Playoff preview: (3) Bob vs. (6) Joe

Records: Bob 14-8, Joe 11-10-1
Line: Bob -3
Season series: Tied 1-1 (Week 10: 14-5 Joe, Week 22: 11-9 Bob)
Career playoff records: Bob 4-2, Joe 4-2
All-time head-to-head: Bob 6-4
Playoffs head-to-head: Bob 1-0 (2009 Finals)
Last playoff appearance: Bob 2010, Joe 2010


About the matchup
Bob and Joe are quite familiar with each other's teams, having just squared off in Week 22. It was a matchup won by Bob, handing Joe his fifth straight loss heading into the playoffs.

Clearly, it would be a miracle for Joe to win this championship. Vegas has him listed at 22/1 to win the title - easily the highest odds of all the playoff teams. When asked about this losing streak, Joe ranted about injuries.

"Injuries have hurt," he said. "Boesch doesnt play, A-Rod barely played. Hanson on the DL. It's been a rough stretch. Some bad breaks, too. A-Rod coming back is like making a trade for a big bat. Only difference is we didn't have to give anything up. We got in (the playoffs). Anything can happen at this point."

Frankly, I didn't hear any confidence in the words of Joe. His opponent, Bob, on the other hand, was full of confidence.

And that's despite entering the playoffs as a wild-card team for the first time in three years. Going for his third-straight title, Bob has the same mindset as the past couple seasons.

"It's not that new territory," Bob said. "Before I won back-to-back titles, I was a wild-card team. I don't think my mindset will be any different, however. The playoffs are the playoffs, and once you get in, you have a shot to win a title. The hot team wins the title, and if my team can ignite, I think I'll have just as good a chance as any team to take home the title."

In their own words
Bob, on facing Joe: "Well, I think I have a pretty good shot against Joe. I'm 6-4 in the regular season against him and 1-0 in the playoffs, so I have history on my side. I think we have a good rivalry going and our matchups are always close. I definitely expect this one to be close, and I expect my bats to wake up this week after a horrendous week last week. With my pitching, I think I'll just need to take a few hitting categories to win, so I predict a 11-9 victory."

Joe, on facing Bob: "It's a matchup that used to decide the division or league final. Now, it's a first-round playoff matchup. Clearly both teams aren't having their best years."

Bob, on why he will win: "I'll advance to the next round because my team knows what it takes to win. We are built a bit differently this year, going more for dominant pitching than dominant hitting, but the manager is still the same and I think my team is good enough to advance this round, and we'll see what happens from there, but I am very confident. PS for Mike - I'm coming for you."

Joe, on why he will win: "As long as we keep getting extra-base hits, running the bases and we don't have a starter blow up in our face, we have a shot. The team has been pretty banged up the past month."

The prediction
I mean, really, go back and read Joe's quotes. Does it sound like he thinks he has ANY chance of winning? He is beaten up, knocked down, and doesn't seem confident one bit. No reason to think Bob gets upset by Joe in this matchup. 12-7 Bob.