It’s starting to get serious. With only a fraction of the Major League Baseball regular season left to play, it’s time to take a look at what postseason baseball has to offer in 2011, because October is right around the corner.
The New York Yankees (Likely AL East Champion) – The Yanks have put on an offensive clinic this year, leading the majors in home runs, runs scored and OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging). Robinson Cano (.302, 24, 105) and Curtis Granderson (.270, 38, 109) have been playing MVP-caliber baseball all season.
The Yankees postseason rotation gets a little shaky after dominating ace CC Sabathia (19-7, 2.97 ERA), but with that offense, along with Mariano Rivera at the back end of the pen, the Yankees could be adding even more hardware to an already full trophy case.
Also increasing the Yankees chances for postseason dominance is that the team that have been giving them the most trouble this year, the Boston Red Sox, are in the midst of a downward slide at the most crucial point of the season.
Boston, which boasts an 11-5 record against the Yankees in 2011, have been playing mediocre baseball as of late.
The Sox posted a 14-17 record over the last month as their starting lineup and especially starting rotation continues to be hampered by injury. Josh Beckett and waiver-claim Erik Bedard both missed scheduled starts over the last couple weeks, forcing the Red Sox to throw journeyman starter Andrew Miller, inexperienced call-up Kyle Weiland and 45-year-old Tim Wakefield into the fire of a pennant race.
Philadelphia Phillies (Likely NL East Champion) – There are a couple reasons why Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies this past offseason instead of returning to the Rangers or signing a blockbuster deal with the Yankees. He wanted to be a part of one of the most dominant starting rotations in modern baseball history and he wanted to win.
That’s exactly what the Phillies have done in 2011, dominating all year en route to what should be their first 100 win season since 1977 and baseball’s best record. Ryan Howard is having another productive season (sixth straight season with 30+HR, 100+RBI) in a lineup that already includes All-Stars Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, and recently aquired Hunter Pence.
Texas Rangers (Likely AL West Champion) – If they are able to secure a playoff berth, expect the defending American League champions to make a lot of noise in this year’s postseason. Mike Napoli is having a career year (.301, 25, 64), Michael Young continues to put up big numbers despite playing all over the infield (.333, 11, 95) and C.J. Wilson is a viable postseason ace (15-6, 3.13 ERA).
The only thing holding the Rangers back may be a questionable bullpen that is currently 28th in the majors in ERA (4.25). Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz only blew three save opportunities in 2010, but that number stands at six with a couple weeks left in the regular season. If the Rangers bullpen can find a way to get crucial outs late win games this postseason, a return to the World Series is a very likely scenario for the Rangers.
Arizona Diamondbacks (Likely NL West Champion) – Alright, let’s face it, nobody saw this one coming.
The team has essentially been carried by two players all season long. Ian Kennedy came out of nowhere to be in the position to post an improbable 20-win season, and MVP candidate Justin Upton leads the Dbacks’ in just about every offensive category.
Arizona isn’t a very intimidating team by any means, but it’s for that exact reason why they could be a sleeper in this year’s playoffs. They’re a fundamental team led by old-school Manager Kirk Gibson, and their .985 fielding percentage (tied for third in the NL), is a good indication that this is a team that isn’t going to beat itself.
It’s amazing that a team 25th in the majors in payroll and that finished 27 games out of first place just a year ago is in position to make a run at a World Series.
But hey, that’s what makes postseason baseball so exciting, right?
Shawn Ferris can be reached at sferris@spartans.ut.edu.
God this article was lazy.