DUGOUT: First-round playoff preview

October baseball has begun, and many exciting games have already been played.

From the Colorado Rockies’ surge into the playoffs to yesterday’s AL Central play-in game, it seems hard to believe that more electrifying baseball remains. The first round of the 2009 postseason starts today, with several great games anticipated. Here’s a run-down of what to expect.

ALDS: Boston Red Sox versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Boston has defeated the Angels in three straight division series, but the wild-card winning Red Sox have several question marks that could prove to be the difference this time around. Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz have the potential to shine in the postseason, but all have had stints of inconsistency, causing many to wonder which will show up: the above-average or wildly inconsistent rotation.

The Angels are known as one of the fastest teams on the basepaths, and this could be a huge difference in the series. Boston has had troubles at the catcher position all season long and has thrown out just 13 percent of base-stealers.

Los Angeles also has an inconsistent rotation, however, and the full five games may be required in this potential slugfest.

As their virtually identical records attest to, these two teams are very similar. Both Boston and Los Angeles have two of the best coaching staffs in the league. The Red Sox and Angels have both had dry portions in their season, and both have had incredible hot streaks.

The Angels are the second-best team in the American League, and few teams have had continued success against them, but Boston’s past postseason success against Los Angeles makes this an ideal match-up.

ALDS: Minnesota Twins versus New York Yankees

The Twins are an incredibly hot team, which could almost make up for their glaring flaws. Minnesota has won 17 of the last 21 games despite a below-average rotation, virtually no offensive performance from their middle infield, and a shaky bullpen.

Scott Baker, Minnesota’s ace, pitched yesterday against the Detroit Tigers in the play-in game, so he probably won’t be available any time before the third game of this series. Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing have been solid recently, and should the Twins push the Yankees around during this series, they will undoubtedly be a major reason why.

New York is the only 100-game winner in baseball, and has scored more runs than any other team. The Yankees are truly an offensive powerhouse and the Twins will be forced to fly to Yankee Stadium hours after surviving an emotional elimination game.

The odds are strongly in New York’s favor, and few people give Minnesota a chance, but the Twins just made up seven games in a few weeks. I doubt very seriously that they care about the odds.

Unless Minnesota can play from behind and effectively chip away the Yankee leads, however, it could be another short October for the Twins.

NLDS: St. Louis Cardinals versus Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis has arguably two of the top three starting pitchers in the league in Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, but beyond that there is little else.

The Cardinals’ bullpen has serious problems. Offensively, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday will attempt shoulder the entire team. If those two sluggers struggle, the Cardinals may not reach the fourth game of this best-of-five series.

The Dodgers boast perhaps the best bullpen in baseball, and a relatively solid starting rotation.

Clayton Kershaw, 21, has emerged as the ace of this team, and Randy Wolf and Chad Billingsley are both capable of pitching well in hostile environments. Following his suspension, Manny Ramirez’s bat has slowed a great deal. Fortunately for the Dodgers, his offensive prowess won’t be required for a deep playoff push.

Los Angeles has virtually no glaring weaknesses, but they claim several small problems that may or may not need to be addressed.

As a team, the Dodgers aren’t home-run hitters and require base runners. If the Cardinals pitch to contact and lower the number of walks allowed they could pull off an early upset — however unlikely that may seem.

NLDS: Colorado Rockies versus Philadelphia Phillies

The Rockies have come back from a nearly 15-game deficit to advance to the postseason through a wild-card berth. While they are certainly a flawed team with several glaring holes, they have the benefit of a recent unpredicted playoff run in 2007 that gave invaluable experience to their veterans.

These veterans, however, might not provide the Rockies with the best chance to win. It will be interesting to see if Colorado chooses to bench players like Ian Stewart, Seth Smith, and Carlos Gonzalez, even though they have played great during the last month of the regular season, in favor of the veteran players with the experience and maturity to remain cool under pressure.

Philadelphia’s problems reside almost exclusively in the bullpen. Brad Lidge, fourth in Cy Young voting and eighth in MVP voting last year, has endured one of the worst seasons from a closer in history and has put the Phillies in a tight spot. How they shuffle their bullpen and when they pitch Lidge could decide their fate this postseason.

Other than the back-end of the bullpen, though, the Phillies have a very solid team. Starting pitchers Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee are both capable of throwing perfect games any given night, and the Phillies have the offense they need to make a deep run this postseason.

Andrew Kneeland is a junior at the Arizona Virtual Academy. He is an intern at the Green Valley News.