The 2006 playoffs will be here shortly.

Usually this time of year playoff teams are lining up their 20 game winners and other top starting pitchers as they set their rotations for the upcoming games.

Not so in ’06.

Minnesota’s Johan Santana is the only starting pitcher in the AL who strikes fear into the heart of the opposition. Guess what? His team might not get into the playoffs.

Click below for more!Last season the White Sox rode to the championship behind a quartet of outstanding starting pitchers.

In 2004 The Red Sox won with starters Derek Lowe, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez leading the way.

In ’89 the A’s used Dave Stewart and Mike Moore to sweep the Giants.

Baseball history is filled with October heroes who distinguished themselves during the playoffs. Remember pitchers Mickey Lolich, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Steve Blass, Whitey Ford, Lou Burdette, and Orel Hershiser. They led their teams to the championship.

Will anyone step up this year?

The Yankees hope Randy Johnson’s late season surge is for real. Mike Mussina still isn’t healthy. Chien-Ming Wang, a pitcher with slim postseason credentials is as sure as it gets in NY.

The Twins have Santana. If left-hander Francisco Liriano makes it back to the majors this week he will be on a very limited pitch count for the remainder of the season. The remaining starters on the Minnesota staff are questionable at best.

The Tigers got a huge game from rookie Justin Verlander this week when their ace beat the Twins Thursday night. Verlander tired in the seventh inning, not a good sign for a pitcher who will be asked to go to the post another ten times if the Tigers go all the way. However, if Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Kenny Rogers pitch well, the Tigers have a shot to dominate the playoffs.

Word of caution: rookie pitchers are a risk in October.

The A’s starting pitching looked invincible until the past two weeks. Now Dan Haren and Joe Blanton are getting hit more often. Barry Zito still seems to throw too many pitches. Luckily, Esteban Loaiza has emerged as the hottest pitcher on the team.

Truth be told, Frank Thomas and an airtight ‘pen are keeping the A’s in front of the Angels as the season winds down.

The Angels have gotten excellent starting pitching from rookies Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana, and John Lackey have been up and down all season.

All of baseball has been waiting for the White Sox starting pitching to take charge. It hasn’t happened yet.

So what does this overall lack of dominant starting pitching mean?

Managers will routinely be going to the ‘pen by the sixth inning.

Relief pitching will be critical.

The spotlight will be on set up men. Minnesota’s Juan Rincon and Dennys Reyes, Detorit’s Joel Zumaya, and Fernado Rodney, Oakland’s Justin Duchscherer and Kiko Calero, the Yankees Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor and Chicago’s Mike MacDougal and Matt Thornton all will be in the spotlight this fall.

Defense will matter. Minnesota, Oakland, and Chicago catch the ball much better than New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Games will be decided by home runs. Starting pitchers will tire by the middle innings. The heroes will be the batters who can knock the ball out of the park.

The key players to watch this October, if their teams get in, will be Frank Thomas, Nick Swisher, Vladimir Guerrero, Craig Monroe, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, A Rod, and Justin Morneau.

Things are no different in the NL where the Mets offense places them light years ahead of every other team. The Giants and Dodgers starting pitchers pose the greatest threats to the Metropolitans. Chris Carpenter is the only dominant pitcher in the St. Louis rotation.

No early lead will be safe this year. It will be a wild ride to the ninth inning.