Series Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, October 22, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay.
Game 2: Thursday, October 23, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay.
Game 3: Saturday, October 25, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia.
Game 4 : Sunday, October 26, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia.
Game 5 (if necessary): Monday, October 27, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia.
Game 6 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 29, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay.
Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, October 30, 8 p.m, Philadelphia at Tampa Bay.

SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAYS-PHILLIES SERIES

1. Remember The Thunderdome! Back before the Cowbells, or even before the Devil Rays, Tropicana Field was born, alone, empty, abandoned straight out of the womb. St. Petersburg built the stadium — then known as the Florida Suncoast Dome — in 1990, in hopes of getting the White Sox to come to town. When that didn't work, they tried an expansion team; Miami and Denver got them instead. So, it was unused until 1993, when the NHL's Lightning played there. (That's when it was called the Thunderdome.) In the 1996 playoffs, more than 28,000 people saw the Lightning, which is more than the Rays' average any season other than 1998, their debut. In 2003, they averaged 13,158 fans, a number that's lower than the number of fans my Illini got for a end-of-December, with the students home for the holidays, loss to Tennessee State. (I know: I saw it.)

2. Aw, But For 1993. Even for those dopey mulleted Midwesterners out there who might have been turning 18 during the 1993 NLCS, the 1993 Phillies were instantly likable. (And no one even had any idea yet that Darren Daulton was hurtling through time and space!) Everybody had their favorite player; I'm sad to say that mine was, yes, John Kruk. Here's something I didn't realize about that NLCS, though; the Phillies won in six games but were completely outplayed. That somehow makes their win mean even more. Unfortunately, they lost the World Series to a team from Canada, and the World Series was so upset that it took the next year off.

3. Jamie ... She Used To Be My Girl. Not to harp on Jamie Moyer here — I think I've mentioned him in every Phillies preview — but, as Jonah Keri points out, Moyer's debut in the major leagues when Evan Longoria and David Price were less than a year old. Hopefully, Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford will take a wrong turn at Daulerio's apartment: The two lefthanded hitters have hammered Moyer throughout their careers. That Game 3 Moyer start reeks of big trouble; it would behoove the Phillies to get a split out of the Trop, at least.

4. Famous People! Every good World Series matchup breakdown needs to observe the time-honored tradition of comparing the two cities famous residents. And by "famous residents," I mean "people who got the hell out of town at the first opportunity." So, let's go to it!
Tampa: Tony LaRussa, Nick Carter, Ray Charles, Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
Philadelphia: Noam Chomsky, R. Crumb, Dick Clark, Bill Cosby, Richard Gere, M. Night Shyamalan, Bob Saget, Will Smith, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

I think we have a clear winner.

5. Mayor Bets! Speaking of silly World Series traditions, the mayors of St. Petersburg and Philadelphia did one of their I'll give you this if your team wins, and you'll give me that if mine does things. If the Phillies win, St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker gives up "coconut shrimp from Cha Cha Coconuts at The Pier, stone crab claws from Clearwater's Frenchy's restaurant, Cuban sandwiches from the world-famous historic Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, commemorative championship label Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Cortez Cigars from the J.C. NewmanCigar Company, and key lime pie from the Fourth Street Shrimp Store in St.
Pete." If the Rays win, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter gives up "Philadelphia cheesesteaks, delicious Tastykakes, Philly soft pretzels, mac-n-cheese from Delilah's Southern Cafe and a Rocky statue." So, look for the winning team's mayor to drop dead of a heart attack within a week of the Series' final game.

6. Let's Get A Good One This Time. Jayson Stark is right: We haven't had an awesome World Series in quite some time. I'd argue that this one was the best possible World Series (note the time on that post, by the way; I'd been up all night), but, you know, it would be fair to classify me as somewhat biased. Anyway, yeah: The last great one was in 2002, when the Rally Monkey killed Barry Bonds. This one has the feel of one that'll be far more fun.

7. For Crying Out Loud, It's The World Series! So what if you hate the Phillies? So what if you don't know anything about the Rays? It's the World Series, people! Woo-hoo!

PREDICTION
It's going to seem strange to have a nail-biting, insane Game 7 of the World Series in a dome, but we're headed there. Rays in 7.

Oh, Cardinals won two out of three from both these teams this year. Let me have that.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Friday, October 10, 8:30 p.m. Boston at Tampa Bay.
Game 2: Saturday, October 11, 8:30 p.m. Boston at Tampa Bay.
Game 3: Monday, October 13, 4:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston.
Game 4 : Tuesday, October 14, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston.
Game 5 (if necessary): Thursday, October 16, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston.
Game 6 (if necessary): Saturday, October 18, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Tampa Bay.
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, October 19, 8 p.m, Boston at Tampa Bay.

SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAYS-RED SOX SERIES

1. Boy Fights! Yeah, yeah, everyone on TBS — which, surprisingly, is the network broadcasting this series; Red Sox fans are finally spared Tim McCarver — will be hyping these teams' "intense" fight back in June. But it's still pretty cool that in the American League Championship Series, there's a palpable sense that people will start punching each other. (This certainly would have jazzed up last year's dull NLCS.) Let's just hope that if a big fight does break out, we don't get pundits tsk-tsking These Darned Athletes Today. Come on! Fights are fun! They're not punching us!

2. Don't Expect Cowboys-At-Buzzsaw-Esque Crowd Proportions. Amusingly, Kurt Warner and Ken Whisenhunt are actively begging Buzzsaw fans not to sell their tickets to well-oiled Cowboys fans. This sort of dynamic has led several Red Sox friends think they're going to have some sort of home-field advantage at the Trop. Don't count on it. The Rays easily sold out the first two games of the ALDS, and the Trop was louder than anyone who has ever seen one of their 8,000-fans specials might suspect. This is not going to be Fenway South.

3. Grant Balfour Is &#;*@ing Awesome. One of the biggest fear any sports fan has is that they care more about the outcome of a particular game than an individual player. This is not an issue with Rays reliever Grant Balfour, who violently curses himself out any time he so much as throws a pitch a couple of inches outside. Do not watch this man pitch with someone who is deaf and overly sensitive to torrents of profanity.

4. Where The Hell Did This J.D. Drew Come From? Before coming to the Red Sox, J.D. Drew had appeared in postseasons for the Cardinals, the Braves and the Dodgers. He went .246 (albeit with his fair share of walks) and generally looked like the same dispassionate, "I'd Rather Be Preaching Somewhere Oh Jeez I Think I Hurt My Hammy Again" vacant stare fans of those teams (and the Phillies, of course) had come to know and loathe. And then the guy goes to Boston and turns into Mr. Clutch. Infuriating.

5. Start Coming Up With Excuses For Your Boss Right Now. Game Three of this series will be played at 4:30 Eastern Time at Fenway Park on Monday. (Sussman, to the live blog!) This is happening Friday with the NLCS Game Two, but it's still worth noting that if the stock market explodes again next Monday, there will be no one manning the store.

6. Two In A Row. If the Red Sox can end up winning the World Series, they will become the first team to win consecutive World Series since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. The Blue Jays won in 1992-93, and the Yankees in 1977-78. The last National League team to win two World Series in a row? The Reds, in 1975-76. This is Jayson Stark, for ESPN.

7. All Together Now: Holy Crap, Tampa Bay Is Four Games Away From The World Series! Back in 2007, I asked RJ Anderson of D-Rays Bay to preview the Devil Rays' season. He wrote: "So what does being a Devil Rays fan mean? Well, your team is constantly under attack by most naive media members who paint the team as hopeless and talentless, the management as "clueless," and the fans as "none" ... and that's just from some local media members. The Rays may call Tampa home, though they play in neighboring St. Petersburg, but really there are a larger majority of New York Yankee and Boston Red Sox fans here than for the local Rays." This is probably still true, but, man, Rays diehards like Anderson really have earned this, haven't they? Here's the D-Rays Bay post from the other evening: "Fiddle me this, fiddle me that, thank you Rays for this appearance of Monsieur J. Fiddle Cat. I hope this day never ends." Congratulations. Let's see how long this can keep going.

PREDICTION
This hurts me more than it hurts you. Red Sox in five.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Thursday, October 9, 8 p.m. Los Angeles (Lowe) at Philadelphia (Hamels).
Game 2: Friday, October 10, 4 p.m. Los Angeles (Billingsley) at Philadelphia (Myers).
Game 3: Sunday, October 12, 8 p.m. Philadelphia (Moyer) at Los Angeles (Kuroda).
Game 4 : Monday, October 13, TBA. Philadelphia at Los Angeles.
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 15, TBA. Philadelphia at Los Angeles.
Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, October 17, TBA. Los Angeles at Philadelphia.
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, October 18, TBA. Los Angeles at Philadelphia.

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PHILLIES-DODGERS SERIES

1. Charlie Manuel Is Comfortable With Himself. The Phillies manager, whose main qualification when he was hired was that he Wasn't Larry Bowa, has been a steadying, folksy presence in a town that could use both. This is not a place that is kind to its managers. (For the record, Terry Francona never won more than 75 games there.) Nothing seems to faze Manuel, and he has earned his stoicism honestly. Over the last 20 years, to quote Sports Illustrated, he has "had a heart attack, quadruple-bypass surgery, diverticulitis and an operation to remove a cancerous kidney." In 2000, while managing the Indians, he carried a colostomy bag next to him in the dugout, under a jacket.

2. Joe Torre, Indestructible. As strange as it might seem to not have the Yankees in the postseason, there is a certain level of comfort in having Joe Torre around, a guy who even the millions of Yankee haters can't completely despise. (Even if his genius seems to manifest itself in the act of sitting in the dugout and chewing gum.) The Dodgers are the third team Torre has brought to the postseason, but it's his fifth job overall. We Cardinals fans will remember his string of middle-division finishes in the early '90s, but I'd actually forgotten he got his start with the Mets in 1977 as a player-manager. Anybody else miss player-managers? Wasn't the existence of player-managers an implicit admission that managing a baseball team really isn't that hard? Who would be a player-manager now? Jason Varitek? Craig Biggio might have been reasonable, were he still around. The Brewers really should have just hired Ray Durham.

3. It's Pat! It seems strange to think of how unpopular Pat Burrell was in Philadelphia a few years ago; he's now the veteran slugging two homers in the NLDS clincher. Everyone's come around in recent years, because: 1. He's hitting the crap out of the ball, and; 2. The reputation born out by this story, told famously by Daulerio in his Deadspin season preview a couple of years ago. "The story goes: A few guys were on a business trip in Pittsburgh. A couple of the guys knew the Phils were in town, so when they all spotted Burrell at a club there one night, it wasn't a total surprise. Pat ended up taking a liking to one of the girls in their group. She thought he was hot but didn't follow baseball. He took her back to his hotel room, and a make-out session ensued until she alerted Pat that she would NOT do him. Not fazed by this, Burrell seemed to respect her chastity, and rather than force himself on her or fly into a blueball rage, he asked a simple question, glancing down at his engorged pants: "Mind if I take care of business?"

Hey, we've all been there.

4. If Only Andruw Could Have Been Here. The Dodgers already have more outfielders than they need — Joe! Keep Pierre on the bench! You know this, in your heart! — but it's still worth reflecting on just how horrible Andruw Jones was this year before the Dodgers did the mercy kill and ended his season. Jones, who 51 homers just three years ago, batted .158 with three homers and 14 RBIs. In 209 at-bats, he struck out 79 times. Whatever happened to him — and there are plenty of suspects — it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen happen to a baseball player. He might have been overrated before, but honestly: The guy has made five All-Star teams this decade and is still only 31 years old. (That's only a year-and-a-half older than Chase Utley, as a comparison.) But hey: He'll make $15 million next season. For fun, check out this MLB Blog "written" by Jones at the beginning of the season. For some reason, he didn't end up doing many posts. Hmm.

5. Sorry. It's The Postseason. It Has To Come Up.

Brad Lidge settled down after his somewhat shaky first postseason appearance, but if Manny's up in the ninth with the bases loaded, two outs, and the Phillies up by one or two runs ... I still know where I'm putting money. Well, other than under the pillow.

6. Jamie Moyer Is Awesome. For the record, here are people who played with Jamie Moyer on the Cubs in his first year in baseball: Jody Davis, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Terry Francona, Dennis Eckersley, Steve Trout, Lee Smith. Oh, and Greg Maddux, of course. Moyer will actually turn 46 in November, and is a free agent after the season. He's certainly pitching well enough to come back; he notched his lowest ERA since 2003. (He actually pitched one season for the Cardinals, for Joe Torre in 1991. He had a 5.74 ERA and then missed all of 2002. You have to love a guy who thought his career was over because of injury 16 years ago. Oh, and his father-in-law is Digger Phelps.

7. Hey, The Dodgers Feel Pain Too. Everyone acts like the East Coast has some sort of patent on sports suffering — mainly because everyone out here is more miserable, generally, as a rule — but the Dodgers haven't exactly had the best couple of decades. Their last World Series was 20 years ago — yes, the Gibson-over-Eckersley year — and before their sweep of the Cubs, they had gone 1-12 in the postseason since then. Every team in the playoffs other than the Rays had won more postseason games than the Dodgers over the last 20 years. If you were a Dodger fan born any time after 1985, this is the first time you've ever had anything to celebrate in October. Not for nothing.

PREDICTION
One gets the sense that, for the first time in a while, the NLCS is going to be more fun than the ALCS. No matter what, this series is getting back to Philly in a week-and-a-half. If the Phillies can avoid putting themselves in that Lidge-Manny moment ... Phillies in seven.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Thursday, October 2, 2:30 p.m. Chicago (Vazquez) at Tampa Bay (Shields).
Game 2: Friday, October 3, 6 p.m. Chicago (Buerhle) at Tampa Bay (Kazmir).
Game 3: Sunday, October 5, TBA. Tampa Bay (Sonnanstine) at Chicago (Danks).
Game 4 (if necessary): Monday, October 6, TBA. Tampa Bay at Chicago
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 8, TBA. Chicago at Tampa Bay.

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAYS-WHITE SOX SERIES

1. It's Nice That Carl Can Make It. For years, the only reason anyone has even noticed Tampa Bay has been when someone in your fantasy league drafted Carl Crawford in the first round. (Doing this has never, ever led to a league championship.) Now that the Rays are actually in the playoffs — Tampa Bay! In the playoffs! Holy crap! — it would be a shame if Crawford weren't back in time from his hand injury. But good gnus! He's on the playoff roster and is expected to start Game 1 Thursday. After six fruitless years at the Trop, he's certainly earned this.

2. That's Not Griffey, Not Really. Hey: I love Ken Griffey, you love Ken Griffey, everybody loves Ken Griffey. (Particularly when he gives hecklers jock straps.) But, despite his barely-made-it assist at home plate Tuesday night, this is not the Ken Griffey we have known. Because he doesn't take steroids, Griffey is aging like a normal person, and he hit .249 this year with just 18 homers. (Three with the White Sox in 131 at-bats.) He posted his worst slugging percentage since his rookie year, when he was 19 years old. It's still nice seeing him here, though; it's his first postseason game since 1997, and he has never reached a World Series.

3. OZZIE. Pretty much every Ozzie Guillen moment is brilliantly entertaining, but, as you might expect, I still love the Jay Mariotti feud. Guillen famously called Mariotti a "fag," and, somehow, in this day and age, Mariotti ended up being the one people hated more afterwards. (It is Mariotti, after all.) My favorite parts? 1. When Guillen's hairdresser came out to defend him as not anti-gay. 2. Guillen's "apology:" "If I hurt anybody with what I called him, I apologize, but I wasn't talking about those people. I was talking strictly about [Mariotti]. I will apologize to the people I offended because I should have used another word. Besides that, I'm still waiting for Jay. Why he's so afraid to show up to the ballpark? When you're afraid to do something, you feel guilty about something. Then tell him we'll pay his cab. Tell him to tell us where he lives, and we'll bring him to the ballpark and we'll have a conversation. But that's the way he is. He's garbage, still garbage, going to die as garbage. Period."

4. Seriously, Now: The Rays Have No Fans. It's impressive, and worthy of lauds, that the Rays have sold out their playoff games. But let's be straight here: The Rays, as nice a story as they are, still don't have very many fans. Despite the most exciting season in team history (by far) and a team that's relentlessly fun to watch, the Rays finished 26th in attendance, behind Cincinnati, Toronto and Washington. They averaged 22,259 fans a game, which is almost as many people as the Dean Smith Center holds. Everybody's happy for the theoretical Rays fan who has loyally supported the team for years and is finally being rewarded. If that person exists. Because I don't know of one. And I suspect you don't either.

5. They Have A Sweet Team President Though. It was only a year and a half ago that blogger Matthew Stiles auctioned off his team loyalty on eBay. The bidding reached $535, and the winner was ... Rays president Matthew Silverman. Seriously: He actually bought himself a fan. I have to say, Silverman definitely deserves this year to have happened.

6. THIS IS JI
JIM THOME. If you haven't been introduced to the brilliance of Jim Thome on The Dugout, god, get yourself over there, immediately. My favorite is still the one where Thome shows up on "Oprah."

7. The Devil Rays Are In The Playoffs. Seriously, guys: THE TAMPA BAY RAYS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS. They even have home field advantage! They beat the Red Sox and the Yankees. The brain melts.

PREDICTION
Oh, man, do I ever believe. And hey, Mets fans, look ... it's Kazmir! At least he gets to pitch in the playoffs. Rays in four.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, October 1, 6:30 p.m. Los Angeles (Lowe) at Chicago (Dempster).
Game 2: Thursday, October 2, 9:30 p.m. Los Angeles (Billingsley) at Chicago (Zambrano).
Game 3: Saturday, October 4, 10 p.m. Chicago (Harden) at Los Angeles (Kuroda).
Game 4 (if necessary): Sunday, October 5, TBA. Chicago at Los Angeles.
Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday, October 7, TBA. Los Angeles at Chicago.

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CUBS-DODGERS SERIES

1. You'll See A Lot More Jim Edmonds than Reed Johnson. The strength of the Dodgers rotation is their righthanded pitching, and the Cubs, as luck would have it, are packed with righthanded hitters. The Wrigley folk don't really have a lefthanded guy (other than Edmonds, who is likely to hit one home run this series and go 1-for-12) to break up Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, so on. None of the Dodgers starters are shutdown guys, but if Carlos Zambrano blows up in Game 2, as many fear, they're certainly more stable.

2. Oh, Yes, Carlos. Carlos Zambrano has had an active couple of weeks, and his no-hitter was the least of it. Actually, it might have been the problem: Lou Piniella (understandably) left Zambrano in to finish the no-hitter, but he went far past his pitch count. That — and the death of his grandmother, which necessitated an emergency trip back to Venezuela — might have had something to do with his last two starts, in which he has been shelled. Zambrano is either going to shut out the Dodgers or give up six runs in the first three innings. A team as talented as the Cubs could probably do without such wild fluctuation.

3. Sigh. OK, Fine, Manny. I've never understood why MLB still splits players' stats when they switch leagues midseason. Now that interleague play is here, no one differentiates between the AL and the NL anymore; I assume Brett Favre's stats from Sunday still count even though they came against an NFC team. (Actually, they came against the Buzzsaw, which might require a statistical adjustment.) Anyway, because Manny's stats are split, you can't quite tell how amazing he's been this year: 37 homers, 121 RBIs, .332 average. And with the splits, in Los Angeles in 53 games, he hit nearly .400 and slugged .743, which, if extended to a whole season, would be the 14th best mark of all time. (Fittingly, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth each had FOUR seasons that were better.) That is to say: He's hotter right now than he has ever been. It might not have been the smartest career move, and it sure makes him look like a dick, but Manny is a terror right now.

4. Do They Really Want Those Guys Back? Obviously, Manny's explosion is the main reason the Dodgers took off in the second half, but another factor was the injury to Jeff Kent, which forced Joe Torre to finally take him out of the lineup. This allowed the Dodgers' young hitters (Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, so on) to benefit from Manny's presence, rather than the decrepit Kent canceling him out. Well, Kent's trying to come back now, as is Rafael Furcal, who said he used the last series of the season against the Giants as "Spring Training." As happy as everyone is to see such a friendly, amiable chap like Jeff Kent get one last postseason run — really! — it kind of feels like the old guys trying to shoehorn in on the phone. The Dodgers have been doing fine. Leave them be, you yokel.

(With thanks to my old pal CSTB.)

5. The Cubs Have Their Bullpen All Out Of Order. While watching the Cubs clinch the division over my beloved Cardinals at Wrigley Field a couple of weeks ago, I had one pleasing moment: When Piniella pulled Carlos Marmol (who was destroying us; it was clear every Cardinal gave up after the first pitch) for Kerry Wood in the ninth inning. Wood did the job, but Marmol is a decidedly scarier guy to face; Wood can be shaky, to say the least. So don't despair, Dodgers fans, if you're down by one going into the ninth after being blown away by Marmol.

6. Don't Bother Going Into Work Friday, Cubs Fans. Not to harp on the lateness of these games, but Game 2, thanks to TBS, is starting at 9:30 p.m. ET, and that's assuming the Brewers-Phillies game beforehand is on time. Now, I don't mean to imply that Cubs fans might be a little rowdy after drinking all day and night before an absurdly late local start time, but, well ...

7. The Fear. Cubs fans have done an admirable job of putting a brave facade of confidence this season. My friend MIke, who loves the Cubs the way I love the Cardinals, goes so far as to say that this team has no historical connection to the Cubs' past whatsoever, that he doesn't even worry about "history" and "curses" and "the fact that we're talking about the Cubs here." But you wait: The minute something goes wrong in these playoffs — and something will, no matter what happens — the fans are going to revert immediately back to The Panic. It's inevitable, and the players will feel it too. If they can recover from that moment, when all looks lost, when the Cubs remember they're the Cubs, they can pull this off. But I remain less than convinced.

PREDICTION
Zambrano gets smoked in Game 2, but the Cubs sneak one out in LA. Game 5 comes down to Kerry Wood against Manny in the top of the ninth. Hmm. Well, for now: Cubs in five.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, October 1, 3 p.m. Milwaukee (???) at Philadelphia (Hamels).
Game 2: Thursday, October 2, 6 p.m. Milwaukee (???) at Philadelphia (???).
Game 3: Saturday, October 4, 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia (???) at Milwaukee (???).
Game 4 (if necessary): Sunday, October 5, Time TBD. Philadelphia at Milwaukee.
Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday, October 7, Time, TBD. Milwaukee at Philadelphia.

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PHILLIES-BREWERS SERIES

1. Seriously, That Really Is Dale Sveum Managing The Brewers. Of all the potential Steve Fisher/Phil Garner interim-to-pennant-winner candidates, Sveum has to be considered the least likely. Ask any Red Sox fan about Sveum's epic incompetence at waving runners home from third base; you had to wonder if he was just flipping a coin, Two Face style, and randomly flapping his arms accordingly. And now he's 11 wins away from a World Series title. If that happens, Bob Brenly will be displaced as Worst Manager To Win A World Series, and, once again, we'll have more proof that managers don't really do a thing.

2. This Is It For The Brewers. Sure, Ryan Braun's gonna be around for a while, and Corey Hart and his ilk are serviceable. But, much like the Astros (though not as stupidly), Milwaukee placed all its bets on this season. Sabathia's gone after the year — and, with Matt LaPorta already knocking the ball around in Cleveland, at no small price — and it's unlikely they'll be able to sign Ben Sheets either. And you get the sense Prince Fielder's "old player skills" are going to offer diminishing returns as well. They're going to look extremely different next year than they do now. If they go out early, you have to wonder if it was worth it.

3. Brett Myers Is Unstable As A Pitcher As Well. When Brett Myers hasn't been busy punching his wife in the face, he has been having one of the more bipolar years in recent memory. His struggles early in the season were so profound that he was sent to the minor leagues. When he returned, he was dominant, going 7–2 with a 1.80 ERA heading into September. Then, this month, he's been awful again. It's almost as if the guy has wild mood swings or something. Just a theory. The Phillies are an extremely likable team, but you can be forgiven if you pull against them in Game 2.

4. Listen To Beltran. Just for fun, let's hark back to Carlos Beltran's words in the preseason: "Without Santana, we felt, as a team, that we had a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we're going to win in our division. I have no doubt in that. We've got what it takes. To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat." One might forgive a Phillies fan for taking a little joy — again — in watching the Mets' implosion. But they're not ones to gloat.

(Photo via New York Daily News)

5. Never Forget. Yes, yes, Brad Lidge has been amazing this year. He hasn't blown a save all season, and he generally looks like unhittable, like he did in the glory days of Houston. But let us not forget what happened to Lidge the last time he was in the postseason. Of course, everybody remembers this:

But let's not also look past what happened in that World Series: Lidge lost two games, including the decisive Game 4, in which he gave up the lone run in a 1-0 loss. That postseason devastated him for two seasons, and he's just now back to form. But the postseason punishes the fragile. How much will he sweat when facing Ryan Braun with a one-run lead and a runner on in the bottom of the ninth? Could he handle that again?

6. The Brewers Aren't Particularly Likable. You have to be happy for Brewers fans, who have waited 26 years for a return to the postseason. But you don't necessarily have to like this team, which, in the opinion of this Cardinals fan, have taunted, showboated and chest-pounded to a rather excessive amount for a team that, until yesterday, had never won a damned thing. (Whatever my thoughts on the Cubs franchise, their players act like they've been there before.) I know, I know: Complaining about baseball etiquette is the last refuge of the elderly, jilted, crotchety fan. I'm pretty certain that I'm only acting out of emotion and am 100 percent wrong. But still: I'm not the only person who feels this way.

7. If The Brewers Can Win Early, Look Out. The Brewers' rotation is a shambles right now, other than Sabathia of course, but sometimes, Sabathia is enough. He'll never be this good again, but this moment, Sabathia's pretty much a superman. If the Brewers can get away with throwing him just once this series and still win, he could start Game 1 of the NLCS. If Sveum was willing to throw him on three days rest in Game 4 — which of course he will be — he'd get three starts in the series. That would scare anybody ... especially the Cubs.

PREDICTION
The Brewers have done everything they can to blow this season, and, somehow, they still couldn't find a way to do it. Why should the NLDS be any different? Brewers in 5.

Series Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, October 1, 10 p.m. ET. Boston (Lester) at Anaheim (Lackey).
Game 2: Friday, October 3, 9:30 p.m. Boston (Matsuzaka) at Anaheim (Garland E. Santana).
Game 3: Sunday, October 5, Time TBA. Anaheim (Saunders) at Boston (Beckett).
Game 4 (if necessary): Monday, October 6,TBA . Anaheim at Boston.
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 8, TBA. Boston at Anaheim.

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ANGELS-RED SOX SERIES

1. The One Team The Angels Didn't Want To Play. Since the Angels won the World Series in 2002 — you might remember, there was a monkey involved — they have gone 2-9 in the postseason. (This is what happens when you no longer put all your faith in Scott Spiezio and Adam Kennedy.) That includes an 0-6 mark against the Red Sox, who have swept past the Halos (which should be the team's real nickname) en route to their two recent World Series titles. Last year they scored four runs in three games.

(CORRECTION: A reader writes: "The Angels aren't 2-9 since 2002. They won the ALDS vs. the Yankees in 2005 before losing to the White Sox in the ALCS.." Oh yeah! Well, uh, my point still stands, kind of.)

2. Worry About Lackey. Lackey has struggled in the second half and is coming off a shellacking against Texas over the weekend. He has two wins over the Red Sox this year, but everyone on the Angels dominated the Red Sox during the regular season. This is smoothed over somewhat by the mysterious injury to Josh Beckett, which seems to have happened out of nowhere. The Red Sox are either being weirdly secretive or don't know any better than any of us do. Already, Beckett's not getting the two starts he would have. But Lackey is, for better or worse.

3. This Series Is Going To Take Forever. The Angels, because they had the best record in the AL, chose this playoff schedule, which gives teams a potential three days off in a five-game playoff series. This means that by the time Game 5 comes around (if there is a Game 5, of course), you will barely remember what happened in Game 1. Oh, and each of these games is running four hours, at least. And the first two are starting deep into the evening, East Coast time. Red Sox fans, you better work your ass off the first few days of this week, because you're not getting anything done Thursday.

4. You'll Hear More About Manny Than You Will About Bay. Jason Bay has hit the crap out of the ball since coming over from Pittsburgh — and he's Canadian — but because this is the postseason, every broadcaster is going to remain obsessed with the alleged "psychic void" left by Manny Ramirez's departure. (And by "departure," I mean, "asshole power move made exclusively for financial gain, a somewhat dubious strategy anyway.") And it will seem strange to see October baseball in Boston without Manny playing. But let's be clear here: The Red Sox are unlikely to miss him, and their fans, even less so. Plus, Bay's Canadian.

5. The Angels Drive Sabermetricians Nuts. Every year the Angels finish ahead of the A's in the American League West, a little part of Rob Neyer dies. The Angels put out a lineup of low-power free swingers, spend money in dubious ways and love the stolen base. Yet, somehow, they keep winning. One gets the feeling that when the Angels finally get too old and bloated, the implosion will happen immediately and last a while ... but that time's not here yet. Plus, everybody loves Mark Teixeira, and you have to admire any team that's 15 games ahead and still trades for the hottest property in baseball. But anything less than a World Series is an Orange County disaster.

6. That Said, The Angels Aren't As Good As You (And They) Think. Yes, he's another sabermetrician, but I can't put it any better than Ron Shandler: "Their batters' inability to consistently work counts is their most glaring weakness, leaving their run production reliant on luck — good or bad — on hits from balls put into play." The Angels won 100 games, but they've never felt like a Mariners in '01 dominant team. They just seemed that way because the rest of their division is so feeble. And as steady as their starters are, they're just the type of staff that the patient Red Sox hitters feed off. If the Angels don't win Game 1, you can imagine the fear creeping in.

7. Those Nostrils. How is it, exactly, that Jonathan Papelbon can be a totally freakshow goofball in every fashion except for when he stands on the mound in October, in HD, looking like the most terrifying person on earth? (It has to be the closeup.) Despite Francisco Rodriguez's save record, Papelbon's a far steadier presence as a closer. The question is whether the Red Sox can get the game to him; they sure would love to have Scot Shields.

PREDICTION
Sorry, I'm a sucker for a hot sabermetrician, even with a gimpy Beckett: Red Sox in 4.