Tony Paul

Playoffs are here, let's hope it's worth the wait

Tony Paul / The Detroit News

November is for the World Series of Poker, not the World Series of Baseball.

At least, that's the way it should be.

But this year, baseball's Fall Classic is guaranteed to conclude next month -- Game 4 is scheduled for Nov. 1, when the average temperatures in cities with playoff teams (excluding Los Angeles) is less than 45 degrees. Oh, and that's factoring in the average temps, not the readings at night, when each World Series game will be played.

It'll be only the second World Series to conclude in November, after the 2001 Classic -- that one wasn't originally scheduled to, but was pushed back because of several days of game postponements after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Of course, that's understandable.

This year's late start, however, is due only to the late start to the season (April 5), which was due to the World Baseball Classic. In other words, it's absurd nobody in MLB's work force could've come up with a proposal to assure Game 7 isn't a mere three weeks from Thanksgiving.

We thought commissioner Bud Selig took this matter seriously last fall, when crummy weather in Philadelphia forced the suspension of Game 5, with the final few innings of the Phillies' clincher being played in prime time the following night. That stop-and-go, combined with the unheralded Rays' presence, led to the worst ratings in World Series history.

Yet, here we are just one year later, starting the World Series later than ever, three days before Halloween.

That's definitely no treat, but the baseball playoffs -- the most exclusive playoffs in all of pro sports -- certainly are, and they begin tonight.

So let's play ball! (And bundle up!)

Diamond digits

0-7: Tony Paul's record predicting last year's seven postseason series.

3-3: Paul's record predicting this year's division champions. Yes -- Yankees, Angels, Phillies; Nope -- Indians, Cubs, Giants.

.279: Alex Rodriguez's career batting average in the playoffs, but it's even worse lately -- .159 and one RBI (on a home run last year) the past three postseason series, all first-round exits by the Yankees.

0/11: Blown saves for Brad Lidge last year (1.95 ERA) compared to this year (7.21), leaving the Phillies with a major question: Who will close for them in their bid to become the first NL team since 1975-76 Reds to win back-to-back World Series? The replacement option is fellow right-hander Ryan Madson, who had a 3.38 ERA and six saves chances in the last month.

10/7/68: In a play many credit with shifting the momentum in the 1968 World Series, Tigers left fielder Willie Horton gunned down Cardinals speedster Lou Brock in a bang-bang play at home plate. Two innings later, Al Kaline knocked a two-run single to give a 4-3 lead to the Tigers, who went on to win that game and the next two to win their third World Series championship.

Tony's predictions

• Yankees vs. Twins: Yankees in three

• Angels vs. Red Sox: Red Sox in five

• Dodgers vs. Cardinals: Dodgers in five

• Phillies vs. Rockies: Rockies in four

Division series

All games on TBS

American League

Yankees vs. Twins

• 6:07 tonight: Minnesota (TBA) at New York (Sabathia 19-8)

• 6:07 p.m. Friday: Minnesota at New York (Burnett 13-9)

• TBA Sunday: at Minnesota

• TBA Monday*: at Minnesota

• TBA Oct. 14*: at New York

Angels vs. Red Sox

• 9:37 p.m. Thursday: Boston (Lester 15-8) at Los Angeles (Lackey 11-8)

• 9:37 p.m. Friday: Boston (Beckett 17-6) at Los Angeles (Weaver 16-8)

• TBA Sunday: Los Angeles (Kazmir 10-9) at Boston (Buchholz 7-4)

• TBA Monday*: Los Angeles (Saunders 16-7) at Boston (Lester 15-8)

• TBA Oct. 14*: at Los Angeles

National League

Dodgers vs. Cardinals

• 9:37 tonight: St. Louis (Carpenter 17-4) at Los Angeles (Wolf 11-7)

• 6:07 p.m. Thursday: St. Louis (Wainwright 19-8) at Los Angeles (Kershaw 8-8)

• 6:07 p.m. Saturday: Los Angeles at St. Louis (Pineiro 15-12)

• TBA Sunday*: at St. Louis

• TBA Oct. 13*: at Los Angeles

Phillies vs. Rockies

• 2:37 today: Colorado (Jimenez 15-12) at Philadelphia (Lee 7-4)

• 2:37 p.m. Thursday: Colorado at Philadelphia (Hamels 10-11)

• 9:37 p.m. Saturday: at Colorado

• TBA Sunday*: at Colorado

• TBA Oct. 13*: at Philadelphia

* if necessary

Yankees: Housewarming party

The Yankees sure know how to break in their new digs. The last time they opened a new ballpark, they won their first of 26 World Series championships. This time, they posted the best record in baseball. Here's a comparison:

Angels: Who's turn is it?

The 2009 Angels, with their major league-leading .285 average, became the third team in MLB history with at least 10 players with at least 50 RBIs.

Source: Elias Sports Bureau, Detroit News research

Red Sox: A near-perfect 10 (years)

The Red Sox recently were named The Sporting News' team of the decade, and it's because of their postseason success. Here's a look at the top teams, by regular-season winning percentage, since 2000:

Key: PS, postseasons; WS, World Series

Twins: Last in, first out?

The Twins played Tuesday for the last playoff spot in the AL. Here's a look at how the previous seven tiebreaker winners fared in the playoffs since the divisional format was instituted in 1969.

Dodgers: The new Mr. October

Dodgers manager Joe Torre has tied Braves manager Bobby Cox in two impressive categories: Consecutive postseasons (14, including 12 with the Yankees) and total postseasons. Here's a look at the managers who've been to the playoffs most:

Key: PS, postseasons; WS, World Series

Note: The team listed is the team with which the manager made the playoffs most.

Cardinals: Everybody's pitching in

Everybody talks about all those great pitching staffs the Braves have had, but it's the Cardinals' that's stood out most the past decade -- since 2000, only six starting rotations have had at least three 15-game winners, and four are from St. Louis.

Note: In the past decade, it's happened 14 times in the American League.

Phillies: Picking up the team

Phillies rookie left-hander J.A. Happ began the season in the bullpen but quickly worked his way into the rotation, where he made a strong case for National League rookie of the year. Not only were his 12 wins most by a rookie for a defending World Series champion in the last 30 years, but he was a stopper: His record following a team loss was third-best ever among rookies.

Note: None earned rookie of year, which began in 1947.

Source: Elias Sports Bureau, Detroit News research

Rockies: Rock-tober, take two

Three years ago, the Rockies won 21 of their last 22 -- including a marathon one-game tiebreaker -- to make the playoffs. This year, the turnaround began when Jim Tracy replaced fired manager and Big Rapids, Mich., native Clint Hurdle on May 29. The Rockies are 74-42 under Tracy, who is facing the team that gave him his first managerial job, the Dodgers, in the first round. Here's a month-by-month comparison of the comebacks: