What a difference a month makes. On August 30^th it was looking pretty grim for the Los Angeles Dodgers who had just lost 8 in a row and fallen to 4 ½ games behind Arizona for the division lead. Across town the Angels were coasting to the playoffs, seemingly having the division wrapped up since June. Now here we are today, the Dodgers sweeping the Chicago Cubs to move onto the NLCS and the Angels losing again to the Boston Red Sox in the first round. If you had tried to predict this outcome a month ago people would have said you were nuts, but it just shows you how unpredictable baseball, playoff baseball especially, really is.

Obviously the Dodgers owe Manny Ramirez a huge debt of gratitude for literally putting the team on his back and carrying them into the playoffs. The Dodgers have had the pitching the last couple of years but now they finally have a feared hitter in their lineup to give protection and command respect. Along with his big bat, Manny also brought his care free attitude to the Dodgers which has led the team to play a more relaxed style of baseball (yes winning helps a lot too). Now I wasn’t surprised by the Dodgers beating the Cubs but I definitely didn’t see a sweep coming. The Dodgers are hot and are now a force to be reckoned with.

The Angels had a disappointing end to their 100 win season. Once again they faced their hated rivals the Boston Red Sox and once again they were served with an early playoff exit. This time was different though. The Angels had owned the Red Sox in the regular season, unlike in past years. It seemed like the stars had aligned for the Halos but that wasn’t the case. Contrary to how they performed in the regular season, the Angels had a playoff series full of defensive blunders and an inability to hit with runners in scoring position. It seemed like the Angels were cracking a bit under all the postseason pressures. Now many people have been focusing on the failed suicide squeeze play from Game 4 and wondering if that cost the Angels the series and whether or not that was the right call by manager Mike Scioscia.  I believe it was the right call to try and squeeze home the potentially game winning run. Why stray away from the style of baseball that got you up to this point? His players, specifically Erick Aybar, just didn’t execute. I mean come on, how do you not get the bat on a fastball when you know its coming? For a guy who led the team in sacrifice bunts this season, Aybar just plain blew it.

I heard John Kruk on ESPN make an interesting point regarding that failed squeeze attempt though. Reggie Willits was called out at third even though the ball came out of Jason Varitek’s glove after he had made the tag. It seems to me like there are different rules for different bases then. If that same play had happened at home plate and the ball had come out of Varitek’s glove like that after making the tag you know the call would have been safe (the ending to A League of Their Own is suddenly running through my mind now). Just something interesting to think about. So for Angel fans what now? Well you can root for the youthful Rays to take down the evil Boston Empire or you can join me and all the other Dodgers fans and cheer on our boys in blue. Either way I know one thing is true, there’s always next year right?
By: Moshier Magic

ALCS

Los Angeles Dodgers v. Philadelphia Phillies:
This should be a very exciting series and I see it going seven games. Both teams are very evenly matched with a slight advantage to Philadelphia on offense and a slight advantage to the Dodgers with pitching. The key to this series is [...] Continue Reading…

1. Brandon Marshall – Broncos

2. Terrell Owens – Cowboys

3. Reggie Wayne – Colts

4. Larry Fitzgerald – Cardinals

5. Steve Smith – Panthers

6. Greg Jennings – Packers

7. Andre Johnson – Texans

8. Calvin Johnson – Lions

9. Plaxico Burress - Giants

10. Santana Moss – Redskins

11. Dwayne Bowe – Chiefs

12. Braylon Edwards – Browns

13. [...] Continue Reading…

1. Jason Witten – Cowboys

2. Antonio Gates – Chargers

3. Kellen Winslow – Browns

4. Tony Gonzalez – Chiefs

5. Dallas Clark – Colts

6. Chris Cooley – Redskins

7. Tony Scheffler – Broncos

8. Owen Daniels – Texans

9. Zach Miller – Raiders

10. Todd Heap – Ravens

11. Greg Olsen – Bears

12. Heath Miller – Steelers

13. [...] Continue Reading…

1. Drew Brees - Saints

2. Tony Romo - Cowboys

3. Jay Cutler - Broncos

4. Peyton Manning - Colts

5. Donovan McNabb - Eagles

6. Philip Rivers - Chargers

7. Ben Roethlisberger - Steelers

8. Kurt Warner - Cardinals

9. Brett Favre - Jets

10. Eli Manning - Giants

11. Aaron Rodgers - Packers

12. Matt Hasselbeck - Seahawks

13. [...] Continue Reading…

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - Chargers

2. Adrian Peterson - Vikings

3. Marion Barber - Cowboys

4. Clinton Portis - Redskins

5. Frank Gore - 49ers

6. Marshawn Lynch - Bills

7. Brian Westbrook - Eagles

8. Joseph Addai - Colts

9. Steven Jackson - Rams

10. Brandon Jacobs - Giants

11. Reggie Bush - Saints

12. Matt Forte - Bears

13. [...] Continue Reading…

Philadelphia Phillies v. Milwaukee Brewers, Phillies up 1-0:
If Cole Hamels continues to pitch like he did today, watch out National League. The Milwaukee Brewers are known for their lack of patients at the plate, but Cole Hamels didn’t even give them the chance to be patient by throwing strikes. [...] Continue Reading…

The Milwaukee Brewers vs. The Philadelphia Phillies:
The Brewers are in and the New York Mets are out. C.C. Sabathia had to pitch 4 starts in a row on 3 days rest, but they did it. They will now match up against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round. The [...] Continue Reading…

With gas prices on the rise and the Government spending all your tax dollars on bailing out billion dollar mortgage giants we could understand that there might be more than one moth flying out of your wallet these days.  Fortunately for Simple Sports Now readers [...] Continue Reading…

Arizona Cardinals – For the past couple seasons the Cardinals have been a popular sleeper pick to make the playoffs. They have yet to live up to the expectations, but in Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt’s first season they were able to reach the .500 mark. That 8-8 record was [...] Continue Reading…