MLB Playoff Picks: The Once And Future Kings

We enter the 2010 MLB postseason in a unique situation, and that's really something you have to appreciate about MLB: that it's still capable of creating those after 120 years. Here goes: the Philadelphia Phillies have to be considered the odds-on favorites to win the whole thing. For the first time in, well, ever.

It's not as if they have been here enough times to make it a long list. In 1950, they were the clear and smashed underdogs to the Yankee Onslaught. In the '70s, they were the talented disappointments that were never good or poised enough to get past the Reds or Dodgers, with the 1980 crown coming like last-gasp lightning after getting rolled by the Pirates in the old NL East the year before. In 1983, they were the most over the hill team ever that just caught a hot month in September; in 1993, there were a roid-fueled collection of fluke years and anomalies. Even in the last two years, there were questions about the rotation, the bullpen, and the platoon splits, since most of the thunder came from the left side, and looked hopeless in the late innings.

But not this year. The likely 3-man rotation of Doc Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt is the best in the National League. The other three teams in the NL side of the draw can't hit (San Fran), can't pitch (Cincy) or can't stay healthy (Atlanta). For the first time since the Clinton Administration, the NL holds home field advantage in the World Series. And the AL survivor is going to be drained and strained after two long series with high travel demands. Honestly, everything is coming up Philadelphia.

Which means, of course, that they are doomed. But what's the fun in blowing the punchline before the joke?

Texas vs. Tampa Bay

Texas visits the post-season for the first time this century, and if these games were being held a month ago, I'd like their chances a lot more than today. But with MVP OF Josh Hamilton just getting back from a debilitating rib injury, ace SP Cliff Lee not quite having the same magic since the trade from Seattle, OF Nelson Cruz a little hobbled, signs of strain in the bullpen and far too many spare part players (Jorge Cantu? Mitch Moreland?) required to sustain rallies... well, I'm just not feeling it. Especially after the Rays, who mashed lefties all year, take down Lee in Game One, then find the rest of the Ranger rotation ripe for the plucking.

Rays in 4

Cincinnati at Philadelphia

This Cincy team has friskiness, the likely NL MVP in first baseman Joey Votto, an absolutely ready home crowd, and lots of potential in the starting rotation, with guys who have enough stuff to really shock the world. Unfortunately for them, they are running head-first into the hottest team in MLB, who have home field, tons of playoff experience, a surprisingly tight bullpen and the knowledge that they are hitting on cylinders they didn't even know they had. Plus, they have relentlessly motivated ace level starting pitching that's 30-4 (!) lifetime against the Reds, and have been lights out for a month now. It's never wise to say that a best-of-five won't be close... but this really shouldn't be.

Phillies in 3

NY Yankees at Minnesota

Is this the Twins' year to finally break through against their Yankee oppresors? Many signs point to yes, most of which involve the fragility of the Yankee rotation; beyond CC Sabathia, you get Phil Hughes (never has worked this many innings before) and Andy Pettite (hasn't been good and healthy for most of this year). Last year's playoff hero, AJ Burnett, has been banished to the bullpen, and the team says they'll go with a three-man rotation. Even the Hall of Fame closer, Mariano Rivera, hasn't been his usual self in the last month. Add it all up, then consider that this Twins' staff will not give the Yankees free passes, and their home field is one of the worst in the majors at allowing home runs... and well, I'm sensing the upset. And that manager Joe Girardi might be a little too interested in that Cubs' opening. We're going to see the happiest week of Jim Thome's life, folks.

Twins in 5

Atlanta at San Francisco

Honestly, this is a bad joke. The Braves staggered to the final pole, nearly getting swept by the Phillies' scrubs in their most important series of the year at home. The Giants have shown real innovation by employing the fattest left side of an infield (Pablo Sandoval and Jose Uribe) since the Braves employed Bob Horner, Glenn Hubbard, and a between innings fixin's bar. If you combined these two teams, you might have something -- the Giants' top-flight rotation, the Braves' bullpen, enough OFs to hit and/or field, but not both at once -- but in the meantime, what you've got is two 90-win clubs that are going to avoid national television exposure for most of this series. I'm going with the Giants because they have home field, more healthy bodies, and a coach that isn't going to end his career like so many other years... a loser, at home, in front of the worst fan base in America.

Giants in 4