Same teams, new results in second season
By Greg Zajac, reporter

     The boys of October are at it again, and the playoffs will bring us the REAL season as we move closer to crowning a champion.
     Some of the excitement prior to the playoffs was brought to us locally by our beloved Texas Rangers when Gabe Kapler got a team record 28-game hitting streak and Rafael Palmeiro had a milestone 400 home runs.
     But the Rangers will not be in these playoffs because of their struggles this year, including Pudge Rodriguez’s broken thumb, among other injuries.
     This year’s teams are repeat winners, but we have some new whipper snappers who promise to give us some fun games to watch.
     The Chicago White Sox team, for example, is full of many young players who have a chance to prove to the critics that they belong in the majors and in the championship run. I am from Chicago, so I wanted the team to do well. Unfortunately, the Sox were beaten up by Seattle.
     The Seattle Mariners, a surprise for the playoffs, come to the championship run after winning the wild card on the final day of the season. Next, they take on the Yankees.
     The Mariners are the biggest surprise team to me this year because I did not give them a chance after they booted Ken Griffey Jr. I didn’t give the Mariners much chance to go far in the playoffs because they are too young, and the only thing they have going for them is their manager, Lou Pinella. However, we’ll see what happens in the remaining games.
     The team I thought might surprise some people was the Oakland Athletics. The American League West division winner has been a very good team all year and has many good, young players. Led by M.V.P. candidate Jason Giambi, the ball club has a high-powered offense and a pitching staff that is mostly young with the exception of leader Kevin Appier. But the perennial Yanks took care of them.
     I do not want the Yankees to win another World Series. The Yankees are a good team: so good it makes me sick. With the additions this year of Jose Canseco, David Justice and Denny Neagle, and with a manager like Joe Torre, this team looks unstoppable again.
     I don’t know why I am against the Yankees so much. I normally would be happy to be a fan of a team this good year in and year out.
     When everyone grew tired of the Chicago Bulls’ winning the NBA championships, I wanted the Bulls to keep winning because I was, and still am, a fan. Maybe I am just jealous of the Yankees.
     In the National League, the San Francisco Giants had the best chance of winning the pennant. The team is the most balanced with Hall of Famer Barry Bonds leading the way along with M.V.P. candidate Jeff Kent. The Giants also have a solid pitching staff and a bullpen that provides the best chance to win. But the other New York team took care of them.
     The New York Mets cannot continue their inconsistent play if they want to have any chance of winning the series. With Mike Piazza being the only solid player on this roster, this team probably won’t take the pennant.
     For the second round of the playoffs, the Mets move on to play the Cardinals.
     The Braves lost early on and will not repeat playing the Yankees in the World Series. I actually know a couple of players on the Braves, so I want them to do well.
     Rocker wanted to prove to the world that he is a good pitcher and not the psychotic racist nut case that we all think he is, but he’ll have to wait another year to prove all of us wrong.
     The St. Louis Cardinals are a strong team this year. With a first base duo of Mark McGwire and Will Clark, and a strong pitching staff that has been injury free all year, this team has what it takes to win this year.
     The Cardinals beat the tar out of the Braves, a feat few baseball observers expected.
     What helped the Cardinals was having the home field advantage and their fans standing behind them all the way.
     Here’s hoping for an exciting playoff season that will not include the Yankees in the World Series again. My prediction: the Mariners, who I hope can beat those dreaded Yankees, and the Cardinals, with the Cardinals taking it in seven.
     I think the Cardinals, outside the Yankees, have the best pitching and could sneak in.
Maybe next year the playoffs will include the Rangers.