It’s about that time, the time for the greats to separate them self from the good, where the best show up to lead their team to the pinnacle of victory, when you either win or be remembered as the team who couldn’t get it done, it’s time for the MLB playoffs. With the playoff bracket finally set thanks to the wild NL West now complete, the playoffs get underway today at 1:37 pm EST with the first game to take place between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays. So of course I got you covered, the in’s and out’s of each team, player, situation, and of course the “hype” surrounding them all.
Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa -The Real: With the Tampa victory Saturday over the Kansas City Royals combined with the New York Yankees loss, the Rays clinched the AL East title. That means they finished with the best record in the AL at 96 wins and 66 losses and on paper probably are the team to beat. They possess a solid 1-2-3 punch with David Price, James Shields, and Matt Garza and have a solid lineup which contains speed, power and unbelievable athleticism. They’ve been here before losing in 2008 in the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies and have played together (major players) for numerous years, they know each other and have experience!
Texas-The Real: They can flat out hit, there are probably 2 spots in the lineup people can call weaknesses, Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus. They have baseballs leading hitter with Josh Hamilton and some of the brightest young stars with Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler to surround him. Throw in veterans like Michael Young, Vladimir Guerrero and Jorge Cantu and you have a solid offensive squad who can just about match anyone. Ron Washington looks to be one of the smartest coaches in the league and has driven this team all year leading them to the AL West championship. They are inexperienced but Washington has been here before as an assistant coach part of the Oakland A’s runs earlier this decade.
Tampa- The Hype: The Rays have a lot of pieces on the offensive side, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Carlos Pena to name a few but don’t pack the overall onslaught you look for when building a complete murderers row. They have some holes at 2nd base with Sean Rodriguez who hit .251 this season and at catcher where Dioner Navarro has been replaced by John Jaso for a part of the season. That means the Rays go into the postseason with a fairly new starting catcher to guide the staff and must rely on him to produce on the offensive side at some point during the postseason. The other problems offensively are the Rays strike out extremely too often doing so 1,292 times which is the most ever by a team to actually qualify for the postseason and have the lowest team batting average of any team in the playoffs at a .247 clip.
Texas- The Hype: PITCHING! The Rangers Achilles heel for the last decade has been the inability to get people out. That will be the same problem for the team again this postseason. They acquired Cliff Lee to be their ace and have paired him with CJ Wilson to attack opposing teams, but after that they really don’t have anyone else who can scare even a high school team. In what is a surprise Tommy Hunter will get the game 3 start instead of Scott Fieldman, who started as the Rangers opening day starter. In the bullpen they will rely on the young gun Neftali Feliz who is a rookie but has an arm as live as anyone to close and will try to rely on a mix and match situational look to get to him.
After the clock strikes 12: Out of all the series I think this is the toughest match up to foresee. The Rays overall are a better team than the Rangers but can they score enough runs to keep up with the Rangers? The Rangers can go blow for blow at the plate with anyone in the world but can they continuously get the opposition out? As much as I like the Rangers offense I just can’t get over that pitching staff! Cliff Lee is good but not enough by himself, plus with a rookie closing games you’re just asking for a late game collapse. Give me the Rays in 5.
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
New York-The Real: What more is there to say about the Yankees? They are the defending champs, have the biggest names, the rings, history and the biggest fan base in the playoffs. Plus you can probably label them the hands on favorite because of who they are.
Minnesota-The Real: Once again the Twins are the team with the least known stars but are the strongest as a unit. They are an all around team with no real major weakness but have plenty of strengths to boast. Solid as solid can come, defense is their specialty as they have speed at just about every position where needed. The Twins finished second in team fielding percentage behind the Yankees, third in hitting and fifth in pitching amongst the AL, same ol’ Twins, efficient at every facet of the game.
New York-The Hype: This isn’t the same Yankees team who won it all last year. They are of course older, just look at Jorge Posada playing less and less, are a little banged up, check A.J. Burnett’s ego and have less pitching then just about ever before, Phil Hughes is starting game 3 vs. the Twins. Besides the reliable Mariano Rivera and proven Chad Gaudin the Yankees bullpen definitely has questions. Can Kerry Wood be dominant, who is the left handed specialist and what Joba Chamberlain are you going to get?
Minnesota-The Hype: It’s funny because the Twins seem to play the Yankees every year and it’s the same story every year, they wind up losing. Every year we wait on the Twins to take the next step and finish what they started, well here we go again. The real hype though, is that the Twins are no longer that ball club overachieving because of the lack of payroll. They had the 11th highest payroll with a little over 97 million, so they can’t use that excuse this year. It’s either get it done or get out!
When the clock strikes 12: The Yankees are the smart mans pick while the Twins are the under dogs. With Justin Morneau and Nick Punto being out with injuries the rest of the Twins must pick up the slack. With that being said, I just can’t put my trust in the Delmon Young and Danny Valencia’s of the world. The Yankees sneak by the Twins in some nail biting games because of the Yankees bad pitching but win in 4.
San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves
San Francisco-The Real: The Giants are the complete opposite of the Texas Rangers, they have more pitching then they know what to do with. If you name it they have it, every major role you need on a staff the Giants can produce. Tim Lincecum is the Ace, Matt Cain is the side kick, Barry Zito is the veteran and game 3 starter Johnathan Sanchez is the young gun of the staff. As much as everyone bad mouthed the NL West prior to the season it proved to be one of the best divisions in the league and the Giants won it. They are managed by Bruce Bochy who has felt the playoff pressure before so there isn’t much he hasn’t seen and the pitching coach Dave Righetti always has his staff ready to go.
Atlanta Braves-The Real: The strength of the Braves starts with the retiring Bobby Cox. When it comes to all of the managers in the playoffs Bobby has the longest tenure with his team, he definitely is the backbone of the squad. They will look to him to not only manage the game but to maybe even steal a game or two. Bobby has a veteran lead team that knows what it means to play in the postseason. You can look all across the field and see guys who have been in the thick of things. From Derek Lee, Melky Cabrera, Alex Gonzalez, Troy Glaus to Erik Hinske, Rick Ankiel and Billy Wagner, they have numerous players who have postseason experience and that can’t be replaced. Another thing the Braves have going for them is they also have Tim Hudson who is masterful at what he does. In the playoffs you need an ace to be able to stop a losing streak and get that must win; with Huson the Braves have that.
San Francisco-The Hype: There are a lot of question marks offensively for the Giants. Pablo Sandoval hasn’t lived up to the hype this year and is entering the playoffs hitting above.300 in the last 10 games but .268 overall. Andres Torres is entering his first real test as a starting centerfielder and the bench; well there is no bench. If you look at the Giants depth chart you will see that they have a lot of the starters listed in many different positions but no one to really give them a break. Besides Edgar Renteria, there is no one worth getting excited for.
Atlanta-They Hype: Because of the need to win on the last day of the season to get into the playoffs the Braves used their best pitcher in Tim Hudson so now he is throwing the third game in the series. Which means Derek Lowe will start game 1 and the youngster Tommy Hanson will go in game 2. This doesn’t set up well for the Braves as the series goes on. On top of that the weakness of the Braves has got to be the bullpen, even Billy Wagner has been a bit shaky at times this year and in the playoffs that proves to be fatal. The one other major question mark facing the Braves is how they will fare without their captain Chipper Jones. All through the Braves glory days there has been one staple on the field and now he will not be there. Martin Prado at this point may be the better player but you can’t replace Chipper.
When the Clock strikes 12: This series is as easy to gauge as any in my eye. It’s going to come down to the Braves hitting attack. Can they put enough pressure on the Giants offense to worry about scoring runs? The Ginats probably have the hottest pitchers heading into the playoffs between Lincecum and Cain, who will both keep the Giants in the game no matter what their offense does. The Giants score just enough runs to win each game with masterful performances by Giant pitchers including a solid performance by Barry Zito mixed in. Giants win in 4, only because Tim Hudson wins game 3.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia-The Real: Two World Series appearances in the last two years means the Phillies know how to win. They have the perfect recipe to win it all, unbelievable pitching at the top of the rotation with both of the Roy’s (Oswalt & Halladay), a seasoned team with everyone returning and a good manager in Charlie Manuel. Fire power is definitely something the Phillies can boast about, with Jimmy Rollins, Jason Werth, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard throughout the lineup. Their bench is a major strength due to a lot of injuries throughout the season which forced some players to step up and speed is something this team uses well, which people underestimate. The Phillies have faced adversity all year, between injuries, bullpen issues and nay sayers but they still continue to win.
Cincinnati-The Real: The return of the Reds to the postseason means Dusty Baker has lead another team to the 2nd season. He has made a living with getting his team to play at their best when everyone seems to think they don’t have a real shot to win. Dusty not only brings himself to the party but a well ran squad to back him up. Lead by Joey Votto who a lot of people consider to be the favorite to win the MVP and all star second basemen Brandon Phillips, the Reds boast a lot of talented stars. Jay Bruce and Jonny Gomes can hit for power, with 25 and 22 homeruns each while Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds give the Reds veteran leadership.
Philadelphia-The Hype: The most pressing issue facing the fighting Phils, is can the bullpen hold up when it really has to? Brad Lidge has had some issues again this year and his under study Ryan Madson has not been the most assuring either. If there is one place they can be touched it’s the bullpen. They should get some help with a few of the starters like Joe Blanton falling back to assist in getting batters out but they still need to prove they can get the job done when it counts. Also just about everyone on the team has missed some amount of time due to injury; they have a problem with staying healthy.
Cincinnati-The Hype: Pretty Simple, no one really believes in them but themselves.
When the Clock strikes 12: I like what the Reds do and what they stand for. They play with a chip on their shoulder and with flare! Brandon Phillips alone is enough to make me want to root for them but common sense tells me the Phills have too many factors for the Reds to overcome. I expect the Phills to win the first two games with the Roy’s going, though Bronson Arroyo is a gamer so expect game 2 to be something serious. The Reds will take game 3 but the Phillies will close it out in game 4.
2 Minute drive …
Big Games this week in the college landscape: Alabama vs South Carolina, Michigan vs Michigan St, Nebraska vs Kansas St, Arkansas vs Texas A&M, Oregon St vs Arizona, LSU vs Florida, Florida St vs Miami and Stanford vs USC
Who is more fragile,
Carlos Boozer or
Andrew Bynum? At least Boozer has put up numbers when he is healthy, Bynum is starting to enter the Yao Ming, Theo Ratliff, post Pistons Grant Hill realm.
Randy Moss is
headed back to Minnesota in exchange for a third-round pick from the Vikes. And so the Randy era in New England ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
The Miami Heat looked spectacular last night! Wait didn’t
Wade get hurt? Damn!
