2009 Second-Round Playoff Matchups

(1) The Degenerates
vs.
(4) The Screwballs

A confident top-seeded The Degenerates is coming off a bye to face the hottest team in the league.

Posting on Sept 5th.. ""An alleged fantasy baseball guru with titles on his resume, he brings an interesting reputation to draft day and it will be interesting to see how his strategy develops and whether he can become an instant contender in Tha Green Monster for years to come."

Alleged no more!!!! Now its time to end the season on the high note with the W."

The Degenerates finished the season with 9446 points and sat out the first round with a bye and are apparently on a run to the money. Perhaps The Screwballs will have something to say about that after posting a first-round high 796.5 points even without the services of dual aces Johan Santana (season-ending surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow) and Tim Lincecum (until Day 10 after missing his previous start with a bad back).

A Texas duo (Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman) and Cincy starter Bronson Arroyo helped pick up the slack each posting 30+ points over 2 starts. Even without the services of Santana, Lincecum leads a talented rotation that also boasts Chris Carpenter, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe and Gavin Floyd. Tigers deadline acquisition Jarrod Washburn starts on Day #1 vs. KC and hopes to give The Screwballs the early edge.

The Degenerates boats a much younger rotation. Behind aces Justin Verlander, Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester, they will have to rely on the success of Oakland youngster's Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill. The offence is definitely the strong suit for The Degenerates, led by mashers Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez. Throw in speedsters Carl Crawford and Brian Roberts and productive outfielders Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter and Nelson Cruz and there's little doubt the offence will do it's job.

The bullpen is definitely a question mark as Ryan Franklin and Fernando Rodney are coming off miserable weeks and Brian Fuentes is set to lose save chances to Kevin Jepsen. Huston Street hasn't even pitched since September 1st while battling with biceps tendinitis but is supposed to rejoin the Rockies bullpen during the series in San Francisco.

(2) WinOrLoseHitTheBooze
vs.
(3) Homestead Grays

Anchored by one of the top starting rotations in the league, WinOrLoseHitTheBooze will turn to John Lackey to get it started on the first day, but he has a tough matchup @ BOS. Even if Lackey falters, the 2nd seed can turn to Josh Beckett, C.C. Sabathia, Josh Johnson, James Shields, Matt Garza and even the suddenly relevant Pedro Martinez.

Losing 1B Carlos Pena and CF Grady Sizemore for the season dealt a significant blow to the offence but WinOrLoseHitTheBooze can still rely on standout C Joe Mauer and twin speedsters OF Jacoby Ellsbury and OF Shane Victorino. 1B Adam LaRoche and 2B Jose Lopez have been hot of late, posting over 100 points in the last month.

The Homestead Grays defeated the 6th seeded Master Batters in the first round and were led by ace Zack Greinke and the offence. 1B Justin Morneau has been shut down for the season, and second round pick B.J. Upton has been a disappointment and are both absent from the playoff roster. Surprise outfielders David DeJesus and Carlos Gonzalez will have to pick up the slack for the Homestead Grays to move on. Of course they can always rely on the Prince (39 HR 126 RBI) to lead the charge.

There's an important matchup in San Francisco tonight as the Grays have the starters on both sides of the matchup. SP Barry Zito has been shockingly productive of late and his opponent SP Ubaldo Jimenez has been a secondary ace all season long. The matchup has NL wildcard implications but more importantly a long scoring affair is important to get the Homestead Grays off on the right foot.