October is upon us, and that can mean only one thing'the MLB postseason. So I hope you have all recovered from a raucous Columbus Day, because it is time to run through the divisional playoff series.
You will obviously find much more comprehensive previews elsewhere, and that's why I have decided to take a slightly different approach. For each playoff team I have chosen a song to be its official 'playoff theme.'
Because the Mariners just finished winning an American League record 116 games, yet some experts are actually searching for excuses not to pick them as the World Series champions, probably because they feel the need to justify their great baseball intelligence.
Because enough is enough. Hey, I love a good dynasty as much as the next guy (see: Chicago Bulls, San Francisco 49ers), but if Luis Sojo gets another ring, I am going to snap.
Another part of me thinks, however, that it would be great for New York and the nation if the Yankees won another World Series. Of course, then I remember: Luis Sojo.
Because their offense works a bit like this: walk, strikeout, walk, walk, popout, grand slam. It may not make for exciting baseball, but no one can argue that is hasn't been effective. No team in baseball was better than Oakland in the second half, not even the Mariners.
Because they open against the Mariners. Of course, as I write this, Cleveland leads Seattle in Game One. With Bartolo Colon on the mound, this was the Indians' best chance to steal a win. They just do not have enough good pitchers to beat the Mariners three times.
... of just how little I know. You see, I predicted before the season that the Diamondbacks were too old to compete and would need a wheelchair ramp installed in the dugout. Instead, they took those wheelchairs and ran them over my ego'repeatedly.
The Astros have returned to the 90-win club one year after having LOST 90 games. Meanwhile, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell have found a new Killer B'Lance Berkman.
Because the Braves failed to win 90 games for the first time in a decade (not including the strike-shortened 1994 season). This season. Atlanta is clearly not of the same caliber as the Braves' teams that made it to the World Series in the past. The pitching is still solid, but it is difficult to win games when you're not scoring runs. The Joneses cannot do it themselves.
Because just a couple of months ago the Cardinals looked dead. Mark McGwire was not his normal self and the only deadline move they made had been the salary dump of Ray Lankford to the Padres for a marginal Woody Williams. Of course, Williams then decided to stop allowing hits and posted a 2.28 ERA in his next 11 starts.
And finally...
Self-explanatory.
