There is no worst feeling that losing in the postseason when you are the favorite.
More so when you are a prohibitive favorite.
You withstand the 162 game marathon of the regular season and within 96 to 110 hours, its over.
For the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago Cubs, the playoffs came and just like gun smoke, exited the playoffs just as quickly.
While those two teams went into the night, the main Los Angeles team, the Dodgers rose above and reestablished their dominance in the City of Angels. Their script looks like a movie straight from Hollywood. Joe Torre, the former Yankees manager exiled after last season, trades in congestion of the east coast for the palm trees and sun of the west coast. Brought to him in July was Manny Ramirez, exiled out of Boston, given the appearance of a malcontent with a chance to be reborn in Los Angeles. The former Yankee manager and the former star Red Sox, suddenly joining forces for a common goal. Add in Derek Lowe, who ended Torre’s season in Game 7 with the Red Sox when they completed the greatest comeback in baseball history, and it is the most unique dynamic baseball has seen in a long time.
In the American League, two division rivals will find themselves battling for the American League crown. While the Yankees play golf during these days, the world champion Red Sox and young Tampa Bay Rays will extend their regular season battle into the postseason. After 18 meetings, they will battle at least four if not seven more times. While Tampa is threatening to write one of baseball’s greatest stories, the Red Sox are looking to equate their success to that of the late 90’s Yankees. Another championship this year would be their third in the last five years and firmly establish themselves as a dynasty.
For the Phillies, they are almost the forgotten team. Despite having only won one championship in the last 125 years, they never regarded on the same level as the other major market teams. While America is enamored with the possibility of a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series, Philadelphia continues to wave their arms and say, “look at me!” With home field advantage, they are favored to win over the Dodgers, and maybe this team, a group of tough, talented grinders can win the city’s first championship in 25 years.
However it turns out, these next 10 days of baseball are going to be great. All we can hope for are some long series with twists and turns culminating in two very good representatives from each league meeting in the Fall Classic.
National League Championship Series
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Dodgers may have stunned the baseball world with their dominant performance against the Cubs, but any intelligent person with baseball knowledge could seen that the Dodgers had a distinct advantage with their power right handed pitchers going up against the Cubs predominantly right handed hitting lineup. With no solid hitting lefty to counteract the Dodgers, Cubs hitters found themselves hitting the ball into the ground consistently.
In this series, the strength of the Phillies lineup comes from the left side with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Dodgers are not slated to start a left-hander in the series until at least Game 4, if not at all. If Philadelphia’s “Big 3” chose to chose the opposite field at home against both Derek Lowe and Game 2 starter Chad Billingsley, they will have a lot of success.
Conversely, the Phillies need to come up with an answer on how to get Manny Ramirez out. By putting patient hitters Russell Martin and Andre Ethier in front and behind Ramirez, pitching to their lineup is very difficult. The Cubs forced Ethier and James Loney to beat and they did. When they chose to pitch to Ramirez, the ball found its way into orbit. The return of Rafael Furcal has been tremendous for the entire offense. If he can continue to get on base as he did during the Division Series, Phillies pitchers are going to have a tough time stopping the Dodgers from scoring.
While the Dodgers have the better staff, some of their effectiveness is likely to be affected by the dimensions of Citizens Bank Park. If they can get a split going back to Los Angeles, it is likely they will be able to wrap up the series in Dodger Stadium.
Prediction: Dodgers in six
American League Championship Series
Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
When you face each other 18 times in a season, there are no surprises. The other team has seen each player numerous times and the scouting reports are pages deep.
In the case of Boston and Tampa Bay, there is no intimidation factor. The Rays are not going to fear going into Fenway Park and have the crowd get to them. After playing there and in Yankee Stadium nearly 20 times during the season, each year over the last decade, the bright lights are not going to get to them. With James Shields and Scott Kazmir starting Games 1 and 2, they have the right two men to start the series on strong footing.
Boston is hoping to steal Game 1 with enigmatic Dasiuke Matsuzaka. Will Tampa be able to take advantage of his wildness early on and get some runs? If they can, they can take Game 1 and put all the pressure on what appears to be a non-healthy Josh Beckett in Game 2. The whole series will swing on his starts. Up 1-0, Beckett can slam the door on the Rays and give them a 2-0 lead heading back to Boston. A loss will have the opposite effect. Only having Jon Lester starting one of the first six games in this series makes their Game 3 loss to the Angels slightly problematic. Replacing the possibility of two Lester starts with Matsuzaka is not a positive.
Both teams seem to have the “it” factor. Whatever it is, it goes beyond statistics. Each team is strong all around with the only clear Boston advantage is in the ninth inning when Jon Papelbon steps on the mound. Troy Percival maybe reinstalled as the Rays closer, but anyone who has seen Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler pitch this season and in the playoffs should now that those two are better pitchers at the moment.
Seven game series? Very much so. Give me Boston.
Prediction: Red Sox in seven
Random Playoff Thoughts
I told everyone in July that the Chicago Cubs were not to have success scoring runs in the postseason.
Why is this a shock? That lineup feasted on the awful pitching that exists in their division from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Houston. Playing those teams 75 to 80 times with your American League style lineup was bound to produce gaudy numbers. But put them in a situation against a good starting rotation who throws strikes, and their offense, generated by the walk is negated.
This is where the book “Moneyball” falls short. Michael Lewis and Billy Beane never explained that building lineups such as the one the Cubs had is always going to struggle in the playoffs because of the quality pitching that shows up in these series.
Alfonso Soriano is becoming on the playoffs worst postseason performers.
Since the start of the 2003 AL Championship Series, Soriano is 12 for 80. This is beyond awful.
This is not bad luck. His at bats are awful. The same pitch he is flailing in 2003 is the same one he is missing now. He goes up there to hack and teams that scout him correctly used that against him.
Chad Billingsley, barring injury, will be a 20 game winner next season. He is THAT good.
Looks like the credit card the Brewers had on CC Sabathia went over its limit. No surprise there.
Starting a man on three days rest four consecutive times after he had already led the league in innings was a deadly combination. It was no surprise that with the Brewers trailing the Phillies in the Division Series 1-0 and needs a big performance from a tired man in a pressure situation, CC did not have his best stuff.
He will go on to free agency now and recoup his big bucks. 7 years and at least 22 million will get it done. Will he hold up all seven of those years is another matter.
You think Red Sox fans were wondering what happened to Manny Ramirez’s “injured” knee when he was able to score all the way from first on a double.
The LA Angels know how to beat the Yankees. The Yankees know how to beat the Red Sox. But the Angels do not know how to beat the Red Sox. It is the oddest thing.
I still do not know why Orlando Cabrera of the White Sox was attempting to kick dirt at Rays reliever Grant Balfour.
It became even more embarrassing when Cabrera struck out against him in the same at bat. Poetic justice.
Good to see instant replay has not been needed yet.
Most Intense Crowd awards for the Division Series:
Game 3 – Dodger Stadium vs. CHC
Game 2 – Citizens Bank Park vs. MIL
Game 3 – US Cellular Field vs. TB
You think the Mets were excited to see Francisco Rodriguez gag it up in Game 2 to J.D Drew in the 9th inning against the Red Sox?
Paying him for five years and 15 million a season is colossal risk. It’s not as if he’s throwing in the mid 90’s anymore.
Mark Texieira looked like pretty good player in the playoffs. But certainly not one to where I would pay him 20 million a year for the next seven or eight years.
BREAKING NEWS: Soriano just struck out again.
No comments:
Post a Comment