2005 Baseball Postseason, Volume I

We haven't discussed baseball in awhile, but now that the playoffs are coming in on Tuesday, it's good to get the old predictions out for another year and talk about it, especially after a weekend where we saw Vanderbilt lose their perfect season to MTSU and saw the Titans in yet another no-chance scenario against the Colts.

A couple of observations on this year: We saw the strange, sad demise of Rafael Palmeiro's career this year. A man who at the very least could have been respected for playing so well under the radar is forever going to be remembered as a steroid user who lied to Congress and then tried to throw Miguel Tehada under the bus with allegations that Tejada may have given him something that would register the positive test (it was vitamin B12, something decidedly far from steroids).

I can't have some observations without ragging the media a little. During an important August 11 game between the A's and Angels, Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez dropped a simple throw from the catcher that allowed the A's Jason Kendall to score the winning run from third. To hear the media harp on this one play was staggering; they were acting like there wasn't a month and a half worth of games left. The A's took a 1-game lead in the AL West and lost it the next day, the same day that experts were calling the wacky play a season changer (The A's finished 7 games out).

Along the same lines, can't we be through with the idea of calling teams postseason-bound after two months? This seems to happen every year, but no one learns. The Orioles and Dodgers were world-beaters for awhile but finished with losing records. And despite the fact that they ended up with the best record in the AL, it was wrong to be printing playoff tickets for the White Sox that early, too. On the flipside, some teams left for dead, like the Astros and Yankees, made the playoffs.

As far as my before-season predictions go, I was right about the placement of 5 teams in the NL (2 correct playoff contenders) and 5 teams in the AL (also 2 playoff contenders). A terrible set of predictions, really. My best prediction was giving props to the Indians, who I picked to win the AL Central, and in the last week of the season, they had a chance but they lost 6 of 7. It was a puzzling finish to the season for this club, who lost to the Royals and Devil Rays when it mattered, and then when it came to their wild card push, couldn't beat the already-clinched White Sox. Jonathan picked the 82-80 Padres to win the NL West--that turned out, unfortunately, to be accurate.

Onward to the playoff predictions:

ALDS: White Sox/Red Sox

Season series: 4-3 Red Sox

This is the 1st ever playoff meeting between the different-colored Sox, which until last year would have been a series between a couple of the most championship-starved franchises in history. The White Sox have not won the Series since 1917 and their curse has always been that the 1919 team threw that Series. The regular season featured some high-scoring contests, as is to be expected. I don't know if you can really pick against Boston here, a team that has been through unbelievable amount of pressure in the last couple of years and have just ended a series with the Yankees. Their hitting is just incredible, even against good White Sox pitching.

Boston 3-1

ALDS: Angels/Yankees

Regular season: 6-4 Angels

This is postseason meeting number 2 with these teams. The Angels gave the Yankees their first LDS loss since 1997 in the Angels' 2002 championship year. The Yankees played some superior baseball down the stretch and won the division, something that didn't seem possible a month ago. The Angels, though, were no slouches and played very well at the end. With the Angels having, I believe, better and less suspect pitching, with an offense that can score with the Yanks, and 3 potential games at home, I like the Angels here. They are evenly matched, so you go to the tiniest factors when it comes to that.

Angels 3-2

NLDS: Padres/Cardinals

Regular season: Padres 4-3

This is postseason matchup number 2 for these teams, the last coming in 1996, a Cardinals win. Yes, the Padres had a winning record against the Cardinals. So what? Well, the Cardinals are the best team in the majors, but that means little as well. How do these teams match up? Both teams have good pitching, but the Cardinals have way better hitting. It's not exactly going out on a limb to say that I think the Cardinals win here. Maybe a garbage win for the Padres.

Cardinals 3-1

NLDS: Astros/Braves

Regular season: Braves 5-1

Postseason matchup number 5 for these teams, the last being last year, an Astros triumph in 5 games (the others are 1997, 1999, 2001. The Braves whipped the Astros good in the other three, but of course, that means nothing. The Braves would have been the best team in the majors had they won half the games the bullpen blew, and that's no overstatement. With 90 wins, their bullpen lost around 20 games or more that they were leading. The bullpen is the major reason why I'm picking the Astros again this year. It hurts my soul to see the Braves go into this matchup with this kind of relief corps. With the Astros hitting not being the best, these games are going to be close, but with a terrible bullpen, the Braves cannot win this.

Astros 3-1

If I had to pick what happens after that, I'd go with the Red Sox in the ALCS against the Angels and I would pick the Astros to pull off the upset of the Cardinals that they could not complete last year. Clemens does face off against his old team in the World Series, but the Red Sox are just too hit-happy to be stifled. So, in a playoff race with no clear favorite, I would pick the Red Sox. But I will predict the LCS's and Series later when we get to them. For now, rooting for my Braves. Complete games, big money, complete games, no Kolbies, stop!