NOW THE FUN BEGINS

***THE NATIONAL LEAGUE SERIES***
Not having watched many NL games this summer, I have only one strong opinion about the Giants-Philly series. The Phillies three starting pitchers are so dominant, that Philadelphia could probably start manager Charlie Manuel in the fourth game and still beat the Giants. My apologies to Tim Lincecum, who could certainly make Game One interesting, but the rest of the Giant pitchers don't measure up.
Philadelphia in five (They lose Manuel's start)

***THE AMERICAN LEAGUE SERIES***
Cliff Lee makes this series interesting, and if it goes seven games, the edge would go to Texas. I believe the Yanks will win because they have a better offense and their bullpen will make a big difference. In order for the Rangers to win, CJ Wilson has to come up huge in games one & five. The Yanks did a smart thing in moving Pettitte to game three, because he's their best shot in a game seven situation. The Yanks will have to control Texas on the bases better than Tampa.
Sleepers: Michael Young will be a real thorn in the side of Yankee pitchers. On the other side, Marcus Thames could turn this all around for the Yanks.
New York in six

***THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA***
"The Platoon Advantage" made an interesting point in an article on Wednesday. The umpires made mistakes, some of them crucial, but the TBS announcers were strangely silent about it. I saw more replays of the missed calls on ESPN than on the live broadcasts. Platoon Advantage 'suggests' that the TBS broadcasters acted as though they were under orders to downplay the missed calls. Frankly, I didn't notice that, since the less I had to listen to them, the better. Maybe I make fun of Michael Kay and co. a little, but they do bring a lot more insight into the game and not just because of their detailed knowledge of the Yankees.
I don't think TBS will protect anyone on in these series.

***IT'S NOT SPORTS, BUT IT'S REALLY FUNNY***
From Janice Hough:
"Federal prosecutors in Detroit were embarrassed to find out that a man they had charged with running an illegal lottery is actually dead. In their defense, apparently the man did just vote in Chicago."

CP-