[thejumper5]

Tampa Bay looked really good yesterday. Moore could be a serious X-Factor for them. Having not pitched through the league yet is a huge benefit. He gives Tampa a 4-deep rotation of solid starters that is probably second only to the Phillies among playoff teams.

Does the suspension in New York last night give an advantage to the Yankees or the Tigers? I'm inclined to say New York because it makes it so they will only see Justin Verlander in extended innings once in the series; however, if either Sabathia or Verlander struggle in Game 3 and get pulled early, I could see them coming back for a Game 5.

As of now, I like Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the NL, but I could definitely see the Diamondbacks surprising some people.

One change I really appreciate about this season is the earlier playoff schedule. The last few years the playoffs have dragged on seemingly forever. It's nice to see that MLB has moved things up a few days and cut out all the extra days off this year. It will keep things moving and keep things competitively realistic by forcing teams to use their pitching staffs in more of a "regular season mode" than they have been forced to in seasons past.

[SDK46]

Granted, on paper, my Cardinals are the weakest team in the playoffs.

But they're also the hottest. Never discount momentum.

The Detroit/Yankee series looks very interesting.