LCS Preview

For time purposes, I won't have separate ALCS and NLCS previews. As such, the same format of the previous round preview will take place.

Let's start with the Yankees-Rangers, who begin their series tonight. The Yanks have the edge because Cliff Lee won't get to start the series in Texas because of his dominating performance in Game 5 against the Rays. Or so they think. The fact is, Lee would only start two games no matter what and as far as I'm concerned, Game 7 is more important than Game 5. If this series reaches seven games, the Rangers will win. So the key for the Yankees is to not let this series reach seven games, shades of the Mets in 1986 who had to avoid Mike Scott in Game 7 against Houston, including playing in the state of Texas and not having home field.

Looking past the Lee situation, you must consider that the Rangers top 6 in their lineup is nearly as dangerous as the Yankees. Andrus, Young, Hamilton, Guerrero, Cruz and Kinsler is very tricky to manuever, especially for lefties, which the Yankees have in CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte. The best move (one I should have tweeted before to first guess) is Joe Girardi having Phil Hughes pitch Game 2, against Colby Lewis, giving the Yanks the advantage. There is the spector of A.J. Burnett in Game 4, but tonight's Sabathia-C.J. Wilson showdown will determine if he's used. As for my series prediction, I think Sabathia wins tonight and the Yanks win in 6 games, avoiding Lee in Game 7.


The Giants-Phillies series has one theme; pitching, pitching and more pitching. The first game has Roy Halladay against Tim Lincecum, which Fox is promoting as the best Game 1 matchup in history, which I'd argue, but haven't found better. The Giants have the best 4 pitchers left with Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain and Madison Baumgartner ready to go. While the Phils have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in the next two games, their fourth starter is a question mark. The key for the Giants is the Lincecum start. If he can outpitch Halladay, the Giants have an interesting opportunity. The secret of the series, the Phightin's hitters are hitting about as good as the Giants. Despite that, I think the Phillies do enough in the first 3 games and knock off the Giants in 5 games and will face the Yankees in a rematch of last year, one that eagerly awaited.

ATTENTION YANKEES: YOU'RE TURNING INTO THE KNICKS AND RANGERS

Remember ten years ago, the Yankees were going through their latest dynasty, with a group of likable guys who would die on the field if they need to. They were managed by the perfect man who could shield the pressure from the media and their owner. Built by a couple of GM's who, instead of just getting the biggest free agents available, used the farm system and made the right trade or signing that fit with the team.


A lot has changed since then, particularly after 2001, and the Yankees have still been unable to replace the best players of the era. A decade of signing flashy names and veteran pitchers have been unsuccessful in leading the Yankees to a title since 2000 and back to a World Series since 2003. However, all these failures are familiar to the failures that the 80s Yankees had. This year, however, the front office has now gone out of its way to screw the fans over and that is a trait that Jim Dolan has been doing for many years at MSG.


If you look at both the Knicks and the Rangers, both teams have had success in the 1990s as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and the Knicks made two NBA Finals. Both erred in how they got rid of their best players as the Rangers let Mark Messier walk too soon while he still could have a few good years left (also compounding it by re-signing him when it was clear that his skills diminished) while the Knicks decided to trade away Patrick Ewing and take on big salaries from lesser players, when the more prudent plan would of been to have him play out his final year under contract.


The Rangers spent the next seven years after Messier left signing busts like Valeri Kamensky and Stephane Quintal, trading for a finished Pavel Bure and an overrated Anson Carter, trading away all-star Marc Savard for a draft pick which they used to draft a flat bust Pavel Brendl. From Neil Smith to Glen Sather, the Rangers have failed in personnel moves except three: drafting Henrik Lundqvist in the seventh round in 2000, trading for Jaromir Jagr and getting him for half-price and trading for Sean Avery in 2007 which catapulted the team to the playoffs and almost to the East Finals that season. Now with a salary cap, the Rangers have overextended themselves on mediocre talent (aside from Lundqvist) and are trapped in cap hell.


Cap hell is a place the Knicks are very familiar with, but that has stopped them from making moves. For them, it really starts with the 1999 NBA Draft when they picked Fredric Weis over Ron Artest, a man who's only claim to fame is getting dunked on by Vince Carter in the Olympics. They acquired an over-the-hill Glen Rice in the Ewing trade, which they in turn traded for Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson. Under Scott Layden, the Knicks routinely brought in undersized forwards and guards who could drive the ball (plus they gave Allan Houston a max contract). It seemed like a godsend when they fired Layden, but when Isiah Thomas took the job, he made things worse, as hard to believe as it was. He would acquire plenty of questionable players to put it mild and each guy proved why he had a question on him to begin with, whether it's Eddy Curry's laziness or Stephon Marbury's selfishness.


The worst part about the Isiah era goes beyond their record, as the franchise became an embarrassment off the court. The sexual harassment lawsuit involving Anucha Browne Sanders and the truck party with intern Kathleen Decker made the team a punchline. The Rangers had their run of embarrassment this playoffs when John Tortorella attacked a fan with a water bottle and a stick, then the open letter Glen Sather wrote to the league. The Rangers also got into a lawsuit with the NHL for rights over the team website.


So what does this have to do with the Yankees? Because through all this, Jim Dolan continues to keep prices for both teams among the highest in each league and basically continue to steal our money without caring at all about the team. Granted, he did replace Isiah and maybe the Knicks part in this will change, but Glen Sather is almost locked in for life and the Rangers won't be any better than a second-round team under him. Meanwhile, all of a sudden, the Yankees have opened a new stadium and have priced out their fans. Even though Rangers game report sellouts and the Knicks at least report 19,000 a night, it looks like it's less on any ordinary night. The Yankees report 43,000 every game that is clearly not the case when you watch on TV.


Add to that the fact that guys like Randy Levine and Lonn Trost basically rub in it the fans faces by claiming the reason no ones allowed by the dugout during batting practice because they liken the suites to a house and Trost is quoted as saying "If you purchase a suite, do you want someone in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want someone in your home?" Of course, he mentions the Legends Suites, not the rest of the field level seating that the same rule applies. Now the Yankees are selling off the rest of the old Stadium to more ridiculously high prices for seats, grass, etc. Another problem the Yankees had was the game against the Red Sox when their security guys and "May I Help You" people told fans that the game was going to be rained out, then when it wasn't, refused re-entry.


There are some differences between the Yankees and the MSG teams such as the fact that there won't be any Glen Sathers staying in power too long. Brian Cashman is under the gun this year, though continues to live off the last years of the Yankee dynasty. His failings as a GM lie mostly with his putrid job of building a farm system. This is one area that is the single biggest reason that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are better than the Yankees. There are a whole list of trades and free agent signings that the Yankees have missed this decade. Some of the blame does go to George Steinbrenner, but Cashman has held control of the decisions since the end of the 2005 season and the team has periodically been worse since. We don't know how much Hal Steinbrenner will stand, but I can't see Cashman stick around if the Yanks continue to decline.


So basically, the Yankees are a flawed team despite its $200 million+ payroll. They are old at too many positions, are weak defensively, have no bench and depend to heavily on free agent pitchers because they haven't developed many pitchers on the big league level since the mid-1990s. They still have a long way to go to lower themselves to their fellow NY teams. They could start missing playoffs yearly, have lawsuits that disgrace the team (with A-Rod, there's always that chance), or have either the Steinbrenner sons not care or sell to someone else who won't. That's why, Yankees this is your wake up call. Don't turn into the Knicks or Rangers. Either break up this team and start over, or stop trying to win a fantasy league and start trying to win World Series. Being a tweener in this sport is infuriating, and your fans will see through it, at least the real ones who will show up to the park even if they can't afford it.

Randomness while being thankful I never played basketball at Queensbridge

- Ron Artest has proven to be the most interesting player during the playoffs. Whether it's calling Brandon Roy the best player he guarded (aside from someone who's in jail), claiming Charles Barkley was overrated, sitting in the stands and joking about it, giving Yao Ming some personality, bringing back the Anthony Mason hair cut with a mohawk, getting into it with Kobe or talking about a friend of his who died on the court in QB; Artest is appointment TV whenever the press talks to him.

- As for the Lakers-Rockets series, it looks like the Lakers have things back in control. Especially with Yao out for the playoffs. And if Artest keeps getting himself ejected from games. But, this has been a good series, very 80s or early 90s like with the physical play.

- Once again Dallas Mavericks fans, I feel your pain. Bennett Salvadore's crew strikes again just like it did in the 2006 NBA Finals as there wasn't a foul called before Carmelo Anthony's Larry Johnsonesque three-pointer to win Game 3. The Mavs had a foul to give and if called, the Nuggets have about 3 seconds to inbound and shoot. Denver was going to win the series anyway, but now there's no doubt.

- Not much to say about the Cavs since they are still on track. As for Orlando-Boston, the Magic need to win tomorrow night, if they lose, they won't win in Boston. Both series aren't worth watching, as the Cavs are MUCH better than Atlanta, its like fishing with dynamite. And the Magic-Celtics series is just like the Heat-Hawks last round, no close games.

- On the other hand, it's nice to know Rafer Alston reads this blog as he knows it was okay to slap Eddie House.

- Alright I'll say, can we get rid of the hype man at NBA arenas. And that is one of about 467 ways that I would make the NBA better if I was the commissioner.

- On to hockey, where the Pens have rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the series over the Caps. Crosby and Ovechkin have been huge, but Malkin scoring the big goal is finally playing better. By the way, Alex Semin, where are you? You're as missing right now as Andrew Bynum. Ovie can't do it all, though he comes close to doing it.

- Eric Staal has taken over his series against the Bruins as Carolina can win the series tomorrow night. Cam Ward has played well and Jussi Jokinen is this year's Johan Franzen. Of course, Carolina is in the process of ruining the NHL's wet dream of a season. Ratings are up, Chicago and Boston are back and vibrant, but if Carolina goes to the Finals, it would kill the momentum the league is having.

- The Anaheim Ducks would do the same thing and God forbid it's Ducks-Canes in the Finals. Ratings would plummet back to 06-07 numbers. The good news, the Wings look like they finally got to Jonas Hiller. If they win in Detroit tomorrow, they should take the series.

- Continuing on the ruining the playoffs department, I would like to thank the Vancouver Canucks for playing the games in Chicago with the trap. When we are watching a new, exciting NHL games that are bring fans back, they have to come out with the defensive system responsible for turning fans away in the first place, along with overexpansion and the 94-95 lockout.

- In classic A-Rod fashion, he returns with a home run on his first pitch of the season. The reason it's classic A-Rod fashion is because it's his way of teasing us. Of course, the Yankees need every bit of it. Plus more games like CC Sabathia pitched last night. What they can't have is starts like Phil Hughes tonight, and homestands where the Red Sox and Rays sweep because of no timely hitting and a bad bullpen. A more pertanent question, are this year's Yankees last year's Mets? We'll find out if there's a collapse in the forecast.

- Speaking of the Mets, they seem to finally have some rhythm as they have started to hit in the clutch, and their starters are pitching better. In a related story, Ollie Perez is no longer in the rotation.

- Many thanks to Zack Greinke for his blistering start, making the Royals and My Cousin Yuri in the fantasy world look good and better than they could be, respectively. Even though he looks like he's going to lose his game 1-0 (this is being written Saturday night).

- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will have their fight in November, assume Juan Manuel Marquez does right and loses in July. It could also be in October or December. Regardless, I will do everything in my power to watch that fight.

-The final word goes back to the NBA. LeBron James has clearly passed Kobe as the best player in the league. Kobe has shown some age and now relies on his jumper while less and less drives to the basket. Don't view this as a knock on Kobe and he's still an assassin and when the game's on the line, he's still my first pick to take that shot. But LeBron continues to perfect his game and the Olympic experience has matured his game; made him more focused and grounded. LeBron is rightfully the best player in the game and the rightful MVP, so Laker fans, you can stop chanting M-V-P for Kobe.

Randomness while learning from Rajon Rando that it's okay to slap a man

- You see Charlie Murphy, Rick James was right R.I.P.

- Bill Simmons is right, this Bulls-Celtics series is on it's way to being the best first-round series since the change to a best-of-seven. From the KG subplot to start, Derrick Rose showing us the future, the new Vinnie Johnson (sorry for dated references, but I'm a sports historian) in Ben Gordon, Ray Allen proving to be as certain as death when the game ends, Paul Pierce taking the mantle from Larry Bird officially, Doc and the refs, Vinny Del Negro and his wasting timeouts and Rondo shattering his ceiling for the next 15 years. The Celtics will be a factor is one way or another once KG, Allen and Pierce move on because Rondo will lead this team through it.

- As for last night's controversies, I'm glad the refs didn't charge a flagrant on Rondo because I hate when the refs put the game in their hands, unless its absolutely necessary. As for D-Ho, he should of been thrown out last night, though they got it right with suspending Howard.

- Looks like the Heat are just about finished. I don't doubt Dwyane Wade, unless he's hurt. He was hurt against Detroit in 05, he was hurt against the Bulls in 07 and I don't think his back will help him if they need him for Game 7 on the road with Atlanta, assuming they get there.

- I could opine on the Blazers-Rockets and the Magic-Sixers, but honestly, I'm not interested, aside from Howard's elbow.

- So let's move on to the Spurs losing to Dallas, as predicted on The Cycle. I could tell in Game 1 that I was going to be right with this one when J.J. Barea ran while. The Mavs finally look good since the Jason Kidd trade. Back to the Spurs, obviously the Ginobili injury was a killer, but now Tim Duncan isn't the same player he once was. I thought last year was the last chance for the Spurs to win the title. They remind me of the late 80s, early 90s Celtics when Bird started to get injuries, McHale had been reduced after playing with a broken foot in the 87 playoffs, but had Reggie Lewis leading the team to successful seasons and still had the respect of their opponents and even pushed the Cavs to Game 7 in 1992. The Spurs could have the same thing as Parker and Ginobili will lead this team, but Duncan keeps getting old and they have drafted too low and have too many old men and flyers on the bench.

- We go from one "dynasty" who I hate to the Devils, who completely collapsed last night when Maaaaaaaaarty Brodeur gave up two goals, in the last 90 seconds to lose the series to Carolina in seven games. So after falling on my face when the Rangers lost, the Devils were the pillow I landed on. After being disgusted by John Tortorella benching Sean Avery, then fighting with the fans; the fact Colton Orr wasn't in the lineup after Donald Brasheur bumped him in practice; to the cheap shot Brasheur laid on Blair Betts not getting a major penalty or having to fight Orr; to the ridiculous letter that Glen Sather wrote embarassing me to Isiah-like levels; finally a Game 7 where once again we couldn't score and couldn't even get Lundqvist out of the net for an extra skater. All of that, and the fact that Marty choked makes it even for me, at least for the next two months when Sather continues to make Mike Milbury look good.

- So now hockey fans, and most importantly non-hockey fans, you have your marquee series. Ovechkin vs Crosby, Semin vs Malkin, Caps vs Pens. This is the series that determines the future of the NHL if it's great. Then people who don't know what a blue line is will be ready for this series if it becomes a yearly occurance, like it was back in the 90s. Add three Original Six teams (Boston, Detroit and Chicago) and Vancouver for our fans up north, we could have our best possible Stanley Cup finals for a TV standpoint. Unless of course Carolina and Anaheim win, then we're screwed, especially with Kobe vs LeBron in the NBA. Series picks: Wings in 6, Hawks in 6, B's in 5 and Pens in 6 (unfortunately).

- It's one thing to trade away draft picks for a future QB, it's a whole other thing to trade more to move to the top of the third round to draft a RB. No way to you win a draft if you have three picks, sorry Jets. As for the Giants, I have full confidence in Jerry Reese, so I'm impressed. We drafted a WR in the first round, that's good enough for me.

- Now the bullpen has had trouble for the Mets the past couple days, so my Met fan readers, start to panic. Oh wait, you've already been panicing. But seriously, can they hit after the sixth inning. And David Wright seems to finally lose the Met fan, particularly my friend Brian. Unless something gives, this team won't be a .500 team, let alone playoffs.

- As for the Yankees, I'm off the ledge thanks to Phil Hughes. I couldn't watch much of his start due to the Rangers, Devils and NBA, but he was impressive and finally could have got it and most importantly, placating me as to why he wasn't traded. The hitting is better but let's see what the Yanks do against the Angels for 4 at the new stadium.

- Finally, I want to commend the New Orleans Hornets. Obviously, they read my scathing blog about them laying down Monday and have played better. Seriously, they're giving the Nuggets a game right now and even if they lose (this will be posted before games end), they're pride will be restored. However, if I'm a Hornets fan, I'm still pissed off unless they win.

UPDATED 1:15AM- Scratch that. I rescind my commending of New Orleans. They couldn't get the game to an over for my in Streak for the Cash on ESPN, lost by 19 so nevermind Hornets, you're still in my doghouse.

Randomness while hoping to get my Wash "Natinals" jersey

- You know you're team is having a bad season when you not only misspell the team name on your jersey, but play in it and embarass yourself further.

- Meanwhile, the Caps are resorting to Ovie acting like Belichick and doing a bad job of it to try to rattle my Rangers. As I'm writing this, the Rangers are just about to play Game 3. They could put the series away with a win tonight. And for one of the few times, I will be very happy to be wrong and might cause me to never pick my teams rationally again.

- While the Washington sports scene is at worst a joke and at best terrible, the Chicago sports scene is looking great. The Hawks look great against the Flames, the Bulls have found their next star (unlike some of the phony stars like Elton Brand, Eddy Curry, etc.), the Bears actually have a QB, and baseball just started and both the Cubs and White Sox can be in the playoffs. Times weren't this good since MJ.

-As for the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers finally sent their message to the Pens; they beat them. Of all this talk I'm hearing about stopping players from sending messages, it don't work when the other team don't bite and you keep losing. At the same time, Colin Campbell has been too inconsistent, as either you don't suspend Daniel Carillo or suspend Mike Cammalleri for the same cheap shot attempt. Also, if Milan Lucic was suspended for using the stick on Maxim Lapierre, that's fair but if suspend him for throw a punch with his glove on, that's ridiculous. Elsewhere, the Sharks are living up to their postseason reputation, but Jonas Hiller is playing great and unfortunately, the Blues can't find the answer to Roberto Luongo.

- Too little time to make broad generalization about the NBA playoffs, though the Lakers and Cavs are who we think they are. I caught only the 4th quarter of Mavs-Spurs, but it seemed like San Antonio had no answer for J.J. Barea, who looked like Tony Parker out there. I'm not too worried about Miami and New Orleans; Blazers and Magic I am a little more worried. Magic lack a real go-to-guy and if they play the Celtics or even the Bulls, I'm not conviced that they beat either team as they have two guys they can go to.

- The Yankees better hope that this is a weird coincidence that the ball is flying out of new Yankee Stadium. The long-term implications on having a bandbox is enormous as the Yankees couldn't buy anymore pitchers and from the lessons of the Rockies and the Rangers, you don't win by mashing them out of the park, unless it's a fantasy title. The weird thing is it seems like left field doesn't seem to keep the ball out as easily. Saturday's game had a few instances where left field can carry the ball out. As for Chien-Ming Wang, I mean 23 runs in 6 innings pitched can't be defended. I heard the Dizzy Dean's career was over after getting hit with a line drive. I won't say it over, but the Yankees should find a way to fake an injury so he can go to the minors on rehab.

- Just finished watching the 1st period of the Caps-Rangers, they look like they went on a two night bender and are hungover watching the Caps put the puck in the net. They're lucky it's not 5-0.

- What else can I say, Johan Santana is by far the best pitcher in the game and the only reason the Mets could make the playoffs are currently constructed. Also, Zack Greinke is leading my sleeper pick the Royals and more importantly my fantasy team to a good start with 20 scoreless innings and 34 since last year.

-Finally, I make my first appearance to Yankee Stadium tomorrow and am eagerly looking forward to it. As for CitiField, I'm hoping to go next week when the Marlins come to town. Now Doc Gooden signed the wall in the bar in CitiField and now the Mets are going to erase it because they don't want "graffiti". I'm sorry but if you consider a tribute to one of the best Mets (despite his troubles) of all-time graffiti, then I guess you must think it's vandalism when movie stars put their hand prints in Hollywood. Seems like the Mets will do everything to avoid putting up anything to do with the franchise.

MLB Preview

Tomorrow is the 1st game of the baseball season, even though it should be Monday. You should be able to watch the 1st day of baseball, followed by the National Championship, ending with One Shining Moment. But now it's time for the official preview of the upcoming baseball season by me here at The Cycle.

Starting in the NL East, we have probably the most competitive division in the NL. Once again, the Mets and Phillies are the favorites and I see both teams making the playoffs. The additions of K-Rod and JJ Putz fix one of the worst bullpens in baseball and the Mets should be in. I also think the Phillies did good by adding Raul Ibanez to replace Pat Burrell. The Braves and Marlins will be in the race, but ultimately are lacking a true contender since the Braves still have a weak bullpen and a lesser rotation, while the Marlins have a poor defense and I think still depend on the long ball a little too much, especially for a young team. No need to discuss Washington.

The NL Central is the Cubs title to lose; they are clearly the class of that division. They are better on offense and have the best pitching, certainly in the Central, maybe in the league. I think Kevin Gregg will prove to be a good replacement over Kerry Wood, the rotation is better than what the Phillies and Mets can offer and their lineup, overall, is better than the West can provide. As for the rest of the division, the Cardinals are always better than you think because of La Russa and Pujols, the Brewers can still hit, so they should be above .500. The Reds are the sleeper in the division that everyone's talking about with good reason; they have good young talent in both the lineup and the pitching staff. Houston should come back to the pack and the Pirates are the Pirates; one of these years they have to win, though.

The NL West should go to the Dodgers if they continue to get great play from Manny. They also have a lineup that pretty good for that division, once you start looking at the DBacks and Giants. Both teams are pitcher-heavy and are better in that aspect than the Dodgers. The Giants rotation is slightly better than Arizona's now that Randy Johnson moved there, along with last year's Cy Young Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. If San Fran can get anything from there lineup, they can beat the Dodgers. Colorado and San Diego are non-factors in the race.

Moving to the AL East, the toughest division in baseball. The Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are the three best teams and unfortunately one will miss the playoffs entirely. The questions surrounding the three are as follows: Are the Yankees too old and how does A-Rod's early absence and subsequent return effect them? The Red Sox have to worry about whether or not David Ortiz and Mike Lowell can comeback and if they can get anything out of Brad Penny and John Smoltz. The Rays need to avoid the post-Series hangover and a lesser bullpen. I think the Rays are here to stay and I'm a little more concerned with the Yankees, mainly because their offense was the problem and I think that they will be the team left out. And if you think this is in the words of Bill Simmons a reverse jinx, well... Blue Jays are cursed to be in the AL East, because they are better than .500 but might end up trading Halladay. The Orioles have a good lineup and need the pitching to continue improvement.

The toughest division to pick a winner is the AL Central because any of the 5 teams could win. I don't think the White Sox will be one of them. The Tigers could bounce back, but I think they also will make some trades to lower payroll (Cabrera/Ordonez to the Red Sox?). The Royals I think will be good this year and finish over .500, but they will fall short of the title. So it comes down to Cleveland and Minnesota. The Twins always play well, solid pitching and timely hitting. But they will miss Joe Mauer in the beginning and I think the Indians will bounce back. They were kind of unlucky last year and hopefully bounce back years by Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, another strong year by Cliff Lee and a better bullpen with Kerry Wood and they will win the Central.

The AL West could be interesting if the Angels start slow. Once again, they have injuries to the rotation with John Lackey and Ervin Santana missing time. They also lost more than anyone with Mark Teixeria, Frankie Rodriguez and Jon Garland leaving. But they still should win a weak division with Bobby Abreu providing insurance in the lineup, Brian Fuentes and Jose Arredondo the strength of the bullpen and an early return for both starters. The Rangers have the same story, different year: plenty of hitting, no pitching. The A's could put it all together if Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi can hit, Eric Chavez plays a full year and the young pitching comes of age. If not, expect them to sell by the deadline. The Mariners will be better than last year's putrid effort, but they aren't a .500 team.

Award winners:
MVP's: Albert Pujols (NL), B.J. Upton (AL)
Cy Young: Johan Santana (NL), Roy Halladay (AL)
ROY: Jason Motte, Stl (NL), Matt Wieters, Bal (AL)
Manager: Dusty Baker, Cin (NL), Eric Wedge, Cle (AL)

Playoff predictions
DS: Red Sox over Angels, Rays over Indians
Cubs over Mets, Phillies over Dodgers
LCS: Rays over Red Sox, Cubs over Philles
WS: Cubs over Rays