THIS WEEK—POSTSEASON TEAMS

THE GOOD: THE ANAHEIM ANGELS

Angels, indeed. Whatever Manager Mike Scioscia wants, he gets from this scrappy club, with Adam Kennedy, Darin Erstad, and Francisco Rodriguez beating their opponents like piñatas. We sheepishly admit that the Rally Monkey’s kind of fun (although we also wish they were still the California Angels). But no matter what this team is like, there’s one thing we should all be thankful for: they’re not the Yankees.

THE BAD: THE ATLANTA BRAVES

Get out of the postseason. We like Bobby Cox, we really do, but the Braves have turned into the most somnambulant team to wander into the big show. What is the matter with them? It seems like they’re never truly whipped, but give just enough to lose their games in the most dull fashion. And if we hear again how difficult they are because of pitching, we’ll puke. IT NEVER SEEMS TO WORK! We don’t mind the redundancy of their postseason appearances…The Brooklyn Dodgers went again and again and again in the 50’s. But unlike the Bums, who lost spectacular matches in heartbreaking fashion, The Braves lack the hunger of their opponents, and consistently fall short in yawners. If there’s one team that should have a fire sale next year, it’s this one.

THE UGLY: THE MINNESOTA TWINS

Ugly, yes—beating the A’s in their wild fashion, and then falling apart spectacularly to the Angels. Fun, because they made it this far, but gross in the way they played. Great starting pitching (excepting Rick Reed), the Twins vaunted relief corps fell apart completely, as did their not-quite-vaunted hitting. But more than any other team—including the deeper pocketed Angels and Yankees—you can pretty much expect this team to return…hopefully wiser, and with a few stronger bats.