Philly over Cincy
Cincy may soon be what Philly is. But not yet.
SF over Braves
This should be a close, highly contested series. Both teams have the starting pitching to go far in the post-season, but SF’s is younger and has home field. And shouldn’t it burn Mets fans that their own closer, Francisco Rodriguez, is at home with a self-inflicted wounded pitching hand from punching the grandfather of his kids, while their former closer, Billy Wagner, had a great year closing for the Braves and is now in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay over Texas
The winner here may well go to the World Series. Texas has the better offense, but Tampa literally runs deeper. And good for former Met Jeff Francoeur, getting to play for a winner.
Minnesota over Yankees
I will defer to the reasoning set forth here by David Lariviere: http://blogs.forbes.com/sportsmoney/2010/10/04/yanks-division-apathy-likely-to-be-costly-in-playoffs/
World Series: Philly v. T.B.
Winner: Philadelphia, a franchise run as well as any in baseball, in contrast to the Mets, who should also take note from Atlanta.
Authors bio is coming up shortly.