Stumbling to the Finish Line

The MLB Postseason starts on Wednesday. Many an expert has said that momentum heading into the playoffs is key to winning the World Series. I wondered just how legit that statement is, and what the norm of "hotness" is for teams that do win the World Series.

Here are the past 10 World Series winners and their record for the last 20 games heading into the postseason.

2008 Phillies: 14-6
2007 Red Sox: 10-10
2006 Cardinals: 8-12
2005 White Sox: 12-8
2004 Red Sox: 12-8
2003 Marlins: 14-6
2002 Angels: 11-9
2001 Diamonbacks: 12-8
2000 Yankees: 5-15
1999 Yankees: 13-7

The average W-L is 11.1-8.9
The mode W-L is 12-8
The median W-L is 12-8

This season's postseason contenders?
AL
New York Yankees: 12-8
Boston Red Sox: 11-9
Anaheim Angels: 11-9
Detroit Tigers: 10-10
Minnesota Twins: 16-4

NL
Los Angeles Dodgers: 11-9
Philadelphia Phillies: 11-9
Colorado Rockies: 10-10
St Louis Cardinals: 7-13

I don't know about you, but I'm surprised to see that 6 of the 9 teams are playing .500 or .550 ball. In fact, all of the teams except for the Twins have winning percentages that are less than their overall winning percentage. In a sense, almost all of the teams have been playing below par.

I posted postseason picks before, but here is an update:
Yankees over Tigers in 4
Angels over Red Sox in 4

Dodgers over Cardinals in 4
Rockies over Phillies in 3

Angels over Yankees in 6
Dodgers over Rockies in 5

Dodgers over Angels in 7

BOOYEAH!