Baseball Playoffs

The baseball playoffs start today, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. The Phillies made the playoffs last year, but this season's different; we're hungrier, more experienced, have a more talented bullpen and bench, and are just a better put together team. Plus, as opposed to last year when we faced the Rockies, we're the hot team entering this post-season. I have high expectations for this Phillies team.
Anyways, here are my predictions for the first round of the MLB playoffs:

Chicago vs. Tampa Bay:

Do the White Sox actually have any pitching? We know they can hit, but with Griffey and Thome they're an older team. Tampa Bay has been good all year, but they have no playoff experience, which can't be taken for granted. Tampa might not make it to the World Series, but they shouldn't have too much trouble beating what has to be an emotionally spent White Sox team.

Tampa Bay wins 3 - 1

Boston vs. Los Angeles:

This is going to be an awesome series. The Angels are absolutely stacked with pitching, having Saunders, Lackey, Santana and K-Rod. On the other side, the Sox have an awesome line-up with Ortiz, Pedroia, Youkilis and the piece of utter crap that is J.D. Drew. The difference in the series will be that the Sox also have great pitching with Matsuzaka, Lester, Papelbon and the unbelievably clutch Josh Beckett. The Angels have Vladamir, Mark Teixeira, and the ever-aging Garret Anderson, but I have my doubts that players like Kendrick and Figgins will be able to sufficiently set the table.

Boston wins 3 - 2


Chicago vs. Los Angeles

So the Dodgers head into the playoffs smoking hot, but can you name anyone on their team aside from Manny Ramirez? James Loney leads LA in RBIs. Who?... exactly. Billingsley's a good pitcher, and you never want to count out Derek Lowe or Greg Maddux, but how exactly is this team going to take out the Cubs? With Soriano, Ramirez, Lee and Theriot, the Cubs have a pretty scary offense; plus Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster (when the fuck did he become good??), and Wood give them a formidable set of pitchers. It's possible that the Dodgers young players like Kemp and Martin might explode when they reach the playoffs, but I think that's a stretch.

Chicago wins 3 - 1


Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee

The Phillies are coming in on a roll and full of confidence. Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Burrell create an imposing lineup, and Brad Lidge hasn't blown a save all year. What worries me is the tendency for the Phils offense to go limp at certain times. But since September started, Ryan Howard has been hitting everything, and when he's going strong there's very little opposing pitchers can do to slow him down. Milwaukee fought hard to get into the playoffs, (and I was totally cheering for them over the New York - suck it Mets fans!) but I just can't see them having enough offense or pitching to beat the Phillies. Aside from Sabathia, none of their pitchers put the fear of god in me, and do they really have anyone that can drive in a run other than Braun or the fat fuck that is Prince Fielder? I'm happy that the Brewers made the playoffs... and happier that we shouldn't have too much trouble with them.

Philadelphia wins 3 - 1

On a related note, the NL MVP debate seems to be between Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols. If the Cardinals managed to get in the playoffs obviously it would be an easy choice, but with them missing, and Ryan Howard having an incredible September, as usual, many are contemplating a choice between the two first basemen. Let me just say that I love Ryan Howard. He goes great with this city and he always seems to get a big hit when we need one (I hate to make the David Ortiz comparison, but it's right there for the taking). He's one of my favorite players to watch bat and I never change the channel if he's up. Howard led the league in home runs and RBIs and we don't come close to the playoffs without him. That being said, I think Pujols should win the MVP award.
Compare Howard to Pujols. Pujols batted over 100 points higher than Howard while striking out 150 times less. That is freaking insane. Then you have to take into account the face that Pujols is an excellent defender while Howard led NL first basemen in errors comitted. It's intrinsically unfair to penalize Pujols for having an inferior team around him. I'm sure the fact that the Phils have won the last two MVP awards (Howard in 2006 and Rollins in 2007) is affecting my decision to go with Pujols, but the stats really speak for themselves. I would never get rid of Ryan in a million years, but as far as the MVP award goes, do the right thing voters and give it to Pujols.