sf vs phils

If the giants win this series, and i pray to god they do not (because i hate them more than anything ever), it seems very likely that the reason will be their pitching staff--and not just Lincecum and Cain, but the entire staff, down to the absurdly deep bullpen and its amaglam of right and left handed weapons. the Phillies' lineup did not look great against inferior pithching from Cincinatti in round 1, and the Giants third starter (Sanchez) is far better than any of what Cinci had to offer in the NLDS.
While Brucy Bochy seems to alternate between asleep-at-the-wheel and standing-on-the-panic-button in terms of bullpen management, its a neary Bochy proof pen because anyone other than Javier Lopez against righties, or Chris Ray again anyone, is likely to render outs.
As long as bohcy does not overreact to one or two bad outings (as he did with Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson in the NLDS), the Giants will have the atvantage in any game in which they have a lead after the starters are gone.
The Phils however, are a stronger team from top to bottom. They have significantly fewer weaknesses than the garbage SF lineup that Sabean threw together from the trash dump of the other 29 teams. Even with Jimmy Rollins at far less than 100%, the core of their lineup is patient, has power, and Utley and Werth specifically, are great, disciplined hitters who can do more than merely wait for the pitcher to make a mistake.
I will take Philly's top 3 starters by a hair over the Giants, I will take the Phils defense by a big margin, and I will take the bats and baserunning by a country mile.
The Giants are not going to be the pushovers the Reds were. That said, Phils in 6.

Tampa Vs Rangers Divsion Series

Because Tampa is the best team in the AL, because they have homefield, an because the Rangers best players are simply not healthy, I believe the Rays win this series. Whether they win it in 4 games or 5, I am unsure. The first game is gigantic. Cliff Lee vs David Price. Arguably the 2 best lefties in baseball head to head in game 1 of the entire playoffs. This cannot be beat. I am ecstatic. The Rays have the best defense I have ever seen. They cannot hit like Texas throughout the lineup, but they create more runs than do the Rangers. The Rays have 2 stud hitters: Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Beyond that, the lineup is guys who do things the right way: move runners, steal bags, 1st to 3rd on a single, etc.
The Rangers are capable of winning this series, but as of today, and for what it is worth, the Rangers lost every single road game this year vs the other three AL playoff teams.
That stat may not matter as the slate is wiped clean, but its a hurdle that must be overcome, and I dont think the Rangers will do it.