They say that the holiday season is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Whoever “they” are, they probably aren’t baseball fans. If you root for the Yankees or Mets, or if you’re a rare breed like me, and you root for both, then you know that October baseball is where it’s at. With the Major League Baseball playoffs already underway, my predictions for the division and championship series seem a lot easier. I may be biased, but ladies and gentleman, you may be looking at your next Subway Series.

Oakland A’s vs. Minnesota Twins

Here the Twins thought they were catching a break after winning the AL Central and avoiding the Yankees. But now, down 0-2 in the series, Minnesota will need a miracle, like the “Jeter-flip” that saved the Yankees in 2001, after dropping two at home to the Athletics. This year, nobody really gave the A’s credit, but their starting staff led by Barry Zito and their lineup led by a resurgent Frank Thomas makes these A’s tough competition. Even though Oakland has failed after being up 2-0 before, chances are they will find a way to win one more game in the series and finally advance past the first round. Oakland in four.

Detriot Tigers vs. New York Yankees

No one expected the Tigers to win a game against the All-Star Yankees, but Detroit did just that on Thursday and now heads home with the series tied 1-1. As good as the Yankees offense is from top to bottom, solid pitching beats tough hitting any day. For the Yankees to move on, they must get some contributions from Alex Rodriguez (three K’s in Game 2) and Robinson Cano (0-9 for the series). Otherwise, the mighty Yankees may experience the most embarrassing defeat in their postseason history (aside from the messy business in 2004). My money is still on the Yanks pulling through. Yankees in four.

ALCS PREDICTION:

Oakland A’s vs. New York Yankees

The Yankees have had playoff success against the A’s in the past, but the A’s haven’t gotten enough credit for their performance this year. But with the talent on the Yankees roster, it would be hard to pick the A’s in this series. Since the Yankees payroll is about three times the amount of the A’s ($194,663,079 to $62,243,079), the Yankees should probably win three times the amount of playoff games. Yankees in six.