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Major league baseball’s postseason begins today with a tripleheader. Here is a preview of the four divisional round series, and a key player involved in each one:

 New York vs Minnesota

I’m not sure if the Yankees are disappointed or not in failing to win the AL East crown, since being the wild card matches them up against a team they’ve owned in the postseason – the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees seem vulnerable this year because their starting rotation is supposedly weak after ace C.C. Sabathia. The key player in this series is Yanks’  pitcher Andy Pettitte. He is still rounding into form after spending time on the disabled list, and has been a rock in past playoff years for New York. Sabathia is a bulldog but has had some tough games in the playoffs before, and if Twins’ ace Francisco Liriano manages to beat him in game one, there will be a lot of pressure on Pettitte to repeat his past success. The Twins are a team that never quit and are on a mission to erase past post-season failures this year. I think the Yanks will win this series, although it won’t be a sweep like last season, when the Twins entered the series tired after having to win a playoff with Detroit just to qualify. New York will win it with superior offense spearheaded by Robinson Cano, and with the pitcher who never gets any mention – Phil Hughes – playing a lead role.

                                                           Yankees’ southpaw Andy Pettitte

Texas vs Tampa Bay

The Texas Rangers, who used to be the Washington Senators at one time, have never won a playoff series in their existence. The team was eliminated from the postseason 3 different times in the 1990s by the New York Yankees, a dynasty at that time. The Rangers are pinning their hopes of winning this series on proven postseason ace Cliff Lee and a potent offense. I like Tampa Bay to win this series and set up an ALCS matchup with the Yankees. The Rays have more playoff experience, having played in the World Series a couple years ago, and their left-handed ace, David Price, is probably better at this point than Lee. In a short series, the Rays should be comfortably in control before the Rangers realize what it takes to win. The key player in the series is the Rays’ Evan Longoria, who is the key component in their lineup. The team struggled offensively at the end of the year with Longoria sidelined with an injury, and if he shows any rust and struggles, Tampa’s offense may struggle and give the Rangers an opening to pull off the upset.

                                             Tampa Bay 3rd baseman Evan Longoria  

Atlanta vs San Francisco

This is an interesting series since both teams are relative newcomers to the postseason. Atlanta once dominated the NL East but not recently. They are hoping to ride the emotional wave of manager Bobby Cox winding up his baseball career, and will be striving to prolong that career as far into autumn as they can. The problem is that they don’t have the pitching to match what the Giants bring to the table. San Francisco not only has 2 strong starters in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but also a strong bullpen led by closer Brian Wilson, who will give the Giants good vibrations by closing out each of their victories and  is the key player in this series. San Francisco is also one of the best defensive fielding teams in all of baseball, a key factor in postseason play. Atlanta making the playoffs to honor Cox is a great story, but the Braves lost too many key players to injury, most notably Chipper Jones and Martin Prado, to win this series.

                                                  Giants’ closer Brian Wilson

 

Cincinnati vs Philadelphia

The two-time defending NL champion Phillies are an overwhelming favorite to not only make a third straight World Series appearance, but win it also. I’m not sure they’ll go that far, but they should win this series. Again, in a short series, with their overwhelming postseason experience they should be in total control here before the young Reds realize what hit them. You have to love the Reds’ moxy in winning the NL Central title this year, but Philly is just too good. Even if Roy Halladay stumbles in his first playoff appearance (you never know how a player will handle the pressure no matter how good he is), the Phils have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels behind him. Oswalt was 4-0 in postseason play with the Astros, and Hamels was their ace when they won the title 2 years ago. Philly’s lineup is just too good for the Reds to match also. They don’t call them the Fightin’ Phils for nothing, and all-star 2nd baseman Chase Utley is the engine that drives that lineup. He is the key player for them, as his teammates feed off his hard-nosed style of play.

                                                  Phillies’ 2nd baseman Chase Utley