with Ibanez, Werth, and Victorino.
The Yankees and Angels square off in a close matchup of AL teams with impressive rosters. The Angels finally removed the enormous monkey from their backs with a sweep of the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees had a easier time as they played the exhausted and over matched Twins. The Angels will win this series if Lackey and Weaver have an encore performance of their Game 1 and 2 wins. They will be evenly matched by the possible 3 man rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettite. The Angels have all the momentum since they swept the Sox and are focused on delivering a World Series for their late pitcher Nick Adenhart. The Angels speed will win out over the Yank's power as the Halo's pitchers will negate A-Rods success against the Twins. The bullpens are evenly matched with Rivera's experience but Fuentes success this season. This will be a very close series as the Angels prevail in 7 games.

AFC East

I will admit to it now but I am a Patriots fan I have always been a Patriots and I will always be a Patriots fan. This year scares me. The new younger defense looks exactly like what they are young and inexperienced. The offensive got a upgrade and then took a downgrade with Light, Taylor and Welker all missing time with injuries. The Pats will make the playoffs but this will not be the dominant team of the early decade. They will look like the 2001 team for a while longer before they regain the confidence they are used to having. The Dolphins have showed us how great they can be when they run the ball. Their defense is the area that is the reason for the most concern, especially looking at how they played against the Colts on Monday night. Henne is the future of this team and showed great poise in the comeback win against the Jets. If the defense improves they will be challenging for that AFC East title again. Mark Sanchez is a great QB when its 70 and sunny out. Wait till the Sunshine Kid comes to Foxboro in Novemeber or plays in New York in December. He played 9 games in California,1 in Virgina and Arizona, and played in Washington in October and Oregon in September during his Junior year at USC. The defense was supposed to get a pick me up when Calvin Pace returned from his suspension however they looked lost and confused against the Wildcat. This defense will need to return to its early season form when the wind and snow comes in Novemeber and December. Finally my home town Bills, yes a Pats fan in Western New York. Poor Dick Jauron cant buy a break with this team. They hold Derek Anderson to 2 yes 2 completions but fail to score more than 3 points. This team needs to clear cap space and play for the qb rich draft in April, Edwards may have gone to Stanford but the NFL game is to quick for him. Heres a solution trade Owens to the WR starved Bears for a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Save some money and get another pick they can waste, my bad. But still trading UP to get Losman is still fresh in the minds of Bills fans. As a Pats homer I this division will be won by the Pats slightly and it kills me to say this but the jets will win 10 games and finish with a wild card spot.

A-Rod's relationship status deem him Mr. October II Worthy.

New York Post Reports "A-Rod romance with Kate Hudson has New York Yankees slugger delivering at the plate". Congratulations after 252 million dollars and numerous forgettable playoff games, A-Rod finally had a postseason series that wasn't a complete failure. Oh wait..... it was against the Minnesota Twins. Not only did the Twins have to fly to the Bronx hours after defeating the Tigers in extra innings, they had the 23rd best ERA in the league at 4.50, worst of all the playoff teams. They were better than Houston, Pittsburgh, KC, Milwaukee, Washington, Cleveland, and Baltimore. Of course a hitter of A-Rods caliber will have a decent series against a team like that. People are now calling him the the next Mr. October. First of all I don't foresee A-Roid, I mean A-Rod hitting 3 home runs in an entire series let alone a single game. If he does deliver and the Yanks make the World Series shouldn't more of the credit go to the 450 million dollars they paid for it, I mean Teixeria, Sabathia, and Burnett. A-Rod did nothing with pretty much the same team from the time he arrived in '04. Lets wait to see how he does against Halo's before we throw around playoff nicknames. If he delivers and makes it to the World Series, this is where he will fall. Torre knows to much about his habits and the Dodgers posted a MLB best 3.41 ERA. How many A-Bombs from A-Rod aka Mr. October II will we see then. If he fails to deliever fans won't criticize him, Kate Hudson will be in the same company as poor Jessica Simpson as girlfriends who were exiled because their significant others couldn't live up to the hype.