Week 18 Preview

The trade deadline is less than a week away!

Here are my stats on predictions.
Last week: 3-3
Overall: 5-7
Upset special: 1-1
Mismatch: 2-0

Onto this week!



Match of the week
Bob (10-7) vs. Chris (9-6-2)
Info: Two teams coming off astonishing offensive weeks square off in a huge, huge matchup. Bob is right back in the hunt in the Tug McGraw division, and Chris has the inside track on a playoff spot.
Key player: Adrian Gonzalez (Chris) broke out of his big slump last week, adding more power to an already potent offense.
All-time series: Bob 3-2
Prediction: 11-8 Bob

Playoff importance of the week
Ken (11-6) vs. Ricky (8-7-2)
Info: Ken should be fine as far as a playoff spot goes, but Ricky is on the bubble. He badly needs a win.
Key player: Roy Halladay (Ricky) gets two home starts this week, which could make a big difference come Sunday.
All-time series: Ricky 4-1
Prediction: 12-7 Ken

Mismatch of the week
Joe (11-5-1) vs. Richie (2-15)
Info: Not much to say here. It's the league's second best team vs. the league's worst team. Not much bigger of a mismatch than this one.
Key player: Nyjer Morgan (Joe) has become a hot commodity on Team Smutt, and he's been a huge catalyst so far.
All-time series: Joe 4-1
Prediction: 14-5 Joe

Trash talk match of the week
Andy (10-5-2) vs. Shea (4-13-0)

Info: If Shea wins this week, I'd fully expect a new team name to include one of Andy's Hebrew nicknames.
Key player: Ryan Howard (Andy) gets six games at home and hardly any lefty opposing starters.
All-time series: Shea 3-2
Prediction: 12-8 Andy

Also of note
Dave (5-10-2) vs. Adam (8-9)
Info: Dave played spoiler last week and has a chance to all but knock Adam out of the playoff race with a win.
Key player: Aaron Harang and Johnny Cueto (Adam) have not been good lately, coinciding with Adam's three-game losing streak. They start a combined three times this week.
All-time series: Adam 3-2
Prediction: 10-9 Dave (upset special)

Mike (7-10) vs. Jack (11-3-3)
Info: Jack, with a 2.5 game division lead, is cruising to a division title, and Mike is looking forward to 2010.
Key player: Matt Cain (Jack) has been on fire lately and gets two starts this week.
All-time series: Jack 3-2
Prediction: 15-4 Jack