Chapter 68.1: Pizza!

I don't want to suggest that by feeding the blogger (and his wife), anyone can get words of thanks on the blog. But I do want to thank Cammy and Frank for their generous gift of pizza from Chicago. (Oh yeah, I believe there were cheesecakes, too, though I've not actually seen them. ;-) The package arrived at a perfect time -- as you know, Cammy -- and our cat is pleased to have another sturdy box to play in. By the way, the photo to the side is not the actual pizza (or beer, for that matter), just an incredible facsimile.

Chapter 68: Playoff Predictions

Not much time this morning, so I'll be quick:

Red Sox vs. Angels: From what I've read, the Angels have lost their center fielder, Gary Matthews, for the playoffs as well as Bartolo Colon -- who really wasn't much of a factor this year, so I don't think that's too significant. More important are the question marks about Vladimir Guererro. If he's out or not up to snuff, the Angels are done already. The Red Sox have too much talent to lose in the short series. My prediction: Red Sox in 4.

Indians vs. Yankees: I hate to say it, but I think the Yankees will advance to the ALCS. They've dominated the Indians this year (6-0) and in the short series, they have a distinct advantage. But the Indians have a strong 1-2 punch, so the Yankee hater in me has hope. I think this will be a hard-fought series, but if the Indians can't win with Cy Young candidate C.C. Sabathia, they've got little hope. My prediction: Yankees in 5.

Rockies vs. Phillies: This could be the most exciting series of the early round. The Rockies went 14-1 over the last few weeks of the season and won an exciting playoff game against the Padres to qualify for their second-ever post-season berth. While the Phils' pitching is decidedly mediocre, they've been doing well lately. I think some folks will be surprised to see more scoring in Philadelphia's stadium than in Coors Field, which may actually give the Rockies a slight advantage. I'd love to be wishy-washy and call this a pick 'em series, but I'll go out on a limb. My prediction: Rockies in 5.

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs: I'd love to see the Cubs advance, and they very well might. But this team had the worst record of all post-season qualifiers. While the Diamondbacks scored relatively few runs (less than they allowed -- not a good sign, especially when you have a stud like reigning Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb), their pitching staff includes battle-tested Livan Hernandez. Again, this is a tough series to gauge. My prediction: Cubs in 5.

Chapter 67.4: Rockies Mountain High, Humidor Style

Congratulations to the Colorado Rockies. Note to the Mets: the Rockies made the post-season because of pitching, particularly their bullpen. The amazing thing is that for years no one thought a team in Denver could win because of the thin air and necessarily spacious ballpark. But once they started tossing the balls in the humidor and built a team that believed it could win, it was able to meet its goals. They've still got a lot to prove, but they're already more interesting to watch than a bunch of guys cleaning out their lockers.

Chapter 67.35: Free Willie?

That scant number of people who've been reading my blog may have noticed one person I'm not blaming for the Mets meltdown. Willie Randolph. Do I think he's without blame? Of course not. I think, for example, that Humber should have gotten the start that Brian Lawrence had, but I understand the reasoning for not using him. I think he's made some strange decisions -- from double switches he chose not to make to pinch hitters he chose not to use at particular times -- but I don't think he's to blame for the debacle that has made the Mets the butt of jokes for the entire off-season and probably well into the next decade.

He's going to have to win early in 2008; this team cannot afford to sleepwalk any more, regardless of how much of a makeover the roster receives.

But right now the problem is about the pitching staff mostly -- starters and relievers. Willie tried to put his best guys in there -- Heilman and Feliciano in particular -- but they kept giving up hits. Mota had a few good innings at the end, but none of these guys seems able to pitch more than one inning any more.

There's a lot of work to do, and a lot of blame to spread around. Perhaps from that crap, something worthwhile will grow. But for now, they just smell putrid.