Let The Games Begin!

Here we are and October's real games have started. That is baseball playoffs at its finest. With the amazing 6-5, 12-inning victory by the Minnesota Twins over the Detroit Tigers, baseball's second season has finally begun. We are down to the final eight teams to determine who will be the World Champions of baseball and the playoffs officially begin tomorrow with six of the eight teams opening up their division round series. Now the question remains, who will be the last team standing?

Sure there are plenty of story lines out there. Wouldn't it be great to see Pedro return to Fenway and pitch against the Sox? What about revisiting what used to be the greatest rivalry in baseball, 28 years later since they last met in the fall classic, and have the New York Yankees take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winner-takes-all-match? How about the first team to come back from three games down with four games to go, Twins, against the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, and the series nobody would watch? Sure all of those sound great, but let me break down what I think is going to happen.

To win in a short series of either five or seven games, you need to have a few things on your side. Anyone can win ninety games in the regular season, but winning eleven games over three series is that much tougher to do. First off, you need two stud starting pitchers. OK, so that just eliminated the Twins, Dodgers, Rockies and Angels. Sorry guys, but the jet is ready to take you off to the vacation destination of your choice. That leaves us with the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Cardinals.

Next you have to have an awesome closer that won't make you wet yourself or reach for the bottle every time he starts to warm up in the bullpen. Bye, Bye Phillies, thanks for playing. Next you have to have a good defensive team from a catcher that can throw out runners, to outfielders that can cover the gaps. Aww, bummer Red Sox, better luck next year. That leaves us with the Phillies and the Yankees as the two remaining teams, but there is one more thing that you have to look at when it comes to picking the winning team.

That would be the skipper on the bench. This is the guy that is the glue for the team. He is the one to yell at you for missing the steal sign in the third inning and he is the same guy to give you a hug when you go deep twice in a game. You need someone that has been there before as a manager and has been successful. You need someone who has won a World Series as a manager and not just a player. In this final item, you need to have Charlie Manuel and the Yankees don't have him on their bench, the Phillies do and they will be World Champions when it is all said and done. And you know it is killing me to say this being a Yankees fan!

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