8502100622
DETROIT FREE PRESS
851008
Tuesday, October 08, 1985
METRO FINAL
4D
MITCH ALBOM
baseball page
Copyright (c) 1985, Detroit Free Press
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE THEORY
How do you predict the baseball playoffs? There are many theories. I
subscribe to all of them, which costs me a fortune, by the way. But that's OK.
Because when the season's over, you can always say, "I told you so," at least
to somebody.
Here are several of the prevailing theories for this week's matchups:
St. Louis vs. Los Angeles
The Thinking Man's Theory: St. Louis has superior speed, but LA has
excellent pitching. St. Louis is tops defensively and LA made an awful lot of
errors. But much will depend on Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia's ability to
throw out runners such as Vince Coleman and Willie McGee when they try to
steal bases. And how well Pedro Guerrero and Steve Sax continue to pound
Cardinals pitching, which they've done all year. LA is an explosive, emotional
team, but St. Louis will win in six, based on superior overall talent.
The Hollywood Theory: Tommy Lasorda knows Frank, he knows Sammy, he knows
Dean and Jack and Warren. Who does Whitey Herzog know? I bet he couldn't even
get a seat at Bernard's. Forget it. LA will win.
The Travel Agent Theory: "Have you ever been to St. Louis? My God. All they
have there is an arch that looks like a giant hat pin and a couple of
breweries. LA takes it.
My Theory: Let's see . . . heads. St. Louis wins in five.
Toronto vs. Kansas City
The Thinking Man's Theory: This is a showdown of young talent versus
veterans. Toronto has the better stats, but KC has guys such as Brett and
Quisenberry who have been through all this before. Then again, the Blue Jays
have surprised people all year long, and they hit better, ran faster and made
fewer errors than the Royals this season. Toronto must be favored to win it in
six.
The Born In The USA Theory: Do you want to see a Canadian World Series,
huh? What's next? A French version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"? Why
don't we just sing "Frere Jacques" ? Huh? Why don't we put those funny little
accent marks above the vowels in a box score? Why don't you just go drink a
Molson? Eh? Eh? Kansas City will win.
The I Love Detroit Theory: The only reason the Tigers aren't back this year
is because the AL East is by far the toughest division of all time in the
galaxy. Toronto will win four straight, vindicating our boys. A little.
My Theory: OK, now . . . tails. Kansas City in seven.
BASEBALL