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Up for grabs A postseason anyone can walk away with ... well, kind of
This is, they say, a baseball postseason for anyone. I hate it when they say that. The Yankees always win when they say that. But, yeah, it looks as if any number of teams could come out of October this season as World Series winners, with the Yankees playing these days like Bruce Coslet is coaching them. A lot of people would figure, if the Yanks keep stumbling along, that the Atlanta Braves would be the next logical choice. Except that, well, they're the Braves and winning World Series isn't exactly their thing. So baseball fans are all atwitter. Everybody likes the Giants, and the White Sox are trying to become the first Chicago baseball team to win a postseason series in, like, 83 years. Everybody loves the A's, too, giving fans as much a chance for a Bay Area World Series as there is for that long-anticipated Subway Series. Oddsmakers -- does anyone actually have that printed on a business card somewhere? -- have the Yankees at 5:2 odds, which as I understand it is a little better (or is that worse?) than 2:1 odds. The Braves, at 2:1, are the favorites, while the Cardinals (who won the season series over the Braves) are the designated longshots, at 15:1. Everyone else is in between. So, it's anybody's October. So it's said. It's the Cards' turn because ... Will Clark is unconscious, they're as good, evidently, without Mark McGwire as they were bad with him and Jim Edmonds, with 42 homers and 108 RBIs, is enough to offset any questions about what is not exactly the prettiest starting rotation out there. It's the Mets' turn because ... wow, this one's a toughy. 'Cause they're due? How about 'cause they have Mike Piazza? That's a good one. And Edgardo Alfonzo. Yeah, that's good. And Bobby Valentine. Ooops. It's the Giants' turn because ... Dusty Baker is considered by many the best manager in the game, Barry Bonds the best player and Pac Bell the best park. The reason the last is so important is the Giants have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks, in part, to a baseball-best 55-26 record there. It's the Braves' turn because ... because they're due? Again? Also, the best rotation, still, in the business and solid bats in Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Andres Galarraga and a speedster in Rafael Furcal. Of course, you could make an argument it's not their turn just because of John Rocker. It's the White Sox's turn because ... of Frank Thomas' amazing comeback, the nice handling of the surprising team by manager Jerry Manuel, Magglio Ordonez and his 126 RBIs and -- hey, you think these guys might be due? It's the A's turn because ... there is no plural possessive for A's. Jason Giambi rocks, Tim Hudson is a young stud. They have the home-field edge over the Yanks and, really, there wouldn't be a better story out there. It's the Mariners' turn because ... any team that can get rid of Ken Griffey Jr. and turn things around has to be doing something right. Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, stopper Kazuhiro Sasaki and a playoff-savvy manager in Lou Piniella all help. It's the Yankees' turn because ... well, really, it's not the Yankees' turn at all. But Joe Torre knows how to get the most out of his talented team, which has enough of everything -- pitching, hitting, bench strength -- to do it again. Of course, the postseason has not been just anyone's lately. In the last five years, since the three-round format was implemented, the Yankees have won the Series three times, the Braves once and, dang it, we're still trying to figure out how the Marlins slipped in there three years ago. But this season, will be different, they say, for all the reasons cited above. It's a postseason for anyone. I hate it when they say that. John Donovan is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer. Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.
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