Octoberfest

So does anyone remember that other sport that's somewhat popular in America? You know, the one with the bats and the cracker jacks and the HGH? It's actually still going on!

I know, the Braves haven't mattered in months and football has already captured the collective attention of the American sports public, but playoff baseball is still one of my favorite times of year.

This year's playoffs should be extremely interesting, thanks to some familiar faces, some notable absences and some shocking party crashers.

Three of the four playoff series begin today, and OTR is here to give you a preview of what to expect.

Dodgers (NL West Champs) at Cubs (NL Central Champs)

Prepare for endless pregame video montages featuring Billy Goats, Steve Bartman and any other curse-related imagery the folks at TBS and Fox can conjur. The Cubs sailed through the regular season as easily one of the best teams in baseball. Now, they hope to end a 100-year World Championship drought. They start in the NLDS against a Dodger team that has been somewhat of a trendy upset pick.

The Dodgers will rely on pitching, notably starters Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Chad Billingsly. Surprisingly, it was Billingsly and not the more established Lowe and Penny that lead the team in ERA and strikeouts. However, it's Lowe that makes the start in Game 1 for manager Joe Torre.

Offensively, the Dodgers aren't by any means a team to be feared. Well, that was until they acquired Manny Ramirez from Boston at the trade deadline. Since becoming a Dodger, Manny has been playing as if his formidable braids were on fire. His postseason success in Boston is a huge asset to the Dodgers, who haven't tasted October success since Kirk Gibson hobbled around the bases. The middle-of-the-lineup trio of Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andre Ethier is formidable, but the youngsters have never shown they can produce in the postseason. The Dodgers do get former Brave underage-drinker and inmate of the Cobb County Correctional Facility Rafael Furcal back from a back injury. Furcal's presence at the top of the lineup should provide a spark for the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, the Cursed Ones respond on the hill with reclamation project Ryan Dempster. Dempster, using his unorthodox, mid-windup glove jerking has been a pleasant surprise for the Cubs all year. Dempster lead the Cubs' staff with a 17-6 record and a 2.96 ERA. Along with Carlos Zambrano, who has already thrown a no-hitter this month, and young gun Rich Harden, the Cubs' staff matches up favorably with the Dodgers.

On offense, Alfonso Soriano continues to lead the charge, along with perennial MVP candidate Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. When their whole batting order gets going, they're tough to beat.

The Cubs are definitely the best team in the National League, yet many experts are tempted to pick the Dodgers. At least, they're saying they're tempted to pick the Dodgers so they'll look smart if the Dodgers somehow win. I don't see it happening. Joe Torre obviously knows how to win in the playoffs, but his team doesn't. The Cubs have home-field advantage, and Wrigley will definitely be rocking. If the Dodgers can win Game 1 tonight, I could see the series going five games. Otherwise, go with the Cubs in four.

Oops, just realized how long that was. I don't think I have the time to do that for each team, as I have to pretend I read a book for class and write a paper about it. We'll be shortening the next three previews.

Brewers (NL Wild Card) at Phillies (NL East Champs)

The Phillies won the NL East for the second straight year. The Brewers finally utilize their young talent and make the postseason. I like the Brewers, but they are extremely young. Ben Sheets' arm is in shambles, and unfortunately, CC Sabathia can't pitch a complete game all five games of the series. The Phils have Cole Hamels and the inexplicable Jamie Moyer along with a potent offense. I think the Brewers are going to make key mistakes, but if they can win a game in Philly they could make it a series. Miller Park should be a mad house when the Brew Crew heads home. Look for Bernie the Brewer to do plenty of sliding thanks to the big bats of the artist formally known as Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Despite the Brewers' youthful enthusiasm, I'm afraid recently-fired manager Ned Yost placed a curse on his young squad before he packed up his office. The Phillies want to avenge their early exit from the postseason festivities last year. Take the Phillies in four.

Red Sox (AL Wild Card) at Angels (AL West Champs)

The Red Sox are old. I mean, Mike Lowell has to be 100. JD Drew is about as structurally sound as a house of cards. Yet, they do have a certain aura and mystique about them in the playoffs (yeah, I said it...eat it Yankees fans). All the Angels did was rattle off the best record in the Bigs and seemingly clinched the division in April. Dustin Pedroia had a solid year and could be a very big thorn in the Halos' side before this series is over. They still have Papi's heroics to count on and a solid starting rotation. Josh Beckett's health is questionable, but the kid is money in the postseason (ERA under 2.00). The Angels are absolutely filthy though. Texeira, Hunter, Anderson, Vlad, the list goes on. Joe Saunders, John Lackey and Ervin Santana are a very good trio for a short series. And don't forget, these games are pretty much eight innings long for the Angels, as Francisco Rodriguez is about as sure of a thing as Paris Hilton. This is the most interesting of the division series matchups and it should be close. Take the Angels in five.

White Sox (AL Central Champs) at Rays (AL East Champs??????????)

Sorry about the question marks above. My keyboard wouldn't let me type that phrase without them for some reason. No reports of flying pigs as of yet, but indeed, the Rays are AL East champs. They did it with an exciting mix of young offensive talent and pitching. The scary thing is, they appear to be in position to remain atop this division for some time to come. Meanwhile, Ozzie Guillen's crew had to grind out the last few weeks of the season and had to eek out a win in a one-game playoff thanks to a guy named Danks. The Rays have survived a vicious stretch in which they lost several key players, including Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Scott Kazmir (haha Steve Phillips), Sonnanstine and Garza give the Rays a nice rotation to counter the group of unknown quantities the Sox will throw out there. I think the Rays are rested and it will be interesting to see if the young guys will know how to handle success. I think Joe Maddon is the type of guy that will make sure they're ready to go. Take the Rays in a sweep.

Well there it is folks, etch it in stone. Let me know what you think, and enjoy the bye week of Georgia football. We can't get blown out at home if we dont, play!