Postseason primer, from A-to-Z
A. A-Rod. Sure, Alex Rodriguez led the majors with 54 home runs and 156 RBIs. That won’t mean a darned thing to Yankees fans if he pops up with the bases loaded in Game 1. He’s felt the pressure in the past – 4 for 41 with no RBIs in his last 12 postseason games. Now, it’s put up-or-go away time. Guessing here: Look for a monster showing.
B. Bullpens. Arizona’s Jose Valverde and Cleveland’s Joe Borowski posted the top two save totals in baseball. Hard to tell how they did it, because both closers can seem awfully shaky.
C. Cubs. Could this be the year a World Series flag flies over Wrigley Field? Be it a Billy Goat curse or bad pitching or Steve Bartman, the Cubs haven’t worn the crown since Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance in 1908. Then again, the Red Sox and White Sox recently ended their decades-long droughts.
D. Different. Of the eight teams in these playoffs, there are a record seven newcomers. The Yankees were the only club to repeat from last year.
E. Exits. Trevor Hoffman and Tom Glavine could’ve pitched their teams into the playoffs. Instead, their huge numbers added up to a big zero in the final days.
F. Fenway Park. Yawkey Way will be filled with the scent of sweet sausages on the grill Thursday night. Citizens Bank Park in Philly gets its first taste of playoff baseball come this afternoon.
G. Gyroball. Did Dice-K ever throw it? No telling, for sure. Daisuke Matsuzaka definitely wore down in the stretch. Boston spent more than $100 million to get the Japanese ace and wants a payoff.
H. Holliday. This postseason is full of fresh faces, and Matt Holliday is among the best. The MVP candidate from Colorado and Phillies slugger Ryan Howard should drive pitchers wacky – and whacky! – when the highest-scoring teams in the N.L. come to Coors Field.
I. Injuries. Gary Matthews Jr. is banged up and out of the first round. Randy Johnson, Mark Prior, Freddy Garcia and Orlando Hudson never made it to the stretch. By the way, whatever happened to Carl Pavano?
J. Jeter. With his green eyes tightly focused, Derek Jeter is the face of October. He’s made the playoffs every year since he was a rookie in 1996, and his 150 hits are the most in postseason play.
K. Knuckleballs. Tim Wakefield throws a wicked one, but Boston left him off the first-round playoff roster because of a bad back. Teams always tinker with their 25-man rosters – should we carry an extra reliever or a third catcher? – and can change them in-between rounds.
L. Lou Piniella. One of several managers in this postseason with a World Series championship ring. Joe Torre, Terry Francona and Mike Scioscia also own ‘em.
M. Manuel. Remember how Jack McKeon became everyone’s lovable grandpa a few years ago in the postseason? Well, get ready for Charlie Manuel, the Phillies’ folksy manager. At 63, he’s straight out of Mayberry – West Virginia, actually. While he may come off as a bumpkin, the Phils love playing for him.
N. N.L. vs A.L. Many people think that any National League team will get overwhelmed in the World Series. Then again, the Cardinals didn’t look too dangerous at this time last year.
O. Old guys. Still a few fortysomethings set to make a difference this month. Roger Clemens and Jamie Moyer are both 44, Curt Schilling and Kenny Lofton are 40.
P. Pies. Trot Nixon started a tradition that caught on in Cleveland. As the star player does a postgame TV interview, he gets smacked in the face with a whipped-cream pie. We’ll see if it continues this week.
Q. Quick. Eric Byrnes (50 swipes) and Chone Figgins (41) can scoot. So can Jimmy Rollins (41) and Shane Victorino (37) – that pair led the way as the Phillies set a major league record with an 88 percent success rate on stolen bases.
R. Rookies. They’re dotting the diamond this month, with Troy Tulowitzki, Joba Chamberlain, Dustin Pedroia, Chris Young and Ubaldo Jimenez ready to make noise. Quick quiz: Who are the only two rookies to win MVP of the World Series? Answer: Livan Hernandez (1997) and Larry Sherry (1959).
S. Spring training. For Mets fans and everyone else whose teams missed out this time, there’s always next year. Pitchers and catchers can start reporting to camp on Feb. 14. Meantime, it’ll be curious to see where Barry Bonds winds up.
T. TBS. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. join the new TV home for the first round. They broke out an in-game studio format during the N.L. wild-card tiebreaker. Frankly, it looked odd.
U. U-turn. The Rockies finished with a fury, winning 14 of their last 15 games, then left Denver late Monday night without any rest. They raise the old October question: Is it better to be tired and full of momentum, or not?
V. Vlad. Fastballs over his head, curves in the dirt, Vladimir Guerrero swings at everything. Then again, maybe that hurts him now. He’s only 9 for 50 (.180) lifetime in the playoffs.
W. World Series. A home run by Cleveland’s Victor Martinez helped the A.L. win the All-Star game and claim home-field advantage for the World Series. The opener will be Oct. 24 at either Fenway Park, Jacobs Field, the Big A or Yankee Stadium.
X. ‘Xtra. Because of TV, baseball threw extra off-days into the postseason schedule. It’s weird. Baseball is meant to be played every day. These aren’t the NBA playoffs.
Y. Yankees. They’ve won 26 championships, yet none since the 2000 Subway Series. Infused by young pitchers and inspired by a midseason comeback, the wild-card Yanks could be the favorite in this eight-team tournament.
Z. Zambrano. Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano might be the most excitable player in the postseason. He’s tussled with his catcher, broken a bat over his knee, stared down hitters and criticized fans. He’ll need to keep his emotions in check for Game 1.