It's All Good

Holy shit, I’ve been wasting a lot of time watching baseball the last few weeks, and it’s been nice to have a few days off, even if that hiatus is the result of one of the least dramatic first rounds in recent memory.

Like my pal Britt Robson over at On the Ball I can honestly say that all four of my picks in the division series advanced, and with a whole lot more ease than I could have imagined (with the exception of Cleveland; given the one-two punch of 19-game winners Sabathia and Carmona, I figured the Yankees had no chance).

The National League series were the most fun, and the most revelatory. I’d only seen the Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Phillies a few times all year, and I’m not even sure I saw a single Arizona game. I sure as hell wouldn’t recognize anybody on that roster (with the exception of Eric Byrnes and Brandon Webb), and pretty much everybody else I knew only as names in the daily boxscores.

It was more or less the same case with Colorado. I was familiar with Todd Helton. And LaTroy Hawkins, of course, and Mark Redman, although I was surprised to see Hawkins playing such a prominent role out of the bullpen. Both the Rockies and Diamondbacks are fun teams to watch, and I think the same goes for the Indians and Red Sox.

The most encouraging news of this postseason might well be the payrolls of the remaining teams: Only one (Boston, at $143 million) fits the profile of a classic big-spending club. The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball, but the other three teams all spent less than the Twins this year, and all three are near the bottom of their respective leagues. Cleveland, at $61 million, ranked 23rd in the Major Leagues. Arizona spent even less (almost $59 million), while the Rockies, even with Helton’s massive salary, came in at 27th with a payroll of just under $41 million.

Surely that’s good news, particularly when coupled with the collapse of the Yankees, Cubs, and Angels.

It’s a shame that the NL series has to pit two teams that have already met 18 times this seaons (with the Rockies taking ten out of eighteen from the Diamondbacks).

I’m going to disagree completely with Britt and predict a Red Sox-Rockies World Series, which I think will be a terrific match-up, with a boatload of runs scored.