Playoff preview: (1) Bob vs. (3) Joe

No. 1 Bob (16-7) vs. No. 3 Joe (16-7-1)
Line: Bob -1.5
A breakdown after the jump


Season series: Tied 1-1 (Week 6 Joe 13-5; Week 19 Bob 14-4)
Career playoff records: Bob 1-2, Joe 4-0
All-time head-to-head: Bob 4-2
Playoffs head-to-head: Never met

Hitting
Both offenses have pop, and lots of it. The two-week timespan should allow us a true indicator of the best team. No flukes. And if that's the case, Bob definitely has the better hitting, led by Ryan Bruan and Prince Fielder.
Advantage: Bob

Pitching
Bob's pitching was lights-out last year, but Joe's has been lights out all year. Much like Bob's hitting, Joe gets the edge here because of his year-long consistency in the category.
Advantage: Joe

Managing
Both managers pulled the right strings last week - Bob with Freddy Garcia, Joe with Kurt Suzuki. The stiffing should not be as essential this week. Both teams have their four moves to make, and I'm sure both will. Will they use it on pitching or hitting, though, especially if key players don't play down the stretch. Bob has been the better manager throughout the year, but Joe has been the best playoff manager in league history.
Advantage: Even

Prediction (2-2 record): 11-9 Bob
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Mid-week playoff musings

As of Thursday afternoon, both matches are tight - unlike last week - and it would appear we're heading for a great weekend.

Bob leads Ricky 10-8, and Joe leads Jack 9-7.

Some observations from this week's semifinal playoff matches.

• Ricky's ridiculous hitting could be for naught if he doesn't start hitting some homers. He's hitting .402 (!) but only has two homers and 51 total bases. Bob has 44 total bases.
• Bob's Freddy Garcia pickup works out brilliantly. Six innings, a win and only one walk - not too much more you can ask for from the early stiff.
• Jack gets a huge boost this weekend with Jake Peavy's return. It's basically a stiff without having to stiff if you think about it. On the other hand,...
• ...Joe loses Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, a big blow. He's picked up Suzuki and been forced to waste a potential weekend move.
• Where's the smack talk? It's basically disappeared this week from participating and watching parties.
  

There's definitely some cool to storylines to pay attention to as we get further into these matchups. For example, Bob began his first week of his new job, meaning late nights are no longer possible. Ricky gets the intangibles edge for living on the West Coast!

Will this affect the matchup? Certainly could. I'm pumped for the weekend; are you?
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Playoff preview: (1) Bob vs. (5) Ricky

No. 1 Bob (15-7) vs. No. 5 Ricky (12-8-3).
Line: Bob -2
A breakdown after the jump


Season series: Tied 1-1 (Week 5: Ricky 9-7; Week 15: Bob 12-5)
Career playoff records: Bob 0-2, Ricky 4-1
All-time head-to-head: Bob 3-2-1
Playoffs head-to-head: Never met
Last playoff appearance: Bob 2008, Ricky 2008

Hitting
Two weeks ago, this would have been Bob in a landslide, but Ricky's team is SCORCHING hot. It has been on an absolute tear and Bob desperately needs heavy production from his Brewers.
Advantage: Ricky

Pitching
Bob is already going into the free-agent pool, picking up Freddy Garcia (really?), seemingly for two starts this week. He also gets Tommy Hanson twice, a big plus. Ricky, however, gets two starts from Scott Feldman and maybe Roy Halladay.
Advantage: Even

Managing
Both managers have made 39 of the 45 allowed moves, so this will be very interesting to see how they handle this week. Bob has admittedly given up a Saturday night in the past to stay in and stiff, so we have to take that into consideration. But, he's a playoff choker as a favorite and we have to take that into account as well. Ricky has pulled a lot of the right strings lately, but it'll be tough to keep up this week.
Advantage: Bob

Prediction (2-0 record): Ricky 11-9 (the true underdog story continues!)
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