Round 1 of the 2009 MLB Playoffs has completed, and I did not do very well in my predictions, which you can point and laugh at here.

Of course, predictions are just that. Results you expect to occur, hopefully with some rhyme and reason to back it all up. Whether they actually become reality or not, is a whole nother story.

So first, a little wrap-up of the ALDS and NLDS before moving onto the ALCS and NLDS.

Reality: Yankees in 3 games

The only prediction that I got right, and I suspect that a lot of people got right too. The Twins weren't good enough to compete with the Bombers, and even during the games that they might have actually taken from the Yanks, they couldn't win. Game 2 was the ultimate in that case, with the Phil Cuzzi blown call in leftfield taking center stage, but the Twins had numerous opportunities to score in that game and never did.

Closer Joe Nathan continued his terrible postseason by giving up a game-tying HR in the bottom of the 9th of Game 2 to A-Rod, and also gave up 2 hits to the Yankees in the 9th inning of Game 3. Those hits led to 2 Yankee runs which were charged to other Twins relievers, but Nathan couldn't stop the Yankees from scoring. As great as Joe Nathan is during the regular season, he's been quite awful in the postseason, posting a 7.88 ERA.

The season is almost over, save for that 163rd game between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins to determine the winner of the AL Central, but otherwise, it's time for the 2009 season awards.

Every year, MLB begins their All-Star game balloting near the end of April, which is far too early. I advocate for voting only after June 1, as you simply cannot elect players to the All-Star game based on less than one month of baseball.

Let's start with the New York Mets.

They're 5-5. Not a great start, but it's still .500 ball. What is overlooked is that unlike another team in New York, the Mets have been in every single one of their losses until the very last pitch of the game.

They're not getting obliterated (like the Yankees were 15-5 by Tampa Bay when Nick Swisher had to pitch.)

Nor are they getting completely embarrassed (like the Yankees were at their home opener once CC Sabathia left the game and the bullpen gave up NINE RUNS in the 7th inning, leading to a 10-2 Yankee Stadium opening destruction.)

Of the Mets 5 losses in this early 2009 season, the Mets lost 4 of those 5 games by 1 run, 1 of them by 2 runs. You often have to judge teams not only by their wins, but by their losses. Are they in the game until the end? Are they playing exciting baseball? Is the game over in the 9th inning or the 5th? Teams that play until the final out are going to allow themselves a greater chance of success and comebacks, and so far the Mets are doing just that. Of course, it'd be much nicer for them to win more of those close games, but there are 152 games left to play.

Tonight's game against Milwaukee was another nailbiter for the Metropolitans that saw Gary Sheffield get his 500th career HR in a key situation with the team down by a run, tying the game and allowing the solid bullpen to keep them in the game until Luis Castillo became the hero in the bottom 9 by hitting an infield single with 2 out that scored Carlos Delgado from 3rd for the CitiField walkoff victory.

Of course had the Mets lost tonight, fans would somehow find a way to blame Willie Randolph again.

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It's still very early in the season, and most teams seem to have their fair share of problems right now except perhaps for the Florida Marlins. The Red Sox are in the AL East cellar, and a lot of the standings 10-11 games in, are a tad lopsided. But fans and media pundits alike have to remember that what happens in April rarely reflects the final results at the end of September.

Both the Marlins and Padres are off to very hot starts. Are both going to win their division? Not likely with the Marlins, and no way in hell with the Padres. Is Toronto going to win the AL East? Not a chance. But it always leads to a never-ending string of panic from each team's fanbase that "drastic actions" must be taken in order to right the ship immediately!!!!

Maybe these same people forget how hot the 2008 Arizona Diamondbacks were for most of the season, only to fade away when August (and Manny Ramirez) came around.

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One team that's already had enough problems both on and off the field, are my 2nd favorite team, the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim).

Three of their top starters in their pitching rotation began the season on the DL: John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar.

While Lackey began last season the DL as well (and Escobar spent the entire season on the DL),  Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana stepped up to hold the team together along with Jered Weaver and Jon Garland, until mid-May when ace Lackey came back.

This season, it's even rougher, certainly off the field. The tragedy that all of baseball suffered with the loss of Nick Adenhart, which has affected both the team and fanbase on multiple levels.

Add to that the injury to slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who will be out for at least a month with a pectoral muscle tear injury. There's hope that Vlad can heal without the need for surgery, but losing the team's power bat for any length of time is never a positive, and could potentially shake things up in the AL West. As it is, the Angels are off to a slow start, and Seattle is on fire.

The Angels opened a 3-game series tonight in Minnesota at the MetroDome, and pretty much every one of their pitchers did horribly tonight with the exception of Justin Speier, who ironically enough, usually is terrible out of the bullpen. He pitched 2 IP, 4 Ks, no hits. Everyone else, an utter disaster.

That was capped off by a Jason Kubel grandslam in the bottom of the 8th off of Angel reliever Jason Bulger which took the Twins from down 9-7, to an 11-9 victory taking the opener.

The Angels' bullpen, usually one of their greatest strengths, has not been too strong this season ever since Frankie Rodriguez went to New York. Jose Arredondo and Scot Shields, normally rocks of this team's 7th and 8th innings, currently have 7.20 ERAs on the season. I'm confident things will normalize over the course of the next couple of months, but it does raise an eyebrow or two.

The MLB All-Star game is a little over a month away. Voting began on May 1, which is way too early to make All-Star picks, but as of June 10, with the latest results available, and the timing right, here are my votes and analysis for the 2008 All-Stars.

Keep in mind that there is still a lot of baseball left to be played between now and the end of the initial voting period which ends on July 2. Player performances can drastically change over that time period, so a ballot submitted then could look a lot different than one submitted on June 10.

American League:
1B Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Kevin Youkilis (Boston)            926,758
2. Justin Morneau (Minnesota)     678,037
3. Jason Giambi (New York)        437,656
4. Carlos Pena (Tampa Bay)        296,769
5. Paul Konerko (Chicago)           270,410

My Pick: Justin Morneau (Minnesota)

Kevin Youkilis is practically neck-and-neck with Justin Morneau in stats across the board, so either one is a fine choice.

The Angels' Casey Kotchman should be getting more votes than he has, leading all AL 1B in BA (currently .307) and has been consistently good all season. The Tigers' Carlos Guillen is also a good pick, but he's since been moved out of 1B for the defensively-challenged Miguel Cabrera, who this year would be a terrible pick at any position.

Paul Konerko isn't remotely reasonable in that spot when he's been hitting under .220 practically the entire season, and doesn't have the power numbers that a Jason Giambi has to justify the votes. Carlos Pena is also a bad choice here, as he has more HRs than Konerko, but similar BA. Pena leads all AL 1B in strikeouts, and is also on the DL. A terrible choice.

2B Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Dustin Pedroia (Boston)          809,114
2. Ian Kinsler (Texas)                  512,894
3. Robinson Cano (New York)      512,045
4. Placido Polanco (Detroit)         333,336
5. Brian Roberts (Baltimore)        233,752

My Pick: Ian Kinsler (Texas)

Red Sox nation may be stuffing the ballots here, but these results are completely absurd. Kinsler has better stats than Pedroia across the board to the point that it's ridiculous to vote for anyone BUT Ian Kinsler at this point. Brian Roberts would be a better pick than Pedroia, but still not close to Kinsler.

Robinson Cano is having a terrible year and doesn't even belong in the top 5. This category is a joke if Kinsler doesn't win. There's not a single justifiable reason for anyone else to get it.

SS Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Derek Jeter (New York)            1,218,881
2. Michael Young (Texas)               533,582
3. Edgar Renteria (Detroit)              365,269
4. Julio Lugo (Boston)                     281,408
5. Orlando Cabrera (Chicago)          271,702

My Pick: Michael Young (Texas)

Derek Jeter is in this spot for two reasons. One, legacy at the position. Two, the All-Star game is in Yankee Stadium, so he's getting a LOT of hometown voting. But again, the fans are completely wrong and should be ashamed for voting this way.

This is a terrible pick when Michael Young's numbers trump Jeter's across the board in the same way Kinsler's stats obliterate the entire field at 2B.

The Rangers' middle infield is clearly getting short-changed in the voting because they're not a major market like New York or Boston, even though Young and Kinsler are the ONLY reasonable choices at these two positions.

3B Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Alex Rodriguez (New York)         1,109,916
2. Mike Lowell (Boston)                     584,563
3. Miguel Cabrera (Detroit)                 379,813
4. Joe Crede (Chicago)                      334,024
5. Scott Rolen (Toronto)                     204,472

My Pick: Alex Rodriguez (New York)

A-Rod's stint on the DL makes his stats this season seem on the weak side. What, ONLY 10 HRs? But he's still the best pick at the position.  Mike Lowell also spent time on the DL this season, but his stats don't compare to A-Rod's in the least.

Miguel Cabrera isn't at 3B anymore, and even if he were, doesn't have the stats to warrant the votes.

The only other slightly reasonable pick at 3B is Chicago's Joe Crede, who leads all AL 3B with 14 HR and has a very good .291 BA.

C Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Jason Varitek (Boston)               681,451
2. Joe Mauer (Minnesota)               630,372
3. Ivan Rodriguez (Detroit)               505,645
4. Jorge Posada (New York)            445,455
5. Victor Martinez (Cleveland)          321,063

My Pick: Dioner Navarro (Tampa Bay)

Based on stats, there are only two reasonable choices at what is a fairly weak field of catchers. Joe Mauer, and the Rays' Dioner Navarro, who despite a .349 BA leading all catchers, and has been hitting well over .300 all season, doesn't crack the top 5, which is ridiculous.

Varitek is a poor choice here, as he is every year. Red Sox Nation continues to try and flood the All-Star team with their players, even when very few of them should be involved.

Both Rodriguez and Varitek get votes based on how they performed 7 years ago, instead of in 2008. Jorge Posada spent a fair amount of time on the DL this season, and while he is hitting .311, hasn't played enough this year to matchup with Mauer and Navarro's stats.

DH Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. David Ortiz (Boston)                   1,261,879
2. Hideki Matsui (New York)             672,267
3. Jim Thome (Chicago)                   403,881
4. Gary Sheffield (Detroit)                 192,557
5. Frank Catalanotto (Texas)             188,622

My Pick: Hideki Matsui (New York)

David Ortiz is a great pick except he's on the DL and may be done for the season. Gary Sheffield is also on the DL, but is not a good pick at all this year.

Jim Thome has very good power numbers but that's about all. He's hitting .212 and strikes out at a very high rate.

Matsui is hitting .323 with 6 HR, 29 RBIs and a 1-to-1 BB/K ratio. With Ortiz out of the mix, no one else should get a vote except for Hideki Matsui.

OF Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Manny Ramirez (Boston)              1,179,884
2. Josh Hamilton (Texas)                     922,220
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle)                     696,176
4. Vladimir Guerrero (Los Angeles)       610,877
5. Bobby Abreu (New York)                 545,852
6. Magglio Ordonez (Detroit)               512,245
7. Johnny Damon (New York)              444,973
8. Melky Cabrera (New York)               439,893
9. Torii Hunter (Los Angeles)                421,694
10. Grady Sizemore (Cleveland)           410,465

My Picks: Josh Hamilton (Texas), (write-in) Carlos Quentin (Chicago), Manny Ramirez (Boston)

Josh Hamilton is having an amazing season so far, 17 HR, 69 RBIs (wow), and .315 BA. Clearly deserves the vote.

Carlos Quentin is an unfortunate victim of not being on the ballot, so he's not getting the votes. He'll definitely make the team thanks to the players' voting, but fans should be writing him in at a faster clip. If I could write-in Milton Bradley (Texas) as well, I would.

And Manny Ramirez is a fine choice this season based on his numbers.

There are a good number of options for the AL outfield. I have no quarrel with guys like Ichiro, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu making the top 10.

There are still people on the list though, who shouldn't be. Vladimir Guerrero is having a very mediocre season. Melky Cabrera is good, but is no All-Star. Torii Hunter isn't having the season that other better players are.

Pitching:
Fans of course, don't get to vote for pitchers in the All-Star game. But here are my 10 picks in case the players need some guidance. J 5 starters, 5 relievers, in no particular order. 

Starters:  Cliff Lee (Cleveland), Roy Halladay (Toronto), Ervin Santana, (Los Angeles), Scott Kazmir (Tampa Bay), Jose Contreras (Chicago).

Relievers:  Mariano Rivera (New York), Frankie Rodriguez (Los Angeles), Jonathan Papelbon (Boston), George Sherrill (Baltimore), Joakim Soria (Kansas City)

So, in conclusion, my AL ballot:
C: Dioner Navarro (Tampa Bay)
1B: Justin Morneau (Minnesota)
2B: Ian Kinsler (Texas)
SS: Michael Young (Texas)
3B: Alex Rodriguez (New York)
DH: Hideki Matsui (New York)
OF: Josh Hamilton (Texas), (write-in) Carlos Quentin (Chicago), Manny Ramirez (Boston)     

Overall, the fan voting is leading to some absolutely terrible choices so far at 2B, SS and C positions, picking 3 guys who don’t belong starting.

Onto the National League Ballot!!!

National League

1B Current Leaders (as of June 10, 2008)
1. Lance Berkman (Houston)            1,046,249
2. Derrick Lee (Chicago)                     771,516
3. Albert Pujols (St. Louis)                   700,777
4. Ryan Howard (Philadelphia)              368,012
5. Prince Fielder (Milwaukee)               317,039

My Pick: Lance Berkman (Houston)

Berkman is the best pick of them all by far, although I wouldn’t necessarily spit on someone for voting for Pujols, Lee, or San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez.

Ryan Howard doesn’t deserve to be on the All-Star team with a .214 BA. Prince Fielder isn’t putting up the numbers that other more worthy candidates are.

2B Current Leaders (as of June 10, 2008)
1. Chase Utley (Philadelphia)     1,284,961
2. Mark DeRosa (Chicago)            589,637
3. Kazuo Matsui (Houston)            523,335
4. Dan Uggla (Florida)                   366,848
5. Orlando Hudson (Arizona)          333,998

My Pick: Chase Utley (Philadelphia)

Up until recently, no one was even remotely close to being a reasonable option OTHER than Chase Utley.

Florida’s Dan Uggla has experienced an offensive surge which is still short of Utley’s numbers, but would make a good option as a backup. DeRosa is a good hitter but doesn’t have the power of Utley or Uggla.

SS Current Leaders (as of June 10, 2008)
1. Miguel Tejada (Houston)             726,835
2. Hanley Ramirez (Florida)             607,528
3. Ryan Theriot (Chicago)                583,433
4. Jose Reyes (New York)               498,007
5. Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia)         442,885

My Pick: Hanley Ramirez (Florida)

Up until he went on the DL in early May, Rafael Furcal of the Los Angeles Dodgers was having an All-Star caliber start to his season. Alas, he’s been out for over a month now and there’s no definitive timetable on when he’ll return.

With the current field of shortstops, it’s really a 2-man race and the fans have it right for once. Miguel Tejada and Hanley Ramirez are the best options. Jose Reyes has improved greatly from his slow April, but he’s still not as good a choice as Ramirez or Tejada.

I give the edge to Hanley because of the power numbers (14 HRs compared to Tejada’s 7), but don’t find Tejada to be a bad pick since he’s been hitting hover .300 most of the season.

Ryan Theriot and Jimmy Rollins are good choices, but not the best. Atlanta’s Yuniel Escobar is at the same level.

3B (Current Leaders (as of June 10, 2008)
1. Chipper Jones (Atlanta)            1,110,171
2. Aramis Ramirez (Chicago)           726,973
3. David Wright (New York)              655,105
4. Ty Wigginton (Houston)                359,989
5. Mark Reynolds (Arizona)              292,702 

My Pick: Chipper Jones (Atlanta)

Open and shut. Chipper Jones is hitting .420 on June 10 and leads all NL 3B with 15 HRs. Any other vote is retarded. Seriously. And I HATE Chipper Jones.

C (Current Leaders (as of June 10, 2008)
1. Geovany Soto (Chicago)          969,853
2. Brian McCann (Atlanta)           578,276
3. Yadier Molina (St. Louis)         458,084
4. J.R. Towles (Houston)             367,248
5. Russell Martin (Los Angeles)   350,694 

My Pick: Brian McCann (Atlanta)

Brian McCann and Geovany Soto are the top 2 in the voting, and either one would be a good choice at starting catcher. Currently McCann has the better numbers, but they’re so close, either one would be fine.

Yadier Molina is hitting .295, but older brother Bengie Molina is hitting .333 with better overall numbers. Bengie isn’t in the top 5 votegetters.

J.R. Towles might be the most ridiculous pick ever, with a .145 BA. Embarrassing.

Russell Martin is hitting very well but doesn’t have the power numbers of Soto or McCann. He still should be higher in the voting than Molina or Towles.
 

OF (Current Leaders (as of June 9, 2008)
1. Alfonso Soriano (Chicago)               1,088,866
2. Kosuke Fukudome (Chicago)             918,262
3. Ken Griffey Jr. (Cincinnati)                 775,759
4. Carlos Lee (Houston)                         587,027
5. Carlos Beltran (New York)                  518,838
6. Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)                     514,913
7. Matt Holliday (Colorado)                     507,628
8. Hunter Pence (Houston)                     500,857
9. Pat Burrell (Philadelphia)                    487,131
10. Rick Ankiel (St. Louis)                     478,136

My Picks: Ryan Braun (Milwaukee), Alfonso Soriano (Chicago), Ryan Ludwick (St. Louis)

This is an interesting result that the fans have put together. Kosuke Fukudome has become a fan favorite of the Cubs and had a very good start to the season but has cooled off considerably. He’s probably good enough to be a reserve OF, but in no way should be a starter.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a nostalgia pick but doesn’t have the numbers to warrant being here.

Carlos Beltran is a ridiculous choice unless you’re voting for the best defensive CF of the bunch. Otherwise, he has no business on the team having the nothing season he’s having.

Matt Holliday would probably be one of my picks if not for him being on the DL.

Carlos Lee’s BA isn’t good enough to warrant so many votes, although Astros fans are clearly voting in big numbers when guys like J.R. Towles, Kazuo Matsui and Carlos Lee are garnering as many votes as they’ve gotten.

A lot of absurd people in the top 10 here, as opposed to the AL’s top 10, which are mostly good picks.

Pitchers:
5 starters and 5 relievers, in no particular order.

Starters: Edinson Volquez (Cincinnati), Tim Lincecum (San Francisco), Brandon Webb (Arizona), Ben Sheets (Milwaukee), Ryan Dempster (Chicago).

Relievers: Billy Wagner (New York), Brad Lidge (Philadelphia), Kerry Wood (Chicago), Matt Capps (Pittsburgh), Brandon Lyon (Arizona).

So, in conclusion, my NL ballot:
C: Brian McCann (Atlanta)
1B: Lance Berkman (Houston)
2B: Chase Utley (Philadelphia)
SS: Hanley Ramirez (Florida)
3B: Chipper Jones (Atlanta)
OF: Ryan Braun (Milwaukee), Alfonso Soriano (Chicago), Ryan Ludwick (St. Louis) 

Overall, the fans have put together much better picks for the NL starters except in the Outfield, with only Alfonso Soriano being deserving of starting in the current top 3 votegetters.

A's - Twins Game 2:
I'll keep this short since I saw none of it.

The A's just went into Minneapolis, won two games from the team with the best home record in the majors.
In Game 1, Barry Zito outpitched Johan Santana.
In Game 2, Esteban Loaiza pitched very very well. The A's put more offense on, and then Mark Kotsay gets the inside-the-park HR off of Torii Hunter's missed dive in CF, well that's about the state of things in Twins-land right now.

Game 3 is Friday in Oakland, and at this stage, I don't think even Francisco Liriano could pitch the Twins back into contention. Still, the A's have gone up 2-0 on teams in the LDS before and managed to then lose the series. I think both the Yankees AND Red Sox were in this position against Oakland in the past if I'm not mistaken.

When it comes to elimination games, the A's can't seem to close the door on anyone. This time however, it looks to change.

Mets-Dodgers Game 1:
The play that everyone is talking about...

I've seen the video and been hearing the audio of this play, and the combination of the crowd pop and the announcing, it's really just one of those magical moments that will probably be a permanent highlight in Mets history, assuming they win the series. It didn't change the momentum of the game or anything, but it definitely prevented what should have been a 5-run inning from happening.

Just remember. If J.D. Drew knew how to run the bases, there's your tied run and the Dodgers are actually probably winning this game.

Guillermo Mota pitched a perfect 6th, but then blew the lead in the 7th. Good thing the Mets have the bats. Delgado goes 4-5 with a huuuuuuge SLAMMALAMMADINGDONG, and Cliff Floyd's moonshot was just short of a Darryl Strawberry blast (any time it goes off the rightfield scoreboard, I associate it with Darryl.)
Lets not forget Mr. Clutch, David Wright who went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs.

And a huge shoutout to John Maine, who DIDN'T get hammered by the longball, got saved by the Dodger's ridiculous baserunning. Remember, everyone was all freaked out that John Maine wouldn't be able to handle the postseason pressure. While he wasn't great, he was certainly good enough, and Willie has this bullpen LOADED for the NLDS for a damn good reason. 13 pitchers are on the roster, and 9 of them are for bullpen usage. The 4-man rotation right now seems to be Maine, Glavine, Trachsel, Perez. I'm hoping it never gets to a game 4.

Tomorrow is Tom Glavine against Hong-Chih Kuo. Kuo's only win of the year came against the Mets on September 8 when the 25-year old Taiwanese lefty pitched 6 shutout innings and was the winning pitcher of a 5-0 shutout victory.
Kuo is also the only lefty starter that the Dodgers have. The problem is that the Mets have been severely handcuffed against lefty starters this season, even if the lefty pitcher isn't all that great.

Here's hoping that Glavine can out-handcuff the opposition.

(Imagine how wordy these entries would be if I actually SAW the fucking games...)

Since I work,  I don't get to see the playoff games during the week. This sucks major ass. But I have been catching the highlights on ESPN and reading the recaps on various sites. As such, I can't go into too much detail about games I didn't see, but here are my thoughts in brief digestable recap form:

Cardinals-Padres Game 1:
So much for my prediction of a Padres revenge sweep. Jake Peavy didn't seem to have his A-game, maybe due to that blister on his finger giving him trouble?
On the other side of the fence, Chris Carpenter was absolutely phenomenal, giving up 1 ER in 6 IP. The Padres don't have a great offense by any stretch, but their pitching was supposed to carry them. It wasn't to be in game 1.

Twins-A's Game 1:
Speaking of pitching not meant to be, Cy Young shoo-in Johan Santana was outpitched at the Metrodome by A's pitcher Barry Zito. A close 3-2 score, with the A's offense being carried by 2 Frank Thomas slammalammadingdongs. But this is how it has been for Oakland all season. Their amazing pitching carries them through despite having the weakest offense in the AL. I could swear it's even weaker overall than basement teams like Kansas City and Tampa Bay, but don't hold me to that.

I think anyone who was looking at this series figured Santana would be likely to win his 2 starts. Not the case so far. Game 2's starters are Boof Bonser (yes, that's his name) for Minnesota, and Oakland's weakest starter Esteban Loaiza. Anything can happen in that one, but you'd hope Minnesota can leave the state with a win in hand.

Yankees-Tigers Game 1:
No surprises here. Derek Jeter solidifies his name as the new Mr. October (supplanting Reggie Jackson) going 5-for-5 with a solo shot. Abreu picked up 4 RBIs. Wang outpitches Robertson, Yankees roll.

Christ I hate those fuckwads with an inexplicable passion. Die Yankees. Just fucking die.

Mets get bad news about El Douche.
Orlando Hernandez hurt himself sprinting during practice making him highly unlikely to start game 1. 

Not good.

El Douche has a plethora of postseason experience with the Yankees as well as the 2005 Chicago White Sox. While he's definitely not the pitcher he used to be, the intangible of postseason success generally counts for something. It's why Derek Jeter comes through in the clutch for the Yankees, and A-Rod doesn't.

The Mets' starting rotation was a huge question mark from the pre-season. What if this team got to the postseason, and how would they get through it when Pedro and Glavine weren't pitching? Well Pedro is gone, and now El Douche is probably out for at least one start, possibly more.

The Mets' options are not great right now. The good news is that the Mets had been semi-auditioning pitchers like Dave Williams and Oliver Perez through most of August and September. Williams has performed much better than anyone had a right to expect, with the exception of one bad start. Oliver Perez, obtained as a part of the Xavier Nady trade, was terrible with the exception of one amazing start against the Braves in September.

What's left is Tom Glavine (who will pitch game 2), Steve Trachsel (the very model of inconsistency), and John Maine (the promising rookie who often succumbs to the longball). And then it's the aforementioned Williams and Perez.

More than ever, the Mets are going to HAVE to rely on the offense to come through. Reyes is going to need to tear up the basepaths. Lo Duca is going to need to move him over. The heart of that order (Beltran, Delgado, Wright,  Valentin, Floyd/Green) is going to have supply a lot of power, most notably in the considerably weaker #7 slot. Endy Chavez is going to have to continue to get on base.

It's all very basic common sense, except magnified exponentially under the spotlight of the postseason, and moreso without the ace pitching that basically clinched them the division back in June.

Finally, anyone got some Dodgers-Mets tickets for me at Dodgers Stadium this weekend? LETS GO METS!!