The LCSs

Almost unbelievably, the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants jumped out to 3-1 series leads in their respective LCSs. Perhaps more unbelievable, if the Rangers' bullpen could have held onto a 5-0 lead against the New York Yankees in the 8th inning of game 1, they would have swept the Yankees out of the playoffs and would await the Giants or the Philadelphia Phillies. But, as they stand now, the Yankees and Phillies have both forced a game 6, albeit under different circumstances.

The Yankees sent out their ace, CC Sabathia, and got off to a hot start in game 5 to send the series back to Texas. Without 1B Mark Teixera, who will be out for the remainder of the playoffs, they built a 5-0 lead against CJ Wilson, but Sabathia was not sharp as he scattered 2 runs on 11 hits over 6 innings. Sabathia was able to do just enough to keep the Rangers from getting back into the game and the Yanks cruised to a 7-2 victory. Game 6 will feature a rematch of game 2 starters, Phil Hughes goes for the Yanks and Colby Lewis for the Rangers. Hughes was awful in game 2, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits over 4 innings, while Lewis gave up 2 runs on 6 hits in 5.2 innings. If Hughes doesn't find his game tonight, the Yankees [and their fans] can stop worrying about Cliff Lee because he'll be pitching game 1 of the World Series instead of game 7 of the ALCS. I'll be pulling for the Rangers to win this series in 6 so that Lee can open the World Series, but I just have a feeling the Yankees will win game 6 and force a game 7, but will lose to Cliff Lee, who will be a Yankee next year.

Finally, a couple thoughts on the ALCS and the possibility of the Yankees coming back. The Yankees and their fans can't go using the 2004 ALCS as inspiration. This "why not us" idea is just ridiculous in this case because they are the team that gagged away that ALCS. (Oh, what's that, you say, you forget what happened? Well, let's go back and review.... Well, the Yankees had a 3-0 series lead against their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, and had their closer, Mariano Rivera, on the mound with a lead in game 4. Dave Roberts stole 2nd off Rivera and scored the tying run on a Bill Mueller single. Later in the 12th, David Ortiz hit a game-winning 2-run homer. The next night, Rivera AGAIN blew a lead, and after tying the game at 4 in the 8th, the Sox won on another game-winning hit by Ortiz. In Game 6, Curt Schilling, bloody sock and all, came up with a legendary performance to even the series at 3. The comeback was made complete in game 7 as the Sox knocked the Yankees around 10-3 and the greatest collapse in the history of baseball was complete.) Nor, if the Yankees do come all the way back and win, and it's a very real possibility that they will, is it as historic as the epic choke of 2004. I mean, as a good and loyal Mets fan, I am not going to cite 2007, when the Mets blew a 7.5 game with 17 to play, if my team is far back in the standings; I'll be smart and point to the New York baseball Giants coming back in 1951 against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Speaking of the National League, the Phillies are also trying to come back from 3-1 down. They got, what should be, the hardest game out of the way when they beat Tim Lincecum in game 5. Game 6 would seem to favor Philadelphia as Roy Oswalt will take on Jonathan Sanchez; Oswalt beat Sanchez 6-1 in game 2. If the Phils, whose bats have been cold most of the series, do force a game 7, it will be Cole Hamels for Philadephia against San Francisco's Matt Cain; Cain beat Hamels 3-0 in game 3. Because of the depth of starting pitching that the Phils have, I think they've got the better chance of completing the comeback and getting back to the World Series, but if Cody Ross keeps hitting like he has been for San Francisco, then it doesn't matter and the Giants will be in the Series. I'll pick the Phillies in 7.

A Mets Fan's/Yankee [and Philly] Hater's Guide to the LCSs

The Yankees and Phillies appear to be on a collision course for a meeting and a rematch in the World Series. It's the matchup that everybody seems to want to see...everybody except Mets fans. Admittedly, a Yanks-Phils match-up would pit, arguably, the two best teams on the game's biggest stage, but, for most Mets fans, this is an awful match-up. By now though, a Mets fan should be used to seeing the Yankees take on an NL East rival; the Yankees faced the Braves in 1996 and 1999, the Marlins in 2003, and the Phillies in 2009. In 2003 it was easy to support the Marlins, I must admit, because the Marlins came from nowhere and it was 4 years before they would beat the Mets on the last day of the season in back to back years to eliminate the Mets on the season's final day. Now, there are some Met fans who will be able to choose a side and back the lesser of their perceived two evils; those who back the Yankees will be supporting the local nine, while those who back the Phillies will be supporting the National League. If you're like me, however, you won't be able to bring yourself to support either of these teams. Luckily, there are still two teams who could derail both the Yankees and the Phillies.

ALCS: Texas Rangers vs New York Yankees

The good news is the Rangers have a great pitcher named Cliff Lee who is 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA during his career in the post-season. The bad news is the Rangers won't be able to use Lee until game 3 of the series because he had to pitch game 5 of the ALDS. I expect CC Sabathia will outduel CJ Wilson and the Yankees will take game 1, which will make game 2 crucial. If the Rangers can go to New York tied at 1, they can send out Cliff Lee to go for a 2-1 lead in the series. A victory by Lee and the Rangers and the Yankees would most likely bring back CC Sabathia on 3 days rest to even the series instead of using the up and down AJ Burnett in game 4 up 2-1. If Sabathia has to go on 3 days rest, then I think that the Yankees would have to bring back Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte on short rest as well for games 5 and 6 before going back to Sabathia in game 7 against Cliff Lee, who would pitch on full rest. It's nice to think that this would happen, but that assumes that Hughes and Pettitte are pushovers, which, of course, they are not. Pettitte is one of the better post-season pitchers of his time and Hughes is an arm the Yankees have a lot of faith in as well.

Pick: Yankees in 5 or 6.

NLCS: San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies

Alright, as much as I don't want the Phillies to win, I don't really want the Giants to win either, but they're the lesser of the two evils in this one. Why root against the Giants? Chris "Mad Dog" Russo. Yes, the former co-host of Mike and the Mad Dog is reason enough to root against the Giants, but WFAN listeners don't hear from the Angry Puppy since he left for Sirius, so it takes on the old question of "if a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there to hear it, does it make a sound?" I don't give the Giants much of a chance here. The Phillies starting rotation of Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels will overwhelm the Giants, who can't hit a lick. Don't discount Giants ace Tim Lincecum, though, he's capable of winning 2 games by himself. Halladay v. Lincecum in game 1 is a great pitching match-up and will most likely be decided by the bullpens, if Halladay or Lincecum actually relinquish the ball. Even still, the Giants are taking a step up in class in this one; beating the light hitting Braves in the NLDS is one thing, beating the two-time defending NL champs is another.

Pick: Phillies in 5.

So, to my fellow Mets fans, let's hope that at least the Rangers or Giants, but preferably the Rangers win their respective LCS. Otherwise, I hear that lobotomy's are back in style...