Moving on from last night's Favre-less drama in Minnesota, we move immediately to a playoff (now that we're finally allowed to use that word) tripleheader Wednesday. It's a quick turnaround, as the Twins will attest, but SportsNation has been prepping all week by picking the brains of some of ESPN's best baseball writers. Hey, it beats working.
Steve (Hopkinton, MA)
What do you think of the plan to have Molina catch AJ in the playoffs?
Buster Olney
Steve: Not surprising. I think Burnett is going to be the barometer for what the Yankees do (or don't do) in the post-season, and they need him to be excellent -- and it's clear that he is just more comfortable with Molina, to the point where pitching to Posada distracts him. So Girardi, a former catcher who was known for his empathy for pitchers, is going to do what makes one of his starting pitchers feel most comfortable. Full transcript
Tyler (San Diego via Boston)
Where are the Dodgers mentally after their late season fall from grace? Is Kershaw going to be ready for playoff baseball?
Peter Gammons
The Dodgers' biggest concern is trying to get Manny Ramirez hitting again, because he has actually been a liability in the three-hole. Their young hitters do feed off of him so they need Manny to be something other than an average offensive player. Scouts who saw Kershaw Saturday night thought he had the best stuff of any pitcher in the NL. He is their best hope to win 2 games against either Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright. Full transcript
Ben (Boston)
"Cole Hamels is exactly as good right now as he was a year ago." No, he's not. That implies he's pitching just as well now as he was then, and if he's less successful it's just bad luck. Do you refuse to recognize that players go through hot streaks (when everything clicks) and cold streaks (when they lose their touch)? That's just being a human being. Hamels in a hot streak is better than Hamels when he's not so hot.
Rob Neyer
With all due respect, Ben ... Are we *really* still having this conversation? If so, I suppose I should be glad; it means my work's not yet done. But would you look at Hamels? His HR, BB, and K rates are almost EXACTLY the same as last season. The difference in his ERA's is due mostly to luck; last year he was lucky, this year he's been unlucky. But he's fundamentally the same pitcher. Full transcript
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