It took the whole 162 game season for the American League playoff picture to be set. The season is finally over and it is time for the playoffs to begin. It was one of the most eventful finishes to a season but probably the worse ending a Red Sox fan has ever seen.
The Yankees will face Detroit and the wild card winning Rays will take on the Rangers. It would be easy to say the Yankees will represent the AL in the World Series but that will not happen.
New York will not even make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Their pitching staff will be the end of them. After CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, there is nobody. Come on Freddy Garcia is their number three starter. New York would be better off with the Tigers BAD Benny.
The major match up will be in game three when Sabathia will face Justin Verlander. Verlander, one of the best pitchers in the league and a MVP candidate may pitch three times in this series and if he does good bye New York.
Max Scherzer is also another key component of the Tigers pitching staff. He did not have the best season but he is much better than Ivan Nova. The Yankees pitching staff does not even compare to Detroit’s. It is like throwing out a Triple A pitching staff, besides Sabathia of course.
Although the Yankees have a much better offence than Detroit, look for the Yankee bats to struggle. Do not forget that good pitching will always shuts down good hitting.
Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and Victor Martinez can make up the gap between the two teams lineups and if each have a big series look for the Tigers to knock out the Yankees early in the playoffs.
Now the question is who will Detroit play in the ALCS. I know that everyone in Tampa wants me to say that it will be the Rays but that is not going to happen. The Texas Rangers are much more talented and will win the series.
The Rays will be entering the postseason on a tear especially after the Yankees and Red Sox handed them the Wild Card. The Rays may be hot but the past has proven that teams that enter the playoffs on a roll tend to not have much of an advantage over their opponents.
The two teams faced each other nine times this season and Texas holds a slim lead 5-4. Even though the Rays won four games, they were dominated by the Rangers. The Rangers outscored the Rays by 15 runs and Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli combined for eight homeruns.
They have one of the most potent offences in the league. Texas is ranked first in batting average and second in slugging percentages. Josh Hamilton is a major reason for the Rangers success this season. He had 25 homeruns and 95 RBI’s this season. He is the heart of the team and will be a major reason why the Rays are sent home early.
The Rangers pitching staff is also very strong. They are led by CJ Wilson and Derek Holland who have both had very good seasons. The staff as a whole has a 3.19 ERA on the road this season which is the best in the MLB.
The Rays also have a top tier pitching staff but they lack an elite pitcher. James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson are good pitchers but it is going to be difficult to put all of the pressure on them.
Evan Longoria basically carried the Rays into the playoffs but besides him there is not much. Casey Kotchman led the team in batting average and yes that is not a mistake. The offence is ranked 25th in batting average and 15th in runs scored in the MLB. It is going to be difficult for the team to get things going against the Rangers.
It looks like the Rangers will face off in the ALCS against the Tigers. In a series that will sure be a terrific one to watch. Both teams match up great but the Rangers will win and represent the AL in the World Series. Verlander can only do so much and his luck will run out against the superior Texas lineup.
The only thing I will say about the National League is the Tim Shanahan’s pick six months ago is looking pretty good right now.
The postseason is sure to be one of the top in a while and if it has a tenth of the suspense as the last week of the season it will be remembered for years to come.
Joe Beaudoin can be reached at jbeaudoin@spartans.ut.edu