Baseball

2013 World Series Preview

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St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox
The Cardinals have been on an amazing run of success in the last 10 seasons.  Since 2004 St. Louis has appeared in three World Series and won two of them.  They’ve won four National League Pennants counting this year and have appeared in six National League Championship series.  The one constant throughout this run of success has been the Cardinals pitching staff and it was no different against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.  The MVP of that series was Cardinals starter Michael Wacha.  In his two starts against the Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, Wacha was phenomenal striking out 13 in his 13 and 2/3 innings pitched while allowing only 7 hits and no runs.  His game 2 start set the tone and put the Cardinals up 2-0 in the series.  It also helped that the Cardinals bullpen was just as good with Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal giving up only three combined hits in their 9 and 2/3 innings pitched while striking out 11 combined hitters.  With those three and the fact that they still have an ace in Adam Wainwright the Cardinals staff is poised to win a third World Series in a ten year span.  They’ll of course need a big performance from their hitters such as OF Carlos Beltran who is making his first World Series appearance of his career.  His 6 RBIs in the NLCS led the team who had a difficult task to score runs against the Dodgers starting staff.  2B Matt Carpenter bounced back in the NLCS with a .261 average and 4 runs scored.  Their big boppers, 1B Matt Adams, OF Matt Holliday and C Yadier Molina will need to do better.   Good news for the Cardinals is that 1B Allen Craig will be available for the World Series recovering from an ankle injury. Should the Cardinals continue this run of success it will be because of a talented pitching staff and timely hitting.
Boston’s last 10 seasons have gone a little differently from St. Louis’.  This will be their third trip to the World Series in that span, but after last year’s 69 win debacle no one, not even their most loyal fan base expected them to get back to this position.  The Red Sox were consistently the best team in the American League this year and their record showed it.  Their run in the American League Championship Series could have gone in a different direction had it not been for a grand slam by DH David Ortiz to tie the game and to eventually win it in the 9th during game 2.  More heroics happened in game 6 when OF Shane Victorino hit a grand slam to put the Red Sox ahead for good in the ALCS and eventually clinch the AL Pennant.  Other than those two moments the Red Sox bats were kept relatively quiet by the Tigers pitching staff.  Their hitters struck out a combined 73 times in those six games, but they scored runs when they had to at the right time.  They could have the same problem again with a talented Cardinals staff that can pile up huge strikeout numbers.  Boston will need their table setters in OF Jacoby Ellsbury and 2B Dustin Pedroia to play up to their standard to put pressure on the Cardinals pitchers.  If those two can repeat the success they had in the ALCS the Red Sox will be fine on offense.  Their bullpen was the star of the ALCS and the MVP, closer Koji Uehara with his 3 saves and 1 win were a testament to the Red Sox success against the Tigers.  If Jon Lester and John Lackey can set the tone in their starts for the bullpen to finish the job then Boston won’t have any trouble with home field advantage on their side.
Red Sox in 6 games

2013 MLB Championship Series Preview

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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Yes, the Dodgers had a relatively easy team stifling the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.  They had no answer for Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw who struck out 18 Braves hitters over 13 innings pitched in his two starts.  Most likely he will start two if not three games in the NLCS against the Cardinals if it goes to seven games.  To help avoid that scenario though the Dodgers will need their other ace Zack Greinke to be better and to lesson the pressure on a semi-weak bullpen.  Los Angeles’ lineup was fantastic.  Seven of their starters batted .333 or higher in the 4-game series with the Braves.  SS Hanley Ramirez batted .500 with 6 RBI and OF Carl Crawford crushed 3 HR in the four games.  If the Dodgers continue to get that kind of production it will give the pitching staff plenty of breathing room for the entire series.
It wasn’t easy as the St. Louis Cardinals beat their division rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates in five games.  If the Cardinals don’t want to have to claw their way back into this series with the Dodgers, they will need a lot more from 3B David Freese and 2B Matt Carpenter. Freese did have a big game against the Pirates in the series clincher, but he will need to re-create that postseason magic he had in 2011.  Carpenter has been a clutch hitter all season long, but his .053 batting average and 6 strikeouts against the Pirates was a bit of a surprise.  His .318 regular season batting average say that he is much better than that.  The Cardinals pitching staff presents a good counter to the Dodgers best starters.  Adam Wainwright was a proven staff ace with his 1.13 ERA and 15 strikeout to 1 walk ratio in his two starts against the Pirates. Rookie Michael Wacha and Joe Kelly were solid as well in their starts and will need to repeat that against a tough Dodgers lineup. St. Louis has a much better bullpen than the Dodgers, but it will start with the starting staff.
Dodgers in 6 games
Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox

The Tigers are here in the ALCS for the third straight year and have only one World Series appearance to show for it.  Detroit believes that this year is different, but they will have a much tougher test this year than they did last year with a banged up New York Yankees team.  Max Scherzer was solid against the Oakland Athletics in the Division Series, but Justin Verlander stymied them again with a flawless start in Game 5.  Boston has a better lineup than Oakland, but the Tigers pitching staff can compete with the best lineups in baseball.  Some players had a tough going in the Division Series for Detroit.  OF Austin Jackson struck out 13 times and had a .100 batting average.  OF Torii Hunter batted only .158 and 3B Miguel Cabrera only had a .250 average, but his two-run HR in Game 5 was a big lift early in that game.  DH Victor Martinez and SS Jhonny Peralta, who returned from a 50-game suspension for PED use, were both instrumental in getting the Tigers out of the Division Series.  They’ll have to do so again with Boston.

It wasn’t a fair fight from the start.  Tampa Bay couldn’t keep score with the Red Sox and the Rays pitching staff couldn’t stop Boston from scoring runs at key moments.  It is an amazing transformation for the Red Sox franchise.  They’ll have to continue to score a lot of runs with AL MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera coming to town.  Jake Peavy and Jon Lester are the savvy veterans at the top of the rotation, but Clay Buchholz and John Lackey have some postseason experience too and they are a good match against the Tigers 3 and 4 starters.  Boston’s bullpen is their strength once again and will be counted on to keep Detroit’s lineup quiet late in the game.  OF Jacoby Ellsbury is on fire batting .500 in the Division Series and he sets the tone for the scoring outbursts that Boston puts on their opponents.  With DH David Ortiz in the middle driving in baserunners the Tigers will need to have someone else beat them instead of giving Ortiz a chance to cause trouble.

Red Sox in 5 games

2013 MLB Division Series Preview

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National League Division Series
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals
It’s quite simple to explain the matchup between the Pirates and the Cardinals.  Pittsburgh is the story of the 2013 baseball season. St. Louis has been one of the best teams in all of baseball.  The Pirates have been on the heels of the Cardinals for much of the season, but St. Louis was able to pull away at the end.  Pittsburgh boasts a good lineup and a solid rotation that will help them set the tone early.  The Pirates bullpen is among the best in baseball and has been a big reason why they are playing postseason baseball. Can NL MVP candidate OF Andrew McCutchen lead the Pirates to a NLCS berth?  Or will it be someone else that steps forward to lead them?  All eyes will be on Pittsburgh this postseason.  It will be interesting to see how they deal with their first test in the Division Series.
It doesn’t surprise anyone that the Cardinals had the best record in the National League.  What is surprising is they accomplished that feat with some of their best players missing some time with injuries, namely their NL MVP candidate C Yadier Molina. Although he hasn’t shown any signs of fatigue, Molina is a workhorse and doesn’t shy away from the spotlight or big moment in a game.  Like Pittsburgh, St. Louis has a solid rotation and a great bullpen.  One of the many factors in the Cardinals most recent success.  They’ll have to be near perfect to stump the best story in baseball. Everyone will be rooting for the Pirates, but if the Cardinals do emerge victorious it should come as no surprise to anyone.
Cardinals in 4 games
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves
The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to run away with the NL West Division, but they won’t be able to run over the Atlanta Braves the same way.  The one thing the Dodgers have going for them is their rotation which is among the best in baseball with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke at the top.  The Dodgers bullpen isn’t the strongest, but they have been a consistent group during their hot streak to take the NL West.  Los Angeles’ lineup is stacked.  They are able to beat you in many different ways.  Either on the basepaths, the long ball or by playing small ball.  They have many players that can play to many different strengths.  This is why the Dodgers were considered a World Series contender at the beginning of the season only to realize their potential starting in June.
Atlanta has been an afterthought for most of the summer and into September.  They have had a commanding lead of their division all year and with lackluster competition coming from the NL East this year, the Braves have been forgotten.  They shouldn’t be as they have been able to beat teams with stellar pitching from their rotation and bullpen.  Also they have had many come from behind victories to put them in a position to host the Dodgers instead of the oppostie way around.  Atlanta is just starting to get healthier in their lineup with the return of OF Jason Heyward from a broken jaw. With him and 1B Freddie Freeman planted in the middle of the lineup they could give the Dodgers pitchers fits.  The Braves rotation doesn’t look as good as the Dodgers without Tim Hudson, but Atlanta has a beavy of talented arms in their bullpen to help offset any rotation issues.
Dodgers in 4 games
American League Division Series
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox
These two division rivals have had some history since the Rays have become a competitive organization.  Boston has had an amazing transformation since last season’s debacle with Bobby Valentine.  Tampa Bay has had an amazing road as well having to play the Texas Rangers in a 163rd regular season game and then beat a hot Cleveland Indians team for the AL Wild Card spot.  If not for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Tampa Bay Rays would be the talk of baseball.  It seems that every year no one wants them to succeed, but yet they find a way.  They have a good rotation and a bullpen of mostly outcasts from other teams that have blossomed into a solid pitching squad.  Tampa Bay’s lineup isn’t stacked by any means, but they are adequate and they seem to love playing against the Boston Red Sox.
Boston needed some key players to bounce back after subpar seasons last year.  DH David Ortiz and P John Lackey were two of the biggest ones.  They have both stabilized their lineup and rotation respectively and in turn have transformed the Red Sox into contenders once again.  Boston’s two key players are OF Jacoby Ellsbury and closer Koji Uehara.  If Ellsbury can set the tone with his base stealing ability and if Uehara can continue his success during the season in closing games the Red Sox should be fine in this series.  If one or both falter, Boston will be doomed to an early exit.  That’s something the Fenway faithful don’t want to see, but at least the Red Sox will have the ability to say they have righted the ship in 2013.
Ray in 4 games
Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics

It seems like the Detroit Tigers have played the Oakland Athletics in almost every postseason series the last few years.  In actuality they have only played each other twice in the postseason.  The 2006 American League Championship Series and the 2012 American League Division Series.  Both resulted in a series victory for the Tigers.  Detroit did struggle down the stretch in September, but did have a big enough lead to avoid any kind of a collapse. One of the big reasons for their struggles has been the health of AL MVP candidate 3B Miguel Cabrera.  He’s had an abdominal injury that has been nagging him through the summer and into the fall.  If he’s not right for this series the Tigers could be looking at an early exit.  Detroit’s rotation will have to step up in a big way this postseason.  Their rotation is highly regarded, but their bullpen is a little suspect.  They’ll have to find ways to win without having the game be to close late in the game.
The Oakland Athletics have gotten no respect and that’s a mistake.  Yes, they are a young rag-tag group that no knows about or cares to know about, but they all play as a team.  They are very similar to the Tampa Bay Rays, but Oakland still doesn’t get that same kind of respect.  Their rotation is solid and has excellent depth.  Oakland’s bullpen is by far their biggest advantage over the Tigers.  Detroit has been able to get over that fact in their last few postseason meetings, but something has to give.  The Athletics lineup is streaky at times, but they have solid RBI producers in 3B Josh Donaldson and OF Yoenis Cespedes.  If those two are able to click early and often this will be a relatively quick series unless Oakland’s pitchers can’t keep the Tigers batters at bay.

Athletics in 5 games

2013 MLB Postseason Preview

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It was another crazy finish as the last American League Wild Card spot went down to the last day of the season.  That then in turn resulted in a 163rd game for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers.  Alas the Rays won and they will be facing a red hot Cleveland team that won 10 straight games to clinch a playoff spot.  The Reds will do battle with the Pirates in what will be their 7th game in 12 days against one another.  Let October baseball begin.
National League Wild Card
Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

There wasn’t any doubt that the Reds were going to make it to the postseason.  The only doubt was whether they would stay ahead or keep pace with their division foes, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cincinnati is a little banged up heading into this game with 2B Brandon Phillips having fouled a ball off his shin in the second to last game of the season.  Their starting pitcher Mat Latos is also unavailable for this game and if they move on to the Division Series he might be out then too.  Either way the Reds will need to go all in for this one.  1B Joey Votto and OF Shin-Soo Choo had good Septembers and with the call-up of speedster OF Billy Hamilton the Reds know they won’t be out of any game any time soon.  Johnny Cueto will be starting this game.  He’ll have to pitch the best game of his career against a Pirates team that has beaten the Reds 4 out of their last 6 meetings at the end of the season.
They are the feel good story of the baseball season.  Twenty years of not finishing above .500 and no postseason baseball in the Steel City.  No more as these Pirates look to erase any memories of the Barry Bonds era and the promise of what could have been.  The Pirates August acquisitions of OF Marlon Byrd from the Mets and 1B Justin Morneau from the Twins have paid off in the final stretch run of the season.  Both had solid Septembers and with the NL MVP favorite in CF Andrew McCutchen the Pirates are flying high. Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher for the Wild Card game, Francisco Liriano struggled in September, but his stats at PNC Park at incredible with a 1.47 ERA in 11 starts this season.  If he plays like that the Pirates will move on to play the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pirates win
American League Wild Card
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Indians

Once again the Tampa Bay Rays have shocked most by making another Postseason appearance when it wasn’t expected.  This will be the Rays fourth Postseason appearance in the last six years. They hope to make another trip to the World Series with the current group they have.  The Rays don’t have the most prolific offense in baseball, but they have a few key pieces that have helped them a lot this season.  3B Evan Longoria is the leader and for the first time since 2010 he has played in at least 150 games. This season he played in 160.  He has had help along the way with 1B James Loney and 2B Ben Zobrist being good run producers behind Longoria.  The biggest help came when AL Rookie of the Year candidate OF Wil Myers was called up and drove in 53 runs in his 88 games played this season.  The Rays claim to fame though has been their pitching.  They have one of the deepest and most talented starting rotations in all of baseball and their starter for this Wild Card game, Alex Cobb is a big part of that.  He had a solid September with 3 wins in his five starts.  His 2.70 road ERA is solid.  The scary thing about Tampa Bay this year is that they would rather play on the road than at home if that makes any sense.
The Cleveland Indians are back in the Postseason for the first time since 2007.  They hope this next go round is a lot more memorable than that one when they had a 3-1 series lead over the eventual World Series champions the Boston Red Sox.  Cleveland is happy to host this one game Wild Card matchup as they had one of the best home records in baseball at 51-30.  The Rays won’t be easy to beat, but the Indians have a lineup that caught fire in September.  One of those players that caught fire was 1B Nick Swisher who is the emotional leader of this team.  His 7 HR and 17 RBI were a big lift down the stretch and OF Michael Brantley has had a career year with 73 RBI for the season.  Their All-Star 2B Jason Kipnis has been a clutch performer for them all year both on offense and defense.  Cleveland’s starter for the Wild Card game, Danny Salazar is a lesser known name than Ubaldo Jimenez or Justin Masterson, but Salazar was solid in September with a 2.52 ERA in five starts.  His home ERA is 3.13 in four starts for the season, but his strikeout to walk ratio of 33-5 is an encouraging sign going into this important game.
Indians win

MLB Recap – August

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Best Hitter – 3B Miguel Cabrera (.356 AVG 11 HR 31 RBI) Detroit Tigers

Best Pitcher – Jose Fernandez (3-1, 1.15 ERA) Miami Marlins

Best Team – Atlanta Braves 83-52 (49-18 home record)

Division Leaders

American League

Boston Red Sox 81-56

Best Player – OF Shane Victorino (.328 AVG 7 HR 22 RBI)

Detroit Tigers 80-56

Best Player – 3B Miguel Cabrera (.356 AVG 11 HR 31 RBI)

Texas Rangers 79-56

Best Player – 3B Adrian Beltre (.381 AVG 5 HR 21 RBI)

National League

Atlanta Braves 83-52

Best Player – P Alex Wood (2-0, 0.90 ERA)

Pittsburgh Pirates 79-56

Best Player – OF Andrew McCutchen (.384 AVG 2 HR 15 RBI)

Los Angeles Dodgers 80-55

Best Player – P Zach Greinke (5-0, 1.23 ERA)

Wild Card Teams

American League

Tampa Bay Rays 75-59

Best Player – OF Matt Joyce (.350 AVG 3 HR 11 RBI)

Baltimore Orioles 71-63

Best Player – 1B Chris Davis (.287 AVG 9 HR 23 RBI)

Cleveland Indians 71-64

Best Player – C Carlos Santana (.240 AVG 5 HR 12 RBI)

Oakland Athletics 77-58

Best Player – 1B Brandon Moss (.288 AVG 8 HR 19 RBI)

New York Yankees 72-63

Best Player – OF Alfonso Soriano (.257 AVG 11 HR 31 RBI)

Kansas City Royals 69-66

Best Player – 1B Eric Hosmer (.323 AVG 4 HR 20 RBI)

National League

St. Louis Cardinals 78-57

Best Player – OF Carlos Beltran (.366 AVG 4 HR 15 RBI)

Cincinnati Reds 76-60

Best Player – 2B Brandon Phillips (.304 AVG 4 HR 17 RBI)

Arizona Diamondbacks 69-65

Best Player – 3B Martin Prado (.374 AVG 4 HR 30 RBI)

Washington Nationals 68-67

Best Player – OF Jayson Werth (.380 AVG 6 HR 21 RBI)

Outside Looking In

American League

Seattle Mariners 62-73

Best Player – OF Dustin Ackley (.390 AVG 2 HR 10 RBI)

Toronto Blue Jays 62-74

Best Player – P Mark Buehrle (4-0, 2.70 ERA)

Los Angeles Angels 62-72

Best Player – OF Mike Trout (.337 AVG 6 HR 16 RBI)

Minnesota Twins 58-76

Best Player – 1B Justin Morneau (.250 AVG 9 HR 21 RBI)

Chicago White Sox 56-78

Best Player – OF Avisail Garcia (.354 AVG 2 HR 11 RBI)

Houston Astros 44-91

Best Player – C Jason Castro (.338 AVG 5 HR 14 RBI)

National League

Colorado Rockies 64-73

Best Player – C Wilin Rosario (.351 AVG 5 HR 20 RBI)

Philadelphia Phillies 62-74

Best Player – P Cole Hamels (2-0, 2.00 ERA)

New York Mets 62-72

Best Player – P Jon Niese (3-0, 1.93 ERA)

San Diego Padres 60-75

Best Player – OF Will Venable (.367 AVG 8 HR 15 RBI)

Chicago Cubs 57-78

Best Player – 3B Donnie Murphy (.282 AVG 8 HR 15 RBI)

San Francisco Giants 60-75

Best Player – 1B Brandon Belt (.350 AVG 5 HR 13 RBI)

Milwaukee Brewers 59-76

Best Player – 2B Scooter Gennett (.423 AVG 4 HR 9 RBI)

Miami Marlins 49-85

Best Player – P Jose Fernandez (3-1, 1.15 ERA)