Major League Baseball players have been battling it out on the diamond for the last six months for a chance to play in October. If you have ever been to a MLB playoff game you know there is nothing like it. This October presents some interesting matchups. Here is my divisional round preview and predictions. I will write a review and prediction for every round of the MLB playoffs.
American League
Rangers at Rays
The Rangers really struggled down the stretch and the Rays shut it down the last week so neither team is really riding any momentum. Cliff Lee hasn’t been himself this year against the Ray’s, but he is another person in the Playoffs. He was unbelievable last year in October and he has all the intangibles to do it again. After CY Young candidate David Price the Rays starting pitching is suspect. Shields and Garza are quality pitchers but the pressure could get to them. The biggest question mark in this series is Josh Hamilton’s ribs. He’s not going to be 100%, but his swing is so short and compact that it doesn’t put as much pressure on his ribs as it could. The trendy pick in this series is the Rays, but I think the Rangers are going to come out and surprise everyone behind the confident Cliff Lee and experience of Vlad Guerrero. RANGERS in 5
Yankees at Twins
This is a tough series for me to analyze because I am a big Twins fan. The Yankees are the defending champs and CC Sabathia has been a beast all year and owns the Twins. The Yankees need CC to win game one because after that their rotation has some question marks. Pettitte has been injured and isn’t expected to pitch very deep into game two and Phil Hughes is a great pitcher but inconsistent and still young. The Twins will start comeback player of the year Francisco Liriano in game one followed by Pavano and Duensing. CC is the best pitcher in this series, but the Twins have the best overall rotation. The Twins have been red hot since the all star break, posting the best record in MLB since that time even though they lost all star first baseman Justin Morneau. The Yankees have all the pressure in the world on them to win this series and even though they're used to the pressure playing in New York I think if the Twins can start out strong the pressure will get to the Yankees. The Twins are playing with nothing to lose and are sick of getting their rear ends kicked by the Yankees. Call me crazy but I think the Twins are going to win game 5 at new Target Field and pull the upset on the defending champs. TWINS in 5
National League
Reds at Phillies
The Reds are in the playoffs for the first time since 1995. They scored the most runs in the national league this year. They have the likely NL MVP in Joey Votto and Manager of the Year in Dusty Baker. With all that out of the way the Reds are going to get crushed in this series. The Phillies are the two time defending NL Champs and finished with the best record in the league. They traded for Roy Halladay this off season so he could display his pitching perfection in October. The Phillies rotation of Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels is arguably the best of any team in the playoffs. They are all on fire right now and will shut down the Reds. Ryan Howard and company will put up plenty of runs and Lidge will anchor the bullpen as the Phillies should take care of the Reds. PHILLIES in 3
Braves at Giants
There Braves limped across the finish line. They lost their best player this year in Prado a few weeks ago and lost Hall of Famer Chipper Jones earlier this season. The Giants went on a September surge and took over first place in the final two weeks and outlasted the Padres on the final weekend of the regular season. The Braves had to use their ace Tim Hudson on the last day of the year to clinch so he won’t be available for game one. Derrick Lowe had a rough year, but he had a great September and should keep the Braves in it when he starts. The Giants rotation sets up perfectly with Lincecum, Cain, and Sanchez. I don’t expect any of these games to be very high scoring as both teams’ lineups are mediocre when it comes to playoff standards. Hayward will have to step up for the Braves if they’re going to score runs and on the opposite side Huff will need to step up for the Giants. At the end of the day the Giants have a little more firepower on offense and it may only take 3 runs a game to win in this series. GIANTS in 4
Rays and Rangers:
ReplyDeleteI love what the Rangers have done this year. They have made some great trades and put themselves in great position going into the payoffs. They have the better rotation and an experienced offense. However, I don’t think they have what it takes to overtake the rays. I think this will be a competitive series, but I see the rays winning it.
RAYS in 5
Yankees and Twins
I too like the twins. They are a good team in a smaller market and they have excelled over the last few years. With that said, the Yankees are just too good. They have the better rotation, the better pin, and the more experienced hitters. Also they spend more in one season than some teams spend in a decade. Do I think they are attempt to buy a world series buy spending so much?... YES! But none the less they are good and they will win.
YANKEES in 4
Ah now its time for the national league or as I refer to it as the man’s league. Where pitchers are athletes and actually hit for themselves. And in the rare occasion they get a hit they manage to run 90 feet at a time. Unlike that girly American league where pitchers cant deal with hitting and running is entirely out of the question. Also you find the biggest roid filled fat ass to sit on your bench and then get up 4 times a game and see how far he can hit the ball. And somehow this constitutes a player. Then when this player gets a hit they woddle their fatness down the line and stand on there like a blob, but I digress.
Reds and Phillies:
This pains me to say, because I love the Reds. Many people didn’t see them doing anything this year and they are the Cinderella story of 2010. However, a first round match up against the Phillies will end their hopes. The Phillies pitching is just too damn good, and there hitting is also noteworthy. I am not the biggest fan of the Phillies, but I see this being over quick.
Phillies in 3
Braves and Giants
To say the Braves limped into the playoffs is an understatement. The braves took advantage of terrible play by the Padres and even worse play by the Rockies and just so happened to end up in the playoffs. They are missing a ton of their offense and their pitching is suspect at best. The giants on the other hand are not really something to write home about, but still they will win.
Giants in 4
http://5280sportscommentary.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI know I posted my comment from your blog to start my own haha but add it man.
copy cat
ReplyDelete