Yankees, Rays, Phils, and Giants

I know what you're thinking to yourself, way to go out on a limb there Cleavie. You picked all the favorites, good job. I wish I could say that any one of the LCS match ups could provide some drama, but that simply isn't the case. There have been some upsets in the past few years with Florida and Colorado making surprise runs to the world series, but both of those teams were white hot coming into the post season. Texas, Minnesota, and Cincinnati all had it on cruise control for the last 2 weeks. Here are my thoughts on the match ups.

New York vs. Minnesota. The absence of Justin Morneau in the Twins line up will be too much to overcome. New York has owned Minnesota in the past and this year will be no different. The Yankees pay for the right to be in this position and their investment is about to pay dividends.

Tampa Bay vs. Texas. Tampa Bay has its goals set on the world series while Texas is happy to finally see the organization have some success. You can never count out Cliff Lee in a big game and he might come out of the series with 2 wins, but the Rays are fundamentally sound plus they have some unfinished business with New York.

Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia. The Reds are another team that overachieved this season and are just happy to be in the playoffs. Halliday, Oswalt, and Hamels have too much pitching dominance for a young Cincinnati ball club. This experience is something to grow on and nothing more. The Phils will cruise.

Atlanta vs. San Francisco. This is the feel good story of the season. Wouldn't it be nice to send Bobby Cox out a winner and validate his managerial genius? It would be, but the Braves expended all of their emotion and energy getting into the post season. The 2 time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum has something in store for them.