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So who's everyone rooting for?

Of the 8 playoff teams, I think my choices would be in this order:

1. Indians
2. Angels
3. Rockies
4. Cubs
5. Phillies
6. Diamondbacks
7. Yankees
8. Red Sox

1. Red Sox (obvs)
2. Diamondbacks
3. Cleveland

8. Everybody else.

i'm going for boston & arizona.

of the rest just not the yankees (glad they were kicked out).

I'm rooting for Colorado. I don't know why...I just think they're fun to watch.

Colorado.

Well, I'll say this: if there's one long-time veteran among the remaining four teams who's never won anything but deserves a ring, it's Todd Helton.

(If you asked me to pick from the original eight playoff teams, I'd have gone with Jamie Moyer...)

Colorado for two reasons:

Jeff Francis is Canadian and a straight up stud.
Time Zone, WS will be better if there in my timezone.

Plus there my 2nd NL team.

If you're going to build a playoff team, take a hard look at the four teams in the NLCS/ALCS this year. Arizona, Colorado, and Cleveland aren't big budget teams that spend like crazy on free agents. They're teams that have build via their farm system, or made trades to stock up their farm system and add good young talent. They didn't rush out into free agency and spend like crazy on aging sluggers or overrated starting pitching. They tend to keep their own talent when the price is right in free agency. I don't think that's a coincidence...

Boston's the odd team out...but even Boston has a GM in line with that kind of thinking...he just has so much money to spend that he might as well use it.

These have been fun games to watch, and I'm glad teams are doing well that don't follow the Bavasi school of GM'ing.

Sweezo wrote:If you're going to build a playoff team, take a hard look at the four teams in the NLCS/ALCS this year. Arizona, Colorado, and Cleveland aren't big budget teams that spend like crazy on free agents. They're teams that have build via their farm system, or made trades to stock up their farm system and add good young talent. They didn't rush out into free agency and spend like crazy on aging sluggers or overrated starting pitching. They tend to keep their own talent when the price is right in free agency. I don't think that's a coincidence.

Plus, it shows that when you trade so-so veterans to a poorly run team with a stupid GM for young prospects, there can be real benefits in the future. Remember this if you ever see Brian Fuentes pitching to Asdrubal Cabrera in the World Series.

hippie wrote:-
Plus, it shows that when you trade so-so veterans to a poorly run team with a stupid GM for young prospects, there can be real benefits in the future. Remember this if you ever see Brian Fuentes pitching to Asdrubal Cabrera in the World Series.

You got that right

Basketball Jesus wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



You got that right

Yikes, I had forgotten all about Hafner. Excellent point. I wonder where Einar Diaz is today.

I was thinking about Sizemore, but he was actually acquired for Bartolo Colon... no slouch himself.

Eh, I

And the scary thing is, potential HOFer Larry Walker and excellent outfielder Moises Alou aren't even first-teamers on the Expos Diaspora Team. (I might put Alou ahead of Floyd at LF, it's close.)

At 3B, Sean Berry had a few good years with the 'stros, but nothing special. I can't think of anyone who played the position for Montreal in the post-Tim Wallach era other than Berry and Shane Andrews, who was a massive pile of suck there for many years and then disappeared.

It

nice comeback by the red sox, i thought they were done, but beckett is really an amazing pitcher.

Yuck. Anyone but the Friggin' Red Sox.

Was it just me, or did the Fenway crowd in Game 7 have a shrieky, girlish sound to it? The roar of the crowd sounded like what you hear on a roller coaster, amplified a few hundred times.

It's the microphones Fox use, I think. Every game they cover sounds like that when a lot of people cheer.

well, i could say red xos in 5, but i don't know if the rockies offense can push it to 6 or even 7.

francis vs. beckett should be an amazing matchup. but the red sox playing in colorado could mean a lot of runs scored.

So, if anyone had any remaining doubts that Josh Beckett is the ace of that staff, rest assured.

How long before his name is in the discussion of Best Pitcher in Baseball?

PhilipNelsonFan wrote:So, if anyone had any remaining doubts that Josh Beckett is the ace of that staff, rest assured.

How long before his name is in the discussion of Best Pitcher in Baseball?

Depends how long he holds it together. He's always had great talent, that's for sure. But waiting for Beckett to emerge as a true star has been like Wating for Godot. So far he's had only two seasons with 30 or more starts and 3 seasons with double-digit wins. He's basically been good only in odd-numbered years (in fact, he was awful in 2006, his first year in Boston, and the trade was declared a bust as Hanley Ramirez tore it up and Anibal Sanchez threw a no-hitter). So I don't think Beckett is in that discussion... yet. But he's definitely in the discussion of Most Accomplished Postseason Pitcher in Baseball. And he definitely has the ability to be in the Best Pitcher in Baseball discussion, if he can string together a few more seasons like '07.