Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Colorado Rockies. Your writer is Russ Oates.

Russ Oats runs Purple Row. His words are after the jump.

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It has been 12 years since the Rockies made the playoffs, and they made it in quite a dramatic fashion. The Rockies knocked around Jake Peavy, but that wasn't enough. Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam, but that didn't give the Padres an edge. Clint Hurdle committed his regular Hurdlisms with his use of pinch hitters and the bullpen. Those moves, however, didn't kill the Rockies. It looked bleak after Hairston's homer, but if there is one thing this team has shown time and time again this season, it's that they never give up.

They could have given up after an 18-27 start, with one member of the Denver media calling for a boycott of the team until a new owner was brought in (and now is a bandwagoner). They could have stopped caring after the 1-9 stretch they had during June when Brian Fuentes blew four consecutive saves. They could have mailed in the rest of the season after losing the first two games against the Marlins in the middle of September, but they didn't. They went on a most improbable run and capped it off with an improbable extra-inning win against the Padres. If Matt Holliday doesn't exemplify the heart of a champion after scoring the winning run (all right, maybe he didn't touch home plate), then I don't know who does.

With the momentum from this victory it's hard not to like the Rockies' chances. Some will argue that teams with the best momentum heading into the postseason often don't win. Maybe the numbers prove that, but have any of those teams ever gone through what the Rockies just did? The Rockies will have two phenomenal rookie pitchers starting games two and three, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales. With everything coming up Rockies right now, I have all the confidence in the world that U-Ball and Frankie will deliver nothing less than stellar performances in their first postseason experiences. Ridicule me if that doesn't happen, but to quote a bit of Hendrix, "Purple haze / You're makin' me blow my mind."

It's been a rollercoaster ride for the Rockies this season, and they most certainly are the reason why my hair is grayer these days, but it's been well worth it. A World Series or an exit in the first round, it's been a hell of a season.

And Helton's finally playing October baseball! What baseball fan doesn't want to see him there?

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Cleveland Indians. Your writer is Jim Pete.

Jim Pete runs Tribe Report. His words are after the jump.

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Dysfunction.

It's the word of the new millennia. You say your Mom looked at you funny because you called the neighbor kid a moron? Your Dad loves your Mom ... and your best friend's mom too? You're too lazy to feed your kids, so you set them at the table and pop open a box of cracker jacks and a ripped open bag of chocolate chip cookies? Your favorite baseball team didn't finish above third place in 35 years, and when the finally did, they get TWO OUTS away from their first title in 50 years, only to lose in extra innings?

Dysfunction.

Welcome to the life of a Cleveland Indians' fan, and 2007 seemed to be a microcosm of all that dysfunction. The season started with a near-no-hitter that turned into a snow-out. Not only did the game get snowed out, but the WHOLE SERIES did as well.

This is the team that was both a league leader in walks, showing their patience as a team, and strikeouts, showing their impatience as a team.

This is the team that had a leadoff batter who nearly led the team in Home Runs, Strikeouts (2nd most in the AL), Walks (5th in the AL), and OB% (12th in the league).

This is a team that had their newly signed closer retire before the season starter (Keith Foulke), and their newly signed closer only sign because Philly wouldn't sign him because of an alleged bum arm (Joe Borowski). Borowski then led the AL in saves, with an ERA hovering around 40.00 (actually 5.50, but who's counting). Both times he got his ERA under 5.00, he promptly gave up enough runs in his next outing to go back over 5.00.

The Indians opening day rotation included Fausto Carmona, only because Cliff Lee was injured. When Cliff Lee returned, Carmona was sent back down to Buffalo after winning two games in a row, and nearly pitching a complete game shutout in his last start. Carmona came BACK from Buffalo for last year's surprise, Jeremy Sowers, who couldn't get an out. Since then, Fausto Carmona has won 19 games, and should finish in the top five in the Cy Young voting. He's arguably Cleveland's best starter.

The Indians ace, C.C. Sabathia pitched some of his best ball from July 24 through August 24. In those starts, Sabathia gave up more than two runs only once in seven starts, and had seven innings or more in all but one start. During those seven starts, Sabathia went 1-3, with three no decisions. His only win? The game in which he gave up three runs. His only non-quality start? Same game.

***disclaimer—I am a Trot Nixon fan. He is one of those players that you respect because he is scrappy, and gives it his all. Of course, when his all at this point is standing with his feet in concrete in right field, and hitting seeing-eye singles two times out of ten at bats, well...you get the point. And if you don't, read on***

Cleveland signed Trot Nixon and David Dellucci at the beginning of the season to provide some veteran leadership and pop to the lineup. They were the big "offensive" signings for the Tribe. Combined, they are hitting .245, with seven home runs, and 51 RBI. Both proved to be lame, literally, as Dellucci missed half the season with injury, and Nixon missed the whole season, without injury. Nixon did prove to be an outstanding clubhouse presence, teaching the Tribe how to piss off unsuspecting players with the shaving cream pies during interviews. He also mentored Josh Barfield.

Cleveland had outfielder Franklin Gutierrez in Buffalo, behind Trot Nixon, David Dellucci, Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore, Alex Cole, Rocky Colavito, Ben Francisco, David Justice, Trevor Crowe, Russell Crowe, Charlie Spikes and Willie Mays Hayes. Gutierrez is now a fixture in the everyday lineup. He can hit for power, has good speed, and can field, unlike Trot Nixon, who moves like a constipated sloth in the outfield (I get it, his injuries have sapped his strength and speed and ability to play (SO WHY FREAKIN' PLAY!).

Josh Barfield was heralded as one of the big pickups in the offseason, when Mark Shapiro had dealt for him for Tribe future star, Kevin Kouzmanoff. Barfield, the son of former Toronto and Yankee slugger, Jesse Barfield, was considered a defensive stalwart, who would develop Robby Alomar type offense. Unfortunately for the Indians, and Barfield, he was more Jose Vizcaino than Robby Alomar. Now, he's taking over the Trot Nixon job of plastering interviewees with shaving-cream pies. That's ironic, because Barfield and Nixon have essentially become one player. Trot hits a seeing-eye single, and Josh Barfield runs for him (it's also rumored that they go to parties together, with Josh Barfield hiding under a trench coat with Nixon on his shoulders).

Asdrubal Cabrera was on the Indians 40-man roster, but let's face facts; at the beginning of this year, he wasn't on ANYONE'S list for making the cut at any point during the season for the Big League club. He started the season with AA Akron, to work on his offense. So, he hit .310 with 8 dingers and 54 RBI, as well as 23 SB. Up to AAA he went. After batting .316 in nine games, Cleveland called him up to supplement. Well, Barfield has been on the bench ever since. Here's the kicker: He's the best shortstop on the team. He plays second base, because Jhonny Peralta, who leads the team in errors, plays short.

Cleveland won their first home game against Los Angeles of Anaheim, in Milwaukee, and won their last home game, against Seattle, in Seattle.

Dysfunction.

At the end of the day, just how good are the Cleveland Indians? This is an extremely talented ballclub. When you look at the offense from top to bottom, you have the best leadoff man in baseball in Grady Sizemore, who can beat you with power and speed. Defensively, there aren't many better, and when he gets on base, it's a nightmare for the opposing pitchers. He can strike out too much, but at the end of the day, his OBP makes up for any transgressions with his hitting. He can beat you by himself.

Asdrubal Cabrera, the rook, bats second, and you've already heard about this kid. Cabrera is about as clutch as they come, is the sparkplug of the offense and is a defensive wunderkind up the middle.

Travis Hafner DH's and bats third. Listen, the guy is in a slump, I get it. Thing is, he's batting nearly .500 over the past five games and is regaining form. He can carry a club with his bat, and we just don't have to worry about his glove at any point. Travis Hafner just plain strikes fear in pitchers.

Victor Martinez is the best catcher in baseball. HEAR THAT MINNESOTA FANS. Yeah, I said it. V-Mart is the BEST CATCHER IN BASEBALL. There isn't a more clutch hitter on this club, and he's now throwing out runners at a 30 percent clip. V-Mart is the undoubted leader of this club.

Ryan Garko bats fifth and is the most underrated player on the club. I can't tell you how many times V-Mart has been intentionally walked to face Garko. Garko can hit for average, and for power, and at times, can remind some folk of that Hafner fellow. He goes through bouts of struggle at times, but continues to improve.

Jhonny Peralta bats sixth, and at first thought, is a liability in the field. That's just life. Offensively, Peralta has good power and is a clutch hitter at the bottom of the order.

Batting seventh is the old Tribe-Hand, Kenny Lofton. Yeah, he's batting seventh, and doing a hell of a job. The simple fact that he's doing it, and smiling about it says it all. He's a sparkplug no matter where he bats, and where he fields, in this case, left field.

You've heard about Franklin Gutierrez already, so I'm not going there again.

Finally, Casey Blake at third isn't going to remind anyone of Mike Schmidt, but he's the best nine-hole hitter in the league. He has a good glove, and just gets the job done.

The starters begin and really end with 19-game winners, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. They'll match up with anyone, and right now, are pitching their best baseball. Jake Westbrook will probably be the No. 3 based on his recent starts. When he's on, he can be as good as Sabathia and Carmona. When he's bad, well, he's bad. Paul Byrd is at the four slot, and he's really struggling. Still, don't count out this guy. He often steps up to the plate when his back is against the Wall. Cliff Lee and Aaron Laffey could still be a factor here, we'll just have to wait and see how it pans out.

The relievers start with the aforementioned Joe Borowski as the closer. Dos Rafael are the set-up guys, and are as effective as any tandem in the game. Jenson Lewis and Aaron Fultz are the next layer, and have been intensely effective. Lee will play a part here as well.

Overall, the American League is separated by cheap, see-through toilet paper. There's not a whole lot of difference between the four teams. What Cleveland possesses may be unique. They have a lights-out staff led by Sabathia and Carmona. They have one of the best pens in the league. They have an offense that boasts five hitters with 20 or more taters, and one more with 18, so they have some pop. They can also beat you with small ball, the big inning, and the come from behind wins (closing on 50 this year).

It just goes to show you...dysfunction...when you are used to it...isn't such a bad thing...is it?

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Boston Red Sox. Your writer is Eric Gillin.

Eric Gillin is the editor of Esquire.com and a founding editor of The Black Table. His words are after the jump.

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Red Sox fans: Stock up on Pepto Bismol, because your small intestines are gonna feel like a balloon animal filled with refried beans by the end of October. That is, if the Red Sox even make it that far.

While this year's edition of the Red Sox racked up the best record in baseball, thanks to consistent starting pitching, rock-solid fielding, improved team speed, and overall bullpen depth — all crucial factors to playing winning baseball in October — they don't exactly feel dominant. My dad, the kind of emotionally abused, cynical die-hard who insists the Sox will be swept in the middle of Game One, hasn't been able to watch a game past the 6th inning, because he can't take the stress. Deadspin's art guru, Jim Cooke, happily fled the country for the last two weeks of the season because he "couldn't bear to watch them choke against the Yankees." Bulletin boards are bemoaning moves not made ("Paging Mr. Teixeira, Mr. Teixeira, you have a telephone call at the front desk...") and hating on the ones we did make (let's just say Eric Gagne isn't condo-shopping in South Boston right now). For a team with home-field advantage and its first division title in 12 years, its Nation seems oddly subdued.

Part of it is that the Yankees — and a number of other squads — have outplayed the Red Sox since the All-Star break, humbling those boneheads that thought the division title was wrapped up in May. Part of it is injuries, after two key players — Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez — went down in the last month of the season. But a lot more has to do with how this team wins. They don't win the way the Sox used to win. They're the kind of team that needs four hits to score a run, never seems to finish opponents and loses the close ones. They play the absolute worst kind of baseball if you have a heart condition.

If they're going to win another World Series in 2007, it's not going to be pretty. Here's what you'll see from the Red Sox this October:

Four-Hour Games. The Sox have seen 25,357 pitches, second-most in the majors. On the plus side, this means they tend to wear down starters to get to the meaty center of a bad bullpen. But on the minus side, you're sweating through fifteen 3-2 foul balls to get there. After three weeks of this, you'll look like Burgess Meredith in Rocky III.

A Litany of Lefthanders. The Sox have a really obvious Achilles' heel that every manager will attempt to exploit: They're just 25-23 against southpaws this year vs. 71-43 for righties. (Let's just say no one's very excited about the possibility of facing C.C. Sabathia in the second round.)

Tough Losses in Close Games. Here's the real kick in the pants — the Red Sox are just 22-28 in one-run games. Here they are, with a record of 96-66, and they're under .500 in close games. Even worse, they're 2-5 in extra innings. This means that roughly one-third of Sox games were too close for comfort. Two horrible thoughts that plague Sox fans: How good would they be if they won more of those close ones? And what does it mean that they didn't?

Long Innings. The Red Sox have the second-best ERA in baseball, but if you want to truly understand why Sox fans are freaking out it's because they've only induced 145 double plays this year, the sixth-worst total in baseball. Part of this is because they let fewer people on base, but part of it is G-d hates Red Sox fans and created acid reflex disease specifically for them.

Blue Balls. The Sox have left more than ten men on base a whopping 51 times this year, way more than the Yankees (38), the Indians (32), and the Angels (29). Needless to say, the Sox have hit into 146 double plays this year, the fifth-most in all of baseball, which means that bases loaded, one-out explosion you were hoping would finally put away the other team? Don't hold your breath.

Okay. So it's not all bad. This is still a very good baseball team. They're just not exciting because a lot of those long, close games will be won because of things the Red Sox have historically been terrible at: namely, fielding, relief pitching, and running the bases. Add that to the nice mix of veterans who've been there before and explosive rookies who have carried the team over the last two months and you've got some serious potential to go deep into October.

But still. Those five nagging points above are keeping me up nights. Plus a litany of little, nagging issues — like whether J.D. Drew's recent surge is the ultimate cock-tease, or the fact Eric Gagne cannot seem to pitch a 1-2-3 inning, or how $102 million man Dice-K is 5-6 with an ERA of 5.19 since the All-Star Break — and you can see why Red Sox Nation is sweating like a child molester in gen pop.

Stock up on the pink stuff, Sox fans, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Los Angeles Angeles Of Anaheim. Your writer is Mat Gleason.

Mat Gleason, is also known as Reverend Halofan, of HALOSHEAVEN.COM. His words are after the jump.

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It is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gene Autry, so of course the Angels are going to win it all!

In this era of baseball fans putting on lab coats to analyze the numbers before accepting a team's WIN as meaningful, can I just interject that the Angels are gonna win one for the cowboy on his 100th birthday!

Do I sound like a moron yet? Well, at least I am enjoying my team's success instead of doing my math homework. Each year, baseball on the internet gets to be more like doing your taxes; numbers of the past adding up to an unpleasant feeling of wasted opportunities with a lousy payoff in the near future.

The baseball atheists, the Sabr number crunchers, joykillers determined to rid the sport of any storyline not composed on a slide rule, they hate the Angels. Madalyn Murray O'Hair said there was no god, and the SabrMutts say there is no "clutch." These Sabr piss-on-your-parade sourpusses categorically reject any team structured on the belief that the RBI will redeem the baserunner, that a hitter's batting average with Runners in Scoring Position is of significance and that his average with RISP and 2 outs might actually be his most treasured trait as a hitter. These notions are a reverse heresy!

The 2007 Angels are structured antithetically to fashionable statistical analysis models. When ESPN's token Sabr boy Keith Law flat out states that RBI is a meaningless statistic in a chat-tirade against Garret Anderson (within a week Garret had a ten-RBI game against the Yankees), you have to understand that the 2007 Angels are a threat to the cottage industry of pseudoscientific baseball analysis from which Law and his flannel-bedecked crony Rob Neyer write fanboy love letters to jocks disguised as Benjamin Bernanke quarterly reports to congress.

Ask any rational SabrMetric Analyst why Maicer Izturis should ever bat fifth in a major league lineup. Then ask any Dodgers fan if they wish Mike Scioscia was their manager.

Ask the Billy Beane acolytes if all of Joakland's visits to the disabled list negated Billy's statistical acumen for personnel placement.
Then ask how many Angels went on the disabled list in 2007; the answer is 13 players for a total of 18 visits, less than the A's, but not 17 games behind worth.

Asking these and other questions is uncomfortable in these rigid, measured times. Nothing diminishes the seductive allure of OPS like a high average singles team that can steal bases, go from first to third well and score on old-fashioned squeezes. It is enough to force a fan to watch the baseball game instead of the MLB Gameday.

Mike Scioscia's innovative, progressive lineup is backed by a damn good pitching staff. The bullpen is not as reliable as in the past, but Angel fans have been so spoiled that their historically dominant bullpen sinking to the level of bullpen of the decade has been tough for us to handle. We don't self-flagellate like Bahstin or vicariously point fingers in the NY Post, but a blown hold was a rare occurrence in Los Angeles of Anaheim prior to this season.

But you seven other playoff teams better not wait around for the pitching to collapse. The way to beat the Angels is with your pitcher keeping his game on the ground. Let the Angels get two hits an inning, ground into a double play and then pop up weakly. Chien-Ming Wang stands between the Angels and a ring. If Carlos Silva was in the postseason, I would be praying to face any team but the Twins.

Watch, though, as your big game pitcher gets distracted with fast guys on first waiting to steal, then sees that guy go from first to third on what seemed to just be a squibber past a diving shortstop. Just as big stud walks off the mound to catch his breath, they announce Vladimir Guerrero is at the plate - you know, Manny Ramirez with his head on straight, Alex Rodriguez with the successful personality transplant. Can you tell we are praying for Carlos Zambrano to be here in three weeks?

Behind Vlad is a healthy Garret Anderson. Now, the Stat-Street-Boys dislike a man they cannot quickly measure. Garret is far too nuanced for their numbers-eyeballing methodology. Garret does two things with a bat: he hits a fastball well. He is not too good on the curve or the slider and is especially bad on the changeup away. But if you repeat a pitch to him, the 2nd thing he does well is crush the living shit out that pitch.

How can a simpleton like Keith Law be expected to pay attention to subtle, in-game situations like this without the aid of a crunched numerical graph explaining the importance of an offense built around frenzied hitting - the very concept of frenzied hitting does not fit into the cobwebbed orthodoxy that the alleged stat revolution has become.

A statistical analyst at this Angels' postseason campaign is like an atheist at Hannukah - before you crack a beer, tell us again why we aren't the chosen people?

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Arizona Diamondbacks. Your writer is Jim McLennan.

Jim McLennan grew up in Britain, so he never saw live baseball for the first three decades of his life. He's making up for it now, and rants, on a daily basis, about the Arizona Diamondbacks over at AZ Snake Pit. His words are after the jump.

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I was trying to think of a witty metaphor for the D-backs presence in the postseason. Ugly kid at the prom? Democrat at a Rush Limbaugh convention? But I think the closest would probably be the independent film that gets nominated as Best Picture: no stars, no budget and nobody's quite sure how it managed to get there. For this team has the lowest payroll in the division, is tied for last in NL batting average at the time of writing, has nobody who will hit .300 and only Brandon Webb will win 15 games. Hell, they've conceded more runs than they've scored. By just about any sabermetric measure, the team sucks. But they still have the best record in the National League. That sound you hear is stats geeks impaling themselves on their copies of the Bill James Handbook.

How are they managing it? I if knew that, I'd be a GM. But a few things stand out. Firstly, a lights-out bullpen, which means the team hangs onto a lead like a Michael Vick pit bull: we're 60-10 when leading after five innings. At any point thereafter, manager Bob Melvin can hand things over to the Four Relievers of the Apocalypse (Jose Valverde, Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz and Tony Pena), who have pitched 275 innings - basically a starter and a half - with a combined ERA below three. Add the most-productive pinch-hitters in the majors, so they can usually score runs when needed, and that's likely why they have a 32-19 record in one-run games, which largely explains why they're where they are.

This team could certainly reach the World Series, having won the regular season series against the Padres, Cubs and Phillies, with an overall record of 19-11 against them. On their day, this team can beat anyone in the National League. Hell, Micah Owings can do it all by himself, becoming the first pitcher in at least 50 years to have multiple four-hit games in one season. Is he a pitcher who hits, or a hitter who pitches? And much like him, when the D-backs are firing, they can hurt you a lot of ways. Center fielder Chris Young fell a couple of bases short of becoming the first rookie with a 30 HR, 30 SB season; Eric Byrnes discovered his wheels, doubling his stolen-base total of 2006, already a career-high. Nine different players hit ten or more homers. The Diamondbacks are an unstoppable force.

On the other hand, they could, equally well, get swept in the NLDS. Byrnes pops up an awful lot for someone who signed a midseason $30m contract. Stephen Drew leaves Arizona fans longing for the hitting stroke of ... er, Craig Counsell. Carlos Quentin flopped so badly, he was tossed back to Tucson. Much as we love Augie 'The Littlest Ballplayer' Ojeda, he is not Orlando Hudson, lost with a busted thumb for the season. And opponents are batting .363 off Livan Hernandez this month. The Diamondbacks do not have a chance in hell.

But, this year, Arizona fans have mastered the art of doublethink, and the above paragraphs, if a bundle of contradictions, are an entirely accurate (if not, perhaps, particularly helpful) assessment of Arizona's postseason potential. Nothing would surprise me any longer about this team: they have already surpassed expectations simply by getting here, and whatever happens, they've given the state its most unforgettable ride since the World Series win over the Yankees.

Who knows where it'll stop? Back in the preseason, when Will asked me for a preview, I wrote, "You can still get the Diamondbacks at odds of 66-1 to win the 2007 World Series. Frankly, that's a gift, and readers might consider contacting their overseas relatives in regard to this matter, before the sports books catch on." I hope you took that advice: I'll be in contact for my 5 percent shortly.

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The New York Yankees. Your writer is Alex Belth.

Alex Belth is is the author of Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights and the editor of Bronx Banter. He also writes for SI.com. His words are after the jump.

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The demise of the Yankees has been talked about ever since they won 114 games in 1998. It gained steam in Buster Olney's book, Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty and peaked when New York blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. But the '04 collapse, which would have sent many other organizations into a tailspin, didn't kill the Yankees. Yes, New York has lost three straight playoff series (a lifetime for long-suffering Yankee fans). Still, for the past three seasons, they have put themselves in early-season pickles only to rally to play in October. The Yanks can still absorb high-priced mistakes (Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa), and big-ticket free agents (Clemens, Damon) like no other team, but since GM Brian Cashman has been allowed to develop young players, Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and now Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain have all played crucial roles.

On top of that, of course, Alex Rodriguez is having the best offensive season a Yankee has had since Maris and Mantle in 1961. Moreover, he's won over his critics, producing over and again in big moments all season. With two games left, he's scored 142 runs, with 32 doubles and 54 home runs, a beautiful, zaftig statline with only one blemish — 0 triples. A Rod's 155 RBI is the most by a Yankee since Joe D (and it's only good for 10th-best in Yankee history). According to OPS+, Rodriguez has four of the five greatest offensive seasons of any Yankee third basemen, and his 2007 season is one of the five or 10 greatest ever for a third baseman. This year, he's ducked a front-page sex scandal, mentored Cabrera and Cano and generally terrorized the American League into submission.

But in New York, the playoffs are the thing, and Rodriguez desperately needs to avoid a repeat of the '05 and '06 postseason. He needs to have his Reggie moment. The Yankees don't even need to win; Rodriguez just can't go bust again. If he does, he's as good as gone. But if the Yankees win the World Serious, or if Rodriguez performs admirably in defeat, it's hard to imagine him playing anywhere else.

The Yanks have had more than Rodriguez this season too. Jorge Posada is having a career year and would be a stellar MVP candidate if it weren't for Rodriguez. Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano recovered nicely after struggling early, and Derek Jeter, playing through a balky knee late this summer, is having another representative season. Mariano Rivera's strikeout numbers are still strong, but he's sporting the worst ERA since he's become a closer. Of course, Joba Chamberlain has been enormous — he's the best young pitcher the Yankees have had since, well, a young Rivera.

The starting pitching remains the biggest question going into the playoffs. The Yankees have the weakest staff of all the American League playoff teams, yet it's not that hard to imagine Wang, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens doing well. Then again, it's not a stretch to picture them getting ripped either. I mean, who knows what they can expect out of Clemens, who was shut down with a leg injury for the final two weeks of the regular season. But the Yankees need their starters to show up in order to get passed Cleveland in the first round. The Yanks were 6-0 against the Tribe this year, but you can throw that right out the window; they didn't face C.C. Sabathia at all, and saw Fausto Carmona just once.

My sense is that if the Yankees make it past the first round, they'll be tough to beat. But as Joe Torre said earlier in the week, they'll need a good deal of luck on their side, along with the good pitching and timely hitting. For Rodriguez, as great as he's been this year, it's another make-or-break moment in his career. He'll be center stage, and his next career move will most certainly be determined in the weeks to come.

The Yanks will try and have their starters go six, and then hand the ball to Vizcaino, Joba and Rivera.

Therefore, to adequately preview the madness that is the baseball playoffs, we've invited some of our favorite writers for each of the eight playoff teams to write about their teams. These will be running all day today and tomorrow, and we very much hope you enjoy them.

Up right now: The Chicago Cubs. Your writer is Mike Cetera.

Mike Cetera is associate editor of The Beacon News in Aurora, Ill. His words are after the jump.

When a girl rips your heart out, stabs it, stomps on it, burns it and spits on it before shoving the mutilated muscle back into your tortured chest, you're not likely to take her out on another date. That's something most guys just wouldn't consider. But stupid men return for more punishment; this is the essence of being a Cubs fan. We are stupid men (and women).

And though we have been slow to heal since that disastrous late-inning collapse in 2003, a number of us have fully thrown ourselves back into the relationship during this clumsy march to the postseason. Despite all of the overwhelming evidence telling us to run, run far away, some of us have left ourselves vulnerable again. Here's why:

• Anything can happen in the playoffs. Last year's Cardinals team (not to mention the 2005 White Sox, which limped in to the playoffs before destroying everybody) are no longer curse words, but are spoken of with the kind of reverence normally given to grandmothers and clergy. Some claim the 2007 Cubs are the 2006 Cardinals, a team that its own fans (Read: Mr. Leitch) only begrudgingly supported down the stretch because they were just so awful. So it goes for this Cubs team, which has been about as inconsistent as it comes. The team has suffered through stretches where no one can hit, only to be saved by above-average starting pitching and a bullpen that (despite its maddening closer) has been stingy, particularly in the second half. When the hitting finally righted itself in August and September, however, the starting pitching began to look a bit flimsy, particularly "ace" Carlos Zambrano, whose stubbornness (he won't drink water, so he continues to cramp up) has begun to rival for biggest eccentricity his penchant for emotional outbursts. In the end, there just haven't been enough stretches where the pitchers and the hitters have been hot at the same time. Yet none of these inconsistencies matter come Wednesday. The team is in the playoffs.

• The offense: Homer-happy Wrigley Field has been a tough place to score runs in a hurry this year largely because of the oddity of the wind blowing in more often than not. No player entered September with more than 19 home runs. Since then, three players eclipsed that mark during an impressive stretch that saw the team all-but put away the Milwaukee Brewers. Because the home run ball has been tougher to come by, the Cubs have been forced to rely more on speed and fundamentals, two areas the team has been terrible at for years. The Cubs have more speed in the lineup than past incarnations — even if the stolen base stats don't show it — which could give starting pitchers fits. And speed, unlike power, isn't inconsistent. Specifically, look for Ryan Theriot to take extra bases and break up double plays.

• Alfonso Soriano: Yes, the Cubs paid too much. No, he shouldn't be a leadoff hitter. But he is as responsible for the Cubs' late-season surge as anyone else. Soriano hit double-digit home runs in the final month, and despite his shaky defense, saved at least two games by throwing runners out at the plate. The lesson: Don't run on his arm. Now, about those lifetime playoff stats ...

• Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol: In addition to Soriano, Howry and Marmol can be credited with saving this team. With Howry, it's not so much of a surprise. Historically, he's been stronger out of the bullpen in the second half than in the first. This year is no different. Going into the final weekend, Howry had an ERA of 1.95 since the All-Star break, allowing just 28 hits and seven walks in 37 innings. Meanwhile, Marmol, the Cubs likely future closer, has been a dominant surprise all year. In just his first full season, Marmol had an ERA of 1.45 and had 95 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings pitched heading into the final weekend. If the game is close when the Cubs go to the bullpen, this team will be in good shape.

• The no-name squad: Every team worth rooting for has a couple of guys who become fan favorites because it's clear they have limited talent. They made it to the top because they try harder. The Cubs are no exception. This year's David Eckstein just may be Theriot, who nobody heard of before the start of the season. He's provided a near constant spark, however. The Cubs also have benefited from some late-season call-ups, including catcher Geovany Soto, whose performance both at the plate and behind it have led a number of fans to not only call for Soto to make the postseason roster but for him to start in place of Jason Kendall, whose bat has only been mildly helpful since coming to the team in a trade. (And his defense may have cost the team games.)

• Nobody is bitching: The Cubs of recent vintage have been terribly hard to root for mainly because the team has been just plain awful, but also because the players were nearly impossible to like. Credit Lou Piniella for keeping the clubhouse griping to a minimum. Dusty Baker couldn't or wouldn't control his players, and it made everyone seem petulant. It's pretty hard to cheer on a team full of jerks.

All right. We're in. Some of us refuse to trust the girl we brought to the dance. More of us may just be suckers thinking that after 99 years we'll finally get some. Bring on the heartache.