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Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay 1. The Rays were 6-4 against the White Sox this season. 2. The Rays bullpen was 31-17 with a 3.55 ERA and 52 saves in 68 chances and a .220 batting average against. Troy Percival led the team with 28 saves but only had one since August 14. A year ago, Rays??? relievers were 21-34 with only 28 saves in 49 chances and an ERA of 6.16. 3. The Rays had the Majors??? second-lowest payroll ($43.8 million); only the Marlins were lower. 4. The White Sox were 22-17 in one run games. The Rays were 29-18 in one run games. 5. The White Sox led the AL by grounding into 157 double plays. The Rays grounded into the fewest in the AL with 111. 6. The Rays scored 774 runs and allowed 671 runs. 7. The White Sox scored 811 runs and allowed 729 runs. 8. Tampa Bay???s .246 Batting Average Against was the second only to Toronto in the AL. Chicago???s was .261. 9. The White Sox led the AL with 234 homers. The Rays hit 180. 10. Tampa Bay led the AL with 142 stolen bases. The Pale Hose stole 67. Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston 1. The Angels were 8-1 against the Red Sox this season. 2. The Angels have six pitchers with double-digit wins: Joe Saunders, 17-7; Ervin Santana, 16-7; Jon Garland, 14-8; John Lackey, 12-5; Jered Weaver, 11-10; Jose Arredondo, 10-2. 3. The Boston Red Sox have made more Wild Card appearances than any other team: 1998 ??? losing the ALDS to Cleveland; 1999 ??? losing the ALCS to New York; 2003 ??? losing the ALCS to New York; 2004 ??? winning it all; 2005 ??? losing the ALCS to Chicago and now in 2008. 4. The Red Sox lead all AL playoff teams in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and stolen base percentage. 5. The Angels won their division by 21 games and the other five teams won by a combined 15.5 games. 6. The Red Sox were 22-23 in one run games. The Angels were 31-21 in one run games. 7. The Angels were the best of the West for all but six days during the season. 8. The Red Sox scored 845 runs and allowed 694 runs. The Angels scored 765 runs and allowed 697 runs. 9. Boston committed only 85 errors, the Angels just 91. 10. Since 2004, the Red Sox are 22-6 in the postseason, with four sweeps. Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee 1. The Phils were 5-1 against Milwaukee this season. 2. The Phillies bullpen led the NL with a 3.22 ERA. 3. The Phils were 27-23 in one run games. The Brewers were 28-17 in one run games. 4. Dale Sveum has a 7-5 record ??? in regular season play. 5. It has been 9,478 days since the Brewers lost Game 7 of the 1982 World Series ??? their last post-season appearance. 6. The Phillies scored 799 runs and allowed 680 runs. The Brewers scored 750 runs and allowed 689 runs. 7. Phillies pinch-hitters hit .253, second in the NL to Atlanta. The Brewers pinch-hitters hit .211. 8. The Phils stole 136 bases. The Brewers stole 108. 9. The Phils led the NL with 214 homers. The Brewers slammed 198. 10. In case you???ve forgotten, the Milwaukee Brewers were once the Seattle Pilots. Chicago vs. Los Angeles 1. The Cubs were 5-2 against the Dodgers this season. 2. The Chicago Cubs led the NL in runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. 3. Lou Piniella???s teams have one World Championship (the Reds in 1990). They have lost twice in the DS (1997 ALDS with the Mariners and 2007 NLDS with the Cubs) and in the ALCS three times with the Mariners (1995, 2000, 2001). Joe Torre has 76 post-season wins ??? the most of any manager in MLB history. He also has four rings. 4. The Cubs were 24-22 in one run games. The Dodgers were 19-24 in one run games. 5. The Dodgers led the NL with a 3.68 ERA. The Cubs ERA was 3.87. 6. The Cubs pitchers posted the lowest Batting Average Against in the NL at .242. The Dodgers were next at .251. 7. The Cubs scored 855 runs and allowed 671 runs. The Dodgers scored 700 runs and allowed 648 runs. 8. The Cubs led the NL with 329 doubles. The Dodgers doubled 271 times. 9. The Cubs led the NL in walks with 636. The Dodgers walked 543 times. 10. The Dodgers tied for NL Lead (with Washington) by grounding into 153 double plays. The Cubs grounded into 134. The Last 1. The last time the Red Sox won back-to-back World Championships was 1915-1916. 2. The last repeat champions were the 1999 - 2000 Yankees. 3. The Angels have lost each of their last seven postseason games. 4. Of the last six World Series champions, only two have returned to the postseason the following season: the 2004-05 Red Sox, and the 2007-08 Red Sox. The last National League team to do it was the 2001-02 Diamondbacks. 5. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988 when they were managed by Tommy Lasorda. 6. The last time the White Sox won the World Series was in 2005; along the way they defeated the Angels in the ALCS. 7. The last and only time the Angels won the World Series was in 2002. 8. The last and only time the Phillies won the World Series was in 1980. 9. The last time the Brewers were in the post-season was in 1982; they changed managers that season too. 10. The last time the Rays played in October was on October 1, 2006 when they lost their 101 game of the season. Potential Series Titles THE UN-CIVIL WAR - All Chicago, North vs. South SO CAL FREEWAY SERIES ??? All LA, all traffic. COLONIAL SERIES ??? Boston vs. Philly. Adams v Franklin. ???MAD MEN??? SERIES ??? A repeat of the 1959 White Sox/Dodgers match-up BLUES/BREWS SERIES ??? White Sox vs. Milwaukee BEST BALLPARK SERIES ??? Wrigley vs. Fenway FOX SUICIDE SERIES ??? Tampa Bay vs. Milwaukee ??? Fox execs jumping from their penthouse perches. Interleague Play The Rays were 12-6. The White Sox were 12-6. The Red Sox were 11-7. The Angels were 10-8. The Brewers were 7-8. The Cubs were 6-9. The Dodgers were 5-10. The Phils were 4-11. For What It???s Worth The Billy-Ball first round picks: Tampa Bay in 3 ??? The Rays are no longer Devils but the ChiSox are bedeviled. Los Angeles in 5 ??? Just call me Angel in the morning, and the Red Sox in the mourning Milwaukee in 5 ??? Sooner or later, I think Brad will fall off his Lidge. CC you in NLCS. Cubs in 4 ??? Piniella catch a Torre. Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com (www.Billy-Ball.com) and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, ???Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs ??? Baseball???s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,??? with a Foreword by Jon Miller, published by ACTA Sports, and available worldwide. Autographed first editions are available by contacting, Bill@billy-ball.com or order directly from Acta Sports or from your favorite bookstore.