FanHouse FallDownorFallClassic

There's no team in baseball right now that's hotter than the Colorado Rockies. After winning a one game playoff with the Padres for the NL Wild Card, the Rockies finished the season victorious in 14 of their final 15 games. Jake Peavy, who gave up six runs to Colorado in the playoff game, said the Rox are the best team in baseball at the moment, and guided by some inexplicable force. I'm not sure what's guiding them at the moment, but I do know that with the momentum they're carrying, the Rox are a serious threat to take it all in October.

The Rockies, whose offensive reputation precedes them, led the NL in batting average this year. They were second in the NL in runs scored to the Phillies. They have a table setter leading off in Kaz Matsui, and then their second through sixth spots combine the power, average, patience, and speed, that would make even an American League manager jealous. They have a Rookie of the Year candidate in Troy Tulowitzki, whose defensive prowess almost overshadows his offensive ability and clutch hitting. Clean up man Matt Holliday led the NL in batting and RBIs, while Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins weren't far behind in production, each posting 100 RBI seasons. Stalwart Todd Helton posted yet another .300 season, and led the NL in OBP. Quite clearly, the offense has the ability to carry the Rox to a World Series title.

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

Postseason baseball is becoming a bit of a habit for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Some of Southern California Including Orange County Some Of The Valley A Little Bit Of Malibu But None Of East Los Angeles. Since the Angels celebrated a World Series championship in 2002, they've made the playoffs in two of four seasons, making it to the ALCS in 2005 when the lost to the White Sox.

So how will the story end in 2007?

The Angels took over first place back in April and they never let it go. Sure, the Mariners provided some excitement at the beginning of September, but the Angels responded by letting us all know who the cream of the crop really is in the AL West. When it was all said and done, the Angels finished 94-68, five games ahead of the Mariners.

So will 2007 end up the same way 2002 did, or are the Angels on the verge of another early exit from the playoffs? I'm of the opinion that the Angels may officially take over the city of Los Angeles this fall, but that's just my opinion. Let's all take a deeper look.

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

As the 2007 season began back in April, there weren't many people who would argue with you had you told them the AL Central was the best division in baseball. Everybody was saying it. Of course, most of the talk had to do with the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins.

There were some who made noise about the Indians, and while most "experts" said the Indians would compete, not many had them taking the division. No, 2006 was supposed to be their season.

After all, they had their chance in 2005 when the Indians seemingly won every game for a month and caused many White Sox fans, including myself, to sweat out a tense finish to the regular season. They came up just a bit short, but had sent the message that in 2006 they'd be a team to reckon with.

Then 2006 came and the Indians laid an egg. After getting off to a slow start, the Indians stumbled to a 78-84 finish and had to settle for fourth place. So coming into this season, we couldn't really know what to expect from the Tribe.

A season that started with an entire series snowed out ended six months later with the Indians atop the AL Central standings, and now they wait for the playoffs to begin. But how will they do? Will they finally achieve that potential and bring the city of Cleveland it's first championship of any kind since 1964 when Jim Brown was running over people as the Browns won an NFL championship? Or will they only break the hearts of their city like the Cavaliers did this summer?

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

They say that there are two kinds of baseball fans in the world; Yankee fans and people that hate the Yankees. The latter group had waited more than 12 years for an October without having to stare at Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and the rest of the pinstriped pariahs but finally it seemed like a real possibility. May was ending and the Yankees were 21-29, 14 and a half games behind the Red Sox, and coming apart at the seams because of injuries, ineffectiveness and inevitable decline.

Or so it seemed. They went 73-39, the best record in baseball after May 29, and made the last month of the season a nightmare for the New Englanders that hate them more than anyone else. They settled for the Wild Card which creates a chance at redemption. Each year from 2002-2004 the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs by a Wild Card team and each of those teams would end the season as World Champion. Now it's the big boys chance to win it all after coming in through the back door. Can they do it? Here's a few reasons to think they can.

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

Jimmy Rollins said they were the best team on paper, and did his best to prove it down the stretch as he ... almost single-handedly ... got the Philadelphia Phillies into the playoffs as the N.L. East champion. Incredibly, they overcame a seven game deficit with 17 games to play while being behind a New York Mets team that couldn't have asked for an easier schedule down the stretch. Whether you think the Phillies won this division, or the Mets choked, it doesn't matter. The Phillies are in the playoffs for the first time since 1993. That's the good news.

The bad news? Nothing more than the enormous pressure they'll face as they carry the hopes of an entire city looking to win their first championship since Maurice Cheeks was a young point guard leading the 76ers to a world title in 1983. Rollins, Utley, and Ryan Howard are trying to accomplish what other elite athletes such as Curt Schilling, Eric Lindros, and Allen Iverson couldn't do. Can it happen? Sure it can. Here's how:

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

It would be easy enough to sum up the Cubs' chances at going to the World Series thusly: they play in the National League, and that means they have a chance. I mean, yeah, the Cubs only won 85 games, but no one in the NL won more than ninety games anyways, Still, you deserve more reasons than "everyone else sucks" as to why the Cubs would win the NL, so I'm here to give them to you.

Only the Phillies can match the Alfonso Soriano/Aramis Ramirez/Derek Lee trio in the heart of the Cubbies order. The D'Backs certainly don't have three thumpers like that, the Padres don't, and the Rockies kind of do (though Todd Helton didn't even slug .500 this year). You can argue that Soriano bats leadoff and isn't in the heart of the order, but I'd say (without any actual proof or statistics) that Soriano's game starting homers (12 of his 33 came in the Cubs' first at-bat of the game) are even more important in the playoffs to get the Cubs out on the right foot.

Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.

Opponents outscored them by 20 runs this year. They should have been 79-83 based on their Pythagorean win total. They lost a five-time Cy Young Award winner and staff ace to injury, and an All-Star second baseman down the stretch. They had the lowest batting average in the National League at .250. Their star player is a journeyman fan favorite best known for his on-field hustle. Their starting pitcher leads the team in batting average and slugging percentage. Yet despite all this, the Arizona Diamondbacks managed to win more games than any other team in the National League.

Despite having a team full of youngsters, the Diamondbacks did not buckle in the last month of the season when teams with more experience were breathing down their necks. When their lead diminished and a collapse appeared imminent, they left failure in the rear view mirror and persevered. They clinched the division with games to spare, and were able to set up their rotation for their ace to toss game one of the playoffs, Wednesday against the Cubs.

Brandon Webb will throw the playoff opener at Chase Field for Arizona, and will be available to start twice in the series if necessary. Webb has already proven this year that he can get hot and dominate for several outings in a row. If he has another one of his 42 consecutive scoreless inning streaks in him, you can pretty much pencil the D-Backs in for a World Series berth.