Playoff Predictions- 1st Round

Wow, is it just me or did this baseball season go REALLY fast. That being said, it is playoff time. Here are my predictions of the 1st round of baseball. GOD I wish i could include the Giants, but we were out of it since the allstar break. Good news tho- No more BONDS. Now we can focus on winning ballgames PHEW!!!

Diamondbacks vs Cubs-- To me, this series is going to boil down to old school baseball. Arizona has relied HEAVILY on oldschool fundamentals, i.e. hit n run, sac flies, fundamental baserunning, walks. Kinda like the A's of 2000-2006. Which makes sence, wherever Eric Byrnes goes, he brings this kind of baseball with him. But anyway, Fundamental baseball means jack if you cannot get on base, and this is where the Cubs may have them by the neck. Cubs pitching is proven. Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marshall round out a pretty decent rotation. They are solid starters who have proven that they can pitch past the 6th inning. Im not discounting Arizona's starters here, but other than Webb, they have inconsistancies. If they can hand over the lead past the 7th inning, they are gold. Now back to hitting, the Cubs have the power to win outside of Wrigley field. Without getting to preachy- Cubs in 4 games

Rockies vs Phillies- This is a tough one. The momentum from each team cancels eachother out. They both had a remarkable 2 weeks of baseball and both should not be in the playoffs. I hate to say this but Clint Hurdle was brilliant, he did NOT start Francis yesterday, which means he is rested for game 1. This is gonna sound like the Twighlight Zone but the Rockies have the pitching advantage here. Jeff Francis anchored by some tough solid rookies in Morales and Jimenez. THe Phillies have Hamels and a bunch of old geezers. There is a difference between experience and seasoned. They are seasoned. The Phillies have 2 aces in the hole, Utley and Howard in Colorado. That automatically gives them at least 1 game. Colorado has Holliday, Helton, and Hawpe (Triple H's for Shane). When you get down to the nit n grit, Colorado is to good not to win this series. A solid closer and middle relief. Rockies in 4

Yankees vs Indians Probably the most anticipated series. Indians share the leagues best record and why not? Look at their pitching. Aside from Byrds ERA, he still won 15 games, that and Sabathia and Carmona. The Yankees havent even announced a game 3 starter. Which is kinda of a slap in the face to Clemens. The Yanks only saving grace is that Petite and Clemens decided to ditch the Astros. The Yanks do have momentum coming in and that is a solid 10th player. Both teams have very similar lineups and well, we all know how Arod is in the postseason. That being said. Indians in 5

Redsox vs Angels Well, if any team can knock of the Redsox its the Angels. They havent missed a beat all season long. They have solid starters and oh, Krod. There will be ALOT of World Series experience on the field, which could lead to alot of good baseball. Manny is banged up so that could cost them a game or 2. Sure Papi is a beast, but he cannot win all by himself (Drew is worthless, so Ortiz plays for 2). All the Angels have to do is play like they always have been. Angels in 5