Its about that time again. October has come and that means the MLB postseason has returned. There a are few suprises in the playoff picture with the Cincinatti Reds coming out of nowhere to take the NL Central division away from the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers winning the AL West. Other than that, it seems like the normal playoff caliber teams are in. Here is the playoff outlook for both leagues and my predictions for each contest. I will only be predicting the AL/NL Division Series, then go from there once all of the matchups are done.


American League

Texas Rangers (90-72) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (96-66)

Rays in 4

The Rangers' pitching staff is too thin with only Cliff Lee as a clear cut star on the staff. I see the Rays having difficulty early in the series but they will come out on top. The Rays pitching is too good against Rangers lineup, especially with a hurt Josh Hamilton.




New York Yankees (95-67) vs. (94-68)

Yankees in 5

This is a tough series to predict. The Twins come in as the hotter time, winning the most games in the league since the All Star Break. The Yankee lineup, however, is essentially an All Star game lineup. They have so many powerful bats that its hard to find a weak point, not to mention their superb pitching staff of CC Sabathia, Andy Pettite and Phil Hughes.



National League

Cincinatti Reds (91-71) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (96-64)

Reds in 5

A difficult decision, and a bold prediction, I know. The Phillies are again the team to beat in the NL with their pitching staff of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. But the reason I pick the Reds is because I had a first hand look of what the Reds can do. I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, so I would often watch the Reds as well during the summer. The offense that their team had was unbelievable, and  I believe that will be what defeats the Phillies in the end. This is a tough choice, but I really do want to see if the Reds can win it all. This is a dumb prediction, so you can make fun of me if and when the Reds lose this contest.




Atlanta Braves (91-71) vs. San Francisco Gaints (92-70)

Giants in 5

The Giants will win this won with their solid pitching staff of Tim Lincecum and their offense mad up of Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff. The Braves' pitching staff won't be able to contain the Giants. This should be a hard fought contest, but I have full confidence the Giants will edge this one out.

My fantasy football season has been looking pretty good so far. I am currently 3-0 with 1 close call and 2 very convincing wins. As everyone knows, the fantasy season starts with the Football draft. So I would like to share with you my greatest steal and greatest bust I have had so far from my drafted players

STEAL-Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis Colts- I picked Collie up in the 13th round of my draft. I drafted him as a bye replacement for my other wide receiver (who i will discuss later in this message) when said player's bye comes up. However, after his 1st week of 163 yards and 1TD followed by a not so good but still worthy 25 yards and another TD, I knew he was worth starting. My draft pick paid off, as in week 3 against the Denver Broncos Collie had 171 yards and 2 TDs, and I was smart enough to play him. His total value for the day amounted in 29 points (in my league). Austin Collie's a young, promising receiver who I look forward to starting him in the coming weeks. Not bad for a round 13 pick, huh?


BUST-Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers- Possibly the 2nd worst decision I have ever made in my young fantasy career (1st worst being when I drafted Brian Westbrook in the 2nd round last year, not my wisest choice). Not just the pick of Crabtree himself, but the fact that I passed up Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers to get Crabtree is especially painful. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Driver, but I figured that since I already had Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley it might not be so smart to have 3 receivers from one team. I drafted Crabtree in the 6th round of my draft and started him in week 1. He got me a WHOPPING 1 POINT in his debut against that "solid" Seahawk defense. He's been benched ever since. He followed up that sweet performance with two-3 point weeks, confirming my belief that he's been a bust for me so far. San Fran was picked to have a great offense with players Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and the like. But like the team itself, Michael Crabtree has been a major dissapointment. I have no intention of releasing Crabtree, but until he gets more that 3 points, he's staying on the sidelines.




Now that I have shared my triumphant and embarassing draft picks of my draft, let me hear what you people have experienced?