 |
| The Yanks' bobblehead and I |
New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins
Jay: "Yankee pitching (even sans AJ Burnett) keeps Minnesota in each game, but Yankees scratch out enough runs to escape in five games. Small ball and an effective bullpen help the Yankees win games on the road." Yanks in 5
Sarah: Yanks in 4
Ben P: "The Yankees offense has enough to carry them over the Twins in this series. The Twins do everything well, but nothing great. CC wins his two starts and the Yanks find a way to get one more win." Yanks in 4
Ari: "Minny is missing some big pieces. And they don't have many to miss. Yanks gut this one out." Yanks in 4
 |
| CC Sabathia will target the Twinkies tonight at Target Field (CBC) |
Ben W: "Yanks need to turn on the switch and there's no better opponent to do it against than the Twins. Liriano matches up well against Sabathia but he's still CC. After that it's Carl Pavano and the illustrious Brian Duensing. The Yanks will put their faith in Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. The Yankees know better than any other team that you start over again in the postseason and that their poor September is but a piece of history. Look for the Yanks to play like they did for the first five months of the season." Yanks in 4
My opinion: "The Yankees and Twins have met quite a bit recently in the postseason and despite optimism things would change, they've stayed the same. Although the Yankees have holes after their #1 starter, the Twins holes look just as bad--and worse considering the Yankees have an edge in the top tier of their bullpen. If the Twins had Justin Mourneau and Joe Nathan, I would feel differently about this series, but without them, I'm not sure the Twins have enough firepower or pitching to go toe-to-toe with the defending champs." Yanks in 4
Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
Ben W: "The Rays are slumping and their one legitimate offensive threat is still injured. Other than David Price their starting pitching has been inconsistent. The Rangers' offense is strong even without Josh Hamilton and Cliff Lee is a big time pitcher. The only way the Rays win this series is if Joe Maddon outmanages Ron Washington." Rays in 5
 |
| Will the Price be right for Tampa? (Washington Post) |
Elissa: "Pitching is so important in the playoffs and Tampa Bay has the best team ERA among the four American League playoff teams. Rangers have two big threats: Cliff Lee, who the Rays beat all three times they faced him this season, and Josh Hamilton who's recently off the DL." Rays in 3
Ari: "Probably the best series. Rays big arms against Texas bats. Can see this one going either way. I am leaning Rangers, though. The Rays really faltered down the stretch." Rangers in 5
Ben P: "Everyone is lamenting the Yankees pitching staff, but the Rays have a similar situation with Price and then everyone else. Both teams have their best hitters coming in a little banged up, but I like the Rangers rotation to steal this one from the Rays." Rangers in 5
Sarah: Rays in 3
Jay: "Cliff Lee continues to shine in the postseason, winning both starts. The Rangers upset the Rays in five with Josh Hamilton back in the lineup. Rays starting pitching falters behind ace David Price." Rangers in 5
My opinion: "Which injury is worse: Josh Hamilton's or Evan Longoria's? Who wins game 1: David Price or Cliff Lee? I've been flip-flopping back-and-forth on this one, but for all the talk of the Yankees struggles down the stretch and their starting rotation questions after the ace, the same can be said of both of these teams as well. I think the Rays postseason experience as well as surviving the AL East will leave them on top at the end of the day." Rays in 5
Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia Phillies
Jay: "Phillies pitching proves unbeatable in a sweep of the upstart Reds, who still feel good about their 2010 season. Roy Halladay is dominant and Roy Oswalt wins in his Philly playoff debut." Phillies in 3
 |
| Doc will need to diagnose the Reds (Globe and Mail) |
Sarah: Phillies in 4
Ben P: "The Phillies pitching is excellent, and the Reds pitching is either very green or just nothing special. The Phillies make this one look easy." Phillies in 3
Ari: "Sorry Reds' fans, the summer of your dreams will not be followed up with a fall one." Phillies in 4
Elissa: "I know it's redundant, but I've got to start with pitching again. In a best-of-five series, I'm going to put my money on the team with the starting rotation that includes Roy Halladay (2003 Cy Young Award winner), Cole Hamels (2008 NLCS MVP), and Roy Oswalt (2005 NLCS MVP). I don't really care that the Reds led the national league in homeruns - they just can't match up against this starting rotation." Phillies in 3
Ben W: "This is easy. The Phillies have the best 1-2-3 starting pitchers in the league. The Reds have had a nice run with Joey Votto in line to win the NL MVP but they will be no match for the Phillies, who will be looking to return to their third straight world series. Look for this series to end quickly." Phillies in 3
My opinion: "Roy, Roy and Cole. It's all about pitching in the postseason and the Reds don't match up. The Reds story has been really nice and they look to be a force in the National League Central for a while, but Joey Votto and the rest of that lineup won't be able to conquer the Phillies dominant starting." Phillies in 3
Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants
Ben W: "Giants are better balanced than the Braves. Their front two starters (Cain and Lincecum) can outpitch Hudson and Hanson. Brian Wilson might be the best closer in the NL and the Giants feature some hot bats." Giants in 4
 |
| Will this be Bobby Cox's last stand? (KC Star) |
Elissa: "Bye Bye Bobby! Can't say I'll miss you. Even when the Braves were good in the 90s they typically lost in the first round. I think that history will repeat itself. I think the Braves have a lot of issues right now. Hudson has been weak all month, Derek Lowe could easily give up 5 runs, and Tommy Hanson has been good but has no playoff experience. Plus, no Chipper (tear) and no Martin Prado. The Braves have been on borrowed time for about 5 weeks, their defense is poor, and they have no power in their line-up. On the plus side, they have a great bullpen, but I don't think that will be able to save them in this series." Giants in 5
Ari: "Cox going away party. It's time to go. ATL exits in round one as per the usual" Giants in 3
Ben P: "Both teams have very good pitching. I'll give the edge to the Giants and their home field advantage, but I think this series will be very close. There a lot of very talented young players that will probably be the ones that decide this series." Giants in 5
Sarah: Braves in 5
Jay: "Bobby Cox's final season as Braves manager will not feature a storybook ending. The Braves manage just one win against San Francisco's outstanding rotation. Atlanta's bats just cannot handle Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Brian Wilson at the back end." Giants in 4
My opinion: "Everything in my brain tells me this one should go to the Giants, but in a short series, lining up Derek Lowe (5-0, 1.17 ERA in Sept/Oct and postseason veteran), Tommy Hanson (1.81 Sept/Oct ERA), and Tim Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA for the season) may be better than most think. The X-factor here, in my mind, is Jason Heyward who I'm predicting to announce his presence in a big way as he did on Opening Day" Braves in 5
There's our picks. What are yours? Let us know in the comments below.
Posts
Also, I would expect the Yankee offense to eat the Twins bullpen alive.
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyed reading through this post -- it definitely gets me excited for the start of the playoffs -- and I will thoroughly enjoy rereading this once the World Series is over.
ReplyDeleteA few thoughts:
1. That Yankees bobblehead cracks me up. The nervous-looking facial expression says "I just sharted my pants and nobody knows it yet."
2. Nothing says "I mean business" like a man wearing a suit and backpack. I should know. I wear a suit to work every day but still pack my lunch in a Yankees lunchbox.
3. I am starting to enjoy all this talk (and there has been a ton of talk) about how the Yankees can't possibly advance with their weak rotation. I think the Yankees are more likely to struggle when all the pressure and expectations are heaped on them. In this underdog role, and with everyone in love with the Phillies right now, I think the Yanks are primed for a relatively under-the-radar run. People are starting to forget that they're the defending champs but I think the Yankees are primed to repeat when nobody is really expecting it.
To Ben: I wouldn't underestimate that bullpen. The names don't scare you, but there's a collective bunch (Capps, Rauch, Fuentes, Crain, Guerrier) who can get outs.
ReplyDeleteTo Jay: I think it's the same talk as last year when playoff time came around. People said that the Yankees had an injured vet (Pettitte both years), a questionable vet (AJ both years), a young pitcher with innings limits who struggled down the stretch (Joba in '09 and Hughes in '10), and CC (who last year they were claiming didn't have the gumption to pitch in the postsesaon). I think it's the same line because everyone needs a line to bring down the Yankees.
Could the pitching implode and the Yankees lose? Absolutely. But I just don't see it.
Did I say Rays in 5? I meant Rangers in 4. My prediction was "tired and mangled" like Rick Sanchez
ReplyDelete"The Price is wrong, bitch!"
ReplyDelete-- Happy Gilmore
5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 HR, 5-0 deficit after 5.
Jay, you don't need to credit that saying to happy, the whole western world knows where it is from.
ReplyDeletePredictions:
ReplyDeleteTherea are 3 factors that scare me about the Twins series: 1) Yanks are 0-10 in there last 10 vs. LHP. Wow, they face 2 starters and 2 good relievers who are lefties 2) Target Field - Yanks hit a lot of HRs but they will stay in the ballpark and 3) The Pavano factor - I just think he will dominate Game 2 just because life is sometimes annoying
I don't think the Twins will win at Yankee stadium so if they win this series they will have to win all their home games.
This means tonight's game is very important but I guess Yanks pull out a close one. Yanks in 4.
Rangers sweep - I'm cheating here as they are up 5-1 but Cliff Lee and too much Offense as I feel the Rays are a bit of a fraud this year.
Phils in 5 - Reds will keep it very close
S.F. in 5 - don't care about NL but I think Giants can make W.S. They can match up pitchers with Philly
Here's my issue with Target Field/Yankee Stadium being a factor in this series: both teams play in the same park. The Yankee pitchers will have a bigger park to work with in the first two games and the Yankees will have the opposite in the next two. I think the Twins are built for their park and the Yankees to theirs, but both should be able to win on the road.
ReplyDeleteHere's another factor to think about: teams may try to take advantage of Posada's poor catching, but that team won't be the Twins. Only one guy (Denard Span) has more than 10 SB and they really just don't run all that much.
Looking back on the predictions, none of us had Yankees in a sweep (and Elissa didn't even have the Yankees), but 5 of 7 of us had the Phillies in a sweep. We'll see how we did on the second half of the ALDS predictions...
ReplyDelete