Playoff Preview in full EFFECT!!!
The Fall Classic has arrived, although in South Carolina it is still hot like the summer. Baseball once again delivered a terrific regular season filled with great storylines and great battles for the Wild Card and the division races. I have always supported the Wild Card because I thought it would keep more teams & fans interested all the way to the wire, and it has. Before the season the favorites to be in the playoffs were: NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox (or maybe the Twins), Anaheim Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and the LA Dodgers. So most of the teams we expected to be there, but now it remains to be seen, who will win!!
YANKEES vs TWINS
WHY NY WILL WIN: Well they are the Yankees, okay that is not a good enough reason. Yes their starting pitching has been shaky, but they do hit the crap out of the ball and their pen can still lock you down. I think the Yankees have something to prove, they are not the favorite, nobody thinks they are just going to automatically win and I think that will drive and motivate a team that clearly had been complacent in the last few post seasons. Most of these guys do not have Championships with the Yankees and this may be the year they sort of come from behind to win it. They still have 3 great clutch performers; Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Mo Rivera.
WHY TWINS WILL WIN: Johan “freaking” Santana. This guy can win a series all by himself. Not to mention they have another good starter in Brad Radke and a solid pen led by Ricardo Rincon and Joe Nathan who blew only 3 saves this season. The Twins can pitch, and they will need that to beat the Yankees. Somebody in their lineup will need to step up and be a major contributor like Torii Hunter.
ANGELS vs RED SOX
WHY BOSTON WILL WIN: This is the team that on paper is the most equipped to handle the post season. They have great starting pitching, they hit from every spot in their line-up and have solid defense with great late inning defensive replacements. Ramirez and company have been through this before, so they have plenty of playoff experience. Oh yeah but you need 2 things to win in the playoffs, a reliable bull pen and to NOT be the Red Sox.
WHY ANAHEIM WILL WIN: The have it all. They know how to win, they have a proven manager, solid line-up with a superstar, solid pitching, and a pretty good bullpen. This team was built to win this year. Vladimir Guerrero now has the spotlight to himself he needs to prove all the hype that his been on him his whole career. Plus they have the Rally Monkey, how could they not win.
CARDINALS vs DODGERS:
WHY ST. LOUIS WILL WIN: This team has everything you need. They have a great great line-up, with a three headed monster that you cannot pitch around. They play good defense and they have a rotation willed with veterans. Tony Larussa has no excuses this time, he has the horses now he needs to prove he is as great as he thinks.
WHY LA WILL WIN: The Dodgers, must like the Yankees just have some sort of mystique around them, every since they were Dem Bums from Brooklyn. They scraped all season to get into the playoffs, so unlike the Cardinals they are battle tested in a playoff type environment. Honestly, I could not name 10 players on their team, but could you in 1988? Maybe Odalis Perez or Jeff Weaver can get hot and help carry this team, or at least Milton Bradley might strangle someone during the series.
BRAVES vs ASTROS
WHY ATL WILL WIN: I don’t know. I can’t give you one good reason, this team on paper is so mediocre it is scary. Maybe that is the way they will get it done. It is team made up of has beens and guys who know how to grind it out. I would love to have a guy like Marcus Giles or Mike Hampton or Russ Ortiz or Jaret Wright or Julio Franco or Rafael Furcal, but not all of them on the same team. Chipper will carry this team on a miracle run, maybe?
WHY HOUSTON WILL WIN: This is my pick to win it all, so obviously run out and put your money on everyone else. Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt are as good as any 1-2 combo, and their bull pen has come along all year, with Brad Lidge now closing games out. The line-up is filled with more professional hitters than any in the playoffs. This team was built to win it this year and with a superb run to end the season they have given themselves a chance, and I think they will get it done.
Yanks over Twins in 4
Angels over Red Sox in 3
Dodgers over Cards in 5
Astros over Braves in 4
Yanks over Angels in 5
Astros over Dodgers in a 7 game classic
Astros over Yanks in 6 (Actually the Yankees will kick everyone’s ass
YANKEES vs TWINS
WHY NY WILL WIN: Well they are the Yankees, okay that is not a good enough reason. Yes their starting pitching has been shaky, but they do hit the crap out of the ball and their pen can still lock you down. I think the Yankees have something to prove, they are not the favorite, nobody thinks they are just going to automatically win and I think that will drive and motivate a team that clearly had been complacent in the last few post seasons. Most of these guys do not have Championships with the Yankees and this may be the year they sort of come from behind to win it. They still have 3 great clutch performers; Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Mo Rivera.
WHY TWINS WILL WIN: Johan “freaking” Santana. This guy can win a series all by himself. Not to mention they have another good starter in Brad Radke and a solid pen led by Ricardo Rincon and Joe Nathan who blew only 3 saves this season. The Twins can pitch, and they will need that to beat the Yankees. Somebody in their lineup will need to step up and be a major contributor like Torii Hunter.
ANGELS vs RED SOX
WHY BOSTON WILL WIN: This is the team that on paper is the most equipped to handle the post season. They have great starting pitching, they hit from every spot in their line-up and have solid defense with great late inning defensive replacements. Ramirez and company have been through this before, so they have plenty of playoff experience. Oh yeah but you need 2 things to win in the playoffs, a reliable bull pen and to NOT be the Red Sox.
WHY ANAHEIM WILL WIN: The have it all. They know how to win, they have a proven manager, solid line-up with a superstar, solid pitching, and a pretty good bullpen. This team was built to win this year. Vladimir Guerrero now has the spotlight to himself he needs to prove all the hype that his been on him his whole career. Plus they have the Rally Monkey, how could they not win.
CARDINALS vs DODGERS:
WHY ST. LOUIS WILL WIN: This team has everything you need. They have a great great line-up, with a three headed monster that you cannot pitch around. They play good defense and they have a rotation willed with veterans. Tony Larussa has no excuses this time, he has the horses now he needs to prove he is as great as he thinks.
WHY LA WILL WIN: The Dodgers, must like the Yankees just have some sort of mystique around them, every since they were Dem Bums from Brooklyn. They scraped all season to get into the playoffs, so unlike the Cardinals they are battle tested in a playoff type environment. Honestly, I could not name 10 players on their team, but could you in 1988? Maybe Odalis Perez or Jeff Weaver can get hot and help carry this team, or at least Milton Bradley might strangle someone during the series.
BRAVES vs ASTROS
WHY ATL WILL WIN: I don’t know. I can’t give you one good reason, this team on paper is so mediocre it is scary. Maybe that is the way they will get it done. It is team made up of has beens and guys who know how to grind it out. I would love to have a guy like Marcus Giles or Mike Hampton or Russ Ortiz or Jaret Wright or Julio Franco or Rafael Furcal, but not all of them on the same team. Chipper will carry this team on a miracle run, maybe?
WHY HOUSTON WILL WIN: This is my pick to win it all, so obviously run out and put your money on everyone else. Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt are as good as any 1-2 combo, and their bull pen has come along all year, with Brad Lidge now closing games out. The line-up is filled with more professional hitters than any in the playoffs. This team was built to win it this year and with a superb run to end the season they have given themselves a chance, and I think they will get it done.
Yanks over Twins in 4
Angels over Red Sox in 3
Dodgers over Cards in 5
Astros over Braves in 4
Yanks over Angels in 5
Astros over Dodgers in a 7 game classic
Astros over Yanks in 6 (Actually the Yankees will kick everyone’s ass
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home