MLB playoffs preview

ON BASEBALL

If you've already penciled in the Yankees for their first World Series championship in 10 seasons, you might want to backtrack a bit.

And read this analysis in today's Washington Post.

As I've been pretty sure of the past few years, considering some of the teams that have won the World Series this decade (the nondescript 2006 Cardinals stand out), nothing that happened in the regular season means a thing.

Not a team's amount of wins, not on-base percentage, not the number of leaked-out steroids users.

It's a new season featuring eight teams, and anything -- Any. Possible. Thing. -- can happen.

Which is a nice segue to my picks:

Division Round

AMERICAN LEAGUE
New York def. Minnesota (4 games): I really, really, really want to pick the Twins. But the Yankees will find a way not to choke this series away and cause rioting in Manhattan.

Boston def. L.A. Angels (4 games): Boston owns the Angels in the playoffs. That's all you need to know about this series. It has to be in the Angels' heads, and once again their bats will go cold. Count on it.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia def. Colorado (5 games): Everyone is jumping on the Rockies' bandwagon, so, naturally, I'm taking the other side. The Rockies' pitching is shaky, and the Phils bats are not. Expect an exhilarating, high-scoring series.

L.A. Dodgers def. St. Louis (5 games): The best way to pick this series is to flip a coin (or a credit card; seriously, I tried this a couple weeks ago, and it evens out). I love both teams.

Championship Series

ALCS
Red Sox def. New York (6 games): Hey, Yankees fans, just face it: This is the Red Sox' decade. Maybe you'll get back to winning championships in the next one, but not this season. Expect the usual domination from Beckett and some big hits from Big Papi.

NLCS
Dodgers def. Phillies (6 games): Phils got 'em last year, Dodgers get revenge this time around. Why? Well, for one, there won't be any Matt Stairs heroics for the Phils. Oh, and I heard that Brad Lidge wasn't the closer any more. Sorry about all the analysis. Bottom line: I flipped a credit card, and it read "Dodgers."

World Series
Dodgers def. Red Sox (7 games): I smell an epic World Series. Well, not literally, but it's the first phrase that hopped into my head. There will be abusive coverage of Manny playing his old team. So much so, the winner of Game 1 will almost be forgotten. But then the intensity will increase, there will be some late-inning magic and, finally, Sox fans will have something to be miserable about when Manny laces two doubles in a 4-2 Game 7 victory at Fenway.

Enjoy the unpredictability, sports fans.

That's October baseball for ya.