Before I get to the obligatory baseball review and prognostication, let me say that one of my foremost goals for my fall break week (sometimes it pays to be a teacher) is to create a schedule to follow for this blog. That may sound a bit contrived, but I find it necessary to keep me a) writing on a variety of subjects, b) making sure I'm keeping this up-to-date in the To-do list world I live in, and c) Attracting the audience to each blog that actually cares about the contents there-in. The weekly schedule I'm currently considering looks something like this:
Monday--Sports (Mainly baseball or football when in season. Some hockey and college basketball. Also, gripes and gloats about my fantasy progress)
Wednesday--Literature (Posts of new and old pieces of poetry and prose...the original reason I started blogging in the first place)
Thursday--Current Events (Politics, Education, Economics, and other topics pertaining to the world at large. Maybe some religion thrown in there as well).
Saturday/Sunday--Potpurri (Anything that strikes my fancy. Including, but not limited to, music, books, televsion, snails, scrapbooking, aboriginese history, or anything else that strikes my fancy. Feel free to request topics. I don't mind doing requests).
Some weeks I might substitute in one thing ofr another if inspiration strikes, or a might miss a day if my schedule dictates (hello, AC/DC on 11/3!). I'll mostly try to stick to this schedule, though...
...with the exception of tonight (and other assorted nights throughout the baseball playoffs).
Let's see, where to begin:
So...the one team that gets swept in the first round is a team I picked to win. Excellent. My bad for actually thinking the Cubs would show up for this series. I don't know what I was thinking. I nailed Dempster right on. I should have foreseen that this would lead to a rip in Cubs fans' (and thus the Cubs') collective confidence. A small oversight on my part.
It was pretty much what I expected to see out of the Phillies/Brewers matchup. The Phillies pitching was better than I expected, though (and the hitting worse). CC's lucky his arm didn't fall off, and I was very happy that the people of Milwaukee got to see two home playoff games instead of one. We look forward to having you back in future years! Provided, of course, you build more than a one-man pitching staff. Actually, with Villanueva in the rotation, and Gallardo healthy, and Sheets not as banged up... QUICK! Throw money at CC, stat!
NLCS: This is going to be a hell of a matchup. Philly's bats have to recover a bit. L.A. will match them and then some in the pitching, (I see a big start for Maddux...not sure why). Manny will continue to be a monster. I think this one comes down to bullpens and coaching. The two best bullpens in the NL will not disappoint, though I think that the 'pen that is used to bending more (L.A.) will be the one that does not break. That, and how do you out-manage Joe Torre? I mean, really, how do you do it? You don't. Larry Bowa goes laughing all the way to Sunset Blvd. (Geographical note: this is actually right outside the stadium parking lot) and gets him a hooker to celebrate beating the Phils My Pick: Dodgers in 7
In the A.L., Tampa Bay took care of business in 4, as I predicted. It was kind of painful watching Junior Griffey strike out to end it, though. I hope he hangs on for another couple of years as a DH (Dammit, Seattle, get a clue! You suck and need a box-office draw. This is it!)
The Angels on the other hand, they sucked it up, again, with starting pitching as a major concern. I just can't shake the feeling that the Angels are a team built for the regular season, not the playoffs. The playoff are about star hitters and starting pitching (see: Dodgers, L.A.). Texiera was a nice start. Maybe the Angels should throw money at C.C. this off-season (and hope like hell it works out better than Bartolo Colon). that siad, the Red Sox are built wonderfully for the post-season, and it shows.
The ALCS looks like teams that are polar opposites: the perpetual competitor versus the upstart group of youngsters. However, the Red Sox aren't quite the Yankees of the early Oughts. They have young players in their own right. (MVP candidate Pedroia, for example). This has been a heated rivalry since even spring training. It's almost as if it was destined to come to this. I mean, Tampa Bay went into Fenway and successfully defneded their lead in September when everyone was predicting a collapse. Personally, I think starting pitching I far and away the key, here. These teams are very familiar with one another. For that reason, I don't think the Rays will be star-struck. They can focus in on a familiar opponent.
Again, starting pitching will be key here. I am lucky to have the pitching matchups set as I write this, so let's look at a glimpse:
Game 1: Matszusaka v. Shields: Advantage Rays
Game 2: Beckett (less than 100%) v. Kazmir: Advantage Rays
Game 3: Lester v. Garza: (Money at home v. all or nothing): Advantage Sox
Game 4: Wakefield v. Sonnenstine (I spelled that wrong): Advantage Rays
In the last three, I think the Sox win to keep it from ending at home, then the Rays win it in 6 at a racous Tropicana Dome. Word. My pick: Rays in 6
Now, let's see if the Rays can keep from making a liar out of me like the Indians last season.
And you lit. lovers...tune in next Wednesday for guaranteed new material.
baby einstein walker
2 years ago
2 comments:
So...this time you *mean* it, huh? We'll find out tomorrow night. Incidentally, it's for the best that you don't teach English; your typographical errors would be an embarrassment on the scale of hypocrisy.
Sorry, but no one ought to count on Ben Sheets henceforth. His contract is up, if I recall, and his body is spent. Maybe a couple of years from now he'll have a J.D. Drew-like resurrection, but all I see when I look at Sheets is Kerry Wood. Dude needs to kill his ego quickly and learn to close.
The Angels are not quite as bad a playoff build as, say, the Athletics. The A's problem is that their philosophy of how to play baseball is predicated on surviving a 162-game schedule, when there is sufficient time for trends to ebb and flow. The Angels's big problem is that they haven't gotten to play against the Yankees more often.
That, of course, begs the question why they generally played so well against such a magnificent post-season team as the Bombers. I honestly think David Eckstein had a lot to do with it. I don't see a spiritual successor to him on this team, and as a Reds fan I have seen the impact Ryan Freel can make on a game; these guys are often overlooked, but they provide some of those intangibles that solidify a team.
My advice to the Angels would be not to throw money at Vlad (which pains me to say, since I absolutely adore the guy), but instead to concentrate on retaining K-Rod. Will he have another season like this one? Doubtful, but the point isn't that he won't set the saves record again; the point is you won't find anyone else of his caliber.
Beyond that, retain Texiera (if possible), and try to deal for a stronger middle infield. I can't recall who their shortstop and second baseman are, but I did not get the sense that they were contenders for either a gold glove or a silver bat.
As for the Red Sox/Rays series, I think there is really only one outcome--the Red Sox will rue not making things work out with Manny. Either their big bat deficiency comes back to bite them in the ALCS, or, should they survive, they'll confront Man Ram and his new team in the World Series (that's right, Phillies, get over it). Like you said about the ALCS match-up: it's almost as if it were destined.
The Rays, however, have a few advantages. First, they have proved themselves capable of handling Boston this year. Second, they were not stupidly dependent on Mike Lowell--who is now out of the Boston lineup. Third, they're really the Yankees Light, and however much the local Rays fans want to show up to cheer on that team, I daresay the local Yankees fans will want even more to show up to boo Boston. The Sox are used to such an atmosphere in October, but the Rays are new to it--they will be completely invigorated.
Dodgers/Phillies--The Phillies have several recent MVP award winners, and a few possible recipients for this year's award. They are, on paper, a far better team offensively. Sorry, though; not betting against the Torre/Man Ram/Maddux trifecta. I mean, that's like a perfect storm of baseball. Good luck challenging that.
It doesn't particularly bother me that you skipped "Literature Night" on Wednesday, but what the hell happened to "Politics Night" on Thursday?
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