Well, that round went well. A respectable 4 f0r 4 lesson in PERFECTION. I mean, maybe I got some of the numbers wrong, but whatever. Its not my fault the Cubs and Angels sucked more than I had anticipated or that the White Sox got one lucky win over the vaunted Rays of Tampa. Anyway, onto the predictions:
Yankees and....oh yeah HAHA! Fuck you New York.
Red Sox and Rays
Wow. Who would have ever thought that the (Devil) Rays would have made it this far into the MLB season? I think you know the answer to that question. The Red Sox took out a formidable Angels team that won about 100 games in the regular season. The series was close and every game was decided by 2 runs or less. The Angels had their chances to oust their nemesis during the course of the series but failed to capitalize on them. Their offense was working, just not at the right times. Their pitching was rendered mediocre by the Red Sox offense which, to be honest, wasn't really hitting on all cylinders. Pedroia might as well have stayed home the way he played at the plate.
The Rays really dominated the White Sox. Yeah, they dropped a game to the Sox in Chicago but won by a margin of 4 runs twice and held the Sox off in the second game of the series. They proved that they could put runs up against a rotation, that in all aspects, is better than Boston's. Their bullpen was lights out in this series and they've been doing it all year. The combination of superior overall pitching and relentless hitting is what's going to get the Rays over the Red Sox. They pitch well, get on base, and drive 'em in. Plus, they don't have to deal with Fenway's awkwardness more than 3 times in this series like the Indians had to last season.
The only argument against the Rays is that they are inexperienced when compared to this Red Sox squad. This iteration of the Sox has a mystique reminiscent of the Yankees dynasty of the late 90s. They're never out of it and they just don't lose. However, baseball is a different game now and I give the edge to the scrappy youth from Tampa.
Prediction: Rays in 6
Dodgers and Phillies
Ah, the NLCS. This is basically the right to play the AL Champ and lose. Sort of like the NFC Championship game for the majority of the decade. The Dodgers are tough to hate. They are a paradox of epic proportions with a star studded lineup and only 84 wins. That is probably due to the fact that their pitching is completely mediocre by normal standards. However, they dominated the Cubs, who have as much firepower as any other team in the NL. The Dodgers also have superior managing than the Phillies. I mean Joe Torre versus Charlie Manuel isn't much of a contest. One is a World Series champ and the other is a glorified cantankerous hitting coach.
The Philles, though, have a massive lineup and great starting pitching. They have what the Dodgers lack, a true ace. Cole Hamels is a buzzsaw. The Dodgers will have to rely on their offense this series, because their pitching might not be able to contain the Phils lineup. However, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had a terrible series against the Brewers. That being said, Rollins and the top of that lineup still carried them to a 4 game win. So don't underestimate this lineup because of a few bad games, they'll explode at some point
The main argument against the Phillies is that they are a Philadelphia team. And you know what happens to those. They'll lose one game, their fans will overreact, Philly talk radio will go nuts, and the team will collapse under insurmountable local pressure. We've seen it before, and its possible we'll see it again. However, these guys have been in the playoffs and they know how to win when it counts (as evidenced by their repeat embarassment of the Mets).
Prediction: Phillies in 5
I know the number of games has changed since the last entry, but I have to reevaluate the teams based on how they were doing in the ALDS. The entire template of the playoffs remains intact and consistent since then.
Yankees and....oh yeah HAHA! Fuck you New York.
Red Sox and Rays
Wow. Who would have ever thought that the (Devil) Rays would have made it this far into the MLB season? I think you know the answer to that question. The Red Sox took out a formidable Angels team that won about 100 games in the regular season. The series was close and every game was decided by 2 runs or less. The Angels had their chances to oust their nemesis during the course of the series but failed to capitalize on them. Their offense was working, just not at the right times. Their pitching was rendered mediocre by the Red Sox offense which, to be honest, wasn't really hitting on all cylinders. Pedroia might as well have stayed home the way he played at the plate.
The Rays really dominated the White Sox. Yeah, they dropped a game to the Sox in Chicago but won by a margin of 4 runs twice and held the Sox off in the second game of the series. They proved that they could put runs up against a rotation, that in all aspects, is better than Boston's. Their bullpen was lights out in this series and they've been doing it all year. The combination of superior overall pitching and relentless hitting is what's going to get the Rays over the Red Sox. They pitch well, get on base, and drive 'em in. Plus, they don't have to deal with Fenway's awkwardness more than 3 times in this series like the Indians had to last season.
The only argument against the Rays is that they are inexperienced when compared to this Red Sox squad. This iteration of the Sox has a mystique reminiscent of the Yankees dynasty of the late 90s. They're never out of it and they just don't lose. However, baseball is a different game now and I give the edge to the scrappy youth from Tampa.
Prediction: Rays in 6
Dodgers and Phillies
Ah, the NLCS. This is basically the right to play the AL Champ and lose. Sort of like the NFC Championship game for the majority of the decade. The Dodgers are tough to hate. They are a paradox of epic proportions with a star studded lineup and only 84 wins. That is probably due to the fact that their pitching is completely mediocre by normal standards. However, they dominated the Cubs, who have as much firepower as any other team in the NL. The Dodgers also have superior managing than the Phillies. I mean Joe Torre versus Charlie Manuel isn't much of a contest. One is a World Series champ and the other is a glorified cantankerous hitting coach.
The Philles, though, have a massive lineup and great starting pitching. They have what the Dodgers lack, a true ace. Cole Hamels is a buzzsaw. The Dodgers will have to rely on their offense this series, because their pitching might not be able to contain the Phils lineup. However, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had a terrible series against the Brewers. That being said, Rollins and the top of that lineup still carried them to a 4 game win. So don't underestimate this lineup because of a few bad games, they'll explode at some point
The main argument against the Phillies is that they are a Philadelphia team. And you know what happens to those. They'll lose one game, their fans will overreact, Philly talk radio will go nuts, and the team will collapse under insurmountable local pressure. We've seen it before, and its possible we'll see it again. However, these guys have been in the playoffs and they know how to win when it counts (as evidenced by their repeat embarassment of the Mets).
Prediction: Phillies in 5
I know the number of games has changed since the last entry, but I have to reevaluate the teams based on how they were doing in the ALDS. The entire template of the playoffs remains intact and consistent since then.
1 comment:
You'll rue the day you picked the Phillies.
Post a Comment