This week, America’s favorite pastime will once again provide us with endless hours of entertainment as every baseball fan awaits the beginning of the Major League Baseball playoffs.
First, the Texas Rangers play the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers enter the playoffs as the dominant team from a very weak division. Despite early season hopes, teams such as the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A’s proved to be no match for the Rangers.
With four players hitting over 20 home runs during the regular season, the Rangers slugged their way past the competition this year and into their first playoff spot in 11 years.
The Rays’ season, on the other hand, had a very different feel to it. Throughout the entire season, the New York Yankees challenged the Rays for first place in the American League Eastern Division.
In fact, the race was so tight that the Rays did not clinch first place until the very last game of the season. Despite this closely contested division there is no doubt that the Rays’ pitching is what got them into the playoffs.
In the end, it seems that this match up will come down to a dominant offensive team led by left fielder Josh Hamilton versus a very well tested pitching rotation led by the Rays’ David Price.
The other AL match up this week is between the AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins and the AL Wild Card winners the New York Yankees.
The Twins had a very impressive season this year with a fairly dominant performance over the rest of their division. They finished six games ahead of the Chicago White Sox and clinched a playoff spot back in September.
Despite this dominance in their division, the Yankees have consistently given them problems all season.
The New York Yankees return to the postseason this year as the reigning World Series Champions. Despite losing the AL East to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees are still considered the favorites by many. They have more years of playoff experience on their team than any other club and they have Mariano Rivera, arguably the best pitcher in the history of baseball in their bullpen.
In the end, this match up will come down to the Yankees’ experience against Minnesota’s talent. Will the Twins have enough confidence to stand toe-to-toe with the reigning World Series Champions?
In the National League we begin with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds.
The Phillies’ presence in the NL playoffs comes as no surprise, given that they have appeared in the last two World Series. Despite battling a series of injuries this season, the Phillies managed to clinch a playoff spot without much concern for the rest of the division.
It cannot be denied that the Phillies are the favorites of the National League and that their now healthy roster makes them even more dangerous than they were throughout the majority of this year’s season. With a pitching staff led by Roy Halladay and a lineup containing Ryan Howard it seems the Phillies can handle almost any opponent.
The Reds will definitely pose a challenge to the Phillies, however, with a surprisingly powerful offense and some promising young pitching. †††† The Reds’ pitching has been lead by the young Johnny Cueto, who put forth a 3.64 earn run average in over 185 innings pitched this season. In addition, the Reds offense has been led by first baseman Joey Votto who hit 37 home runs this season and boasted a batting average of .324.
It seems that this match up will be similar to that of the Yankees and the Twins. Can a younger, less experienced team match up with a dominant force from recent playoff history?Finally we are left with the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves.
On Sunday, the Giants managed to fight off the San Diego Padres to clinch a National League West title. Led by the pitching of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants have been a consistent threat all season.††† In addition, an offense led by first baseman Audrey Huff will ensure that the Giants will contend for a championship.
The Atlanta Braves will pose a serious threat to the Giants, with a impressive pitching staff of their own lead by veterans Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson.
Despite barely squeaking into the playoffs, it cannot be denied that veteran pitchers like Lowe and Hudson will give a huge confidence boost to the rest of the team.
In terms of offense, the Braves will look to rookie Jason Heyward to step up along with veteran Derek Lee in the hopes of scoring runs against Lincecum and Cain.
In the end, it appears that this series will be a test of starting pitching. Will the young, hot-shot Lincecum be able to compete with veteran pitchers Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe?
