Playoff Preview

When I hear the word "playoffs", I think Jim Mora. Call me crazy.

Your American League Playoff Preview

Boston v. Milwaukee
You have to like Boston's ability to create runs -- 918 on the season, five hitters with 20+ home runs. As a team, this squad bats .286, which is also a nice stat to have in your column. Unfortunately, their pitching lacks stability. None of the Sox top three starters have an ERA below 4.50. The closer by committee approach may come back to hurt them in the playoffs.

Milwaukee seems to have the whole package. They've scored 1,020 runs on the year and have two of the games most prolific hitters in Len Heiserman (.310-65-148-1.116) and Felipe Hernandez (.285-65-156). And if that wasn't enough, their top three starters (Yoo-Nah Kim, Mikey Hall and J.J. Lambert) are studs. Kim and Hall are 200+ strikeout pitchers and have sub-3.00 ERAs.

The Mora Scora: Milwaukee in five.

Nashville v. Colorado
I really should hate Nashville for outlasting me in the AL South. But, they have something nice going in the Music City. Three players batting .300+, two 35+ home run hitters and an all-around balanced lineup. Their pitching isn't too shabby either. Their top three is led by Floyd Brock, a 15-game winner with a 3.71 ERA and 224 Ks (a 3:1 K/BB).

The River Otters have a killer lineup, bringing nine dangerous bats to the plate each game. They batted .314 as a team and have posted 1,107 runs on the season. Let's talk about their top six -- Edwin Underwood (.348-31-113), Joe Kent (.330-32-134), Steve Diaz (.328-19-92), George Cora (.321-48-142), Tanner Howard (.321-43-152) and Wes Gibson (.317-16-96). They'll need the bats because their pitching is as thin as the mountain air. Staff ace Matt Damon was 18-9 with a 4.66 ERA and Ryan Witt has 33 saves, but the rest is pretty rough.

The Mora Scora: Colorado in seven.

The National League Preview

Cinci v. Buffalo
The Motorboaters go to battle with Pablo Johnson (.321-40-133),  Armando Martin (.350-28-88) and Vlad Cust (.290-28-131) out front. But, the story of this team is its pitching and its team ERA of 3.98. I mean, hell, this team struck out 1,204 batters and walked less than 500. Talk about control! The top three, Lon Costello, Doug Linton and Brad Bird are on par with Kansas City.

Buffalo needs more than the average effort to win this series Yes, they have Antonio Gao's 58 home runs and four players with 35+ stolen bases. But, you have to get on base to make the small ball work, and their team batting average of .262 and OBP of .349 might not cut it.

The Mora Scora: Guess where I'm going. Cincinnati in a schweep.

Atlanta v. Austin
The playoffs due what the regular season couldn't -- put distance between these two squads. Atlanta won the fight in the regular season, coming away with the NL South title against Austin. Their offense is average, but their pitching is their power. They average 2.5 strikeouts per walk, post a 3.94 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and fireman supreme Jose Bonilla (38 saves).

Austin is a similar team, with a good offense and really good pitching. They'll go with Manuel Castro, Esteban Hernandez and Dustin Keagle to start and close games with 33-save closer Joey King.

The Mora Scora: Atlanta in five.

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