NYaT Roundtable: Belated 2011 National League Picks

And I thought I was behind with the American League picks. These are even further behind. Luckily, all the picks were done before the season started so while some of them will sound funny now, they are still genuine expert picks. Well "expert". Because, as we saw from the American League, some of our predictions are already not working out. Here's what we think about the NL:

NYaT writers think that Doc Halladay's Phillies will take it all (Star-Ledger)

NL East

Ben W: When a team's starting pitching is as good as the Phillies' staff is, it's hard not to predict them as division winners. I understand that there are questions about their bullpen and their lineup, but their 1-4 starters are just too good. Braves will be a close second. Don't count out the Marlins either. They have good, young starting pitching and Mike Stanton is gonna be a superstar. Mets might improve marginally. Nationals got Jayson Werth but still won't contend. Phillies.

Ben P: The Phillies probably have the best rotation I've ever seen and their lineup isn't too shabby either. Can anyone beat this team? The Braves have a lot of young talent and will probably take the wild card. Florida and the Mets both seem like 500 teams. Both have more questions than answers on their rosters but Florida's pitching and the Mets lineup will make them competitive. The Nationals simply don't have the pitching to compete and have a few too many Zimmermans for my taste. Phillies.

Jay: I realize the Phillies' offense is aging and that Brad Lidge is injured, but the starting pitching is just too strong. I think the Braves, backed by Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann, Martin Prado, and the newly acquired Dan Uggla give them a run for their money, but fall a game or two short. Phillies.

Alex O: Let’s go with another surprise pick and not pick the Phillies--- who start season banged up. I am going with Hotlanta. Heyward has a breakout year and the Braves surprise most with a division title. Braves.

Andrew: I'm going to side with Alex and pick the Braves. Although the Braves rotation isn't as good as the Phillies, their bullpen and lineup are better and I think they find a way to overtake them this year. I said that last year as well and look what happened, but I think the maturation of their youth and Dan Uggla make the difference in Atlanta. The Marlins will be around .500 and the Mets will be just under. The Nats are going to be more competitive than most people think and may actually not finish last Braves.

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NYaT Roundtable: Belated 2011 American League Picks

I know, I know, we're behind schedule, but on the first Saturday of the season, I felt it was a good time to make sure that I got up all of our baseball picks. I mean with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver back to ruining my baseball experience, I thought there would be no better time to distract me. We'll start with the American League with the National League hopefully coming tomorrow. Here's the NYaT picks, which come with a no-money-back guarantee (these were all done before Thursday):

NYaT bloggers think that A-Gone is the key for the Sox (CBS)

AL East

Ben W: Baseball's toughest division got tougher. No one team in the division can be taken lightly. Toronto has a young, but talented rotation. The Orioles should continue to improve as they did during the second-half of last year. The Rays also sport a young, but talented pitching staff. And then there are the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Red Sox clearly improved their offense and it is more than on par with the Yankees. I give the Red Sox the edge for the division because they are more established with their #2 starter. Red Sox.

Ben P: Maybe I'm a homer, but I think the Yankees are just as good as Boston. Both rotations have question marks, but I think the yanks have a deeper offense and a better bullpen, so I'll pick them to take it. The Sox will take the wild card. The Rays lost too much to compete at the same level but they still have a lot of youth and talent and will be hard to beat if their young pitching comes through. The Blue Jays and Orioles are also improved teams. It will be very hard for any team in this division to get 95 wins. Yankees.

Jay: Let's face it - Boston has a deeper starting rotation than New York. And they significantly upgraded their offense and defense by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Meanwhile, the Rays lost too many weapons in the offseason and the Yankees have too many holes in their starting rotation -- Nova/Garcia/Colon aren't going to get it done in the Bronx. The Red Sox smell like division champs with a shot at 100 wins. Red Sox.

Alex O: Gotta start here. Boston improved and is getting healthy but they also have an older Papi, and their starters are no more of a sure thing than the Yankees. Yanks have some good young blood in Montero and Banuelos to keep the old guard energized. I think Jeter will have a year closer to 2009 than 2010, but still hope Girardi has the stones to bat him second and lead off Gardner. Comparing Yankees and Red Sox I think starters (slight edge to Sox) and bullpen (slight edge to Yanks with Soriano addition and Paps not what he once was) are a wash. I give the line-up edge to the Yankees since I think their 3-4-5 of Tex, Arod, and Cano are best in mlb. Defense is not enough of a factor to change my mind that my very biased opinion is that the Yankees will win the AL East. An interesting side show will be watching Manny and Damon deal with Tampa---- I root for the rays since my folks live in that neck of the Earth, and wish TB all the best. Yankees.

Andrew: This is the Red Sox division to lose. They still need to be healthy and to get their starting pitching in order, but they acquired two of the best players in baseball this off-season and bolstered an already very good bullpen. But fortunately for the Yankees and Rays, divisions aren't won in the off-season. Unfortunately for the Yankees and Rays, they both have huge question marks on their teams--the Yankees in the back of their rotation and the Rays in the middle of their lineup. The Orioles pitching stinks but their hitting should be just as good as anyone in the AL East (I love Adam Jones to have a huge year) and the Blue Jays have a good young nucleus (H/T G-C). Since they almost won it last year even with all their injuries, I still think that this is the Red Sox division. Red Sox.

AL Central

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Join NYaT's Tournament Pick'em and Win Blog Bragging Rights

March is halfway done but the Madness is only getting started. We're talking about the NCAA Tournament, a time when everyone has a team and dreams live and die on the sound of a buzzer. Here at NYaT we're keeping up the tradition of the blog league and anyone who wants to can join and take on college hoops expert Jay Hyne (hint: he's probably picking UConn) and the rest of the NYaT bloggers.

Follow this link to get you started: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/62720/invitation?key=80dbee3a509eff71

What's the prize, you ask? A chance to be able to brag for an entire year that you are the best of the blog and the right to write your own blog post lauding your own picking ability. Last year, I finished 12th out of 13th in the NYaT league and this year I'm out for revenge. So try your best against NYaT's best and see if you can be King of the Blog on April 4th.

NYaT Roundtable: AFC Championship Picks

Yesterday we gave our AFC Championship picks and today we're going to pick the AFC Championship game. The Jets and Steelers also played once this season with that game being taken by the Jets. Tonight is the rematch in Pittsburgh, but this time with Troy Polamalu in uniform. Will that make a difference? Let's see what our roundtable had to say:

Can Sanchez lead the Jets to the Super Bowl this time around? (Reuters)

New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers favored by 3.5)

Russell: First of all I'd like to welcome everybody back onto the Jets bandwagon, and I'd like to add that more people will be joining us after the Jets beat the Steelers on Sunday. The Jets are soaring after the incredible win against the Patsies and fly in to Pittsburgh to face a team that is very similar to the Jets. Both teams have solid receivers, and running backs and while the Steelers have an advantage at QB, defense wins championships and the Jets D is better then the Steelers O. It will be hard to score points for both sides, but I look for the Jets to win a low scoring battle where Sanchez and the offense will make enough plays to win. Also the football Gods wouldn't tease me by having the Jets go to the AFC championship game 2 years in a row and lose both games, right? Jets

Ben P: If it's any comfort to Jets fans, I've picked against them in the two previous playoff rounds as well. The Jets have played and won two very emotional games. First they beat the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year and then they played their big bad bully of a division rival. Will they have anything left this week? The Jets were able to beat the Steelers earlier this year, but in that game the Steelers were without Polamalu and the Jets scored on a kickoff return and had a safety (fluky much). The Steelers will be able to shut down the Jets running game and force Sanchez to beat them. Sanchez was great last week, but the Steelers will put more pressure on him than the Pats did and will be able to do a better job exposing the loss of Damien Woody at Right Tackle. The Jets Defense has played well against the passing offenses of the Colts and Pats, but the Steelers have a wealth of speed at the receiver position that those other teams didn't. There are few schemes that can slow down Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. It'll be cold in Pittsburgh. Coach Ryan better make sure his players bring an extra pair of socks. Steelers

Sarah: Steelers/Pats - Oh wait, the Pats aren't in? THE JETS WON LAST WEEK? I abstain. No pick.

Jay: While I refuse to compare the Jets' run this year to the Giants' road winning streak leading up to Super Bowl 42, I have to hand it to Rex Ryan and his team. They have defeated Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road in back-to-back weeks. No easy task. Now all they have to do is finish the job in Pittsburgh against two-time SB champ Ben Roethlisberger. BFD. I actually think the Jets can do it. The key is winning the battle for time of possession by controlling the ball on the ground. If the offensive can eliminate turnovers and Greene/LT can consistently gain yardage, I think the Jets will win. But like the cliche goes, you can't stop Roethlisberger, you can only hope to contain him. Making sure Big Ben doesn't burn them will be the Jets' second key. If they can do that, I think the Jets win in a close game. Jets

Elissa: Jets and Steelers are a toss up b/c of their great defenses. I think Big Ben will give the Jets D more problems than Brady did last week b/c he doesn't go down as easy, but I think if the Jets don't turn the ball over (just like their play last week) they'll beat out the Steelers. Jets

Andrew: The Jets built their team this past off-season to beat the Colts--and they did so. Rex Ryan came in as Jets coach and said the goal was to beat the Patriots--and they did so. You wonder after two emotional wins if the Jets can get back up for yet another game? I'm not so sure they can. They played their championship game last week. They've beaten two teams with great offenses. Now they'll have to find a way to beat one with a great defense. I don't think it'll be so easy for the Jets. Mark Sanchez has been great so far but both the Pats and the Colts rank near the bottom half of the league on defense while the Steelers are probably the best. Sanchez has had success because of the threat of the run game. I don't think the Jets will have the same success running the ball in this game. The Jets have been great on the road but I fear their season will end once again in the AFC Championship game. Steelers

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NYaT Roundtable: NFC Championship Picks

The NYaT Roundtable gave you their picks for the Wild Card round (none of us picked Seattle) and the Divisional Round (none of us picked the Jets), so we're going to try to have someone go for a perfect week as the Conference Championships are being played out. #2 seed vs. a #6 seed in each conference. We'll start in Chicago where the Bears are Packers are playing for the third time this season but the first time in the playoffs since 1941. Here's what our panel thinks:

Jay Cutler vs. Aaron Rodgers III. Winner to the Super Bowl (NYT)

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Packers favored by 3.5)

Russell: These teams met week 17, but over the last 2 weeks the Bears have played the Seahawks, while the Pack beat Philly and then demolished the Falcons. They have all of the momentum and they are going to beat the Bears. Packers

Ben P: In this game we have two teams that are fairly similar. They both have dominant defenses and depend on their quarterbacks to score points. Given this shared formula, I like the Packers since they have a better and more consistent quarterback as well as better receivers. I think this game will come down to who puts more pressure on the opposing quarterback . Both teams have players that can get at the quarterback, but I think the Packers Offensive Line is better than the Bear's line and Rodgers mobility will also help him buy time to look downfield. The Packers' west-coast style offense will also suit them better than the Mike Martz down the field attack that the Bears will sport. Packers

Sarah: Its tough to judge here. The Bears had it easy last week as the Hawks were never a real threat so hopefully they saved up some energy for this weekend's matchup. I also hear Obama wants to go to the game if the Bears made it to the Superbowl. I still think Rodgers is strong though, and they gave the Falcons a good whooping. I'm going Green Bay. Packers

Jay: Aaron Rodgers's coming-out party as one of the NFL's elite QBs will continue. Aside from the Jets/Pats trash talk, the most compelling storyline of the postseason has been Green Bay's dominance on both sides of the ball, but most notably their offensive production. And it all comes back to Rodgers, whose 77-for-105, 969 yard, 10 TD, 1 INT performance so far in these playoffs has been incredible to watch. Just think: he threw for 366 yards and 3 TDs on the road in the Georgia Dome, where Matty "Ice" Ryan had only lost twice in his entire career. Amazing. He will carry this team to the Super Bowl. Honestly, despite Chicago's resurgence following their dreadful losses to the Giants, Seahawks, and Redskins, is anyone really scared of them? I feel like we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, perhaps in the form of a classically dreadful Jay Cutler multi-INT stinkbomb. I think the Packers continue their road dominance, winning by 10. Packers

Elissa: Green Bay has the QB I trust more down the stretch and Chicago's not as consistent of a team. I've thought Green Bay was a Super Bowl team all playoffs, so I'm going to stick with them now. Packers

Andrew: I've learned my lesson but overlooking the Seahawks against the Saints and the Jets against the Patriots (and what's really the difference between Rodgers and Brady?). The Packers are favored by more than a field goal on the road in the playoffs and although I don't think a lot of the Bears, I think that may be motivation enough to pick them. After the Giants demolished the Bears early in the season, I felt like they were done for as a team but they've been resilient behind an air-tight defense, an underrated running game, and a scary special teams attack. In Week 17 these two teams played in Green Bay with everything on the line for the Packers and nothing on the line for the Bears and yet the Bears dominated quite a bit of that game. Even though they lost in the end, do you think the may have kept a few plays secret just in case they played them again in the playoffs? Of course. The Packers biggest weakness is the running game and how do they expect to win this playoff game without one? I think while everyone is thinking "Packers blowout" here, I'm going with the disrespected Bears and *gulp* Jay Culter (that was difficult to type). Bears

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NYaT Roundtable: Divisional Round NFL Picks

Well that was a fun first weekend of football. The first NYaT Roundtable of the playoffs resulted in Ari, Jay and Ben W taking the cake as the best pickers with Ben P and I bringing up the rear. None of us saw the Seahawks winning that game (though, in my defense, I did say they would cover). Now we're up to the big time as the bye weeks are over and the winners go on to the Conference Championship Game. So which teams will advance? Our NYaT panel gives their opinions:

May The Force be with you, Rex Ryan...
...you're going to need it

New York Jets at New England Patriots (Patriots favored by 9)

Ben P says: "It is always difficult when two team plays each other three times in one year. These teams know eachother very well and in these situations I think the team with superior coaching has the edge. Rex Ryan knows defense and has done an excellent job as the Jets head coach, but there is nobody better than Belichik especially when it comes to gameplanning and adjusting mid-game. The Patriots are too good offensively and if they turn this into a shootout, the Jets will be in big trouble." Patriots

Elissa says: "I can't bring myself to make a prediction for the Jets game. I choose to abstain rather than throw my team under the bus. Instead, I'll take this time to follow Rex Ryan and Cromartie's lead...F*#$ Tom Brady and his ridiculous Justin Bieber hair and F*$# Bill Belichick and his stupid cut off sweatshirts. It's personal!" No pick (but check out her post on the "War of Words")

Sarah says: "I'm TRYING to be classy and say to Jets fans I know- hey we each took a game this year - but let's face it: We are going to STOMP them" Patriots

Ari says: "I wish otherwise, but common sense says Brady mauls them. Cromartie will regret mouthing off with each passing slant strike over the middle that he can't cover. In the battle of 4 letter team name, the one that sounds like Mets sees the same result." Patriots

Jay says: "Nothing that Rex Ryan or Antonio Cromartie can say will change their fate: New England will roll at home. Face it, Jets fans, the 2010 Patriots may be boring, robotic, and soulless, but they are a dominant football team. They won their last 8 games and defeated the Jets 45-3 in their last meeting. Tom Brady hasn't thrown a pick in months and Belichick will be ready for whatever defensive schemes Rex Ryan has cooked up. The Patriots also don't make any mistakes, giving up the ball only 10 times this season (!!) and creating more takeaways than anyone but the Giants. Although the Patriots have the home field advantage, there are some things the Jets can do to help their chances: (1) take advantage of New England's bend-don't-break offensive line and get to Brady, (2) stop the Woodhead/Green-Ellis running attack and force Brady to test Darrelle Revis and Cromartie; and (3) ignore McCourty and have Sanchez attack the weaker parts of the Patriots' secondary. But all that said, I still see New England winning relatively comfortably. Double digits are likely." Patriots

Andrew says: I want to find a way to pick the Jets here but I just can't do it. Rex Ryan and company won their Super Bowl last weekend when they finally beat Peyton Manning and the Colts and I see a huge letdown this week against their divisional rivals. I will say this, though. I think that the Jets will cover. My prediction is that Jet preseason cut (one of the all-time horrible personnel moves by Rex Ryan confirmed by anyone with all their lobes intact who saw Hard Knocks), Danny Woodhead, will scramble on 3rd and 9 with less than two minutes left and the Jets out of timeouts, down by 6. A first down seals the game but anything less makes the Pats punt back to Antonio Cromartie and the Jets. Woodhead scrambles and is about to be met by Cromartie when out of no place Tom Brady runs up, pancakes Cromartie, yells "who is an asshole now?", and Woodhead gets the first by a foot. This is followed by an offseason of jokes that Rex Ryan has now lost twice because of a foot." Patriots

Baltimore Ravens at the Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers favored by 3.5)

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NYaT Roundtable: Wild Card Round Picks

I was watching ESPN the other day and the "Fact or Fiction" question came on the screen that read: "No home team will win a Wild Card game." I was shocked seeing that until I realized that this prediction could really come to fruition. Now the real debate starts is this because of the lack of homefield advantage or the fact that some divisions are not equal to others. I side with the latter but I think we'll see some interesting things this weekend as we do every playoffs. If you're still trying to figure out who is going to win this weekend, here's some thoughts for you from Ben P, Ari, Jay and myself:

Can Marc Sanchez make magic happen on the road again? (NY Mag)

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts (Colts favored by 2.5)

Ben P says: "The Colts are vulnerable with their injuries, but I don't think the Jets have the defense to pull this out. You can't beat Manning without pressure, but the Jets can't apply pressure unless they blitz and Manning eats up the blitz like Rex Ryan eats up feet. On the other side of the ball the Jets lack consistency on offense on home field is a key here for the Colts." Colts

Ari says: "Because I want to hear Rex Ryan yap for another week" Jets

Jay says: "The Colts overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat the Jets in last season's AFC Championship game.  In seeking revenge in this year's playoff rematch, Rex Ryan says "it's personal."  I believe him.  Mark Sanchez has improved and shown even more poise than he did last year.  Darrelle Revis should do a good job of locking down Reggie Wayne, which leaves Peyton Manning with fewer options than ever before in the playoffs, thanks to injuries to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark.  Since the Colts' only rushing options are a still-recovering Joseph Addai (89 yards in his last 2 games) and a still-developing Donald Brown (UConn in the house!), I think the Colts will be overmatched offensively.  As long as the Jets protect Sanchez from Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, I think the Jets will escape from Indy with a close win." Jets

My opinion: Last year I had my same issues with the Jets: a mediocre QB, an overrated defense (and the Jets passing D is not as good as last year), and a team lucky to even be in the dance. But after watching the Jets prove me wrong last year, I'm not going to discount them--even with some holes in the secondary. It's not just that the Colts are banged up (and they certainly are) but the fact that they're not as good a team this year as they've been in the past. Like The Office, the Colts are just expected to be good despite the fact that the leading man and all the people around him have declined. The Colts pass rush is weak and if you're not going to get to Mark Sanchez, you're not going to beat the Jets. The Colts beat exactly one playoff team (the Chiefs) and really just breezed through an easy schedule. I wouldn't be shocked if they won, but I'm going with my man Russell and picking the J-E-T-S. Jets

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NYaT Roundtable: Filling Out a Full Hall of Fame Ballot

Once in a while I'll hit post and think that something I've blogged about has been posted. This is one of those times. I wrote up NYaT's Hall of Fame Ballot about a month ago, hit "publish post"...and, well, it isn't there. So I head back to fill out our hypothetical Hall of Fame ballot before the actual results are announced. It's never been an easy job but I think it's even harder this year with so many guys on the ballot who could theoretically go either way. We decided to give you a quick blurb on everyone. So here we go: NYaT's Hall of Fame ballot

NYaT like Alomar for the Hall of Fame in 2011 (KC Star)

Class of 2011

Roberto Alomar: A unanimous selection by our panel and rightfully so. Craig Biggio, Ryne Sandberg and Jeff Kent were all great but Alomar has been the best second baseman I've seen play--and the numbers back it up. Jay said: "John Hirschbeck might disagree, but Alomar's the best 2B since Ryne Sandberg. 12 straight All Star selections. Career .300 hitter who played at least 140 games in 14 of 16 seasons. Not a power guy but topped 100 RBIs twice. HOF-worthy in my book." And Ben W chimes in: "If it weren't for the spitting incident he probably would have been in last year.  Probably best all around second baseman of the last 50 years." I agree: Alomar's history-making moment is at hand.

Jeff Bagwell: I can't say how much issue I have with people leaving Bagwell off of their ballots. Bagwell was the ultimate package of power, OBP, speed, and defense...and he did most of it while playing in the ultimate pitchers haven of the Astrodome. Ben says "Great offensive player, run producer, and base runner (202 career SBs).  Also good defender.  Gets my vote." Jay adds: "University of Hartford, whattt!!  Seriously, one of the big boppers of the Steroid Era who has never been the subject of a rumor.  Played his whole career in Houston and put up ridiculous numbers that get him into the Hall despite not reaching 500 HRs." MVP and Rookie of the Year. Another unanimous selection for the NYaT voters and rightfully so for one of the best firstbasemen not only of our generation...but of all time. I agree with HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra: it sounds like steroid McCarthyism at work here.

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NYaT Roundtable: World Series Picks

We gave you our division series, ALCS, and NLCS picks but now it's time to figure out who is going to win the World Series. Here at NYaT, we didn't do well last round but we'll try to do better with the World Series which starts tonight. Here are our predictions:

Will the Giants pitch to Josh Hamilton in the World Series? (NYT)

Ari: "Texas hitting is just too strong. San Fran pitching behind the Freak has been iffy recently. The MVP will Hamilton if they pitch to him--potentially Cliff Lee if they don't." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Josh Hamilton

Ben P: "San Fran pitching is better than the Texas hitting" Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Pat Burrell

Ben W: "Tough choices here. No doubt in my mind it goes 7, since both teams have great starting pitching and strong bullpen arms. After Lincecum vs Lee, take your picks. I'd take Sanchez over Wilson and Cain over Lewis. But I'd also take Hamilton, Guerrero, and Cruz over Posey, Huff, and Burrell. My vote: pitching wins." Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Brian Wilson

Jay: "Just like last year, Cliff Lee will win his 2 starts. This should be a lower-scoring series than the ALCS, but the Texas lineup will score enough runs off Matt Cain and the fading Jonathan Sanchez to pull out the other 4 wins. Elvis Andrus will continue to harass the Giants by stealing 2nd and 3rd seemingly at will. Hamilton won't be walked every single trip to the plate, and he'll make San Fran pitchers pay when they finally pitch to him. Cody Ross will cool down but Buster Posey will shine on the biggest stage of them all. The ageless Vlad Guerrero will come up clutch one more time at some point, not unlike his line drive double in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Cliff "Soon to be a Yankee" Lee

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NYaT Roundtable: American League Championship Series Picks

Well we tackled one championship series with the NYaT Roundtable coming up all Phillies, Ben broke down the ALCS match-ups, Jay wrote about A.J. Burnett going in the ALCS, but let's see what the NYaT Roundtable (a very New York-centric crowd) thinks will happen in the ALCS. To the panel:

The hefty lefty will try to take Game 1 for the Yanks (MSNBC)

Elissa: I foresee the Yankees losing only two games. Lee has been so dominant in the postseason. I am of the firm belief that if Cliff Lee wants to win the game, he's going to win the game. Poor Phil Hughes will just have to take one for the team with that loss. Luckily, the Yankees will probably only have to face Lee once in the ALCS (Girardi should send Tampa a nice fruit basket or something). On the flip side, Burnett has been horrendous. Without a day off between games 4 and 5 the Yankees will have to start Burnett and accept the fact that they will probably lose that game. I don't see the Rangers winning anything else. With Pettitte, CC, and Hughes on the mound, the Yankees offense will ensure another appearance in the World Series (I'm sure Yankees fans everywhere are relieved. It's been a whole year since you've seen your team in the World Series - congratulations). Yankees in 6 - Series MVP: CC Sabathia

Sarah: Too many cheesesteaks (and days off) for CC Sabathia is going to do the Yankees in and the Rangers are going to win. It may be a fluke win, but without Sabathia winning, the Yankees will be in trouble against Cliff Lee. Rangers in 7 - Series MVP: Cliff Lee

Ben P: The Yankees lineup is built perfectly for the playoffs. Besides for Lee the Rangers staff doesn't have anyone that can contend. Yankees in 6 - Series MVP: CC Sabathia

Jay: The Yankees' starting rotation is perfectly set up for this series. I think the Yankees will win Games 1 and 2 behind CC (presumably against Wilson) and Andy Pettitte (presumably against Lewis). Cliff Lee will deliver another magical performance to take Game 3. (My hope/expectation is that the Yankees will use AJ Burnett in that game, since they're probably not going to beat Lee anyway.) Phil Hughes will be effective enough once again to win Game 4. CC will come back on full rest to clinch the series in Game 5. Josh Hamilton's postseason struggles will continue as his ribs are secretly still bothering him. Mariano Rivera will once again not give up a run. Joba will finally have a moment, and he'll make the most of it. Alex Rodriguez will bust out in a big way to win MVP. He's due. Yankees in 5 - Series MVP: Alex Rodriguez

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NYaT Roundtable: National League Championship Series Picks

Well that was an exciting first round, eh? A no hitter, comeback wins, heroes, goats, umpire mistakes--everything. But now that we've gotten done with the first round, it's time to pick the pennant winners. We'll start today with the National League:

Will Halladay add an NLCS MVP to 2010? (ModBee)

Ben W: Phillies will win this series but the Giants will certainly be a bigger challenge than the Reds. The Phillies hitters will see much better starting pitching than they saw against the Reds and since their bats have been relatively cold, this series will be a challenge. However, don't be surprised if you see Roy Halladay start three times during this series. They will have to out-pitch the Giants to win this series, which will be difficult but they would be the favorites to do so. Phillies in 7 - Series MVP: Roy Halladay

Jay: Everyone seems to be on the Philly bandwagon right now. I'm not quite there yet. Everyone is raving about how dominant the Phillies' rotation is. Yes, Roy Halladay threw an amazing no-hitter, and yes, Cole Hamels was outstanding in Game 3. But Tim Lincecum (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 14 K, 1 BB) and Jonathan Sanchez (7.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 1 BB) were similarly dominant, albeit against Atlanta's weaker bats. So I don't see Philadelphia having a tremendous pitching advantage over San Francisco. I think Halladay will slightly edge out Lincecum in Game 1, but after that I just don't know. What I do know is that the Giants' offense (4 games, 28 hits, scored 8 earned runs), as much as it has been criticized, wasn't that much worse than the Phillies' offense in the LDS (3 games, 21 hits, scored 7 earned runs). So are the Phillies that much stronger offensively? I say no. But having home-field advantage, and 2-possibly-3 starts from Roy Halladay, gives the Phillies the edge in seven games. Phillies in 7 - Series MVP: Roy Halladay

Ben P: The Giants might be able to pitch with the Phillies but they certainly can't hit with them. Phillies in 5 - Series MVP: Jayson Werth

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NYaT Roundtable: Top Storylines/Memories of the 2010 Regular Season

With the 2010 season in the books, I decided to ask the NYaT writers what were their favorite moments/memories from this regular season were and here's what we came up with:

Strasburg made lasting impressions (Canadian Press)

Andrew:
1) Armando Galarraga and James Joyce. In a year of perfection on the mound, this near perfection may be my greatest memory. The incident, the backlash, the apologies, and the way everyone handled it in the end may make this one stick in my mind longer than Roy Halladay or Dallas "Get Off My Mound" Braden
2) Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. This could also be represented by Buster Posey, Neftali Feliz, Austin Jackson, Jason Heyward or anyone else we listed for the NL Rookie of the Year race. It was a great year for young arms (who threw absolute gas), prospects making impacts and big debuts--though the Strasburg injury taught us all that the highs are as great as the lows with baseball prospects at times.
3) Saying good-bye. How about this to sweep away my childhood? Ken Griffey, Jr. retired, Bobby Cox and Cito Gaston hung it up as well and George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard died--the last two contributing to a very emotional All-Star Game as Derek Jeter stepped to the batters box to lead-off the game.

Jay:
1) Stephen Strasburg (7 IP, 2 ER, 14 K, 0 BB) wows baseball universe in MLB debut
2) 5 no-hitters, including 2 perfect games within a 20-day span
3) Troy Tulowitzki's unbelievable September (.303/.366/.754, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 30 R)

Ben P:
1) The San Diego Padres Big Year- Coming into the year, the Padres probably had one of the weakest teams on paper. Behind some very good young pitching, they finish just one game out of the wild card and 2 games out of the division, proving that you can still get it done with a tiny payroll.
2) Stephen Strasburg -When healthy, Strasburg more than lived up to the hype. His stuff and command were about as good as anyone else in baseball. His injury is bad news for Washington fans, as well as the MLB.

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NYaT Roundtable: Joba, Hughes and the 5th Starter Debate

You know that your team is going into a season with few question marks when you get into a heated debate about who the 5th starter is going to be. But that's where we are in Yankee-land. It's not a small issue either--with Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez reaching free agency after the season ends, the Yankees may need to fill quite a few slots behind CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. And with the workload that Sabathia has undergone the past few seasons and the health question marks surround Burnett, this is not a small issue. But I wanted to throw it out there to my friends and blog contributors and see what they think. So we started a roundtable debate on Joba and the 5th starter role. I thought it was a wonderful idea by Pinstriped Bible and I thought we could continue the debate

The Yankees 5th starter debate is not just Joba Chamberlain vs. Phil Hughes but where the rest of the group fits in. Here's what resulted (started on Friday night):

--Andrew: Everyone knows where I stand on this issue because I've written about it before: let’s let Joba, rule-less, go through an entire regular season and see if he can duplicate the success he showed last year before they jerked him around with Joba Rules III. Before they willy-nilly instituted those rules, Joba showed flashes of brilliance, going 7-2 with a 3.58 ERA and dominating in three starts right after the All Star Break. The Yankees then pulled the rug out from under him and he struggled mightily in his mishmosh of a role. I rather give it to Joba and see what he can do over an entire season than give it to Phil Hughes who may be able to throw a max of about 125 innings.

I'll open the floor, though: what do you guys think?

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