MLB Playoff Notes: Braves End Cox’s Career by Blowing Winnable Series, Phillies Still Favorites in NL; Rays-Rangers Series Plays into Yanks’ Hands

- Bobby Cox gets to end what should be a Hall of Fame managing career by watching his team do what it seemingly did best during his tenure: Lose in the playoffs.

Yeah, that’s a little bit harsh, especially considering how they rebuilt the team and stayed somewhat competitive after Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz all left or stopped starting games for them. But, with the talent they had through the 90’s and through 2005, to only come away with one World Series and two other appearances has to be disappointing.

Add to that the fact that they’re still synonymous with the Buffalo Bills in terms of success in the regular season but not in the playoffs, and Cox should really treasure that ’95 Series win.

- Give a lot of credit to the Giants for excellent starting pitching, as their starters gave up a total of 22 baserunners and 4 runs in 29 IP, and got quality starts out of all four pitchers. But also fault the Braves’ defense, with Brooks Conrad handing them Game 3 with three errors and Alex Gonzalez’ throwing error in Game 4 prolonging the 7^th inning in which the Giants took the lead for good.

- Given the performances by both rotations, expect runs to be at a premium in the NLCS. While the Phillies have the better offense of the two teams, it might be the first to score one, let alone 2 runs in each game. I still like the Phillies – like I said, their offense is better, and their starting pitching is obviously excellent – but this could be 7 games of 1-0 or 2-1 games.

- Obviously, I like the Yankees’ chances to make it to the World Series now that Cliff Lee and David Price have to pitch tomorrow, which means both will probably be available to start in Game 3 at the earliest. Even playing on the road, starting off the series against CJ Wilson/Colby Lewis or Matt Garza/Wade Davis going against a rested CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte is a big bonus in the Yankees’ favor.

- So far, it looks like Curtis Granderson is having the kind of postseason that would make me eat my words on whether it was a good idea to trade for him (A Grand Move, or a Grand Mistake?). 5-11, with a double, triple and 3 RBIs is a good start. Next round will be against tougher lefties, so we’ll really see if Kevin Long has his swing fixed.

- Jason Heyward lucked out in the sense that the voting for Rookie of the Year is only for regular season performance. Because Buster Posey would’ve definitely taken the award based on their NLDS performances. Posey was 6-16 with 3 runs when runs were at a premium, while Heyward went 2-16 with 8 K’s, and both hits were empty singles in Game 4.

- Game 5 Prediction for Rays-Rangers: When in a Game 5/7 scenario, smart money is to take the best pitcher. Rangers squeak by after blowing both home games on the back of Cliff Lee, who will take the bats right back out of the Rays’ lineup after their two-game wakeup.