2008 ALDS & NLDS

Last year when these two teams met in the ALDS, it was the Angels who came limping in as injuries to key players robbed the Angels of all their power, while the Red Sox were getting set to launch for another October title run. This year its the Red Sox that come limping in with ace pitcher Josh Beckett hurting and not being able to pitch until Game 3, while the Angels appear poised for a long October run. In the regular season this year the Angels dominated the Red Sox including a three game sweep in Fenway Park. Look for the Angels to get the early jump on this series and not look back as the banged up Red Sox, will miss the bat of Manny Ramirez in October.

The Rays are the rookies of October, making the playoffs this year after stunning all of baseball by winning the American League Eastern Division with a record of 97-65. Fortunately for the Rays they get a tired White Sox team who needed to play two extra days to reach the playoffs, making up a rainout and beating the Twins in a tiebreaker for the American League Central Division. Look for the Rays to be energized early in the season as a sold out crowd at Tropicana Field should be able to propel them past any early postseason nerves as they slip past the White Sox is four games.

The Cubs losing Sunday to the Brewers may have been one of the mostly costly loses of their season, as they will be facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Had they won they would have faced the Mets and had an easy go of it in the NLDS, but the Dodgers are the absolute worst team and the worst time for the Northsiders. The Dodgers offense is now stronger with Manny Ramirez a proven clutch player in the playoffs, while the Cubs pitching staff is a question mark as Carlos Zambrano has struggled in his two starts after his no hitter, while there are still ensuing fears over the health of the Cubs ace’s arm. Look for the Cubs to have trouble through out as this series goes the distance with the Dodgers getting the stunning win in five games.

The key for the Brewers is not winning three out of five its winning one out of three, as CC Sabathia will pitch twice once in Game 2 and once in Game 4. Sabathia is just one of those reliable pitchers that always seems to pull through in a big game this year. He won two times the final week of the season to get the Brewers into the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, with their hired gun getting the big win in the final game of the season. So it will come down to Game 1, Game 3 and Game 4. Fortunately for the Brewers two of those games will be at Miller Park. Look for CC Sabathia to do his part winning twice, as the Brewers take one of the two in their own stadium to get past the Phillies in five games.