I always pick division winners and wildcard teams. This year I expanded it to pick dark horse
teams to make the playoffs and under performing teams. To be a dark horse team you had to have a
losing record last year or at the very least not have made the playoffs. To be an underperformer, you had to be a
playoff team or at the very least have a winning record.
Original Pre-Season Predictions:
NL East Winner: Atlanta
Braves
NL Central Winner: St.
Louis Cardinals
NL West Winner: Los
Angles Dodgers
NL Wildcard #1: Washington
Nationals
NL Wildcard #2: Cincinnati
Reds
NL Darkhorse: Milwaukee
Brewers/Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Underperformer: Pittsburgh
Pirates
AL East Winner: Boston
Red Sox
AL Central Winner: Detroit
Tigers
AL West Winner: Texas
Rangers
AL Wildcard #1: Tampa
Bay Rays
AL Wildcard #2: Oakland
Athletics
AL Darkhorse: Los
Angles Angels of Anaheim/Toronto Blue Jays
AL Unferperformer: New
York Yankees
Those were the predictions.
Obviously, I didn’t do great.
Let’s take a look at each division.
I’ll order them in the positions they actually finished and share some
thoughts about each.
AL East:
Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are a team that I thought
could be pretty good. I had them
finishing in third place, but outside the playoffs. Looks like I was wrong. They were almost a playoff team last year
with historically good luck in 1 run games.
And I didn’t see that lasting. While
they didn’t make history again this year, they didn’t need to. Their offense was phenomenal and they
improved their run differential by 77 runs.
They led the league in home runs, despite losing their starting catcher
early, and seeing their starting third baseman miss significant time. Adam Jones was consistently good, as you
might expect. Nobody saw Nelson Cruz
having as good of a season as he had, but he led the majors with 40 HR and 108
RBI. The Orioles did a good job cobbling together talent to put a competitive
team out there each and every night.
Steve Pearce had a breakout, 21 HR season. The Orioles got quality games out of Kelly
Johnson, Alejandro de Aza and Delmon Young.
All that offense helped the Orioles lock up the AL East early and
currently hold about a 12 game lead heading into the playoffs.
New York Yankees: The season was all about Derek Jeter, which
was probably good because most baseball prognosticators, outside of the
tri-state area, didn’t see this team as being very good. And they weren’t. However, I’ll say they were better than I
thought they would be. I had them as a
last place team. Instead they finished
second. While they finished above 500,
they were well out of the playoff race. The
Brian Roberts experiment didn’t work out. They ended up signing Stephen Drew (who sat a
long time, re-joined the Red Sox and then got let go) and trading for Chase
Headley. But neither was overly
impressive. What did work? Ellsbury was
a strong signing hitting a team-high 271 with 16 HR, 39 SB and 71 R. Brian McCann had 23 HR and 75 RBI, but only
hit 233. No other starter hit higher
than 260. What kept the Yankees in it
for so long? Masahiro Tanaka. The Japanese import had a shortened season,
but in 19 games, he went 13-4 with a 2.47 ERA and 136 K in 134 IP. But overall, this team struggled with C.C.
Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova and the aforementioned Tanaka missing
time. And with no starter logging 150
games, this team had a tough road ahead of them. Even with all their top talent in place, the
Yankees weren’t expected to be that good.
Add to that an empty farm system and lack of depth in the majors and in
the upper levels of the minors, and this team really over performed to finish
above 500.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays ended up finishing third in
the division at 83-79. I had the Blue
Jays listed as one of my dark horse teams.
That essentially meant that I thought they may be good, but I wasn’t
sure enough to pick them to win anything serious. I picked them to finish fourth in the
division, but with a chance to be better.
Last year’s team was picked to win the division by many. But they were waylaid by injuries. As much attention as the 2013 Yankees got for
injuries, it was actually the Toronto Blue Jays that led the majors in starters
games missed. For that reason, I thought
that this year’s team, if healthy, could find some of that magic that was
supposed to be with the 2013 squad. And
for the first part of the season, I looked really smart. Mark Buehrle was leading the majors in wins. Edwin Encarnacion was the best hitter in the
AL. Melky Cabrera hit over 300. Bautista showcased his power and Reyes looked
like the player of old. Even R.A. Dickey
was playing much better. But then
injuries returned. Reyes missed time
early. Encarnacion followed. Brett Lawrie played less than half the year. Colby Rasmus and Anthony Gose played fewer
than 100 games. And eventually Melky
Cabrera got hurt to miss the end of the season.
For the second straight year, this team was missing a lot of key pieces. The bullpen was a little shaky as well, and
while the starters were above average, they weren’t good enough to put this
team on it’s back. They stayed alive in
the AL East, but finished well out of the playoff chase.
Tampa Bay Rays: Man I really missed on this one. I thought this was the second best team in
the division. Pitching wins
championships and this team had the best pitching in the division. But, as usual, they had trouble scoring
runs. Joe Maddon shuffles this lineup a
lot, but couldn’t find the magic. Not a
single player hit over 300. The closest
was James Loney at 290. And there were
serious power outages. Evan Longoria had
22 HR and 91 RBI. Nobody else had more
than 10 HR. If you don’t have a lot of
power, you have to create runs with good hitters and speed. The Rays only had one player steal double-digit
bases (Desmond Jennings with 15). But
hitting 244 didn’t get him on base enough.
So despite some of the best pitching in the game (4 of their starters
had sub 3.50 ERAs, not counting David Price who had a 3.11 ERA and team leading
189 Ks when he was traded) this team’s offense was bad enough to undo that and
keep them from sniffing the playoffs.
Boston Red Sox: Well this team fell apart. Part of their run last year was good luck,
although they had some great players.
But they lost a lot of them. Jacoby
Ellsbury became a Yankee. Jarrod
Saltalamacchia became a Marlin. Stephen
Drew was not re-signed. Then he was. Then he was let go. But even with the turnover, I thought this
team had enough talent on both sides of the ball to win games. They had what I thought was the second best
pitching staff in the division. They had
what I thought was the third best offense in the division. I thought that was enough to win the
division, but I was wrong. In addition
to their losses in free agency, they lost more to the injury bug. Not a single offensive player made it to 150
games. Shane Victorino only played in 30
games. Will Middlebrooks played in only
63. A.J. Pierzynski was signed to start
at catcher, but was let got after 72 games.
And the guys that were healthy, mostly struggled. Dustin Pedroia’s 278 AVG led the team, but he
lost a lot of power (7 HR) and speed (6 SB).
Xander Bogarts hit 238. Jackie
Bradley Jr. hit 198. Mike Napoli hit
248. Only David Ortiz really got the job
done, hitting 263 with 35 HR and 104 RBI.
The rest of the offense was forgettable.
But that did enable the Sox to let some veterans go to save money, and
pull off a few big trades to set themselves up for the future. They let Johnny Gomes and Jon Lester go to
Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes. They let
Jake Peavy go to San Francisco. And they
sent John Lackey to St. Louis for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig. They also got to
trot out some good young players to get some experience, including Brock Holt,
Mookie Betts and Christian Vazquez. In
addition, their pitching staff looks younger with Peavy, Lackey and Lester out
and Kelly in. And that’s not a bad
thing, as the pitching staff looked very shaky this year. I don’t know that this team will make the
playoffs next year, but they should be better and will definitely cost
less.
AL Central
Detroit Tigers: Interestingly enough, I feel that I
know the least about this division. But
I got every single team right, in terms of their finish in the standings. I picked the Tigers to finish first, and they
did. Even so, they underperformed. This team was set to have a different look
with Prince Fielder out and Ian Kinsler in.
That looked like a good move with Prince getting hurt. Kinsler proceeded to lead the majors in plate
appearances and hit 274 with 16 HR, 90 RBI, 99 R and 15 SB. Miguel Cabrera was still great, though he had
a down year by his standards (315/25/109/101).
Victor Martinez was one of the hottest hitters in the league for a
while, and ended up at 336 with 32 HR, 103 RBI and 87 R. Torii Hunter hit 288 with 17 HR. Rajai Davis hit 283 with 36 SB. Austin Jackson hit 273 with 9 SB. And J.D. Martinez came out of nowhere to hit
317 with 23 HR and 76 RBI. With offense
like that, how could this team not run away with this weak division? The answer was a struggle on the mound. Justin Verlander was a mess. Anibal Sanchez got hurt. And the bullpen was shaky as well. For that reason, GM David Dombroski went big
after a second ace that could go deep into games and protect the bullpen. That man was David Price. They got Price in a 3-team trade with the
Rays and Mariners. They sent Drew Smyly,
actually one of their better starting options through the year, to Tampa while
Austin Jackson went to Seattle. That
worked out with the glut of talent they had in the outfield after J.D. Martinez
and Rajai Davis had breakout seasons.
And it gave them 2 legitimate aces for a 3-game series (Price and
Scherzer) and then a solid option for the leftover game with Rick
Porcello. Obviously a healthy Anibal
Sanchez would come before him, and even this version of Justin Verlander should
be competitive. So despite some regular
season struggles, the Tigers look like they will be a tough out in the playoffs.
Kansas City Royals: The Royals finished second in the division,
as per my prediction. And though I had
them in second, I didn’t put them in the playoffs. That was a mistake. They are the top wildcard seed and will host
the A’s at home tonight. The Royals have
had a talented core (Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, Alcides Escobar, Mike
Moustakas, Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez) for the last few years. Last year they added some talented pitchers
(James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas) to go with their homegrown
arms, the best of which were in the bullpen (Kelvin Herrera, Aaron Crow, Greg
Holland). This season they added a new
right fielder in Norichika Aioki, two more bench bats in Raul Ibanez and Josh
Willingham and an All Star second baseman in Omar Infante. While they fell short of the division, it was
only by 1 game and they are back in the playoffs for the first time since
1985. If your team isn’t in the playoffs
this season, there is a pretty good chance you will be rooting for the Royals. Why did it finally work? They didn’t rely on one player. Alcides Escobar played 162 games worth of
fantastic defensive shortstop while hitting 285 with 31 SB. Alex Gordon slugged a team leading 19 HR and
74 RBI. Salvador Perez hit 17 HR. Mike Moustakas hit 15. Lorenzo Cain hit 301 in 133 games with 28
SB. Aioki lead the team with a 285 AVG
(among players who qualified for the batting title) with 17 SB. Eric Hosmer hit 270. All that production across the board helped
this team survive a down season from Billy Butler (9 HR/66 RBI….though he did
hit 271) and Moustakas’ 212 AVG. And it
made it okay that nobody surpassed 20 HR or 75 RBI only one player had over 75
R. Instead 8 players had over 50 RBI and
50 R. Add to that a lot of quality
starting pitching (4 pitchers with double digit wins….3 of them with sub 4
ERAs) and you have a winning formula.
Cleveland Indians: I thought this team would finish third in
the division and they did. I also
thought Kluber would have a good season.
So 2 for 2. But overall, this
team seemed like a mediocre team and played like it, albeit a little better
than mediocre with 85 wins. Michael
Brantley was a revelation. Lonnie
Chisenall played better than most expected as well, though he cooled off as the
season rolled on. Yan Gomes was
good. Nobody else on offense lived up to
expectations. Carlos Santana hit
231. Jason Kipnis hit 240 with 6
HR. Michael Bourn hit 257 with 10
SB. Nick Swisher hit 208. That’s not good offensive output. And injuries derailed the starting
pitching. Only one pitcher made it to 30
starts (Corey Kluber who was 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 Ks….Cy Young
worthy). Trevor Bauer was 5-8 in 26
starts. Danny Salazar was 6-8 in 20
starts. That’s not playoff worthy. This team overachieved last season. They fell back to earth a bit this year.
Chicago White Sox: For a division that I almost never watch, I
did a good job nailing the standings.
The White Sox finished fourth, right where I picked them to finish
(spoiler alert: I got the Twins last
place finish right as well). Jose Abreu was better than anyone suspected. He hit 317 with 36 HR and 107 RBI. He could have had more, but injury limited
him to 145 games. But few others jumped
off the page. The good news is, their
young players are still on the team and looked to be getting better. Alexei Ramirez hit 273 with 15 HR. Dayan Viciedo hit 231, but added 21 HR. Adam
Eaton hit 300 with 15 SB. And the White
Sox were out of it early enough to shed some salary (Adam Dunn, Alejandro de
Aza). And while Chris Sale was the only
pitcher of note, Jose Quintana made some nice strides with a 3.32 ERA in 32
starts and 200 IP. So while this team
didn’t do much this year, they have young talent and should see improvement on
the horizon.
Minnesota Twins: Like the White Sox, this team is chock
full of young talents that aren’t ready to compete yet. A last place finish was assumed. The hope was that this team would get its
young players some experience in the majors before competing in the
future. With that in mind, lots of players
played for Minnesota this year. Brian
Dozier was the only player to surpass 140 games. He hit 242 with 23 HR and 21 SB. Not too shabby. Trevor Plouffe hit 258 with 14 HR. This team is still tied to Joe Mauer’s
massive contract. But 277 with 4 HR and
55 RBI isn’t worth all that money. Danny
Santana was a bright spot hitting 319 in 101 games. So was Jordan Schafer, a late addition who
hit 285 with 15 SB in only 41 games. But
the rest of this offense was plug and play.
Youngsters getting experience and treading water. It cost Ron Gardenhire his job, but he did
the right thing. This team will be good
one day, just not yet. And the pitching
has to get a lot better. Outside of Phil
Hughes (16-10, 3.52, 186 K in 209 IP) no one else looked good. This will be a long journey for Minnesota.
AL West
Los Angeles Angels: I picked the Angels to finish third in the
division. Instead they finished first,
finally winning the division. I picked
them to win the division the last two years, but finally gave up and put the in
third. The Angels hate me. I did pick them to be a dark horse team, but
that just meant I thought they were possibly going to be better. I wasn’t sure enough about it to put them in
the playoffs. So, in the end, I was just
wrong. What made it work? The talent on their roster finally started
playing like it should. There was
nothing wrong with this team. They just
inexplicably struggled the last two years.
Mike Trout continued to be the best player in baseball. While he should have won the last two MVPs,
it looks like he’ll win one this year, in what has actually been his worst
season yet. And he still hit 287 with 36
HR, 111 RBI, 115 R and 16 SB. He finally
had help. Howie Kendrick, who has always
been an above average player, had a good season with a team leading 293 AVG to
go with 14 SB and 85 R. Albert Pujols
hit 272 with 28 HR and 105 RBI. Erik
Aybar hit 278. Kole Calhoun hit 272 with
90 R. Nobody was over the top good, but
like the Royals, with everyone contributing at a better than average rate, you
get plenty of wins. What else
happened? The pitching finally got on
track. Jered Weaver found the ace that
used to live inside of him, going 18-9 with a 3.59 ERA. Garrett Richards went 13-4 with a 2.61
ERA. Matt Shoemaker pitched to a 3.04
ERA in 20 starts going 16-4. They weren’t
Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz, but with the offensive production they got, it was good
enough to go on a run halfway through the season, win the division and have the
best record in baseball. This horse ain’t
so dark anymore.
Oakland Athletics: I consistently picked this team to finish
third. This year I picked them to finish
second. And I got it right. In addition, they will be a wildcard team,
just as I suspected they would be. But
until August, I looked very wrong. This
team was headed for a third straight division title. Instead they fell apart and only made the
playoffs by 1 game, winning on the last day to take the second wild card
spot. So what went right in the
beginning and then wrong in the end?
Well Josh Donaldson was good with 29 HR and 98 RBI. But he also only hit 255. Brandon Moss had 25 HR and 81 RBI. But he only hit 234. Injuries also hurt. Jed Lowrie played only 136 games. Coco Crisp played in only 126. Yoenis Cespedes had 17 HR and a 256 AVG. But he was traded mid season for Jon Lester
and Johnny Gomes. Essentially, the A’s
were hot to start, and cold at the end.
And the team’s batting averages bear that out. How was the pitching? Sonny Gray was good with a 14-10 record to go
with a 3.08 ERA. Scott Kazmir went 15-9
with a 3.55 ERA. They both made 32
starts. But injuries made them
adjust. They only got 7 starts from Dan
Straily and 16 from Tommy Milone. They
lost A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker for the year before the season
started. So they added some arms
mid-season. Jeff Samardzjia went 5-6
with a 3.14 ERA in 16 starts for Oakland.
Jon Lester went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts. He also is being counted on to be their
playoff ace with all his experience. Some
people think the trade is what killed them as Cespedes was their best offensive
player. But if Lester is great in the
playoffs, it would have been worth it.
We’ll see how it works out.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners went for it all. I thought they might be a little better, but
I’ll admit that I didn’t think they would be as good as they ended up
being. I put them down for a fourth
place finish in the division. They ended
up in third, but finished both a game out of third and a game out of the playoffs. They made headlines by signing Robinson Cano
to a massive contract. They followed
that up by adding Logan Morrison and Corey Hart. Most people, me included, felt that wouldn’t
be enough to contend in the division. But
the Mariners then threw everyone for a loop when they decided to spend more
money, get active in the trade market and put some pieces around Cano. It started when they traded for Kendrys
Morales to be a DH. They then made a big
trade with Detroit and Tampa Bay to send Nick Franklin out and get Austin
Jackson back in return. Jackson gave
them a legitimate leadoff hitter. And,
as expected, Cano did the heavy lifting.
He saw his power drop precipitously, but that’s to be expected when you
leave a stadium with high school dimensions and move to one with some of the
toughest hitter dimensions in the league.
He still hit 314 with 14 HR, 82 RBI and 77 R. Kyle Seager was the power hitter on this team
with 25 HR and 96 RBI. Others stepped up
as well. Mike Zunino hit 22 HR. Dustin Ackley had 14. Michael Saunders hit 273 and Endy Chavez hit
276. James Jones stole 27 bases. Logan Morrison hit 262 with 11 HR. They weren’t the Orioles, but this offense
played better than it had in years. And
the pitching was, once again, phenomenal.
Felix Hernandez won 15 games and the ERA title with his 2.14 performance
over 236 IP. Chris Young went 12-9 with
a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts. Hishashi Iwakuma
went 15-9 with a 3.52 ERA. The Mariners
weren’t a great team, but they played well in their division and almost made
the playoffs. They played better than
anyone expected, but at the end of the day it wasn’t quite enough.
Houston Astros: They are re-building and have a bright
future. It comes at the cost of a pretty
atrocious present. I had them finishing
last. The fact that they didn’t is truly
incredible. Although it had more to do
with how bad the Rangers were, rather than how good the Astros were. We are still only talking about a 70 win team
that finished well outside of the playoffs.
Predictably, Jose Altuve was the highlight on this team. He had his best season yet, hitting 341 with
56 SB and 85 R. That was good enough to
win himself the batting title. No one
else was that noteworthy offensively.
Dexter Fowler hit 277. Chris
Carter slugged 37 HR and 88 RBI. But
that came with a 227 AVG. George
Springer hit 20 HR in half a season, but that one came with a 231 AVG. Matt Dominguez had 16 HR, but that came with
a 215 AVG. So there was some spark, but
lots of low batting averages. That’s to
be expected with a young team.
Surprisingly, the Astros used only 6 starters for the majority of their
games. There was mixed success, but all
had sub-5 ERAs. That’s an improvement
from last year. Dallas Keuchel was the
ace at 12-9 with a 2.93 ERA. Colin
McHugh went 11-9 with a 2.73 ERA in 25 starts. The good news, with no expectation, the Astros
were free to tinker and let a lot of young guys see playing time. They did, and it will make the better in the
future.
Texas Rangers: This was the one that really killed
me. Not only did this team not finish in
first, like I predicted, they finished dead last. They had the worst record in the
league. And let me be honest, I not only
had this team winning the division, I had them getting to the ALCS. Yeah.
So there’s that. What
happened? Well the big trade for Prince
Fielder was a failure as he only played in 42 games before needing season
ending neck surgery. He wasn’t great in
those games either, hitting only 247 with 3 HR.
Jurickson Profar, who was supposed to replace Ian Kinsler, the guy the
Rangers traded to get Fielder, didn’t play a game all year either as right
shoulder surgery knocked him out. So,
essentially, they lost Kinsler, Profar and Fielder in the same offseason. Shin Soo Choo missed a large chunk of the
season and only hit 242 with 13 HR and 58 R in the 123 games he did play. Their pitchers struggled too with ace Yu
Darvish shut down after only 22 starts.
Matt Harrison only made 4 starts before a potentially career ending back
injury. Mitch Moreland, the presumed DH
and back up first baseman, only played 52 games before having his own season
ending injury. Alexi Ogando, Tanner
Scheppers and Martin Perez, young arms who were supposed to be back of the
rotation and bullpen staples, all were knocked out of the season. Derek Holland missed the majority of the
season before coming back to make 5 late season starts. So it was a lost season to injury in
Arlington. Even Alex Rios, who played in
131 games, missed the end of the year with an injury. The only thing that went right was Adrian
Beltre, who hit a team best 324 with 19 HR and 77 RBI. Not a lot to like, but easy to write off with
their catastrophic health.
AL Playoff Schedule and Picks
WILDCARD ROUND
Oakland Athletics @
Kansas City Royals
·
The Athletics fell apart in the second half and
fell from a sure division winner and the best team in baseball, to the last
wildcard team to sneak into the playoffs.
·
The Royals have been solid all year and won
enough games against a weak division to get into the playoffs and almost win
their division. And their strong play at
the end of the season was enough to jump the A’s to be the number one team in
the wildcard hunt.
·
The A’s have built a playoff pitching
rotation. Jon Lester has a ton of
experience in the post season and has been great there. Jeff Smardzjia is an ace. Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir were great. But a great postseason rotation may be
meaningless if they can’t get out of the wildcard round. Jon Lester will get the start in this single
game wildcard matchup. And while they
didn’t want to be in this position, having a talented pitcher with post season
experience like Lester will be huge.
They wanted him to be their Game 1 starter and then be available to drop
the knockout blow on a team in a 5 or 7 game series. But he’s got the skills for a 1 game series
too. I expect him to bring the A game.
·
The Royals are back in the playoffs for the
first time since 1985. That’s longer
than I’ve been alive. Remember the
playoff drought for the Pittsburgh Pirates?
1992-2013? That’s 21 years. And the atmosphere there was insane. It was the most intense home field advantage
I’ve ever seen in baseball. The crowd
was a huge part of the win after their 21 year playoff drought. This will be a 29 year playoff drought. IMAGINE how insane Kauffman Stadium will
be. That will be a big help for the
Royals. So will their starter: Big Game James Shields.
·
I know people like this new wildcard format, but
nothing seems more un-baseball like to me.
It’s a coin flip of a game.
Baseball is a game that measures stamina. Who wins over a stretch of 5 games. That’s baseball. I don’t like this.
·
PREDICTION: Royals
win 2-0.
o
I love what the A’s did. They have a playoff rotation. Unfortunately they landed in a situation
where that is meaningless. And as good
as Jon Lester is, James Shields earned his nickname for a reason. I see him going 9 innings in a complete game
shutout victory. Think 10-12 strikeouts
as he mows down an Athletics offense that has looked anemic lately. I think the A’s are a better team (and
frankly I’ll be rooting for them) and they have great starting rotation. If this were a division series, I would pick
them. Against most other starting
pitchers, I would pick them. But they
will be in the lion’s den against one of the best big game pitchers in
baseball. And as poorly as they’ve
played recently, I can’t pick them, despite my wish to see them win.
ALDS
Detroit Tigers @
Baltimore Orioles
·
The Orioles had a great season. Their offense was phenomenal, specifically in
the power department. And their bench is
deep with Delmon Young, Kelly Johnson and Alejandro de Aza. This team should score some runs. But their pitching is not as strong. They have some talented arms. Their top 3 starters all won double digit
games and had winning records to go with sub 4 ERAs. And Kevin Gausman went 7-7 with a 3.57 ERA. But while all those pitchers are good, there
is no ace.
·
The Tigers struggled this year and barely won a
weak division. But their team looks
better on paper. They have one of the
few offenses that can keep pace with the Orioles. And as good as the Orioles pitching has been,
the Tigers arms just look better. Max
Scherzer and David Price are aces. Rick
Porcello had a great year. Justin
Verlander has tons of experience and a healthy Anibal Sanchez could be
great. However their bullpen has been a
question mark for a while.
·
Orioles have home field advantage and a deep
starting rotation and stronger bullpen.
·
But Tigers are almost as good in most areas and
look just a little better on the mound with their starters. But if a starter gets knocked out of a game
early, the Tigers could struggle.
·
PREDICTION: Tigers
over Orioles 3 games to 1.
o
An ace is an ace. And in the playoffs, individual performances
loom large. I could see a Tiger sweep
with Scherzer and Price dominating on the road against Baltimore and Porcello
getting to face the Orioles at home.
That being said, I think the Orioles are very good, and too good to get
swept. I’ll say they find a way to win
one of the first two games at home beating either Price OR Scherzer, but no way
they win both. Then Porcello and either
Sanchez or Verlander take care of business at home to finish the Orioles off.
Oakland/Kansas City @
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
·
I picked the Royals to win the wildcard game, so
I’ll operate under the assumption that they will face the Angels in LA.
·
The Angels offense has been a lot better this
year and still looks very good. And now
that their pitchers are playing up to their caliber, this team looks like they
could be a handful. And it never hurts
to have the best player in baseball (Mike Trout).
·
The Royals are a talented young team that have
broken a playoff drought and are excited to play some October baseball. Their strength is in their depth with every
player contributing. I love their
offense. And they have an underrated
pitching rotation with Shields being the only one people pay attention to. But Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy have
looked great. And don’t forget Jason
Vargas who put together a solid season of his own. And I’ll take the Royals bullpen over the
Angels group right now, despite the strong seasons Joe Smith and Huston Street
have put together.
·
PREDICTION: Angels
over the Royals 3 games to 1.
o
Don’t forget that the Royals will have to use
their best pitcher just to get into this matchup. I think they will get there, but that will
already put them behind the 8 ball. AND
they don’t have home field advantage.
Mike Trout is a force and the Angels have enough complimentary players
(Pujols, Kendrick, Calhoun, Aybar) to support him on offense. Add to that the playoff experience that Jered
Weaver and C.J. Wilson bring to the table and I think they will be too much for
KC. I’ll put them down for 1 win in K.C.
when Shields can pitch again, but the Angels will overpower them beyond that
and wrap up the ALDS in Game 4 in Kansas City.
§
HEDGING MY BETS
·
If the A’s do win the wildcard game, I would
pick them and their superior pitching to beat an Angels team they know well 3
games to 2. It will be a low scoring
ALDS in that situation.
ALCS
Detroit Tigers @ Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim
·
I am now picking teams that I picked to win
previous series, so who knows if I get it right this far. But in this situation, I just think the
Tigers are better than the Angels in all areas of the game, except in the
bullpen. But with their aces, it won’t
matter. And while the Angels offense has
depth, so does the Tigers. And they are
still better at the top.
·
PREDICTION: Tigers
over Angels 4 games to 2.
Tigers go to the
World Series.
Ok those are my thoughts on the AL. I’ll do the NL tomorrow and have it up before
the wildcard game. Enjoy the playoffs!
