Playoff Preview (Mexico City)

Mexico City Bandejos (NL South Champs, NL #1 seed)
The Bandejos staged a late season rally to claim their 4th straight NL South title. Incidentally, their 3 WS titles all came after wild card seasons. The Bandejos won 29 of 39 late season games before resting some starters in a 10 of 18 finish.

Hitting:
2b Jalal Rivera (.301-44-131) and RF Del Gil (.304-50-138) power an explosive offense. Season 8 MVP Alex Shibata remains a dangerous force but hasn't been the same since his break-up with Japanese pop star Jun Shibata. His .258 average and 42 HR's are career lows for the 2nd straight season. This season's 124 K's are 28 more than he's had in any previous season.

Team BA: .283
Team HR: 285
Team SB: 138

Pitching:
Ozzie Myers (18-6, 3.32 ERA) and Brian Jung (20-7, 3.31 ERA) form a dangerous 1-2 punch in the rotation. Willie Velazquez (13-4, 3.06) is likely to get the #3 spot for the playoffs despite where some pretty lame eye black. Rob Shields appears to have lost the closer role to veteran Benjamin Ardoin. The end of the bullpen might be the only vulnerability in this perenial contendor.

Team ERA: 3.65
Team SV: 41-65
Team HR Allow: 181