Texas Rangers Nelson Cruz celebrates his seventh inning home run against the Detroit Tigers in game six of the ALCS at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 15, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. Crux had six homers and 13 RBIs in the series. The Rangers won the series 4-2 and will play the winner of the NLCS in the World Series. UPI/Ian Halperin
The Texas Rangers are returning to the World Series after a 15-5 thumping of the Detroit Tigers to win the ALCS by four games to two. Nelson Cruz was a beast in the series, pounding out six home runs and 13 RBIs against Tiger pitching. Cruz hit 29 home runs in the regular season in 475 at bats.
The Rangers will now play the winner of the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Brewers. The Cards are leading the series 3-2 with Game 6 coming tonight in Milwaukee. The Rangers have never won a World Series.
Meanwhile, the Tigers had a great season but had no answer for the Rangers lineup. Justin Verlander wasn’t dominant in the post-season, but at least he did his job.
New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia waits to catch fly balls during workout day before their MLB American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers begins at Yankee Stadium in New York, September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)
Baseball fans are still buzzing over the stunning ending to the Wild Card races, and now we have a marquee pitching match-up to kick off the series between the Yankees and Tigers.
C.C. Sabathia has had his troubles in the post-season, though he did lead the Yankees to a World Series title. Meanwhile, Justin Verlander has had one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. Let’s see who rises to the occasion . . .
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay (L) and catcher Carlos Ruiz celebrate after Halladay’s no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the MLB National League Division Series baseball playoffs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 6, 2010. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL IMAGES OF THE DAY)
My 2011 MLB season predictions were a little off this year.
I said the A’s would win the AL West and they actually finished 22 games out of first.
I said the White Sox would win the AL Central and they just traded their manager to another team, which sums up how well they did this year.
I said the Giants would repeat as National League champions and in doing so I cursed Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Freddy Sanchez and the 900 other players they placed on the DL this season.
I had the Braves winning the NL Wild Card and we all know how that turned out. Yiiiiiikes.
While I did have the Phillies winning the NL East and the Yankees making the postseason as the AL Wild Card, those were gimmies. My only claim to fame was predicting the Brewers to win the NL Central, although when you have the Red Sox winning the World Series and they don’t even make the postseason you have no right to brag about anything.
So if you’re offended by my postseason predictions below, don’t be. Chances are I’ll be wrong anyway.
ALDS: Yankees over Tigers.
I don’t trust the Yankees’ pitching but I trust it more than I trust Doug Fister. Justin Verlander was the best pitcher in the American League this season but he’s had a knack for coming up short on the road throughout the years. Knowing the Yankees they’ll be down in every game of this series and figure out some way to advance. Derek Jeter will be 16-for-18 with 11 doubles and one game-winning home run or something ridiculous.
NLDS: Phillies over Cardinals.
The Phillies did the Cardinals a favor by beating Atlanta but if I were them, I would have wanted the downtrodden Braves to advance. That team would have just been happy to reach the postseason after a miserable September. Nevertheless, the Phillies’ pitching will dominate the hot-and-cold St. Louis lineup and the Cardinals’ pitching will fail them in Philadelphia. They’ve got Edwin Jackson slated to start Game 2 in that bandbox the Phillies’ call a stadium, which should work out well considering he’s a fly ball pitcher. (Read: sarcasm.)
Check out this bizarre pitch by Justin Verlander of the Tigers in a game against the A’s over the weekend. Apparently Verlander’s head said first base but his body said home plate.
“I went to go pick one and I didn’t get my body turned. The way I thought — and this was all in milliseconds — if I just throw it home, they won’t call anything.”
“I saw the video of it and I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. It might be the first time it happened in general. I thought nothing could happen at the plate. It was funny talking to the umpires. They gave me a hard time about it, too.”
Phillies 2, Astros 1
It’s about time Roy Halladay produced a shutout – I mean, it’s been two games for crib’s sake. The “Doc” gave up just one run on seven innings while striking out eight in nine innings on Sunday to help the Phillies beat the Astros, 2-1. Houston’s feeble offense once again mustered very little run support for Roy Oswalt, who dropped to 0-2 on the season after losing earlier last week to Tim Lincecum. The Astros are now 0-6 on the year under new manager Don’t-worry-about-his-name-because-it-won’t-matter-soon-anyway.
Tigers 9, Indians 8
Justin Verlander looked like feces again for a second straight outing, allowing six runs on six hits and surrendering a grand slam to somebody named Luis Valbuena. (I checked, he’s actually on Cleveland’s roster.) Even when Verlander did settle down, he still only struck out three batters and wasn’t his usual dominant self. But it’s still early, so Tiger fans have nothing to worry about yet. Detroit overcame a 7-3 deficit in the sixth inning by scratching across six runs in the final three frames to improve to 5-1 on the year. Chris Perez played the goat for the Tribe by throwing a wild pitch to give up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up three runs on three hits in his one inning of relief.
Giants 6, Braves 3
Somebody woke up the Kung Fu Panda on Sunday. Pablo Sandoval, who hasn’t looked sharp at the plate or in the field to start the season, went 3-for-4 with two RBI, three runs scored and one mammoth two-run homer (his first of the year). He also made a great catch on a foul play hit by Jason Heyward earlier in the game where he almost tumbled over the railing of the Giants’ dugout. Sandoval bailed out Tim Lincecum, who only struck out 10 batters in seven innings to rack up his second win of the year.
In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.
1. Chicago White Sox (9)
Some folks will think that this is too high for the White Sox – that they should be behind the Twins and out of the top 10 in terms of the overall power rankings. Some folks will say that Jake Peavy won’t be healthy all season and that the Chi Sox will once again falter as they try to live station to station on offense. Well, I say the folks that disagree with my opinion are friggin idiots. Harsh? Yeah, but it also needed to be said. I realize that I’m taking a risk by moving the Sox to the head of the AL Central, but really, it’s hard to argue that this division isn’t a crapshoot anyway. Every team has question marks heading into the season but at the end of the day, pitching makes or breaks a team. I realize Peavy missed all of last year due to injury, but the Sox were second in the AL in pitching last season with a 4.14 ERA without him. If he stays healthy, Peavy will only add to Chicago’s solid rotation (which also features Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia) and the addition of J.J. Putz should bolster the bullpen as well. Outside of injuries, the only thing that could potentially hold Chicago back this year is its offense. What do you mean that’s kind of a big deal? I’m banking that youngster Gordon Beckham develops quickly and that Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios return to form. I also think the Sox will get key contributions from the additions GM Kenny Williams made this offseason in Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen. I’m not expecting the Sox to magically transform into the Yankees of the AL Central, but I do believe they have enough offense to get by while their pitching carries them to a playoff berth.
1. The defending champs needed that one…
Staring 0-3 in the face, the Phillies rallied from a 10-3 deficit in the seventh inning to beat the Braves 12-11 on Wednesday. Raul Ibanez homered and drove in three runs as Philly went on to score eight runs in the seventh inning. While 1-2 isn’t the start the defending champs would have liked, maybe now their offense has awaken from their slump and they can use this game as a confidence builder.
2. And I was like, Emilio!
I know, I know – it’s only one sweep of the Nationals (and at home no less). But the Marlins’ 3-0 start (they beat Washington 6-4 on Wednesday) should raise some eyebrows because this team is loaded with bright, young talent. Granted, Emilio Bonifacio isn’t going to hit .571 the rest of the way, but he gives the Fish a strong table setter at the top of the lineup and catcher John Baker has been a nice surprise so far in the two-hole. If the young starting pitching can hold up and five-tool 22-year old outfielder Cameron Maybin can grow up in a hurry, the Mets, Phillies and Braves will definitely have competition this year in NL East.
3. The Tigers might not have a good year, but Miggie will.
For all intents and purposes, it looks like the Tigers are due for another down year, although outside of Justin Verlander, the starting pitching has looked good the past two nights. But one thing that won’t hold Detroit back this year is Miguel Cabrera, who hit two dingers and drove in four runs in the Tigs’ 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday. It’s early, but Cabrera looks like he’ll be a favorite for the AL MVP all season.
1. Nice start for Josh Beckett
This season hasn’t gone the way of the ace so far, with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum all struggling for their respective teams. But one No. 1 that didn’t struggle in his ’09 debut was Boston’s Josh Beckett, who fanned 10 in the BoSox’s 5-3 victory over the Rays on Tuesday. You hate to make claims that a pitcher is already in midseason form after only one outing, but Beckett’s two-hit, one-run effort against Tampa was impressive.
2. Speaking of Tim Lincecum…
Boy did he struggle yesterday for the Giants. But the good news for San Fran and the reining NL Cy Young winner is that his velocity wasn’t down, it just looked like he had a major case of the yips in his Opening Day debut. He looked too pumped up from the start and just never settled down. Fortunately, Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Travis Ishikawa and the rest of the G-Men offense helped Lincecum out as SF romped the Brewers 10-6. Huh, what a concept – the Giants offense bailing out the pitching for once…who would have thought?
3. Dombrowski better be taking heat today in Detroit
In the offseason, Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski’s answer to solving the bullpen issues in Detroit was signing former Arizona closer Brandon Lyon instead of pursuing other avenues like J.J. Putz (who is now a setup man for the Mets). At least for one day, the decision backfired as Lyon blew Edwin Jackson’s (7.1, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K) gem in Toronto by giving up three runs on three hits as the Jays knocked off the Tigers 5-4. Granted, Lyon has plenty of time to bounce back but if he doesn’t, the Tigers will be left with mental midget Fernando Rodney to close games, who didn’t necessarily earn the role this spring with a 7.00 ERA. Considering Joel Zumaya may never pitch again due to freak injuries and Nate Robertson (who Dombrowski just gave a 3-year, $21 million deal in January of ’08) is pissed about being taken out of the starting rotation, Dombrowski has quite a mess brewing in Detroit.
1. Sabathia, Teixeira choke on applesauce in debuts
The Yankees’ two big offseason free agent signings got off to rough starts yesterday as CC Sabathia allowed six runs on eight hits in just 4.1 innings of work and Mark Teixeira went 0-4 in NY’s 10-5 loss to the O’s. Sabathia didn’t strike out one batter as his control looked completely out of whack and Teixeira left five men on base. Who knew spending gobs of money doesn’t guarantee initial success?
2. Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez: The New Bash Brothers
Clark and Lopez each went deep yesterday…twice. What’s amazing about the feat (besides the fact that Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez each hit two home runs in the same game) is that they were the first pair of switch-hitting teammates to homer from both sides of the plate in a game since Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams did if ro the Yankees on April 23, 2000. The D’Backs edged NL West rival Colorado 8-7.
3. Looks like Hanley Ramirez will be okay in the three-hole
Generally a leadoff hitter in previous seasons, the Marlins moved shortstop Hanley Ramirez into the three-hole this year and he responded on Opening Day by hitting his first career grand slam in the Fish’s 12-6 victory over the Nats. Ramirez also had an RBI double and walked. I know it was only the first game of 162, but Ramirez looked awfully comfortable at the plate.
Offseason Movement: The Tigers didn’t make a ton of offseason moves, but they did add shortstop Adam Everett, catcher Gerald Laird, pitchers Edwin Jackson, Brandon Lyon and Juan Rincon.
Top Prospect:Rick Porcello, RHP
Porcello, who is widely considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, was selected with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. He has a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a slider, changeup and a curve, but it’ll take time for that array of pitches to be mastered. Some believe that the 20-year old is ready now, but there are signs (mostly his K/IP ratio) that another year or two in the minors would do him good. Unless Jeremy Bonderman starts the season on the DL, Porcello will likely start in Double-A this season to gain more experience.
