my favorite time of the year....

baseball postseason! this year my dodgers are not in it (suck it mccourts) but i'm still pumped. i'm not gonna do a bunch of research and behind the #s etc into each matchup because i wanna be surprised and amazed as they unfold and cheer like a fan.

i'm putting down my predictions so i can gloat later on or just disappear from the board for awhile if i'm wrong . if you're planning to watch or have some rooting interest (duh twinkies all around me) let's do the same for bragging rights.

1 yanks/twins--ha sorry guys the twins are allergic to the yankees...bad matchup. gardenhire can't beat the yanks, they're kryptonite to nathan (luckily he's not pitching). anyways yanks actually look shaky behind CC (pettite coming back from injury and hughes is untested). Liriano had Cy Young-like year but not sure if you can trust Pavano to exorcise his demons at the biggest stage.

2. rays/rangers--i love the rays and rooting for them pretty hard this postseason. they're solid up and down in all facets. rangers is kind of a wild card. with hamilton we know they can mash, but pitching has always been questionable. they'll get at least 2 games from cliff lee in a short series...so i guess it's up to him and the health of hamilton on offense. i'm still going with rays.

3. reds/phillies--halliday, oswalt, hamels...yea that's about it (i despise them).

4. braves/giants--how did the braves get here? anyways i'm kinda glad the padres didn't make it as they really faltered and would've been fodder for the other teams. here the braves will get a taste of what nl west pitching is all about.

i'm rooting for the rays to put a beatdown on those yanks and avenge their loss to the phillies.

I am in full Yankee hater mode now, hoping roid boy Arod blows it for them somehow.

Rays should take the American league and hoping Atlanta wins for National.

I've moved on to college and NFL football. Baseball? What's that?

And hockey's starting soon, which I'm pumped about.

I just don't care that much about baseball nowadays, unless the Tigers are in the post season (which they're not). Now if this was the Dead Ball Era, then of course I'd still care!

Let me say first that I too am a dyed-in-the-wool Dodgers fan. Grew up in the South Bay and as cried like a ten-year-old (which I was ) when the truly hated Yankees beat my guys in the '77 and '78 WS. 1981 was sweet. By '88 I was out of high school and doing other things, not paying as close attention to baseball as I had...so it feels like a long, LONG time since we've had much to cheer about. F'in McCourts is right. Anyhow, all this to say that my responses to baseball are mostly emotion-based and anything I want to happen in the post-season comes from that. Thus, Twins over Yanks. Braves over Giants. Rays over Rangers. Reds over Phils. I'd like to see the Reds take it all for sentimental reasons...I was a catcher as a kid and loved all things Johnny Bench (as well as Steve Yeager) so that Cincinnati uniform still holds a bit of magic for me. Go Reds.

I'm rooting for a Twins v Giants WS

WOW! The Dead ball era still lives in Minnesota, Go Twins! Right on Jay! I love the Giants too, because Lincecum smokes a little less than I do.

Twins could surprise a few people. I will be pulling for the Reds and Braves also. I hate the Rays even more than the Rangers. Twins must win the first two games or will be in trouble. Gotta love the post season as anything can happen !

MN is very well represented here on this board

Let The games begin.

I am ready for a long run for the Twins, I am planning on going to as many Twins games as i can fit in and have decided to take the week off when the twins are in the World Series.

I am going to have to sit by some damn Yankee fan though.

It's going to be great fun, here's to a long run by the Twins.

Lee

GO GOGO...i'll try to sneak in the tv tuner feed on the computer

A modern treat for the Minny boyz...



PS sorry for the large size - eek!

jamie--your modern card almost killed the thread

anyways i'm planning on rays rebounding (momentum turned after 1st inning against lee, rays hit some balls hard later but right at fielders). twins might have their best shot against a rusty/not full health pettite, certainly don't wanna go down 0-2 on the road. i'm interested in seeing if giants can muster up enough offense to win for their pitching.

and halliday no hitter....zzzzzzzz. that series should be over fast.

Quan,

I think the Yankees comeback killed the thread

Pressure is on the twins and rays now, I predict the yanks go through.

You said you wanted to see a high grade card, didn't you?

The twins are too nice to really win any games.

Wow, looks like the Twins homer hankies have been transformed into white flags of surrender. Well, I guess next game could be their last stand. But who knows? They could come back... After all, the Red Sox did in 2004. I'd rather be the Yankees though, at this point. Quan you have proven prophetic!

10 losses in a row at home is not good. They have also lost 10 straight playoff games to match the Phillies in playoff futility. The Twins have been a streaky playoff team in their history. In the World Series, at home they are 11-1 while they are 0-9 on the road.

It all evens out in the end, said Ernest Hemingway.

You guys have got to summon the spirit of Kirby Puckett and Brunansky to make things straight. Never mind the Killebrew years. Bring back the guys who actually won!!!

twins gone reds gone. giants with best NL bullpen blow 2 leads but gets bailed out. rays/rangers lee and price rematch...i'm not sold on lee lately...he doesn't bb anyone tho so rays can't play their patient-hitting game they gotta swing early like game 1 and hope some hits fall in.

some great pitching so far, yea big understatement. i'm amazed at all these complete game shutouts by starters and even a no hitter...are you freakin' kidding me? all these guys have cy young stuff and it's clicking for them. hey if cy young comes back with his 140 yr. old body he could learn a few things from these young guys.

Got to give you credit Bob, you've been right on so far. I am rooting for the Giants; (hoping a well rested Lincecum can beat Halladay), and anyone, can anyone, beat those damn yankees?

cliff lee is a beast~! ever since he knocked out the rays i've been rooting for the rangers...would be a feel good story and who would root against the all-american cowboy nolan ryan?

first take down the evil empire (memo to arod...baseball players run, they don't prance), then move on to those ugly philly cheesesteaks or bad gigantes. hey cole hamels, my gf asks what kind of cream moisturizer and hair product you use to keep your skin so soft and hair silky and shiny...lincecum? "cut that hair you dirty hippy" is what nolan ryan would say.

That was one of the more impressive outings I've ever seen, last night, given the situation and opponent. Just awesome. I'm really rooting for the Rangers now as well...pretty easy to do, considering they have two of my favorite modern players, Benjie Molina and Vlad Guerrero, tho Guerrero has been a bit cringe-worthy this post-season. Nothing sadder than the beloved superstar in decline. He still has moments and stretches, though.

AL: WHOA, Big Benjie goes yard, Vlad goes 4 for 5, and Hamilton has two HR's at the House Steinbrenner built. Yankees down 3-1, all is right in the world.
NL: Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Posey is 1 for 11 and the Giants are up 2-1? The Big Boss Cody Ross is mashing the ball. Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez, and Utley are way under the Mendoza Line, and Rookie Madison Bumgarner gets a chance to miss some bats tonight. Go Giants!
Note to Giants Fans: Barry Bonds is not a hero, why applaud a fraud.

Bonds is no more a fraud than any other player of his day. He played the game the same way everyone else was. What he did isn't diminished by the fact the he was juiced. Everyone was, and what he did was mind boggling.

Every player from every era has done what all other players were doing at the time to get an edge, whether it was greenies, cutting the ball or some other form of cheating. People need to get over the whole steroid thing and move on. It's really not that big a deal other than it sets a bad example for kids and that has never stopped an athlete from doing something illegal.

Yeah even Bonds critics admit he didnt even start til after McGwire and Sosa's big HR year and he saw how they got all the accolades for blatantly taking steroids with no punishment.
If I saw inferior players getting treated like Gods for cheating I'd consider doing it too.
Also Bonds won like 3 MVP's when he was clean so its not like he wasnt a star player already.

i would say arod is more of a fraud than bonds, because we know what bonds did before steroids. not sure when arod started juicing. they would both be 1st ballot hof'ers tho if i have a vote (and to be clear, i don't).