Cubs (And Others) Playoff Preview

The Cubs magic continues, as even a loss turned into a win. By succumbing to the Brewers in the last game of the season, they let the Brew Crew into the playoffs and thereby set up a first-round matchup with the weakest of all the NL contenders, the Dodgers.

Yes, L.A. has been more solid since the acquisition of Manny Ramirez. The Cubs still have a much stronger lineup top to bottom. And much has been made of L.A.’s Game 1 starter, Derek Lowe. It’s true that he hasn’t given up more than two runs in a game for nearly two months, but five of those nine games were against some of the worst teams in the league (San Francisco, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Washington), and two more were against Arizona, which is not known for its hitting.

In other words, he hasn’t faced a lineup as potent as the Cubs’ in a while. He also hasn’t faced Ryan Dempster, who’s 14-3 at Wrigley. Advantage, Cubs. The bettors see it my way as well, installing the Cubs as -155 favorites in the opener.

Even if Lowe should sneak out a win, I feel the Cubs only need a split at Wrigley. With Rich Harden and Theodore Roosevelt Lilly on tap for Games 3 and 4, a split or a sweep in L.A. is very likely.

Add Carlos Zambrano, and the Cubs have the edge in starting pitching over a strong Dodgers staff. I also give the Cubs the edge in offense, bullpen and intangibles (crazed crowd at Wrigley), with the Dodgers getting a slight edge on defense. The most intriguing matchup is at manager, with legends Lou Pinellia and Joe Torre squaring off. I do think Pinellia has had more to do with his teams’ success over the years, but it’s hard to argue with Torre’s four rings to Pinellia’s one.

The Cubs will get by the Dodgers easily on their way to a National League title.

PREDICTION: Cubs in 4

White Sox vs. Rays

Since that other local team weaseled its way into the post-season, I guess it’s only responsible to give a preview of their series as well.

In short, the White Sox suck. They will go 3-and-out in the ALDS, and even if they should cheat their way out of the first round, they will go 4-and-out against either the Angels or Red Sox.

I like any of the other AL playoff teams at offense, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching and intangibles. And manager? Please. I’ll take the janitor over Ozzie (who, incidentally, I do not believe to be intelligible in either of the languages he purportedly speaks).

PREDICTION: Rays in 3

Brewers vs. Phillies

As long as we’re running down other local teams, why not check in on the Brewers? After all, they do often play in that grand stadium known as Wrigley North.

Unfortunately, I think they made their run just to secure the playoff berth. They are playing a Philadelphia team that is peaking at the right time. The Brewers can compete on offense, enough to make it interesting, but outside of C.C. Sabbathia their starting pitching is shot. And because of an incredibly bone-headed front-office decision, they are entering the playoffs guided by a manager with a whopping 12 games of major league experience.

PREDICTION: Phillies in 5

Red Sox vs. Angels

How the hell should I know? I’m 1,000 miles from the nearest coast, and even farther in terms of mindset. I’ll defer to the bettors on this one (although I do think the winner of this series goes on to the World Series).

PREDICTION: Angels in 5