Playoffs 2006

Okay, so who’s going to make the playoffs this year?  I think a couple are obvious, but a few, not so much.

Here’s what I think:

NL
East: New York Mets
Central: St. Louis Cardinals
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card: Florida Marlins

AL
East: New York Yankees
Central: Detriot Tigers
West: Oakland A’s
Wild Card: Minnesota Twins

I further think that the World Series will come down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detriot Tigers.  I’m not ready to make any kind of guess on who will win.

-Neal

Best MLB Manager?

I’m sure with Ned Lamont beating Joe Lieberman in the primaries in Connecticut, and Jim Webb soldiering on here in Virginia, I can fulfill, albeit late, F.T. Rhea’s desire for an “echo-less” blog post.  That being said…

Okay, so who is the best manager currently in Major League Baseball?  I’m undecided on whether it’s Frank Robinson (Washington), Bobby Cox (Atlanta), Jim Leyland (Detroit), or Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota).  I lean, however, toward Leyland.  He’s turned a really bad team into the best team in baseball.  But, with Robinson, he was one of the best players baseball ever had, and in all his managing time, he’s never really had a really good team to work with.  You can’t overlook Cox’s record with the Braves, leading them to 14 straight division titles.  Ron Gardenhire has produced a winning team this year that will be in contention.  That, and he’s entertaining to watch (like Bobby Cox).

Thoughts, or your own picks?