It's official: Kernels and Peoria in MWL playoffs

The series will be best-of-3, with the first game a week from Wednesday at Peoria. Game 2 would be Thursday in Cedar Rapids, with an if-needed game Friday night at The Popper.

Going into the final game of their four-game series here in Cedar Rapids Monday night, Peoria holds a 7-3 season series lead. That includes putting up run totals of 10 on Saturday night and 16 in a 24-hit effort that gave the Chiefs a 16-5 win.

Other food for thought, Peoria is a very tough 47-20 at home and 30-34 on the road. The Chiefs are expectimg outfielder Brett Jackson to return from the disabled list for the playoffs. He was the Chicago Cubs' No. 1 draft pick this past June out of California-Berkeley.

Cedar Rapids will need to get good pitching to have a chance to win the series. Right now, all five Kernels starters could fairly be put in the inconsistent category.

Who do you think will win? My pick is ....

I'll let you know before the series begins.