Astros heat up at right time, Yankees team to beat

The Major League Baseball playoffs began yesterday, and, even though this column is a day… The Major League Baseball playoffs began yesterday, and, even though this column is a day late, here is a preview of all the series.

Keep in mind that I am writing this before any of the games have taken place, so I’m not cheating and picking winners that have won their series’ first game.

Twins/Yankees

The Yankees are the team that’s considered to be buying a championship every time they go out in the off-season and make an addition to the team.

The shuffling of players hasn’t won them a World Series since 2000, but they did reach the fall classic two more times since then, only to lose to the Diamondbacks and Marlins.

This year, the Twins enter October with the game’s hottest pitcher and likely Cy Young winner — Johan Santana — to go along with an offense filled with young players looking to move on to the next step.

Though the starting pitching has been mediocre for the Yankees, its offense should handle the Twins and use its experience as a huge factor too.

Advantage: Yankees

Red Sox/Angels

The curse of the Bambino struck last year for Boston when Aaron Boone delivered the blast to knock them out of the playoffs.

Boston General Manager Theo Epstein didn’t want the same to take place, so he went out and acquired Curt Schilling to the starting rotation at the beginning of the season. Just before the trade deadline, Epstein also added speed and defense with the additions of Doug Mientkiewicz, Orlando Cabrera and Dave Roberts.

Anaheim needed a hot streak at the end of September just to make the playoffs by one game over Oakland. Its offense features the likes of Vladimir Guerrero and the bullpen of Francisco Rodriguez, and Troy Percival is feared by everyone, but the problem is getting the lead and having the starters hand the ball over to them.

The Red Sox lineup is far too powerful for any slip up by the Angels’ starting pitchers. They have been slipping up all season long, so why would they stop now?

Advantage: Red Sox

Dodgers/Cardinals

St. Louis’ offense is no secret to anyone — especially the Dodgers. Los Angeles is a team focused on pitching and features the game’s best closer — Eric Gagne.

Gagne, however, rarely pitches more than one inning and has no effect for the Dodgers in the first seven or eight innings, when the Cardinals are likely to attack.

It will be hard for the Dodgers pitching staff to contain MVP candidates Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols along with Jim Edmonds, Larry Walker and Edgar Renteria.

The Cardinals offense itself and the steady pitching that St. Louis’ starters have delivered all season long gives them the edge in this one. Just remember that no team that finished the regular season with the best record has won the World Series since 1998.

Advantage: Cardinals

Astros/Braves

The Braves are the all-time underachievers in the playoffs, and this is arguably the weakest team they have sent to the playoffs in their NL East division championship streak.

They also are forced to play the Houston Astros, which is the hottest team in all of baseball, posting a 36-10 record down the stretch to win the wild card.

Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt are set to lead the Astros further, and the Killer B’s –Carlos Beltran, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio –are playing better together now than they have since the trade of Beltran.

Houston has better pitching, better hitting and even a better bullpen now that Astros’ reliever Brad Lidge has emerged. The Atlanta Braves have a lot of work to do.

Advantage: Astros

The Astros are hot and coming together at exactly the right time, while the Red Sox are built to win this year.

Houston and Boston would make for an interesting World Series and would put Clemens on the mound against his original team, but I don’t see him pulling out the win.

It will only be fitting for Pedro Martinez to break the curse and win the World Series with Boston before he becomes a Yankee in the off-season as a free agent.

Alan Smodic is a senior staff writer for The Pitt News and still believes that the Pirates will make the playoffs in 2006. If you would like to argue his playoff predictions, e-mail him at ams85@pitt.edu.