The StatMan  

Topic 1: Baseball

Red Sox
They are comfortably in front in the Wild Card as they took 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay and Texas.  Texas has injury and pitching issues.  Boston needs to get better before October.  Tim Wakefield had to have a cortisone shot in his back, Jon Lester left his start with a tight groin, but he is okay, and Josh Beckett is in a slump.  While the pitching is limping along, the pitchers they released, John Smoltz and Brad Penny were picked up by National League teams and they are pitching great for the Cardinals and Giants, respectively.

Phillies
The pitchers shined against the Giants in a surprisingly defensive series at Citizens Bank Park.  Cole Hamels was the Hamels of 2008 with his 1-0 win.  Pedro Martinez was the Pedro of 2005 with his 4-0 when he outdueled Giants ace Tim Lincecum.  J.A. Happ may have hit his rookie wall.  The bullpen needs some work, too, with Brad Lidge accumulating 10 blown saves in 38 chances and a 7.15 ERA, which are the worst for any closer in the majors. 

Mets
David Wright is back in the lineup.  His helmet wears him (see Wills Gillan's "The Big Apple" blog for a funny blog entry on that). The Mets could not play spoiler for the Rockies in Denver, as they lost 2 of 3 to the Rockies.  Carlos Beltran may be back Tuesday against Florida and John Maine might be back by the weekend at Philadelphia.  Beltran has been out since June 21st, when the Mets were 2 games back of first place (Philadelphia was 36-31, New York was 34-33) and 2-1/2 behind the Giants for the Wild Card.

Yankees
A.J. Burnett has hit a slump and he needs to figure it out before October.  The home/road home run splits for the team normally skews more towards friendly Yankee Stadium, but not for Nick Swisher, who has 24 homers, but only three round-trippers were at home.

Around the League
* In the NL Wild Card race, Colorado has been good at home lately, finishing a sweep on Arizona this weekend, and received clutch homers by Ryan Spilborghs and Seth Smith.  San Francisco has brought their pitching with them, with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Barry Zito acting like a big three that can match up with anyone.  San Francisco missed out on a sweep at Milwaukee with a 2-1 Brewers win on Sunday.

* Fighting for a chance at the postseason, Atlanta and Florida faced each other.  Florida won 2 of 3 against Atlanta, who is fading.  For Florida, Dan Uggla challenged Hanley Ramirez in a public forum to reporters and Ramirez took exception.  But, Ramirez stayed in lineup even though he was banged up and has seemed more determined.

* Chicago and Minnesota are trying to make some noise behind Detroit in the AL Central.  Chicago is still hanging on despite waving the white flag at the postseason roster deadline on August 31st, trading away Jim Thome to the Dodgers and Jose Contreras to the Rockies.  Minnesota lost a heartbreaker to Cleveland, which may be one of the nails in the coffin for their postseason hopes.  The loss to Cleveland on Sunday, 3-1, put them 7 games back of Detroit with 7 remaining against the Tigers.  The Twins at .500 and need some help fast.

Topic 2: Football

Playoff Predictions
AFC: #1 New England (East winner - 13-3), #2 Pittsburgh (North winner - 13-3), #3 Indianapolis (South winner - 13-3), #4 San Diego (West winner - 11-5), #5 Tennessee (Wild Card - 12-4), Baltimore (Wild Card - 10-6)
NFC: #1 Minnesota (North winner - 11-5), #2 New York Giants (East winner - 11-5), #3 Atlanta (South winner - 9-7), #4 Arizona (West winner - 9-7), #5 Green Bay (Wild Card winner - 10-6), #6 Philadelphia (Wild Card winner - 10-6)

Playoff Games (winners in parentheses)
Wild Card Weekend: Baltimore at Indianapolis (Indianapolis), Tennessee at San Diego (Tennessee), Philadelphia at Atlanta (Atlanta), Green Bay at Arizona (Arizona)
Divisional Championship Weekend: Tennessee at New England (Tennessee), Indianapolis at Pittsburgh (Indianapolis), Arizona at Minnesota (Arizona), Atlanta at N.Y. Giants (N.Y. Giants)
Conference Championship Weekend: Tennessee at Indianapolis (Indianapolis), Arizona at N.Y. Giants (N.Y. Giants)
Super Bowl XLIV: Indianapolis vs. N.Y. Giants (Indianapolis)
* My prediction is it will be brother versus brother in the Super Bowl.  Both Mannings have a ring, but I am predicting an Indianapolis-NY Giants Super Bowl with the Colts winning the game.

Week 1 Quick Hits
Giants
Who will step up in the receiving corps?  My guess is Steve Smith, who had the good playoff run two seasons ago when the Giants won it all, with Hakeem Nicks a close second.  I am worried about Dominik Hixon, who did not take the ball and run with it when Burress was dropped by the team, Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham have not shown much at all, and you cannot expect much from Ramses Barden.

Jets
Quarterback Mark Sanchez looks confident and ready to start in his first season in the NFL.  Some of it is bravado, echoing his head coach, but some of it is actual talent showing through.  I still think the fruits of the Jets 2009 labor will be reaped in 2010, not this year.  They have the 7th toughest schedule according to SI.

Patriots
Quarterback Tom Brady healthy enough to start and the Pats confident enough to only keep one backup in Brian Hoyer, who won in his start on Thursday against the Giants.  BenJarvis Green-Ellis and injured Sammy Morris both made the final cut and Green-Ellis’s 125-yard effort on Thursday guaranteed a spot on the team.

Eagles
Quarterback Michael Vick’s suspension is only 2 games and he has done everything asked of him so far.  The Eagles are planning a PR campaign to help Vick try to win over some of the people on the fence about the animal cruelty he committed and allowed to happen.  Vick gives the Eagles 4 QBs, so A.J. Feeley will most likely be the one traded, drawing possible interest from the Patriots.

Around the League
* 3 coordinators fired (KCY, TBY, BUF) for different reasons.  In Kansas City, Chan Gailey did not get the message and Todd Haley just came from being the offensive coordinator in Arizona.  In Tampa, rookie coach Raheem Morris probably did not think of it as an option until he saw rookie coach Haley do it.  In Buffalo, Dick Jauron’s job is on the line this year and it is already not looking good.  If he made the change at mid-year, the season would have been lost and a lost season costs Jauron his job, so he had to make the change now.

Listen to last week's show (#23) for the Week 1 Preview, but look for it on this blog shortly.

Our next show (#24) is tonight, Sunday, September 13th.  Join us at 8pm Eastern as we recap how Week 1 has gone so far, as well as talk baseball and start our three-part NHL preview.  Tune in to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-StatMan.