Playoff picks

Sooo, the two teams I picked to make the World Series, the San Francisco Giants (86-76) and the Boston Red Sox (90-72) didn't even make the playoffs. I'm sad about the Giants, but think it's cool the Tampa Bay Rays (91-71) made it. Anyway, let's get cracking with my playoff picks:

American League:
Texas Rangers (96-66) over Rays in 4. The Rangers have some pitching and have a very potent offense, but the Rays have a ton of intangibles, but a ton of pitching. I think the Rangers have more talent, though, and will pull it out.

Detroit Tigers (95-67) over New York Yankees (97-65) in 5. Putting it simply: the Tigers have Justin Verlander and he gets to pitch twice in a full series. He's the best player in the American League this year in my book. Both teams have hitting and pitching, but I think Verlander makes the difference.

National League:
Philadelphia Phillies (102-60) over St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) in 4. The Phillies just have a better team. Their pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation is better. But the Cards have a good team and a good manager in Tony La Russa so they should make it a series.

Milwaukee Brewers (96-66) over Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68) in 5. The Brewers have a much better team on paper. But so did the Giants if you ask me. The D-Backs have the intangibles and mojo that could carry them past the first round. However, the Brewers have good chemistry and I think the deciding factor will be home field advantage.

Well, for the heck of it, I'll pick the LCS and World Series while I'm at it: Rangers over Tigers in 7 and Phillies over Brewers in 6. In the World Series, Phillies over Rangers in 5. More detailed picks on the succeeding rounds when they are upon us.

Tomorrow, it's Rays at Rangers at 3 p.m. MT and Tigers at Yankees at 6:30 p.m. MT. Both games are on TBS. The National League Playoffs get underway on Saturday.