Many people (including Las Vegas odds makers) are picking this year's series to be the Mets vs. the Yankees. What do you think? Any Tigers, A's, or Cardinals fans want to disagree? Anyone brave enough to take someone out of the NL West?

I'm not going to play the naysayer here. I'm taking the Yankees in the AL. I'm excited to see Detroit having such a good season, but I think it's unlikely that they'll be able to handle all of the playoff experience on the Yankees' roster. The Yanks will probably take the Tigers down for the pennant. Better luck next year, Detroit.

I'm also taking the Mets in the NL (and for the Series) because they should be able to win the pennant without too much trouble, considering how weak the National league is. St. Louis seems like their only challenger.

I say the playoff teams will be the Dodgers, Cardinals, Astros, and Mets in the NL, and in the AL they will be the Yankees, Tigers, White Sox, and A's. Detroit will come out of the AL, and Houston will come out of the NL (with no one being able to match Oswalt-Clemens-Petitte-Backe), and Detroit will win the Series in 5 games.

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Originally posted by paxsoprano:
Houston will come out of the NL

Interesting choice. They're 3.5 games back of the wildcard right now, so it will be interesting to see if their pitching can carry them into the playoffs. Clearly their offense isn't going to do it. They're only ahead of the D-rays and the A's for batting team batting average. I think they could make an impact if they make the playoffs, though.

Being from Michigan, I've gotta go with the Tigers. They've been having an amazing year, which is nice to see since they've spent the past two decades sucking. Now if we could only do something about our football team.

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Originally posted by less_success:

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Originally posted by paxsoprano:
Houston will come out of the NL

Interesting choice. They're 3.5 games back of the wildcard right now, so it will be interesting to see if their pitching can carry them into the playoffs. Clearly their offense isn't going to do it. They're only ahead of the D-rays and the A's for batting team batting average. I think they could make an impact if they make the playoffs, though.

Yeah, I think if the Astros make the playoffs, they become the favorite to win the NL. I pick them to win the wild card for three reasons:

1) They always go on a run in July or August, and if you have been keeping up, they are beginning to do so.

2) Their offense is improving...Huff is coming into his own, rookie Luke Scott is hitting .413 in his first month, Mike Lamb and Craig Biggio are hitting well, and Lance Berkman is the best hitter in the NL not named Albert.

3) I am from Houston.

Well, it doesn't matter who comes out of the NL because whoever it is is gonna get their asses handed to them by the ALCS winners. Seriously, the NL is just not as good as the AL for whatever reason.

Houston's not in a real good position right now, but it's hard to imagine a team that good not making a run. What really killed them is that Morgan Ensberg went on the DL for about 3 weeks, and before that he played through a shoulder injury and hit .150 for a month. The whole "play through the pain" attitude in MLB is counterproductive and stupid. I wish everyone'd just get over it and face up to the fact that if you are playing in pain, you are almost certainly hurting your team, not only in the long run, but probably in the short run too. Aubrey Huff was a very nice pickup, though, and I think it'll put the Astros over the top.

I hate to say it, but the Yankees have got to be the favorites to win it all right now. When they get Matsui back, that lineup is gonna be silly. Between Giambi, A-Rod, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, and Damon, they've got some really high On Base Percentages. Not a lot of easy outs. Their pitching could hurt them though. Randy Johnson is not anywhere near what he used to be. Mussina's their only reliable SP.

I'm a big Red Sox fan (and have been since birth), and I think they've got as good a chance as anyone to win it all.

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Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
Well, it doesn't matter who comes out of the NL because whoever it is is gonna get their asses handed to them by the ALCS winners. Seriously, the NL is just not as good as the AL for whatever reason.

Yeah, I definitely agree. I picked the Tigers because they kind of resemble the White Sox from last year in that they have the best record but nobody is really giving them any respect or chance. Also Leyland is a veteran manager and nobody has been able to figure out their pitchers. Yankees...I dunno. As you said, where is the pitching? I guess they could kick it into high gear come playoff time, but that is a big if.

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Originally posted by paxsoprano:
3) I am from Houston

Ah, there's the big piece of the puzzle

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Orinally posted by RavingLunatic:
Well, it doesn't matter who comes out of the NL because whoever it is is gonna get their asses handed to them by the ALCS winners

It's still tough to count the NL out completely, though. Remember in '03 when the Marlins surprised the Yankees in the series? Of course the NL has looked terrible in the last two series.

As a Cards fan, I'll disagree with the pick of the Astros, but I'm not confident the Redbirds are healthy enough to make a real run. The pitching staff has been AWFUL the last month and a half.

As far a Subway Series goes, though, I don't think the Yankees are that good and I'll beleive the Mets have a serious run in them when I see it. I've been watching NL ball long enough to have seen plenty of years where the Mets LOOKED great but fell apart under the pressure. But Willie's a good manager, so they've got a shot. I think their pitching (past Pedro) is iffy: Glavine and El Duque aren't exactly fear-inspiring.

At this point, I'd pick the following winners of each division and wild card:

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cards
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Reds

AL East: Yanks
AL Central: White Sox
AL West: Oakland
AL Wild Card: Twins (if Liranio pitches again. If not, I'll go Boston)

My heart tells me Cards-White Sox, for the Series.

My brain tells me Mets-White Sox.

But, honestly, I'm not sold on the White Sox, or any other team. As good as the Tigers have been, I won't be surprised if they start to bottom out.

Well, I keep expecting the Tigers to choke, too, but it'd be a pretty monumental collapse if they weren't to make if to the playoffs. They'll be in.

I don't think the White Sox are gonna make the playoffs for two reasons:
1. I hate them
2. Their pitching is worn out. Guillen pitches their starters too many innings, plus they threw a lot of innings in the playoffs last year. There are already signs of collapse. I don't expect them to be a factor in the wild card race, even though they're winning it right now.

The Twins have got this reliever named Pat Neshek who's been with them for the last month and and a half or so, and his stats so far are ridiculous. In 17.1 innings, he's got 25 strikeouts, and he has a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 0.40. That is absolutely unheard of. Yesterday, he came in and struck out the only 2 guys he faced with 6 pitches. I picked him up for my fantasy team a couple weeks back, and he's been nails for me. I like the Twins. It'd be a shame if Liriano doesn't come back this year.

In the AL West, I've gotta think the Angels are gonna prevail. That pitching staff is great, and the offense has been underachieving. It's really weird to think that Seattle is still not out of the race for the AL West. Doesn't seem possible with Beltre and Sexson hitting a combined .240 and Felix Hernandez pitching like an average #3 starter.

pE, aren't the Cards somewhat struggling this year compared to previous years? They haven't been able to put away the Astros or the Reds in the division race like they've done the last couple seasons. Granted Pujols is a baller (I still think that home run he hit against Lidge last October was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in sports--there has never been an at-bat like that where I absolutely KNEW that someone is going to hit a home run before), but I just don't see the Cards' pitching being consistent enough to beat the Astros or Mets.

The Reds for the wild card? I really doubt it. Somewhere I read that they have been outscored by 32 runs this year and have been 22-12 in one-run games. Translation: they are lucky, not good.

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Originally posted by paxsoprano:
pE, aren't the Cards somewhat struggling this year compared to previous years? They haven't been able to put away the Astros or the Reds in the division race like they've done the last couple seasons. Granted Pujols is a baller (I still think that home run he hit against Lidge last October was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in sports--there has never been an at-bat like that where I absolutely KNEW that someone is going to hit a home run before), but I just don't see the Cards' pitching being consistent enough to beat the Astros or Mets.

The Reds for the wild card? I really doubt it. Somewhere I read that they have been outscored by 32 runs this year and have been 22-12 in one-run games. Translation: they are lucky, not good.

You are dead-on about the Cards not being able to put away division foes. They've struggled against the Reds and the lowly Cubs, and even the Pirates are giving them fits. Normally, they do well in their division. That's why they are a 'heart' pick and not a 'head' pick. But I don't think that the Astros have enough offense and bullpen to edge them out, particularly given Lidge's collapse since that Pujols homer.

I give the Reds the wild card edge because they've got a potent lineup, they play in a bandbox ballpark, and they've assembled a really nice bullpen over the last three weeks, anchored by Eddie Guardado. But the starting pitching is iffy, at best, and they could easily lose out to the Astros or any of the teams in the West.

The Astros' bullpen and hitting are very inconsistent, but they have been coming around the last couple weeks. This always happens sometime in July or August; we Houston fans are used to it. Lidge is still not what he once was (especially against lefties for some reason), but he has flashes of brilliance and hopefully can keep it together come playoff time. Other Houston relievers (Qualls and Wheeler) have been doing very well lately, something like 9 straight shutout innings, and a couple days ago they struck out 13 out of 15 straight batters.

In the NL I'm most concerned about the Mets...anyone know anything about how they match up pitching-wise past Pedro? I'm pretty sure they have a solid lineup, but their pitchers might be overmatched by Oswalt-Clemens-Petitte-Backe.

The projected Mets rotation is Pedro, Tom Glavine, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, and then maybe Steve Trachsel. Not exactly awe-inspiring.

My comment about the Tigers is beginning to show fruit: Verlander did not pitch well yesterday and missed a start with a 'tired arm.' That does not bode well for Le Tigre...

It seems that Verlander's bad start may not have been from a bad arm, but from tipping his pitches. I suppose we'll find out which it is after his next few starts.

Blue Jays all the way.

Well, maybe not, but I gotta mention them because no one in the states gives them much credit. They have the best batting avg in baseball. They've got Halladay and AJ (who has been shaky but is improving). They've got BJ Ryan - lights out.

Look for the Jays to put together a solid August, which might bring them 2-3 games from the wild card. I don't think they'll come through in the end, but I do believe that they are a tremendously underrated team.

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Originally posted by Musicalifragilistic:
Look for the Jays to put together a solid August, which might bring them 2-3 games from the wild card. I don't think they'll come through in the end, but I do believe that they are a tremendously underrated team

The 'Jays get some credit for holding their own in such a tough division too.

I don't know/what you may owe me, but the Dodgers went 0-7 against the Cards and 6-0 against the Reds, so I expect it's something! I'd love to get another crack against either one or both.

I can't remember ever seeing a team get two runners thrown out at home on the same play without the ball leaving the catcher's mitt. I'm glad the Dodgers still scored something.

It looks as if the Tigers are about to provide an answer to this topic: No.

Go Tigers!