New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston. There's a distinct "Old School" flavor to this year's baseball playoffs. Yet...how many of these historic franchises: the Yankees...Cubs...Phillies and Red Sox will survive the division series and advance to the league championships? I say most...but not all.

Let's begin in the National League...where the two hottest teams...the Rockies and the Phillies are already underway. Both teams needed amazing runs over the final 2-weeks to make it to the post-season. In fact the Rockies needed and extra game...and extra innings...to lock-up the NL Wild Card. And you've got to believe that all of that...winning 14 of their final 15...running on pure emotion and on the verge of total exhaustion...puts Colorado at a major disadvantage.
How many times can manager Clint Hurdle fire these guys up for another must-win game.

On the other hand...the Phillies are also riding a wave of emotion...but they're well rested. Ace starter Cole Hamels is healthy and focused. The Phils have the most dangerous line-up...maybe of all 8 playoff teams...and have hammered Rockies ace Jeff Francis this season.

I wouldn't be shocked if the Rockies pulled-off the upset...but I'm not expecting it. The Pick: Phillies in 4 games.

In the other NLDS...the Cubs...(who I picked to represent the NL in the World Series back in March) face an Arizona Diamondbacks team that...believe it or not...was outscored during the regular season. Yes...opponents scored more runs over 162-games than the D-Backs did. And yet the won 90-games...the most in the league. Most of the credit goes to manager Bob Melvin...who gets the most out of a young roster and solid pitching staff.

The Cubs rallied in the second half under crusty ol' Lou Pinella. Alfonso Soriano ignites the offense...but the Cubs go as ace Carlos Zambrano goes. He's extremely volatile...and if the D-Backs get to him in game 1 they could steal the series. But I think Chicago's veterans...from Pinella on down...will be too much for the Arizona upstarts. And forget about a home field crowd advantage- there's more retired Cubs fans living in the Phoenix area than fand of the home team. The pick: Cubs in 4.



On to the American League...I'll begin with the Red Sox-Angels...which gets underway tonight. And all the indicators point to a Red Sox sweep. Sox game-1 starter Josh Beckett is the AL's best pitcher; L.A.'s ace...John Lackey...is totally ineffective when he pitches at Fenway. The Red Sox have Manny back...Ortiz hot...and a group of players around them who know the routine and won't be intimidated by the post-season spotlight.

The Angels come into this series limping - Gary Mathews, Jr...one of their offensive keys and best defensive outfielder...out with a knee injury. Their best hitter - Vlad Guerrero...is banged-up and can only DH. L.A. likes to run...and that's how they manufacturer runs. But it's tough to win that way in the playoffs...when the other team is hitting 3-run homers. The pick: Red Sox in 3.

Finally...the Yankees and Indians...to me the most intriguing of the 4 division series match-ups. If this were a 7-game series I would definitely pick the Yankees. But for a 5-gamer...I like Cleveland. The Indians have the best 1-2 punch of starting pitchers of any team in the playoffs in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. It gets a little dicey after that...but if those two guys deliver...the Yankees will be in a deep whole...and will be sending either Clemens or Pettitte in a must-win game 3. Not a comfortable situation.

But...let's face it...this series...and the entire Yankees post-season...comes down to the play of Alex Rodriquez...who is a combined "4-41" in posts-season games since game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. Arod...some would say...singlehandedly...got the Yankees to the playoffs. Now can he deliver in the clutch? If you go by past performance...you'd have to say "no". Until he shows me otherwise...I say "no." The Pick: Indians in 5.

Review: NL: Phillies and Cubs...both in 4-games.
             AL: Red Sox in a sweep and Indians in 5 

After watching last nights "Rockies-Padres" wildcard tiebreakers last night the topic for today was obvious. In fact...I should clarify...the topic became obvious after the 7th-inning drive by Colorado's Garrett Atkins that should have been a home run...but was called a double.

When is baseball going to get with the times and add instant replay? The fact that the game...which sent the Rockies into the NLDS with the Phillies ended in controversy as well...really has no bearing on my belief that MLB is...once again...missing the boat...because a play at the plate...like the one that took place in the bottom of the 13th last night...would NOT be reviewable.



From the first experiments with replay in the NFL I have been a big fan. Yes...the system wasn't perfect at the start. It's not perfect now. But the league tried it...worked it...tweaked it. And now it's pretty damn good.

The bottom line for me has always been: get the call right. And if you have to stop the action for a few minutes to get the play right...so be it. These games are too important to leave them TOTALLY up to the human failings.

But that doesn't mean that you give them totally over to technology. And that's what we mostly hear from opponents of replay in baseball: what...would you use it for balls and strikes?...bang-bang plays at first base?...tag play at 2nd. The answer is...of course not.

But...there are times when replay would not only be helpful...but critical. And we saw one of the most common again last night: the determination of a home run. Umpires...even the extra two umpires that MLB uses for the post-season...are ill-equipped and...more often than not...out of position...to see whether or not a ball hit over the home run line become coming-back into the field of play. The ump can be over 100-feet away trying to see this little white ball as it disappears into seats full of people wearing white shirts. These guys need help. That's what the cameras and replay could give them.

Same thing with fly balls it down the  left field and right field lines. Fair or Foul? We've seen that call blown numerous times in big games down thru the years. And it so unnecessary. Cameras always get the call right.

There are other calls that could be reviewable...including whether or not a ball was caught cleanly or trapped (umpires botch that one on a regular basis) but there would be a limit...as there is in football. The system would not slow down the flow of the game...because...baseball really has no flow. Games meander along as it is. That's part of baseball's charm (or so that's what fans of the game say). So...now a 3-hour 20-minute games goes 3:30 because of the few replays...where's the harm?

And let me make it clear: Replay is not design to eliminate BAD calls...but correct  MISSED calls. Bad calls are the human element. You're never going to get rid of those...and it's not worth trying. MISSED calls...like the one in 7th-inning last night...are the one's that replay could rectify.

It may take a high-profile blunder in a critical game to finally get baseball's attention to this obvious solution. Well...chances are we're going to get one or two of those over the next 3-weeks worth of post-season games. Too bad Bud Selig' Brewers didn't make the playoffs...because you know if a missed call cost his club a game...he's be driving the replay bandwagon in the off-season.

There always has be someone who was at  fault, right? Things just don't happen. Whether it be Pearl Harbor...stock market crashes...Kennedy assassination..."9/11". For every major catastrophic event in world history there's someone or a group of someone's who are to blame.

And so it is with the monumental collapse of the Mets. And while Willie Randolph is the obvious choice as the #1 reason why the Mets won't be playing anymore baseball this year...he's not the only one:

- Mets General Manager Omar Minaya has to be on the list. Minaya should have seen what the rest of us saw: that this team couldn't make a serious run at the World Series without another quality starting pitcher. As it turned-out...they couldn't even win the NL East with the starters they had. I began banging this drum in July...when the Mets were cruising towards the playoffs. The plan clearly was to hope that Pedro Martinez would be that guy. He wasn't. 

And Minaya total miscalculation became abundantly clear last week when Randolph was forced to send a first-time starter to the mound in a must-win situation. That was Minaya's fault. It's nice that he gave Randolph a "vote of confidence"...but how much confidence can Mets fans have in their GM?

- All the players...everyone on the roster...needs to share in the blame for the collapse as well...especially when it happened over a 2-and-a-half week period. Nobody rose to the occasion...enough times...to come out of this guilt-free. But one player in particular...needs to be singled-out...and that's Jose Reyes...who's bat...glove...confidence...composure all disappeared over the last month of the season. Yes...Reyes is still a kid...and everyone goes into slumps over the course of a long season. But...as the Mets lead-off guy and catalyst...he needed to play-out of his "funk" and get back to where he was the first 5-months of the season. And instead he just sunk deeper and deeper into his malaise...and brought the rest of line-up down with him. And was there a manager or coach there to help him? Clearly not.

- And that brings us to Randolph. It's been clear since he got this job 3-years ago that the guy isn't a great baseball tactician. The Mets won a bunch of games his first year...and the NL East last year...on baseball talent...not managing. 



Managers don't hit and pitch. They don't drop throws from right field and then throw the ball into left field. The number one role of a Major League manager is emotional leader...and Randolph...clearly...is incapable of filling that role. 

I guess...in part...you can blame Joe Torre.Willie has tried to emulate the style of his former mentor. Isn't not working. In fact...that hardly ever works. Jets coach Eric Mangini is trying to be "Bill Belichick, Jr." in the way he handles his team and the media. That's not working either. But it's failing in catastrophic proportions when it comes to Randolph.

Throughout the Mets September free-fall Willie did nothing...said nothing...to try to turn things around...other than say "we'll have to try to do better tomorrow."
Only late last week...when the Mets lost their division lead...did Randolph get a little gutsy and proclaim that they were still going to win this thing. But by that time it sounded more desperate than confident.

Clearly Willie Randolph is not a leader of men. And on a team filled with players who needed to be led...he's the wrong guy. It's been easy for    
a guy like Joe Torre to sit-back and enjoy the ride when he's had the Jeters and Posadas and Bernie's and the Tinos and Marianos down through the years handling the leadership roles. And even the Yanks haven't won a championship since 2000.

Which brings us back to the Mets. Will Randolph be back? Probably...though Minaya apparently isn't a big fan...and with a veteran leader such as Dusty Baker...or a gung-ho skipper such as Joe Girardi available...Omar could pull a switcheroo. But if he doesn't...he absolutely has to add some leadership to the roster: guys who can hit in the clutch...who can come-up with solid pitching performances when the team desperately needs them...who don't fold-up when the heat is on.

It's not always easy to find such players...but I think we all know where to find a group of players who DON'T have any of those characteristics. They'll be on the golf course...while the Phillies are representing the NL East in the playoffs.