Handicapping the MLB Championship Series

A little voice inside Rance Mulliniks's head tells him the Los Angeles Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League Championship Series.

But no matter the situation, there is also a part of the former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman that will be pulling for the Philadelphia Phillies and a special person inside their dugout.

"I would like to see the Phillies win, because Jimy Williams, who's the bench coach there, I played for him in the minor leagues," Mulliniks — now a baseball analyst for CBC Sports — told CBCSports.ca. "He was my third-base coach and my manager [with the Blue Jays in the 1980s].

"He taught me a lot, in terms of how to play the infield and how to play the game defensively as well as other areas. I'd like to see him have a chance to be part of a world championship team."

The Phillies, who captured their only World Series in 1980, are back in the NLCS for the first time since 1993.

Fresh off a first-round series victory over Milwaukee, they will play host to the Dodgers in Game 1 of a best-of-seven set on Thursday at 8:22 p.m. ET.

Los Angeles is coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs, the NL's top team in the regular season.

The American League Championship Series is an all-East battle between the Tampa Bay Rays and defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 8:37 p.m. ET at Tampa Bay, where the Rays have won 59 of 83 games this season, including a pair in a division series win over the Chicago White Sox.

Here's a breakdown of the two championship series, along with Mulliniks's take on each matchup:

American League Championship Series: Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays

• Home-field advantage: Tampa Bay
• Regular-season record: Boston — 95-67 (2nd in AL East, wild card); Tampa Bay — 97-65 (1st in AL East)
• Season series: Tampa Bay 10-8
• How they got here: Boston — defeated Los Angeles Angels 3-1 in AL Division Series; Tampa Bay — beat Chicago White Sox 3-1 in ALDS
• Series probable pitchers (Games 1-4): Boston — Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield; Tampa Bay — James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine
• Who's hot: Boston — OF Jason Bay (.412 in ALDS, two home runs, scored winning run in Game 4); Tampa Bay — OF B.J. Upton (.278, team-leading three homers in ALDS)
• Who's not: Boston — 2B Dustin Pedroia (1-for-17 in ALDS, hit .326 in regular season); Tampa Bay — OF Carl Crawford (.214, no extra-base hits in ALDS)
• Injuries: Boston — 3B Mike Lowell (strain, torn labrum in right hip, out of series), OF J.D. Drew (back, day-to-day), SS Julio Lugo (left leg, 60-day disabled list), SP Curt Schilling (bicep, out for season); Tampa Bay — No significant injuries
• Outlook: Home-field advantage could be huge in series between fierce rivals. Rays won eight of nine at Tropicana Field while Red Sox, who were 8-19 under roofs this season, won seven of nine on home turf. Rays bullpen, led by Grant Balfour, nearly unhittable in first round (0.80 ERA). Red Sox middle relief had ups and downs in ALDS, while closer Jonathan Papelbon notched win, save, seven strikeouts in five shutout innings. He allowed three hits and two earned runs in a Sept. 9 loss to Tampa Bay. Red Sox starter Jon Lester is coming off strong ALDS (14 innings, no earned runs) and was solid at home in regular season (11-1, 2.49 ERA). Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura hit combined .371 against Boston starters Matsuzaka, Beckett and Wakefield.

Mulliniks: "I like the Rays simply because if it goes seven games, they'll play four in Florida, where they have been tremendous [59-24 including playoffs].

"I don't think there's a team right now playing with more confidence than Tampa Bay and that helps them overcome adversity. The Red Sox are also dinged up. [Third baseman Mike] Lowell isn't available for the series, [outfielder J.D.] Drew is going to be a question mark with his back. And I'm not sure that [starting pitcher] Josh Beckett is 100 per cent [after missing regular-season finale with strained rib muscle]. I think if you take those three things you have to favour the Rays."

On Jason Bay: "I am not surprised at all by the performance of Jason Bay. What little exposure I've had to him, his demeanour indicated to me the atmosphere or the environment in the playoffs wasn't going to get him too excited and he wasn't going to try to do too much."

National League Championship Series:Los Angeles Dodgers vs Philadelphia Phillies

• Home-field advantage: Philadelphia
• Regular-season record: Los Angeles — 84-78 (1st in NL West); Philadelphia — 92-70 (1st in NL East)
• Season series: Tied 4-4
• How they got here: Los Angeles — swept Chicago Cubs 3-0 in NLDS; Philadelphia — defeated Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 in NLDS
• Series probable pitchers: Los Angeles — Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Huroki Kuroda, Greg Maddux; Philadelphia — Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton
• Who's hot: Los Angeles — OF Manny Ramirez (.500, five hits, two home runs in NLDS); Philadelphia — OF Shane Victorino (.357, five RBI, three stolen bases in division series)
• Who's not: Los Angeles — OF Andre Ethier (1-for-10 in NLDS after hitting .462 with 18 RBI in 22 games in  September); Philadelphia — 2B Chase Utley (2-for-15 with one extra-base hit in NLDS)
• Injuries: Los Angeles — SP Brad Penny (shoulder, 60-day DL), OF Andruw Jones (knee, 60-day DL), RP Hong-Chih Kuo (triceps, day-to-day), SS Nomar Garciaparra (right leg, day-to-day); Philadelphia — RP Tom Gordon (elbow, 60-day DL)
• Outlook: Both clubs enter championship series on a roll. Phillies advanced to first NLCS since 1993 and have won 16 of last 20 games. The Dodgers have been buoyed by addition of Manny Ramirez, going 16-8 since taking over NL West lead on Sept. 6, and outscored Philadelphia 43-27 in eight games. Starting pitching on both sides was spectacular in division series, with Los Angeles posting 1.42 ERA and Phillies at 1.80. Phillies hurlers shut down Ramirez, who was held to a .212 average in season series, including zero RBI in six games at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. Dodgers might get huge boost with potential return of Kuo (1.69 ERA in 42 games) who could help neutralize Phillies lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

Mulliniks: "Both ball clubs are playing very well, probably the best they've played at any time all season. The Phillies are a very well-balanced team. I give the edge in starting pitching to the Dodgers but offensively Philly has much more balance and is more of a threat."

On Manny Ramirez: "The addition of Manny just turned that entire ball club around. He makes those around him better. They get better pitches to hit.

"The one thing I really like about Manny is he is so good that he hits great pitching. You can execute against him and make the pitch you want him to miss and he can still hit it out of the park. There's only a handful of guys like that in the game."

On Dodgers manager Joe Torre: "Based on what I read and heard, there was an attitude problem with that clubhouse last year. But you bring a manager like Joe Torre in with what he has accomplished [four World Series titles, 13 consecutive playoff appearances] and there is instant respect. When Joe says, 'this is the way we're going to do it,' no one's going to question that — veterans, rookies or guys that have been around a year or two with a lot of potential."