Congratulations, you have made it to the final mile. Even if you�ve been sidetracked along the way by the occasional month-long Jorge Julio save drought, you need to be commended for sticking it out till the end. I hope you�ve enjoyed the second season of the KAC BASEBALL WAR SHEET, and look forward to doing it again next season.
There is not much to be contested regarding post-season berths in MLB in the final week (especially if you are outside of SoCal or NoCal), as the playoff picture is in near focus. As it stands now the first round is as follows�
To be contested in the final week is as follows�
At this writing San Fran currently holds a two-game lead over LA, that looks like a battle that should go into the final weekend. Although the Giants play only five games in the final week, the possibility exists for two additional games beyond next Sunday. If the playoff spot is still in the balance, SF would travel to Atlanta for a make-up game on Monday. Should the Giants be tied with the Dodgers after that, it is another long flight back to the west coast for a one-game playoff. CDM would treat that as a separate week and moves would have to be made accordingly. Should Oakland and Anaheim tie for the AL West title, there would be no one-game playoff. The winner of the season series (to be determined as of this writing) is the Division Champ, while the loser is still assured of qualifying as the Wild Card. Still the Division honors are sure to be hotly contested as the Division champ opens at home (v. MN) while the Wild Card team would be force to jet out to New York for the first round, a fate Oakland knows all too well. The A�s and Angels are also shooting for the AL�s best record along with the Yankees, which would ensure home field advantage for the LCS round. The Atlanta/Arizona battle for the NL�s best record matters should the two teams meet in the NL Championship round, as of this writing the Braves hold a 2 � game lead in that battle.
That leaves only seven teams with something to play for, the four California teams and to a lesser extent ATL, NYY, and AZ. The D-Backs, Yanks, and Braves will not be too hell-bent though on gaining the best record at the risk of exposing players to injury while Minnesota and St. Louis are already locked in as #3 seeds - and will use the final week to get players healthy and to set up their postseason rotation.
Which leads me to my preview on who to look for in regards to the CDM Playoff challenge. Keep in mind that the D-Backs, Braves, and AL West winner will be good bets to advance past the first round while the AL Wild Card/NYY matchup will be too close to call. The position-by-position rundown is as follows�
Catcher � Jorge Posada (NYY) is a lock with candidates for the #2 spot including A.J Pierzynski (MN), Scott Hatteberg (OAK), Javy Lopez (ATL), Damian Miller (AZ) and Paul LoDuca (LA). Should LA advance LoDuca would be good for the first round, otherwise use Lopez, Hatteberg and/or Miller to fill out your catching slots.
First Base � After Jason Giambi it is a total crapshoot. David Ortiz (MN) should be serviceable for the first round, while Tino Martinez will be facing a steady diet of two Arizona pitchers you may of heard of. After that the choices are Scott Spezio (ANH), Julio Franco (ATL), Mark Grace (AZ), and either J.T. Snow (SF) or Eric Karros (LA). Arizona�s Euribo Durazo is listed as on outfielder by CDM so he�s out of the equation.
Second Base � Alfonso Soriano is the obvious first choice, Then it�s an intriguing coin flip between Junior Spivey (AZ) and Ray Durham (OAK). Spivey has struggled a tad lately so Ray may be the way to go. However, both should be on your roster.
Third Base � Eric Chavez (OAK) and Troy Glaus (ANH) provide the most power while Chipper Jones (listed at 3B) should at least be on your roster. Corey Koskie (MN) gets minor consideration while the Cards Scott Rolen gets stung by the Unit/Schill factor.
Shortstop � It�s Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejada all the way here, with Atlanta�s Rafael Furcal stashed on the bench for possible World Series duty. St. Louis� Edgar Renteria should be picked up only if his team somehow advances past the first round.
Outfielders � You will need eight of them with the lack of quality first basemen to use for DH duty. Barry Bonds (or Shawn Green) is the first spot to be filled. D-Back Luis Gonzalez may be slumping badly, but at least he will never face Unit or Schill. Same goes for Eurubio Durazo. AL MVP candidate Garrett Anderson is also a must. Minnesota�s Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones should be fine for the first round. Other candidates include Angel teammates Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad, Atlanta�s Andrew Jones and Gary Sheffield, along with Bernie Williams and Raul Mondesi from the Yankees. Oakland�s Jermaine Dye and David Justice should be stashed only for World Series duty.
Starting Pitchers � Should LA make the playoffs, the Gagne factor once again comes into play � as he will still be listed as a starter. If not, don�t fret � there is a ton to choose from. There is Unit/Schill from the D-Backs, Maddux/Glavine/Millwood and possibly Damian Moss from the Braves, and Zito/Mulder/Hudson from Oakland. Start Unit Schill (who both open at home) along with four others from this group. If desiring selections who will have Games 1 or 2 at home, Zito, Hudson, Maddux, and Glaving would be the best choices. The second tier includes Anaheim�s Jared Washburn, St. Louis� Matt Morris, and the Yankee trio of Clemens/Mussina/Pettitte.
Relief Pitchers � The X factor is Mariano Rivera, if he doesn�t prove he�s healthy next week by appearing in a game that will be a tough call. John Smoltz and Billy Koch are musts, with other candidates including Eddie Guardado, Byung-Hyun Kim, and Troy Percival. St. Louis� Jason Isringhausen is another risk who is having shoulder problems.
By the way, put me on record as picking Oakland over Arizona in the World Series.
INJURY REPORT
Anyone still think Minnesota will play any regulars in the final week??? Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, and Corey Koskie all managed to get dinged in one game after the Twins had already iced the AL Central. Ron Gardenhire will not dare tempt faith by throwing any of those three out there next week. That is just part of what to deal with in what amounts to evaluating organizational talent for most teams who have nothing to play for � a good chance for a lot of players to get a small whiff of regular season MLB. My advice is not to worry about salary cap this week and to go with as many LA, SF, ATL, AZ, NYY, OAK, and ANH players as possible.
WEEK 26 PREVIEW
Put NYY, TB, BOS, BAL, MIL, STL, and AZ down for seven. As mentioned before the Giants play only five times, but they�re all at home and at least 3-4 of them will be playoff-type games that they must win. Colorado finished their home schedule this weekend, Houston gets three at home v. MIL before going to SF in attempt to play spoiler. Best bets to actually make two starts include Barry Zito (@ SEA, @ TX), Roy Halladay (BAL, DET) and Kerry Wood (CIN, PIT). Look for Unit and Schilling to get a 5-6 inning start in before the playoff rotation is set while I would be very surprised if we see Pedro Martinez at all.
LATROY F. HAWKINS AWARD
It�s actually the Jorge Julio award this week, for those pitchers who manage to go a MONTH without a save opportunity. Dang, even Mike DeJean gets a save opp a fortnight. Well, it�s been a great ride � until February, OUT.