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...

Mets Fans For Yankees...seriously

OK, I know that I said that no Mets fan can ever root for the Yankees, but, given the way the standings are right now, I am rooting for the Yankees to win the AL East. Let me explain why, as a Yankee Hater, I am actually rooting for the Yankees to win the AL East. In the American and National League playoffs the four teams that qualify from each league are the 3 division winners (East, Central, and West) and the team with the best record among the non-division winners qualifies as the wild-card. Now, the wild card is precluded from playing the champion from its own division; for example, if the Mets, who play in the NL East, were to win the NL East and the Phillies, also an NL East team, were to win the NL wild card as the best second place team, then the Mets and Phillies would not be able to face each other in the Division Series. Any match-up between the two would have to wait until the next round, the National League Championship Series. The Phillies would face the division champion with the best record out of the Central or Western division champion, and the Mets would get the remaining team in the Division Series. So, let's now go back to reality...

Currently the Yankees (88-57) lead the AL East by half a game over the Tampa Bay Rays (87-57), who are actually the 2nd best team in the American League; the Minnesota Twins (86-58) lead the Central by 7 games over Chicago; and the Texas Rangers (81-63). So, the Rays could not play the Yankees in the Division Series because they are from the same division. Therefore, if the season ended today, The Twins, by virtue of having a better record than Texas, would draw the Rays in the Division Series and the Yankees would play Texas. Now, if the Rays were to overtake the Yankees for the division lead and championship, then the Rays would play Texas and the Yankees would play the Twins. The latter scenario is just about the worst thing a Yankee Hater could hope for because the Twins cower when they see the Yankees on the same field; last season the Yankees swept the Twins in the Division Series, swept them at home in 4 straight during the regular season, and this season the Yankees beat the Twins in 4 of 6 meetings. Against Texas, however, the Yankees have split their 8 meetings this season, including losing 4 out of 5 to the Rangers since Texas acquired Cliff Lee from Seattle; Lee, mind you, also beat the Yankees twice in last year's World Series.

As a Yankee Hater I want the Yankees to have the toughest road possible through the playoffs and World Series; therefore, if the standings remain the way they are, I want the Yankees to win the AL East so that they have to play Texas and Cliff Lee in the Division Series instead of Minnesota, who the Yankees would sweep with little effort. If the Yankees got through Texas, then they would have to face, hopefully, the Tampa Bay Rays, who are 7-6 vs the Yankees. And if the Yankees win the American League, then hopefully they don't face the Braves, Phillies or Giants. If they do make it to face those teams, then at least football will be in full swing and hockey will be starting up. But yes, for the rest of the regular season while the standings remain the way they are, I will be joining the church of METS FANS FOR YANKEES!