MITCH BLATT

So Cliff Lee just chose the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Yankees, who were offering him more, and returned to his former team from 2009.

Naturally, a player not signing with the team with the largest payroll in baseball and the largest expectations in any given year, after playing for the Texas Rangers for half a year, is the same as LeBron, having played for Cleveland for his entire career, leaving Cleveland in a nationally televised “Decision” to play with two friends who decided to play together for an easy championship. The only comparison is that Lee changed teams in free agency. And that he used to play for Cleveland.

The ironic thing is that if he went to the “Evil Empire” Yankees with the highest payroll in baseball, Lee wouldn’t be being criticized by the baseball media. (I don’t imagine many fans are angry at him for not signing with the Yankees.)

A run down of some of the conspiracy nuts trying to link him with LeBron:

A Henry Abbot reader mail:

The longtime Clevelander became a very hot commodity, and had a lot of options this summer, and he chose the power team.

So … did we learn that there’s something wrong with Cliff Lee’s character? Is he not a true competitor? Is he some kind of fraud?

Um… The Indians traded Lee in 2009. They didn’t even try to sign him this offseason. Then he pitched in the championship in 2009 and played for two teams in 2010. Now he’s returning to his former team to win the championship he didn’t win in 2009, something LeBron didn’t do.

Also, it might help some of my Lee/Bron readers if I explain a few differences between baseball and basketball. Baseball has 9 players on the field at one time, basketball has 5. In baseball, a pitcher pitches in a rotation once every 4 or 5 games. In basketball, a player plays every game he’s healthy. In baseball, the offense goes in order, with each batter batting 3-5 times a game. In basketball, the offense is all on the court at the same time. A basketball player can take over a game and carry a team. LeBron James had a crappy Cavaliers team playing .500+ his whole time in Cleveland. The best a pitcher can do in Washington is win them 10-15 games if that teams offense can score 2 or 3 runs each game.

Oh, and did I mention again that Lee never played for the Rangers for his entire career, wasn’t as big of a star as LeBron, and didn’t make his decision on national TV? No one is criticizing LeBron for leaving Cleveland, but people are criticizing LeBron for leaving Cleveland while announcing his decision on national TV while joining a ready-made group of friends who are presumed to be champions.

And that’s something even Michael Jordan can attest to.

“I would never have called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,’” “I was trying to beat them.”

SCOTT JACOBS

All 162 games for each respective MLB team is in the books, and the Giants made sure that not a single regular season game more would be needed to determine this year’s 8 playoff participants.  So here we are, a day away from the start of the playoffs, which will officially kick off indoors in the awkward dome of Tropicana Field (hey Tampa, even the Twins are playing outside baseball now!)  But that’s neither here nor there.  This year’s 2010 tournament looks top-heavy with favorite Tampa Bay, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, but in a short series anything can happen (ask the NBA, why do you think they changed their best of 5 format a few years ago– well that and money).

And with a short series all a inferior team truly needs is that one red hot pitcher and some timely hits, so while the Reds, Twins, Braves, and Rangers look like underdogs on paper, all it takes is one great week to knock out their opposition.

The Reds and Rangers come in as the biggest surprises, both unexpected division winners, and both comfortable division winners at that.  It feels like the Rangers have had the AL West on lockdown since the All-Star Game, which judging by past history could be a good or bad thing.  The Reds withstood a charge from the Cards to advance to their first post-season in the 21st century.  Think Synergy Field as the last time the Reds were in the second season.  Both teams facing formidable tasks getting the two best teams in baseball, the Phillies and Rays.

The Rangers have been hit hard by the injury bug but so has Tampa, and before you write off the Rays as genuine contenders, keep in mind that this may be their last year as contenders for a while, with their owner Stuart Sternberg prepared to shave off potentially $20 million in payroll next year.  That means key cogs, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena, and franchise cornerstone Carl Crawford could all be gone after this run.  The Rays like each other and living on borrowed time as a team, like they are, should make them a tough out in the AL.

The Yankees are well, the Yankees, but their success the past few years against the Twins has to run dry eventually. Right? Unfortunately for Minnesota, they start their post-season journey without the services of Justin Morneau, who is out for the playoffs.  New York slumped into the post-season and Minnesota was just as good record wise so this could be a great battle.  Minnesota is a great home team, but a mediocre road one, so they have to get a jump on the Yanks in order to have any shot at knocking out the champs.

Meanwhile in the National League the Phils, coming off an impressive 4th straight NL East crown, look for an even more impressive 3rd straight NL Pennant.  They have to be considered one of the favorites with the play of Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, and brilliant trade acquisition Roy Oswalt, who has been everything Philly could have hoped for and more.  The Phils bring back their same core of the last few years and that could present problems for the young Reds, who haven’t tasted post-season success in a long time.  Can the Reds pull off the improbable?

Finally we head west to the Bay Area where the Braves and Giants kick off the Ironic Series. The Braves had to root for San Fran the last game of the season to beat the Padres so they could clinch the Wild Card, and in doing so, locked up a berth with each other.  The Braves come in beat up, with Chipper Jones shelved for the season, but it is Bobby Cox’s last post-season rendezvous and even though he made his name winning division titles, how great would it be if he took his Wild Card team on one last magic carpet ride, maybe even to a championship.  Meanwhile the Giants are back in the NL West’s throne for the first time since 2003, when the Wild Card Marlins knocked them out in 4 games.  Florida didn’t make the playoffs in 2010, and the Giants have a fantastic array of starting pitching.  Buster Posey has also been a force.

So before we unveil our picks, here’s my playoff rankings from 1 to 8.  Below are our predictions.  Feel free to chime in below with your opinions and picks.  And remember: just because a team is ranked lower, doesn’t mean they can’t pull off the upset.  It just takes 3 baby.

1. Philadelphia
2. Tampa Bay
3. New York
4. San Francisco
5. Minnesota
6. Atlanta
7. Cincinnati
8. Texas

Here’s our picks:

Photo: Reuters
Graphics: Scott Jacobs

SCOTT JACOBS

Hey guys! Welcome back to the program. Consider our two day hiatus away from your computer a re-examination, to make sure we were seeing things correctly. We had to get our contact prescription corrected so we could re-read the NFL standings. And we needed new glasses so we could make sure we read right that Tampa Bay is hosting the ALCS. And can the NFC West really be that bad? Well, actually that one’s kind of easy: yes.

So before you jump over a car, stick around as we make our way through the sports world seemingly with our beer googles on. It’s the only way to make sense of the madness.

Titantic shocker
So the Tennessee Titans are now 5-0 after coming back in Crabcake nation to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. The Titans being 5-0 is a surprise. A huge one infact, but it’s not the team that has us even more amazed. It’s 12,345 year old Kerry Collins, who has come out of nowhere to manage this team to a perfect record. Vince Young is no longer the golden boy, in fact, he’s now the problem child, and Tennessee’s number three draft choice from the 2005 draft looks like a bigger bust every day. So, when Tennessee made him the franchise quarterback, they hardly expected an old, ‘washed up’ quarterback to take his place, and lead the team to the best start in franchise history. Okay, so he hasn’t really led them persay, but he’s done everything to get out of that ferocious defense’s way.

Collins has done nothing mind-blowing. In fact he isn’t doing anythig even good. His completion percentage is 27th in the league. When it comes to yards per game, Collins is 28th! So what’s been working? How about an offensive line that has given up just one sack since Collins has taken the field. It’s tops in the league.

The Titans may have beaten the Ravens on Sunday, but they sure looked like the 2000 Ravens on Sunday. That Ravens team, by some considered to be the greatest defense ever, was one of the most dominant units to ever take the field, but its hard to overlook what Tennessee’s relentless D is doing to opposing teams in 08. Okay, so it’s only a sample size (a mere five games) but the Titans are allowing just 11.2 points a game. They’re giving up just 4.2 yards a play, which is good for fourth best in the NFL. Tennessee is fifth in yards allowed.

That team is really good folks. I mean, that defense is really good. But the Titans are doing exactly enough to get the job done week in and week out. And unlike college football, where there are no polls, the Titans are winning, margin of victory be damned.

LCS Coverage from coast to uh, coast
We’ve got you covered with viewpoints from all four cities competing for a chance to win a World Series.

Starting in Tampa Bay, where the Rays expect another dramatic set of games, similar to the ones the two teams played in the regular season, in which the Rays won the season series 10 games to 8. And in case you were wondering, those days of free tickets in Tampa Bay are long over.

We take our act to Boston, where the Red Sox are the new Yankees. People just expect Boston to win now. That’s funny, before 2004, they were dying for a ring. Now, they expect one (every year).

In Los Angeles thank Don Mattingly for the Dodgers resurgence. Well, that Manny fellow is pretty good too.

In the City of Brotherly Love, they’re shifting gears and showing some love to (not Santa silly) Mets management. Without them, none of this could be possible.

Giant Start
The Giants look like the best team in the league right now, and if the playoffs started today, they’d be the favorites to win them all. Wait a minute, the defending champs, looking better then the defending champs? Does that happen? Well, not really, but then again, it’s not often a 10-6 team beats a 16-0 team to win the Super Bowl. So maybe if the Giants go undefeated they’ll get the respect they fell they deserve. Or maybe not.

Arizona and the Woeful west
Finally, we shift our attention to the NFC West where the erratic 3-2 Cardinals lead.

Arizona is the only team with a winning record in the west, and it’s their division to win. Seriously, do you want it? You want it? No. Take it Arizona. And if they beat Dallas (odds are better that one of the presidential candidates will say “that one”) then they should just be handed the crown. But seriously, what is up with Arizona and the west. The NL West was awful, and now the NFC West is following in its undesirable footsteps. Look people, throw us a freaking bone here. Everybody’s looking. Please, you’re embarrassing us.

SCOTT JACOBS

Goodbye laughingstock, hello final four.

If there was ever a doubt that the Tampa Bay Rays were for real, even as we entered the post-season, those doubts have been put to bed. If there was ever a wonder if these baby Rays could hang with the big dogs, those questions were put to rest. If anyone thought this team was a mirage, guess what? They’re still here. The Tampa Bay Rays once upon a time were the team that could only dream of playing post-season baseball. Now, they’re one Red Sox win away from hosting the ALCS.

After an impressive, scrappy series win over the home run happy White Sox, the Rays proved once and for all that they’re for real. And they’ve got another huge thing going for them. They’re from Florida. Once just a crazy efficient stat, there’s now something to this whole Florida teams in the playoffs thing.

Seven for seven.

Florida teams don’t lose in the post-season.

The Marlins christened both of their trips to the postseason with World Series titles, and the Rays look like they may be on their way to keeping that crazy string of Sunshine State success going.

Something in the water or something. Kind of astonishing if you think about it. No state, no pair of franchises has been more successful percentage wise in winning post-season series. Okay, so the Rays are still drinking from the sipee cup considering this is their first go around, but whatever they’re feeding those guys keep it up.

O and there’s this: maybe the Rays are just really good, and that their 97 wins were the true story. They survived a tough AL East to secure the second best record in the AL, and now their young guns are psyching themselves up for the ALCS. 9=’d 8, but today, 9=4, and maybe, just maybe, it equals 1.

Windy Worst Nightmare

And just like that Chicago is wiped right out of the playoffs. The Cubs bowed out quietly to the Dodgers on Saturday in their second consecutive sweep to the NL West winner. The White Sox at least got a win before being punched out by Tampa today. And just like that the dream is dead. South Side. North Side. How about no side? With both teams already out there will be no Chicago party this year. There is however still the possibility of an LA-LAA Fall Classic. When Juiced Sports went to press the Angels had just started game four of their series with the Red Sox.

How about a Dodgers-Phillies NLCS? Well, we’ve got it. The Dodgers hadn’t won a post-season series since 1988, and the Phillies hadn’t done anything in October since 1993, so the NLCS presents a matchup of two playoff success starved teams and it should be a good one. As you may know Philly’s sports teams haven’t won a championship (sorry Arena League doesn’t count) since 1983, a curse commonly known around the city of Brotherly Love as the Curse of William Penn. They haven’t been to the Fall Classic since Joe Carter belted them right into elimination and history in 1993. The Dodgers haven’t been to the Fall Classic in 20 years. Someone’s going to get back there in 2008.

And a Rays-Red Sox ALCS would be bon apetit. It’s about time the Yanks-Sox rivalry takes a back seat. What better matchup then the new rivalry growing between the Sox and Rays. And just sort of a funny fact: if the Red Sox advance to the ALCS, the Rays will have to beat both Sox to make it to the World Series.

Sock it to ‘em Tampa Bay! Beat Sox=Fall Classic? Could be a catchy t-shirt Joe Maddon.

SCOTT JACOBS

The only thing more frustrating then the start of these 2008 MLB playoffs is the bombardment of annoying Frank TV ads that we the sports fan have to suffer through every other commercial. O yeah, there’s also been the stunningly boring play taking place on the field.  This post-season appeared to set up as the most wide open field in some time.  Instead, a few days in, we’re almost already out of the first round and into the league championship series.  Why?  Because every series is 2-0.  Every single one!  Last year we had three sweeps (and one four game series), and that was as anti-climatic as we’d seen in some time.  This year, we could be looking at a foursome of sweeps.  Get out the brooms, no one’s safe.

Not the Brewers, who have proven to be a one man wrecking machine that now just looks broken, after their ace was pummeled in game two.

Not the Cubs, who are once again on the verge of another disheartening playoff exit, just moments into what looked like “the year.”

Not the White Sox, who have given the South Side little to cheer about.  Sure, they’ve taken the lead early, but they couldn’t hold on, and a pair of two run leads in successive games has gone all for not.  After the week they had, having to play two games after the season had ended, it’s excusable for them to be on the verge of being swept, but the Angels?

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, might as well be renamed the “Who cares what they’re named, the Red Sox own them.”  Seriously, the Red Sox have taken the Angels, who won 100 games, and looked like clear cut favorites to win another world championship, and they’ve just knocked them down every time the Angels look like they’re trying to get up. It’s incredible.  Make it eleven consecutive post-season wins for Boston over LA, a new major league record.

The Angels had eleven hits, and one was an extra base hit.  The Halos scratched and clawed back from a 5-2 deficit early on, but once again, like the Spurs owning the Suns, Boston put away what is no longer even the best team in Southern California.  That distinction right now would go to the Dodgers.

That series looked like it would be the best of these four (and it has been, for whatever that’s worth), and at least a pair of these series looked like good bets to go at least four.  But that looks unlikely now.

With the Brewers reeling, and their offense held at bay, Philadelphia looks like they’ll get the knockout blow Saturday.  Milwaukee’s lack of hitting has cost them dearly, and now that C.C. Sabathia is off the list, the Phils can feel it.

The Dodgers will look to finish off the shell-shocked Cubs Saturday when the series shifts to Los Angeles.  If the Cubs have anything going for them, it’s that the Angels couldn’t win in LA, so maybe the same will go for the Dodgers.  But not likely.  In fact, look for the Dodgers to complete the sweep tomorrow, officially putting Cubs fans out of their misery for the umpteenth time.

The Rays will look for the sweep at U.S. Cellular, and boy has that bullpen been impressive.  Those young kids over in Tampa Bay have proven to be real gamers, and you can’t help but think a Red Sox-Rays ALCS would be absolutely riveting theater. Not quite Yanks-Sox, but certainly a compelling matchup nonethless.

So that’s where we stand.  Tonight’s Red Sox-Angels game was a thriller, but Boston just oozes with confidence.  They may no longer have Manny, but the defending champs are still incredibly clutch.  And how about Jason Bay, homering in his first two post-season games.  Not a bad pickup, was Bay, who looks incredibly comfortable in what looked like a tough role to fill.

So that’s the story this post-season.  Both teams in the mega Manny swap look well on their way. All they have to do is win one game at home, and they’re golden.

The Brewers and White Sox get to go home, but neither one of their chances looks all that great.

I’m not sure that this has ever happened, but could we be looking at FOUR sweeps in one round?

It certainly looks like a realistic possibility.

SCOTT JACOBS

“That ball is hit hard, it’s hit deep, that ball is… out of here?”

You will never hear an announcer say that, but the way some balls have been hit, and the way some calls have been missed, it’s about damn time that MLB decided that for the good of the game, baseball needs instant replay.

The details of the new system have yet to be ironed out, and all the kinks are going to get worked out before they give it the green light at a MLB ball park near you. But the light at the end of this controversial tunnel is finally starting to peek it’s head out.

“Turn right at optimistic road, make a left on why did this take so long street. Your destination is straight ahead.”

With baseball finally prepping its ball parks for GASP! more 21st century technology (traditionalists be damned!) the sport is finally showing it is more important to get the call right, even if it takes another minute or so.

For perfectionists, your day has not yet come. MLB has no intention of using replay to review close plays at the plate or even strikes or balls. Not that they probably ever considered it, but could you imagine a strike that ends a game reversed? Yeah, baseball wants no part of that. What they do want is to get home run calls right.

I had thought that putting two MLB officials next to the two foul poles in both right and left field would have done the trick, afterall that would take like 30 MLB employees, which would seem like nothing. But either that idea was never tossed around, or MLB is nervous about one guy along the line determining a big play. Either way, MLB has gotten it right. We think.

What I’m a little baffled by is that there won’t be replay for close plays along the first and third base lines. Baseball should have that too. But this is certainly a start, and while everyone would have liked to see this in place at the start of the year, getting it in before the pennant races catch fire is a big deal.

No word yet on when the replay will be officially put into play, but baseball first needs the player’s union and umpires association to agree before anything happens. Logic says they will (the world would be stunned if they didn’t) and by then we should be on the verge of a pure sport getting a little help from a digital friend.

Speaking of those pennant races…

I will probably elaborate on this more during a longer uncut post, but here’s my take on the wild races going on in baseball.

They’re great. I think. To be honest, I’m not sure. The NL West is only tight because both teams can barely stay above .500. They’re not playing good baseball (not overall at least) and that makes for a good race between mediocre teams.

Same with the NL East. No one can separate themselves. The Phillies have been terrible lately, dropping three straight in LA, blowing a big 6-1 lead last night and now they’re tied with the Mets. When you look up horrific bullpen lately the Mets show up, because of their inability to close tight games out with injured Billy Wagner. The Marlins, despite the fact that they haven’t had a winning streak of more then four in forever are still just a game and a half back. Granted, the East is better then the West, but I think both races will remain close, because frankly I don’t any of those teams have proven to be that special.

The Twins and White Sox are just exchanging first back and forth in what has become the race few expected. I saw the division being a great race, but between the Tigers and Indians. Not the Sox and the Pair of Kids.

Finally, while the AL East is still a race, I am beginning to believe the Rays will prevail. Here’s the difference between the Rays and other teams: they don’t rely on that one star. So even though Crawford is great and Longoria has been phenomenal, the Rays still continue to win. Their pitching is steady, their bullpen is solid, and they get a lot of walk off wins. Scared under pressure? I don’t see it right now with Tampa Bay.

And a special thanks to the Angels who are going to make me right on my pick that they’d win 100 games this year. Finally, I got something right!

SCOTT JACOBS

When you look at the standings right now they seemingly read backwards.

They don’t look right. They look extreme… ly odd? There’s no rhyme of reason to make sense of what has happened early on as we steamroll confusingly closer to Yankee Stadium, home of the All Star break.

Originally Yankee Stadium was the House that Ruth built and money tore down. Now it’s looking like the Stadium that the Yankees laid to rest by fading into further mediocrity.

The Yanks who, as we all know by now, but I’ll say it again just for sheer entertainment, have by far and away the highest payroll in baseball. Apparently though, 200 million dollars can’t even buy you a winning record. Adding injury to their insult are the shockingly good Tampa Bay Rays. They’re 12 games above .500 and a little blip in the Sun Sentinel joked that a Tampa Bay-Florida series would probably not garner the best of uh, ratings. But that matchup, as crazy as it sounds, is a hell of a lot more likely then say, a Detoit-Mets Fall Classic.

And that my friends and fellow world earthlings is nothing short of amazing.

Tampa Bay (35) and Florida (32) had a combined 67 wins going into tonight’s play. The Mets (29) and Detroit (24) came in at a rather baffling 53. Do the math and the Sunshine State is swinging a hot baseball stick.

But that’s not all. The Tigers, pre-season favorites by many to win the American League, have the same number of wins as the lowly Washington Nationals

The Oakland A’s, who dealt Dan Haren to Arizona and some other players as well, were supposed to be cellar dwellars in 2008. They’re five games above .500! The Mariners who bolstered their pitching staff, or so it seemed, with the acquisition of Erik Bedard after a strong and surprising 07 campaign are the only team in the resurgent AL West without at least a .500 record.

In fact, the only fight the stunningly pathetic M’s are putting up, is the one with Colorado, the reigning NL champs, who are already 16 games below .500. Those two teams currently stand 1-2 not in this week’s ESPN power rankings, but in this years’ loss column.

I really thought the Rocks were for real, and last year was no fluke. But they’re not doing much at all this year to back up my once confident case that they were not a one and done team. Not only is last year looking more like a “caught lightning in a bottle and ran all the way to the World Series” type of deal, but this year is absolutley destroying the hopes of a reinvigorated fan base who must feel like last October was 20 years ago.

Of course, misery loves company, and the Rockies picked the right division to be really pitiful. The NL West, by far and away baseball’s best overall division last year, boasting three teams with 0ver 88 wins, couldn’t have flipped more this season if they tried. We expected the Giants to be bad, and boring without Barry and they are. But 9 games below .500, as San Fran sits now, is good enough for third. The Padres, who lost to the Rocks in heartbreaking fashion in the play in playoff game last year, are even worse at 14 games below .500. The Dodgers are in second with a losing record, and having lost 8 of 10. But wait, there’s more. The division leading D’backs, who looked like baseball’s best team earlier in the year are freefalling dropping 8 of their last 10 as well. Add it up, and in the last 10 games, Arizona still has the same 3.5 game lead over LA as they did 10 games ago, when their fall from grace began.

The Cubs made the playoffs last year, and came into this year facing the prospect of 100 years without a title. They have the best record in the bigs at 38-21 and a nine game winning streak to boot. The Cardinals are the biggest surprise, sitting comfortably in second, with a record that would have them leading or tied for the division lead in the AL Central, NL East, and NL West. The Reds, this off-season’s chic pick to actually do good, are 28-31, the same mark as LA. They’re in fifth place. The commerical says it Pays to Discover. I say, it pays to be in the NL West or AL Central.

The AL Central has to be the biggest shock by far. Not only are the Tigers and Indians both under .500, but the division leading White Sox (it’s 2005 all over again!) just got threatened by their manager to get more offensive help or ELSE! Of course, no AL Central report would be complete without the Twins, who dealt Johan Santana, had no expectations whatsoever to be a factor this year, and are two games above .500.

So here’s the recap:

Division leaders:
AL: Rays, White Sox, Angels
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Diamondbacks

Division doormats:
AL: Yankees, Royals, Mariners
NL: Nationals, Pirates, Rockies

More crazy story lines:
The Marlins led the NL East almost the entire month of May until the Phillies took 2 of 3 in a series between the two and haven’t looked back yet.

The Rays are setting franchise marks almost every time they step on the field. And Baseball Prospectus saw it coming. Before the season there was an article on SI.com with statistics suggesting the Rays would be this year’s surprise team, winning, if I recall correctly 85 games. At the rate the Rays are going, 88 would almost be a disappointment now!

The Chicago Cubs entered June with baseball’s best record for the first time in uh, only a century. They swept a seven game home-stand for the first time since 1970. Maybe it’s time to start taking the old montage, “This is our year,” seriously. At least for now that is.

The Tigers, who some thought might score over 1000 runs this year have a ways to go. In fact, before they focus on an absolutely unreachable plateau, they may want to score more runs then their opposition. 26 runs in the red are the baby cats, who have been baseball’s saddest excuse for a title contender amongst the big money teams so far.

Stay tuned. With the Cup going to Detroit, and the NBA Finals over in no longer then two weeks, we’ve got baseball, baseball, baseball for a few months, and nothing else. So let parity reign, for sanity’s sake!