I need to get this post in before the games start tonight so no one can accuse me of doing hindsight predictions, once all of these come out perfectly. In actuality, I find the baseball playoffs harder to predict than the NFL, which of course you can read my perfect NFL picks from this season that I’m looking good on thus far. With baseball, I want to pick with my heart and not my head. I love seeing the D-Backs and Rays get in, because they aren’t supposed to be there. Baseball is such an uneven playing field with payrolls of $42 million (Rays) going against payrolls of $197 million (Yankees), so I want to make predictions with my heart and not my head, because the small-market underdogs are the teams I want to root for. Whereas in the NFL, I of course am only making predictions with my head and my heart has nothing to do with it. That Eagles Super Bowl pick is 100% based on logic and 0% to do with the fact that I pick them every season and genuinely believe it to be a fact. So here goes, an attempt to make baseball playoff picks using my head (Sorry D-Backs, like my beloved Reds from last season, you are going to get crushed…)
Round 1:
Tigers over Yankees – Because C.C. Sabathia can’t pitch every game. It’s shocking how terrible the rest of the 
Yankees rotation is. Plus Verlander is better than C.C. anyway.
Rangers over Rays – Really tough game to predict. Coin flip. I’ll be rooting for the Rays, but I think their starting pitching is too inconsistent and their lineup has too many holes. While the Rays have been an amazing story, Dan Johnson isn’t going to hit a HR every time!
Phillies over Cardinals – Pretty hard to pick against the Phillies at this point. I don’t care about the Phillies’ recent 8 game skid, they weren’t playing for anything, and now they are. And seeing ex-Red Kyle Lohse as the Cards’ Game 1 starter induces my gag reflex…
Brewers over Diamondbacks – After smacking around my Reds all season, the upstart D-Backs are next on the Brewers’ chopping block. Brewers 1-2 punch of Fielder and Braun is the best in baseball and the rest of their team is solid.
Round 2:
Tigers over Rangers – If Fister can keep up his level of play, there’s no reason the Verlander-Fister combo can’t take the Tigers to the World Series. Rangers have a great lineup, but lack the top-tier Ace they had last year in Cliff Lee.
Phillies over Brewers – Speaking of Cliff Lee, the Phillies’ pitching is unreal. While their hitters can disappear at times, this rotation seems unbeatable.
World Series:
Phillies over Tigers – Speaking of unbeatable… Yes Verlander is amazing, but the Phillies have Lee, Halladay, and Hamels, and Verlander can’t pitch every day, while this 3-headed monster can. As long as Utley, Rollins, Howard, Pence, Polanco, and Victorino don’t completely fall asleep, there is no stopping this Phillie freight train.
And speaking of predictions made with my head, the 2012 World Series Champion will be: The Cincinnati Reds!!!
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