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Without any extensive research, a few numbers jump out at me before I take a look at this year's playoffs. I think the San Diego Padres became the first team in AWBL history to have three 20 game winners on the same staff this season -- the only three NL pitchers to win 20 -- as Barry Zito (20-5, 3.23), Scott McGregor (21-2, 4.14) and old man Mike Hampton (21-8, 4.15) each hit the magic 20 number. The trio finished 2nd, 8th and 9th respectively in the NL in ERA as well.

The Baltimore Orioles became the second team in AWBL history to win 100 games and not make the playoffs, joining the Sneedmachine with that dubious distinction. "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all" should be Richard Kellar's motto, as his birds finished 7th in RS and 3rd in all of baseball in ERA. Epitomizing that motto, the teams that finished first and second in ERA in AWBL were the Orioles division rivals the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

The stolen base is back! Five players stole 100 or more bases this season: Cleveland's Rickey Henderson Jr., Anaheim's Sliding Billy Hamilton, Montreal's Angela Denardo and Tim Raines, and Houston's Julie Croteau. Well, except for in the Fens, where the Bosox posted their third straight season without a stolen base -- what's amazingly stupid is the Sox got caught ten times. You can bet those Kangaroo court fines were pretty hefty.

I hope you're reading this Ryan Langerhans!

The Atlanta Braves won the triple crown -- sorta. Bob Simmons won the NL Homerun and RBI title and teammate Honus Wagner won the bating crown. The Bravos have some pretty impressive young hitters. Simmons and Wagner's feats were once again overshadowed by yet another phenominal season by Padres LF Ted Williams, who won the OBP, SLG and OPS crowns for the second consecutive season. Williams' Padres were the only AWBL team to finish the year with an OPS over .900 (.932), though the senior circuit did have ten players with an OPS over 1.000 -- three of them Padres (Williams and teammates Doug Thompson and Willie Mays). Conversely the American League only had four hittters reach the 1.000 mark -- Cleveland rookie John Gordon, Oakland's Lou Gehrig, Boston's Ryan Langerhans and the Royals' Will Smith.

Last but not least is the amazingly dominating year Boston's Jose Colon had on the mound. Colon (21-3, 1.98) was simply overpowering, leading AWBL in ERA and posting a sub-2.00 ERA in this supercharged offensive era. Amazingly his secondary numbers (.200 .299 .243)might be even better than that microscopic 1.98 ERA. Pedro had another fine year winning 23 games, but even he can't touch the year Colon had.

And now, onto a look at the playoffs.




I like my Red Sox in this series, but it should be a close one. The Rangers lineup stacks up just about evenly with Boston, and Texas has a major advantage in the bullpen, but it's going to be difficult to beat a team that features a trio of Pedro-Jose Colon-Christy Mathewson. I think the rotation makes the difference. Keep an eye on Texas' Michi Ogasawara and Jonathan Torres. If the Rangers win, it'll likely be because those two led the way.

CATCHER: Josh Gibson----- Octavio Martinez, Texas
Martinez pounds the heck out of lefties, but is woefully dreadful against righthanded pitching. The Red Sox don't have a southpaw in their rotation so it could be a long series for Octavio. Defensively Martinez allows baserunners to steal at a .754 clip -- hard to believe Josh Gibson is better than someone behind the plate. Still this doesn't look to be a problem as the Red Sox don't run -- unless Ryan Langerhans is being a jackass and getting CAUGHT STEALING! Gibson's OBP is pretty mediocre vs. RHP but his OPS of .898 against righties is pretty solid -- 32 HR in 400 AB is some nice power. Against lefties Gibson -- who actually moves to 1b against southpaws -- Josh's OBP goes way up to over .400 and his OPS makes a similar climb to .950.
ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

1st Base: Ray Benton ----- Donald Woodruff
Both Benton and Woodruff are very good players, though they play the game very differently. Benton is a patient, onbase type of guy while Woodruff is a slugger -- still both posted OPs over .900. Both are exceptional with the leather.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Rangers

2nd Base: Bryan Barnowski ----- Marcus Giles
No contest here. Barno is a monster offensively (.950 OPS) while Giles is clearly on the downside of his career (.759 OPS)offensively. Defensively both players are exceptional, Barnowski having made no errors in 2010 after making only one in 2009 and Giles having made only 6 total errors over the past two years.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

Shortstop: Dave Spitzer ----- Jonathan Torres
Torres may be the best SS in the American League at the moment -- though Joe Tiffin might argue that point. Solid if unspectacular with the glove (.978 FA), Torres is a stud at the plate as he gets on base, hits for power and hits for average. He's also a stolen base threat as well. Spitzer on the other hand is a solid utility infielder, kind of weak with the leather, but a solid backup offensively. Nothing to write home about.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Rangers

3rd base: Matt Watson ----- Michihiro Ogasawara
Matt Watson is a super 3b. He's very good defensively, gets on base at a tremendous rate and hits for a high average. He fits Boston's gameplan very nicely. But Michi is a superstar. Power, average, onbase and speed. And he made significant improvement with his glovework this year and is no longer a defensive liability at the hot corner for Texas. Watson is a very good player. Ogasawara is a great one.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Rangers

Leftfield: Chris Snelling ----- Paul Waner
If Snelling could run he'd be a superstar. A tremendous onbase guy he keeps slugger Jim Rice on the bench. Snelling also has a little power, going deep 16 times. Chris is also a gold glove candidate (.995 FA). Waner is a similar player, with less power and more speed. He's not as sure handed as Snelling but has shown a little bit more range. Both players are a liability against southpaws, but Texas keeps Paul in the lineup while Boston sits Snelling.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

Centerfield: Joe Dimaggio ----- Elmer Flick
Joe D has developed into a superstar patrolling the triangle in Fenway. He gets on base, hits for average, hits for a ton of power (45 HR two consecutive seasons) and is very solid defensively. Flick is a very good hitter, gets on base and has solid power. Defensively Elmer was a liability this year (.968 FA) while learning a new position.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

Rightfield: Ryan Langerhans ----- Larry Doby
Langerhans is a genuine superstar for the Bosox. He hits for average gets on base, hits for power, and is solid if unspectacular defensively -- oh yeah and he GETS CAUGHT STEALING! Doby gets on base and has very good power, but is a defensive liability out in RF -- though he has shown significant improvement from 2009.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

DH: Jim Rice ----- Sonny Howe
Rice's OBP has been a disappointment this season -- his performance against southpaws has been pretty putrid. The Sox also have journeyman Roberto Petagine who gets on base at a better clip than Rice and he may see significant time here. For Texas, Sonny Howe is a stud. He's a 40 HR guy, solid OBP and an OPS over .900. He's a key part of the Rangers lineup.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Rangers

Starting Pitching: The Red Sox have a hand with three legitimate #1 aces -- Jose Colon, Christy Mathewson and the best pitcher in AWBL history, Pedro Martinez. Chances are they'll go with a fourman rotation with either Victor Starffin or Chin Hui Tsao filling the fourth slot. Colon, Martinez and Mathewson were 1-2-4 in ERA respectively in the junior circuit. Tsao and Starffin were slightly better than average. The Rangers counter with Dizzy Dean, who is a legtimate ace, Juan Marichal and Ron Guidry who have both been pretty solid in 2010, and Pepper Johnson or Wes Obermueller (or both). At this point in their careers, there isn't much difference between Johnson/Obermueller and Tsao/Starffin. The difference rests in the front three where Boston has the three aces.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Red Sox

Bullpen: Not much difference in SV%, Texas at 71% and the Sox at 69%, but the Rangers closer situation is far better settled than Boston's. Tony McKnight has been very solid in that role while Boston has had to turn to old man Paul Wilson the past couple of sims with Stephanie Winton's implosion. Texas racks up the holds while Boston doesn't. The Sox, who were quick with the hook earlier in the year, have been letting their starters go deeper into games in large part because of Winton's collapse. What was supposed to be a Red Sox strength has turned into the club's major weakness.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Rangers

Bench: The Sox get significant contributions off the pine from Troy Glaus, Tug Stone and Roberto Petagine, and even Michael Coleman has played a role for the Bosox. The Rangers sole contributor off the bench has been Monte Irvin, who has done a very solid job in that role.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Red Sox




I wouldn't be surprised if either team won this series. These are two evenly matched squads, both with significant weaknesses that the other hopes to exploit. The Indians offense has cooled down over the past few sims and no team in baseball has been hotter than the Blue Jays. With Toronto's slight edge in starting pitching, that might be just enough to get them past the Tribe. But this series is way too close to call. Both of these teams like to run, so keep an eye on catchers Sean Burroughs and J.R. House. Their defensive play could be the difference.

Catcher: Sean Burroughs ----- J.R. House
Not much difference offensively, both Burroughs and House are slightly over .800 OPS, 2nd and 3rd in the AL respectively. Both are solid at stopping enemy baserunners, House moreso, and both teams will need these two to step up and keep the other's base stealers in check.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Indians

1st base: Lyle Overbay ----- John Gordon
Overbay is a very good 1b. He's very solid defensively, hits for a high average, gets on base, and all in all is a very valuable member of the Jays. John Gordon however, is all that and a bag of chips. Take everything I said about Lyle, add 67 HR, and that's John Gordon.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Indians

2nd base: Pete Runnels ----- Pepper Martin
Martin's a basestealer (74) who gets on base at a respectable .371 clip. He's solid defensively, though not great. Runnels is better defensively, gets on base far more often, and has more power than Martin. Me, I think speed is overrated anyway.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Blue Jays

Shortstop: Rafael Furcal ----- Elvis Pena
Furcal steals bases and gets on base at a respectable -- though not very good -- rate. He's solid defensively, though Pena outplayed him with the glove this year. Pena is perhaps the worst offensive player in AWBL -- though he steals bases and does get on base at a .351 clip (his SLG was .262!). It wouldn't surprise me if the Trive goes with rookie Mirasha Krystalin in the playoffs -- she can't possible play any worse than Pena can, can she?
ADVANTAGE: Blue Jays

3rd base: Gil Hodges ----- Hank Aaron
Hammerin Hank may go down in history as one of the best hitters in AWBL, but this season Gil Hodges has outplayed him. Hodges was simply spectacular defensively, got on base at a much higher pace than Aaron, and still put up very good power numbers. If I had to pick one of the two to build a franchise around, I'd take Aaron. But in this series, based on how they have performed this year, I'll take Hodges.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Blue Jays

Leftfield: Roosevelt Brown ----- Bobby Abreau
Yuck. Abreau gets on base a lot but does nothing else and is mediocre closing in on por defensively. Brown is better defnsively but is horrid offensively. Heck, at least Abreau gets on base.
ADVANTAGE: Indians

Centerfield: Amanda Hearns ----- Rickey Henderson Jr.
Amanda had a fine rookie season in 2010, stealing 90 bases and getting on base at a .386 clip. She was also very good defensively in CF. "The Rickey" however, turned in a superstar season, stealing well over 100 bases, swatting 25 HR and geting on base at a .468 clip. Amanda is fine, but Rickey is finer.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Indians

Rightfield: Keith Reed ----- Frank Robinson
Didn't anyone tell Indians GM Josh Dunlap they invented the DH position for Frank Robinson? His .948 FA might give him a clue as to that. Fortunately Robby makes up for his inept fielding with a good powerbat and a respectable .370 OB2P. For the Jays Reed is miles better than Robby defensively, but he's just only slightly better than solid. Reed hits the longball but his OBP was very disappointing this year.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Indians

DH: Shoeless Joe Jackson ----- Ty Cobb
Very much the same type on player, they hit for a very high average, get on base a lot, and despite having minimal power are able to pop an OPS over .900. Shoeless Joe still outperforms the Georgia peach however. Say it ain't so Joe -- I'm afraid it is kid.
ADVANTAGE: Blue Jays

Starting Pitching: Jays pitchers threw more CG (15-6) and SHO (6-1) than their Tribe foes, though quality starts were just about even. Britt Reames had a spectacular year for Toronto, and Luis Peres, Satoru Komiyama, 20 game winner Mauricio Lara and perhaps Mark Prior give them a solid, though unspectacular rotation. If anyone gets bumped it'll likely be Prior. The Tribe's best is Bob Curtis, who spent half the season in the bullpen. Al Downing and Scott Fisher both had very solid seasons, while Kevin Milwood and Jim Grant were average or slightly better than average. I like the Jays' pitchers a lot better than Cleveland's, but the Tribe hurlers have gottten the job done.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Blue Jays

Bullpen: The Tribe has saved 82% of its chances while the Jays have only saved 71% -- still very good, but not Clevelandesque. Dave Smith might be a better closer now than Cleveland's Bobby Howry is, but if he is, it isn't by much. And the rest of the Indians pen makes up the difference. Holds are about even, but Toronto simply blows more chances than the Indians do.
ADVANTAGE: Indians

Bench: Toronto's only real productive bat off the bench is utility infielder Buddy Miller who has been a very dangerous hitter against RHP (though woefully anemic vs LHP). Israel Osorio and Gabby Hartnett have pounded RHP off the bench for the Tribe, but again, they have been pretty bad against southpaws.
ADVANTAGE: Indians





I really want to see how Justin Morneau plays in this series. I think Montreal went out and got him thinking he could be the difference between winning the World Series and not. They've put themselves in an overloaded free agency position this offseason, but I like them to get past Houston in this series and I think Morneau and their fast break baserunning will be the difference.

Catcher: Justin Morneau ----- Larry See
Neither catcher is particularly adept at throwing would be basestealers out (they sport identical .741 OPP SB PCT), and both of these squads love to run. Justin Morneau is a superstar. he was outstanding in Tampa Bay and if anything he got even better after being dealt to Montreal. Power, average, on base, Morneau does it all. See hits for average (.293) but doesn't do anything else particularly well (.781 OPS). There's almost a .300 point difference in OPS (Morneau's is 1.041) between the two catchers.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Expos

1st base: Bill Buckner ----- Tony Blanco
Buckner is a solid player who doesn't do any one thing outstanding, but is a fine 4th OF and backup 1b/sometimes DH. He got a lot of at bats this year for the Expos, and was a pretty solid on base guy vs RHP. Blanco is power personified and he raised his batting average, on base percentage and OPS by significant amounts this year after being dealt to Houston. Tony has spent most of the year as the Astros DH, but we look for him to play 1b in this series, where he did play 50 games over the course of the season.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Astros

2nd base: Joe Morgan ----- Julie Croteau
El Mat moves players around a lot, so just like with Buckner, we can't be sure who will play 2b this series. But our best guess is Joe Morgan, who has been solid offensively (.819 OPS, 28/40 SB), though decidedly mediocre in the field. He's not bad, but he's certainly no Julie Croteau, who once again has laid claim to being one of the best 2b in AWBL. Stealing over 100 bases, she is an on base machine and a gold glove candidate at 2b. She's also got surprising gap power, blasting 40 doubles.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Astros

Shortstop: Jonathan Miller ----- Bobby Doerr
Doerr steals bases and has some pretty good pop, but for a speedy guy he doesn't get on base an awful lot (.343). He's solid defensively and he carries his own weight offensively. Nothing spectacular, but solid all around -- though the Astros probably wish he'd get on base more. Jon Miller had an off year for the Fighting Frenchmen, his OPS was only .906, a down season for him, but a breakthrough year for most. He hits for power, runs, and for the second consecutive year didn't make an error at short. It's hard to believe this guy has never won an MVP award.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Expos

3rd base: Angela Denardo ----- Carlton Fisk
Hard to know where Denardo will play this series, she pretty much split her time equally between the hot corner and 1b. Our best guess has her at 3b for the NLDS, where she excels defensively, gets on base at a .411 pace, and stole 139 bases this year. She's an outstanding 3rd sacker. The Stros' Fisk is a pretty awesome 3b himself, a member of the 30-30 club (37 HR, 34 SB), and great with the leather. Aside from their outstanding glove work, comparing these two players is very difficult because they mean far different things to their clubs. Denardo is the penultimate table setter and she scored 133 runs this year (4th in the NL). Fisk hits home runs and drives in runs (.555 SLG, 112 RBI). I think steals tend to be overrated sometimes, but when you have 139 of them, coupled with 133 runs scored and an OBP of .411, that's about as good a year as a tablesetter can have.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Expos

Leftfield: Tim Raines ----- Carl Yastrzemski
Raines plays the game a lot like Denardo. He gets moved around a lot, runs like the dickens, gets on base at an amazing rate, scores a lot of runs (142 to lead all of AWBL) and has some solid power (21 HR). Defensively he's average, not bad, but nothing to write home about. It's a tough matchup however with Yaz. Yaz finally had the year Gunner wanted, posting an OPS over 1.000 and blasting 40 HR. Defensively, there's no one better than Captain Carl in LF, as he errorlessly patrolled LF in Minute Maid Field in 2010. Two terrific ballplayers.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Astros

Centerfield: Kirk Gibson ----- Rusty Keith
Don't be surprised if you see Grady Sizemore for Montreal and Brian Cole for Houston however. Neither Gibson nor Keith are superstars, but both are solid players. Gibson has some power and gets on base at a respectable rate -- though Grady Sizemore fits El Mat's style far better. Gibson is really a DH. Keith is outstanding defensively and gets on base at about the same pace as Gibson does, without the power.
ADVANTAGE: Expos

Rightfield: Vladimir Guerrero ----- Gary Johnson
Age might be starting to catch up with Vladi, his .875 OPS was the lowest of his career and he was pretty bad defensively this season. Still he outperformed Johnson, at least powerwise and OPS, though Johnson had a very good .396 OBP and was better defensively. Careerwise this would be a huge advantage for Montreal, but the 2010 Vladi isn't your mother's Vladi of old.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Expos

DH: Pedro Guerrero ----- Fred Clarke
Guerrero posted an .899 OPS for the Expos and has considerable power and decnt enough speed to run. Clark only had 112 at bats for Houston and didn't really do anything well, though he did get on base at a .370 clip -- better than the other aspiring DH's in Ken Harvey, Brian Cole or Lance Berkman. I wouldn't be surprised to see Grady Sizemore fill the last lineup spot for Montreal however, but in either case he and Guerrero are both way better than Houston's options.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Expos

Starting Pitching: The boys from Texas are led by Buzz Garcia and Sammy Miller, both good pitchers, and the rest of the rotation is pretty average stuff. Montreal led the NL in ERA, though were virtually even in the rest of the starting pitching stat categories with Houston. Tony Armas and Rolando Viera are Montreal's stoppers, and a disappointing Ferguson Jenkins is generally regarded as their #3. Two wildcards we should mention -- Joey Hamilton is older than dirt, but he has been great for Montreal and we expect him to get a start in this series. And Larry Gura has been a pleasant surprise. Normally starting pitching is an Astros plus, but not his time.
ADVANTAGE: Expos

Bullpen: Houston's closer Scott Strickland is probably the best relief pitcher in Montreal's history. Strickland was outstanding over his long career with the Expos, and is now a superb closer for the Astros. But this year he was outpitched by Expos sophomore Lee Smith, who might be the best closer in baseball at the moment. Both clubs have bullpen depth, Holds were about even, but the Astros amazing 86% SV% is just astounding, and the difference.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Astros

Bench: Houston has some depth on its bench in utilityman Tom Miller and 2b John Reyndolds, both of whom can provide some pop and versatility to the Astros lineup. Montreal's ever changing lineup means everyone gets to play, but makes it difficult to know who is going to be on the bench. Right now it looks like Grady Sizemore and Yoshitomo Tani provide some serious pop off the bench and Jimmy Dykes and Johnny Evers filling roles against southpaws.
ADVANTAGE: Expos


You've got to be impressed with the last half turnaround of St. Louis, I know I am. But I don't think they have anywhere near the talent San Diego has. I think the Padres should win this series, but you never know in such a short series. I'd keep an eye on Manny Ramirez and Rob Stratton as both teams starting pitching is lefty-heavy, and San Diego closer Gabe White, who if he is healthy could make a bad Padres bullpen respectable.

Catcher: George Daley ----- Carlos Mendez
Daley couldn't throw out his grandmother if she tried to steal third and Mendez couldn't throw out Daley's grandmother's mother. Both are defensive liabilities. Daley is adequate offensively (.821 OPS, 17 HR) but nothing special. Mendez is an amazing role player for the Padres (.987 OPS, 27 HR in 291 AB) and is a key member of their lineup. He gets on base at a .399 pace, a rarity for a backstop. Huge advantage for San Diego offensively, and while both catchers are pretty bad defensively, the Cardinals run a lot more than the Padres do, so that should work to the Cardinals advantage in the running game.
ADVANTAGE: Padres

1st base: John Rodriguez ----- Ed Burns
Rodriguez doesn't hit much for average but a .926 OPS more than makes up for that. I'm not altogether certain he will be the redbirds 1b, as he has only had a little over 200 AB this year, but his 16 HR in 203 AB makes him a legitimate poer threat. He's also pretty solid with the leather. Burns is the same kind of ballplayer, but has been doing it for years. He doesn't impress with his BA, but 37 HR and a .927 OPS makes him a solid contributor for the defending champs. Burns is a gold glover defensively.
ADVANTAGE: Padres

2nd base: Ramon Caraval ----- Rico Petrocelli
Caraval has some pretty good pop for a 2b, 28 HR in under 500 AB. He's very solid defensively, and while he doesn't hit for a high average he's no offensive liability. Petrocelli is a defensive liability at 2b (.966 FA) but hits for a respectable average, gets on base at a respectable .374 pace, and is also no offensive liability. Not a major difference offensively between these guys, Caraval's defense is the deciding factor.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Cardinals

Shortstop: Seira Morimora ----- Nanami Stingray
Morimora is a very good defensive SS with a ton of speed (76 SB). Her OPS under .700 is a major offensive liability, though her .359 OBP makes her a better player than you'd think. Stingray is solid defensively, but not in Seira's class with the glove. A nearly identical OBP, Nanami hits for more power and has some speed, though she's not nearly as prolific a base stealer as Morimora.
ADVANTAGE: Toss up

3rd base: Nellie Fox ----- Brian Cameron
Fox hit a wicked .340 this year and has sent Brooks Robinson to the bench. He's adequate defensively but is a great table setter and gets on base at a .428 clip. Cameron is really, really bad defensively (27 errors, .951 FA), but hit 32 HR and had a solid .849 OPS. Neither player is spectacular, but we'll take Fox's outstanding OBP and the better glove sinches it.
ADVANTAGE: Cardinals

Leftfield: Johnny Hernandez ----- Ted Williams
Johnny Hernandez is a mighty fine ballplayer (.318/.438/.456) but he has the horrible bad luck to be matched up against Ted Williams, who might be the best offensive player in baseball today. Hernandez is adequate with the glove and gets on base a lot at the top of the redbirds order. Williams on the other hand, is pretty bad defensively. But that's about the only critique of the Splendid Splinter you can make, as he once again led the NL is OBP, SLG and OPS, and hit .330 and blasted 41 HR to boot. His .505 OBP is simply phenominal.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Padres

Centerfield: Rick Asadoorian ----- Willie Mays
Same problem for Rick Asadoorian. There's not much to dislike about Rick, he hits for average, has solid power, gets on base at a decent clip and even steals a few bases. But when you're matched up against Willie Mays, you pale in comparison. Rick's excellent defensively, making only 3 errors between LF and CF all season, and his .896 OPS is very, very solid. Mays on the other hand was solid in the field, though not quite as good as Asadoorian, but hit 53 HR and drove in 159 while getting on base at a .380 pace and posting an OPS over 1.000. Surprisingly, he stole as many bases as Asadoorian, who was once known as one of the better speedsters in the game.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Padres

Rightfield: Mel Ott ----- Doug Thompson
Not a lot of difference between these two offensively, they both get on base at an over .400 pace, both have 30 HR power, both have OPS over 1.000, and both hit for high average. Defensively Thompson had a superb season (.995 FA) while Ott was adequate at .970. Neither will kill you in the field.
SLIGHT ADVANTAGE: Padres

DH: Reggie Jackson ----- Dave Marciniak
Pretty much a tossup at this slot. Jackson hits for more power than Marciniak, but the latter gets on base at a much higher pace -- though Reggie was much improved to .370 this past season, and Marciniak still sports 30 HR power. Pick em.
ADVANTAGE: Toss up.

Starting Pitching: The Padres and Cardinals were 4th and 5th in pitching in the NL in 2010, both with ERA's a shade over 5.00. San Diego had three 20 game winners in Barry Zito, Scott McGregor and Mike Hampton, and they had more CG (15-9), SHO (7-4), and QS (82-76) than the redbirds. The Cards best starter this year was Kris Benson who had a very fine 14-12, 4.29 year. But Zito is one of the two best starters in the senior circuit and McGregor and Hampton matchup as better than St. Louis' Bob Gibson or Johnny Wright -- though despite their 20 wins they pitched just about the same as Benson did. The redbirds lack an ace and while their depth is not bad, it's not as good as san Diego's.
MAJOR ADVANTAGE: Padres

Bullpen: Let's be honest here, neither team had a very strong pen this season. San Diego's closer Gabe White was injured for most of the season and is just now back. Matt Mantei has been solid, but the rest of the bullpen is filming the sequel to "Firestarter". For the redbirds pen, 2010 was a very disappoining year. Supposed to be a strength -- on paper -- the pen wasn't much better -- if at all -- than San Diego's. Closer Kevin Walker sufferred through his worst season as a pro, and while Jose Jimenez won 16 games and had a solid, workmanlike year, the rest of the pen filled character actor roles in the Padres movie.
ADVANTAGE: Toss up

Bench: The redbirds get some quality bench help from Brooks Robinson and Manny Ramirez -- Manny is still a monster against southpaws, of which the Padres have three in their rotation, so Manny could be a key player in this series. The champs have probably the best bench player in AWBL in Rob Stratton, who hammers lefthanders and fills San Diego's 4th OF slot superbly -- Stratton could also be a key player as the Cards have two southpaws in their rotation. Straton is joined by solid role players Alex Cabrera and either Carlos Mendez or Pedro Cerano, who is still injured. Strengths for both clubs.
ADVANTAGE: Padres

That's about it for Anna's News & Notes this time around. Next time I hope to take a look at what the non-playoff teams can do in the offseason to turn them into playoff teams.

And remember, let's play two -- from both sides of the plate.



Lotsa love,
--Anna