The Stove Is Already Warming Up

While literally millions of New Yorkers (including myself) were busy celebrating the 27th New York Yankee World Championship up and down downtown New York's Canyon of Heroes, the rest of Major League Baseball began offseason business as usual.

The National League Champion Phillies moved quickly in picking up the 2010 club-option on their lefty ace Cliff Lee.

Lee, who went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia during the latter half of 2009, will be owed $9 million in the final year of his contract.

Obviously, this was a no-brainer for the Phillies. After being dealt by the Cleveland Indians at the July 31st trade deadline, Lee gave a shaky Philadelphia starting rotation the stability that it desperately needed. Most noteably in the postseason.

Lee went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and a 33/6 strikeout to walk ratio during the playoffs this year.

The Phillies surely expect to be back in the thick of things next year, and with a stud like Lee leading the pitching staff, there is no reason to believe that with a little tinkering, Philadelphia could definitely make a run at a third straight appearance in the Fall Classic.

Across the country, both Los Angeles clubs are reported to have retained their respective veteran centerpieces.

The Los Angeles Dodgers recieved good news today when their slugging left fielder Manny Ramirez informed the team that he had decided to excercise his 2010 player option for $20 million.

While Ramirez certainly had a down year in 2009 by his statistical standards (.290 BA, 19 HR, 63 RBI), combined with a 50-game suspenision for illegal use of performance enhancing drugs, one more year of Manny may still serve Los Angeles well. He should once again act as a sure stronghold while the young Dodger core continues to mature.

Bobby Abreu has also decided to stay in Los Angeles with the Angels, according to MLB Network.

The deal is reported to be at least two years long. However, specifics about the salary are yet to be confirmed. Rest assured, though, that after the year Abreu posted in 2009 (.293 BA, 15 HR, 103 RBI, 30 SB) he will be asking for more than the $5 million he recieved in the one year deal that he signed with the Angels last winter.

Playoff Preview: Championship Series

After a division series round which featured three sweeps and one four game series win, the real fun will begin tonight, as the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers will open at Dodger Stadium. That will be followed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Yankee Stadium to kick of the ALCS tomorrow night.

I cannot begin to describe how excited I am for both of these series.

Yes, it would have been nice to see another epic Boston versus New York ALCS, however, it is my belief that the two matchups that his year has dealt to us could not have been chosen any better.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

For those of you with a short memory, this will be a rematch of last year's NLCS. The Phillies would take care of the Dodgers quite convincingly in five games and go on to win the World Series in 2008.

However, this year should be entirely different for one reason, and that is the maturity of the Dodgers.

Last year, the whole team basically tried to ride Manny Ramirez's bat through the playoffs and to the World Series. That plan did not end up working out very well, as Ramirez's bat proved to be nowhere near enough to counteract the Philadelphia lineup and dominant, young pitching.

This year, the rest of the starting lineup has managed to make itself heard. While a few of the team's established veterans appeared to regress, including the previously mentioned Ramirez, the Dodger youngsters did a great amount of speaking with their bats.

Outfielders Andre Eithier (coming off an impressive NLDS performance) and Matt Kemp, the future core of the organization, both had career years. Each hit for about a .300 average with over 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. 25-year old first baseman James Loney and 26-year old catcher Russell Martin managed to turn in solid years as well.

Turning attention to the starting rotation, manager Joe Torre announced that he plans to have young phenom Clayton Kershaw, who went 6.2 innings while giving up two runs during his NLDS Game Two start, start Game One of this series.

Kershaw will be followed by Vincent Padilla in the rotation.

Padilla pitched seven shutout innings during Los Angeles's clinching game over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

The combo of Kershaw and Padilla should give the Dodgers an excellent one-two punch to open up the series. Power arms are something that is extremely valued when it comes to October baseball and these two can really blow the opposition away if they are on their game.

Randy Wolfe, who lasted only 3.2 innings during his Game One start in the NLDS, will get the Game Three start. And as for Game Four, look for the Hiroki Kuroda to get the start over the unreliable Chad Billingsley if the Dodgers are down in the series.

However, if the Los Angeles is up, I would definitely not be surprised to see Billingsley in there, as he has the ability to deliver electric stuff from the mound.

On the other side of the diamond, there is really not much to say. The power-packed lineup of the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies is quite a site to behold.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jason Werth, and Raul Ibanez, the heart of the Phillie lineup, hit for a combined .367 batting average against the Colorado Rockies in their NLDS. And while the Dodger pitching is a step above that of Colorado, cooling the bats of these four down is a very hard task to accomplish.

If leadoff man Jimmy Rollins can get his bat going, and Shane Victorino continues to deliver in the two-hole, setting up Utley and Howard, the lineup will be even more dangerous.

Cole Hamels, who shut the Dodgers down in last year's NLCS, will start Game One. And Cliff Lee, coming off of a very impressive performance during the NLDS (16.1 IP, 2 ER) will start Game Two.

Ultimately, I expect this series to come down to the bullpen, and in that department, Los Angeles has the upper hand.

While Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge seems to have found a grove (for now), and the rest of the bullpen was not terrible during the first playoff series, their regular season stats (44 SV in 66 SVO this season - good for last in the majors) do not paint a pretty picture.

To compare the Phillie bullpen to a mediocre bullpen would be hard to do, nevermind the Dodger bullpen, which is one of the best in the league. And if the past has taught us anything, it is that, most of the time, the team with the best bullpen goes the farthest.

I would say that the starting rotation among the teams is about even, and would give the Phillies a slight edge in the starting lineup.

But the disparity between the two 'pens will ultimately give Los Angeles the series.

Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers over Philadelphia Phillies in seven.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. New York Yankees

Wow. This was unexpected.

Just as Yankee and Red Sox fans were getting the war paint ready yet again, the Angels threw both respective fans a curveball (no pun intended).

I must admit, I expected the Angels to finally get that huge monkey off their back and beat Boston this year. But, I did not expect it to happen in three games! With the clincher being in Fenway Park!

If you were to tell me that you expected the Angels to wrap the ALDS up in as neatly a little package as they did, I would laugh in your face and make some kind of comment about your pants being on fire.

The Angels barely gave the Boston a chance to breathe in Games One and Two and came back to win Game Three in the ninth inning against the all-mighty Jonathan Papelbon. Not even Nostradamus saw that one coming.

Yet, I digress. That is now the past, and I can't help but smile from ear to ear thinking about what the next week of baseball has in store for us.

While Red Sox-Yankees would have been fun for the Northeast, believe me when I say that Angels-Yankees is going to be a better series.

I personally think it would have taken the Yankees five games to get past the Red Sox.

Now, we've got major drama. Two totally different types of forces colliding: the New York Yankees, who can basically bludgeon a team to death with their offense, versus the Los Angeles Angels, who have the ability to "steal" a series right out from under their opponent.

The teams went 5-5 against each other in regular season play this year. And while the Yankees were swept by the Angels during their first visit to Angels Stadium in July, New York managed to salvage the final two games of a three game series during their second visit to the West Coast in September.

Most believe that those two games will prove to have worked wonders for the Yankee psyche in the long run. However, the Angels still play a brand of baseball that the Yankees are very uncomfortable with and not used to seeing.

For example, Los Angeles can manufacture a run by a Chone Figgins slapping a base hit to the opposite field, stealing second base, moving to third base on a groundout to the right side by Bobby Abreu, and scoring on a deep fly ball by Torii Hunter. They play like this very consistently.

Conversely, the Yankees have the ability to easily get that run back with a 450-foot Alex Rodriguez home run.

But with the Angels constantly showing off their wheels, the Yankees are going to have to make sure that they keep the mistakes to a minimum, no matter how many home runs they are capable of hitting once they get their turn in the box.

Overthrows, pass-balls, and walks would ultimately lead to New York's demise. And with the Angel ability to "make things happen", sloppy play by the Yankees is not out of the realm of possibility.

As expected, CC Sabathia will start Game One for New York, followed by AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte in Games Two and Three, respectively. Yet, in a curious move by manager Joe Girardi, Sabathia will most probably start Game Four instead of Joba Chamberlain or Chad Gaudin.

While I prefer seeing Chamberlain stay in the bullpen and I do not trust Gaudin in a big spot, Sabathia's previous track record starting on short rest in the playoffs is not anything to speak of. Although, the Yankees did not ask Sabathia to pitch on short rest to finish up the regular season as the Milwaukee Brewers did last year.

Still, it is still a risky move by Girardi.

Angel manager Mike Soscia did a little tinkering with his rotation as well. Most notably, Scott Kazmir, who owns a 2.74 career ERA against New York and is used to pitching against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays, will not start in either Game One or Two in the Bronx, but in Game Four back in Anaheim.

While the move may seem a little confusing, Los Angeles still will send out two legitimate starting pitchers in John Lackey and Joe Saunders, who had a very solid year of his own.

Both rotations stack up pretty evenly against each other. And if, as I mentioned earlier, the Yankees can keep the Angels under control on the basepaths, the lineups should stay in tune with each other as well.

Once again, as is the case in the NLCS, the ALCS, in all likelihood, will be decided by the bullpen. And in that department, New York is greatly favored.

If any Yankee starter is able to make it through six innings, the game will be turned over to a bullpen which include the extremely talented young arms of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Dave Robertson.

And, of course, there is Mariano Rivera.

The Angel bullpen has been week this year. And while Brian Fuentes is an All-Star caliber closer, he has shown a tendency to be soft in big spots.

That, mixed with the fact that the Yankees have 16 walk-off wins this year, does not bode for Los Angeles.

Yes, the Angels are going to give the Yankees a very hard fought effort, but New York's modern day "Murderer's Row" seems to be destined to make it to the World Series this year.

Prediction: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in seven.

Where We Stand

After a huge football weekend, there were still some pretty important series going on in Major League Baseball. Ground was both lost and gained in many different spots.

American League East

The Boston Red Sox still remained strong throughout the weekend. As expected, they swept the Baltimore Orioles. They now stand five games behind the Yankees (four in the loss column), who dropped two of three to the Seattle Mariners over the weekend.

It is not time for New York to panic - yet. The Yankees have lost five of their last nine to teams that they really should have put away with ease, while the Sox have continued to cruise.

There is a bit of a silver lining for the Bombers, however, as a win against the Angels tonight OR a Texas Rangers loss would at least give New York a guarunteed playoff berth.

That said, the Yankees would love to take the division, which is something they haven't done since 2006. Their magic number to clinch stands at 9.

American Leauge Central

The Minnesota Twins continue to keep things interesting, taking two of three from the Detroit Tigers this weekend.

The loss of Justin Morneau to injury certainly makes things a bit more challenging, however Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer has picked up the pace, going 7 for 24 this past week with four home runs and 11 runs batted in.

Minnesota finishes up the weekend only three games back of Detroit. And to make things even more exciting, these two will meet again a week from today in Detroit for the first game of a four game series.

Keep an eye on this, because it appears to be far from over.

American League West

Not that anyone in the Angels organization was that concerned, but the Angels took two out of three from the second place Texas Rangers over the weekend.

Texas now stands 7.5 games behind Los Angeles, as the Rangers continue to falter down the stretch.

American League Wild Card

The American Leauge West wasn't the only place where the Rangers lost ground over the weekend.

After Boston's sweep of Baltimore over the weekend, Texas is now eight games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card.

Barring a miracle, it appears that the Texas Ranger season will end at 162 games. However, a great amount of positives can be taken out of this season for the young team. For one, they are just that: young. Players such as Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, and Chris Davis should give Texas fans a great amount of hope for the future.

In addition, the guidance of team president Nolan Ryan has refocused the organizations concentration on aquiring solid, young pitching. This was something sorely lacking on the sub-par Ranger teams of the early to mid 2000's.

The pieces will continue to come together, as I would expect this team to be an absolute powerhouse in another season or two.

National League East

It belongs to the Phillies - enough said.

Philadelphia has been on cruise control for the last month or so. They lead the second place Florida Marlins by eight games.

Right now, manager Charlie Manuel should be concentrating on getting his team ready for the playoffs, particularly his bullpen, which has proven to be the team weakness all season long.

Magic number: 6

National League Central

After taking two of three from the rival Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the Cardinals are in even better shape, division-wise, than the Phillies.

The aquisition of outfielder Matt Holliday in late July has ended up being one of the most ingenius moves of the season.

Since joining St. Louis, Holliday owns a .355 average with a .413 on-base percentage. In addition, he has offered excellent protection for Albert Pujols in the Cardinal lineup.

The performances of pitchers Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter should also have St. Louis fans feeling confident about the NLDS, as they provide an excellent one-two punch.

St. Louis's magic number to take the Central is 4.

National League West

The Colorado Rockies are still hanging around in the West at five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers have stayed consistent since mid-summer, when they began to cool off a bit after Manny Ramirez's return.

While solid pitching has carried them through much of the season, the Los Angeles offense, while not completely overpowering, still poses a threat, as it has the ability to "make things happen."

Late surges by players such as Andre Eithier, Matt Kemp, and James Loney also supply good news for Los Angeles. With strong showings from the young core, the Dodgers may not have to completely rely on Manny's bat for offense through the playoffs, which proved to be one of their downfalls last year after losing the NLCS to Philadelphia.

National League Wild Card

The race still remains close after the weekend, although San Francisco dropped a game in the standings.

The Giants, Marlins, and Braves currently stand 4.5, 5, and 5.5 games behind the Rockies, respectively.

Still, no teams have given up hope. As Braves third baseman Chipper Jones points out, "It's not over until you're mathematically eliminated...we still need to take care of business."