Well it's officially the best time of the year (along with opening day in baseball and football as well as the Superbowl). So I figured let's open up a big thread to discuss predictions, games etc. Anyway good luck to everyone's teams that are involved. Here are my predictions: 1st round: Angels over Red Sox in 5 (although I reserve the right to change my mind on this one at least 638 times between now and the end of the series) Rays over White Sox in 3 Cubs over LA Dodgers in 5 Phillies over Brewers in 4 ALCS: Angels over Rays in 6 NLCS: Cubs over the Phillies in 5 World Series: Angels over the Cubs in 6
I have a new favorite team, seeing as how my D-backs CHOKED down the stretch. Lets go CUBS..... I mean cmon, it has been what? 100 years since they won it. They are a mainstay of MLB. Not much controversy surrounds them, except for their drought They fill Wrigley night in and day out. They are this years darlings, and I think they are very deserved...oh yeah, and HOPEFULLY they take out the EVIL Yankees of the West, You know the Dodgers... GO CUBS GO CUBS GO CUBS
Red sox over angels in 4 Boston will win if: Beckett is healthy. Ellsbury produces at the top of the lineup. Bay, Lester, Pedroia can maintain their regular season performances now in lead roles in the postseason. Anaheim will win if: Lackey finally solves Boston. Chone Figgins stays healthy and takes advantage on the bases. This team goes as far as Santana, Saunders, bullpen carries them. Rays over CWS in 4 Rays will win if: Carl Crawford plays well in his come back. Kurkijan said on BBTN that the difference defensively between Crawford and the next best defensive LF is the greatest position differential in baseball....I would say its debatable but its not a bad choice. The young pitchers arent phased by the spotlight. The pen stays as steady as its been all year. CWS could win if: God loves them and Quentin returns. Or Griffey has a postseason like he used to a decade ago. LAD over Cubs in 4 LAD will win if: Derek Lowe continues pitching like the beast hes been the last 2 months. The lineup lends manny some support. Furcal stays healthy and plays inspired (18-8 when he gets more then 1 hit). Cubs win if: Zambrano gets his stuff back together. Soriano, Lee, Aramis have monster series'. Brewers over Phillies in 5 Brewers will win if: CC and Braun get some help. That means Fielder, Hardy, hall, Cameron, Yogi Gallardo, etc step up. The bullpen is competent. Phillies will win if: The starters give the pen any help. Howard, Utley and Rollins have big series. Burrell's back is ok. LAD over Brewers in 6 BRS over TB in 7 LAD over Boston in 6
Finkel's picks look good to me I see it as: Angels over Boston in 4. I honestly have very little confidence in this series, and am very worried. I say 4 because if it goes 5 I trust Boston more than the Angels so I'm hoping it's wrapped up in 4 lol. Rays over White Sox in 3. LAD over Cubs in 5. Phillies over Brewers in 4 ALCS Angels (or Boston) over Rays in 6 NLCS Phillies over Dodgers in 7 WS Angels (or Boston) over Phillies in 6
I truly think the key to the Sox/Angels series is Boston has to split in LA. And if they truly have a healthy Beckett back then I'm not sure the series goes back to LA. I am extremely worried about Beckett (my gut is telling me that there's more to the injury than the Sox are letting on). I think it's very important for the Angels to win Game 1. Then it will give them confidence and get them to relax. If they lose Game 1 then 2004 and 2007 will be in their heads. To say that I'm excited about this series is an understatement. I truly wish this was a 7 game series. Best of luck to the Angels and who ever wins this series that's the bandwagon I'll be on for the rest of the playoffs.
Angels over Red Sox in 5(best series of the whole playoffs) Rays over White Sox in 3 Cubs over LA Dodgers in 5 Brewers over Phillies in 5 ALCS: Angels over Rays in 6 NLCS: Cubs over the Brewers in 5 World Series: Angels over the Cubs in 7 mine and rays are mostly the same..i copy and pasted and only had to switch a few things around
...So much for NL West loyalty. I would TOTALLY be rooting for the D-Backs had ma....ahhh who am I kidding I would sticking pins into Brandon Webb voodoo dolls... I will root for anyone and everyone but the Cubs. I don't know why, but I like the fact that the Cubs are losers. I liked the Curse of th eBambino, the Black Sox and all those other things. It makes the game more appealing to me. If the Cubs win, I may never watch baseball again...seriously. A lot of love for my Dodgers Boik. I think you may have more faith in them than I do! L.A. over BOS would be fun for many reasons. Manny, Lowe, Nomar. Joe Torre sticking it to BOS one last time. Frank McCourt's actual baseball team vs. the one he wishes he owned. All kinds of fun storylines.
lol, I like the Dodgers as much as anyone else on this forum and I don't even think it's likely they'll win it all. I was not happy facing the Cubs in the first round because they've got great pitching that minimizes our own staff as well as a very well-rounded offensive group. And then Cubs have home field advantage. Though if we beat them, we have a shot at the other teams. But that first hump is pretty big. I'm going with the Angels over the Red Sox because eventually they're gonna have to beat em and this is a much better Angel team than last year.
Yeah, I went in with no preconceived notions about who I would pick in these series so i can understand where some of the opinions come from but I think the dodgers have 5 things all of Torre's NYY teams had: 1. A great leadoff hitter 2. A lineup with a good OBP 3. Solid, not great starters who give innings 4. A very good bullpen 5. Leadership Truthfully, I think the Cubs will be their biggest challenge. No one really picked Colorado last year fellas? Who here picked Tampa Bay this year? See, public consensus is usually wrong about predicting stuff...which isnt to say Im always right. As long as Philly loses though then all is truly right with the world. They are truly, my equivalent of the Jets or Bills of MLB...they never win jack and their fans dont stop.
I agree. I think the Angels have to win game 1. Lackey needs to come through, especially w/ out Beckett pitching (even though Lester has been very good this year). I think this is the best series in the playoffs, so I wish it were a round later. But we'll see. Should be a fun week.
I forget the actual stats and I was trying to find it all morning but from April 29th to the end of the season Cliff Lee was something like 15 and 3 with an ERA of 2.90 and Lester was 14 and 4 with an ERA of 2.80. It just shows you just how good Lester was after his rough April (he won pitcher of the month in July and September). He's been our ace all year and I have tons of confidence in him. Hopefully he gets the job done tonight.
Lester was 15-4 Lee was 18-3 idk era's..i just went to the players game log on espn.com and just subtracted their pre april 29 wins and loss's from their season total.
I agree but if the Sox get a win in LA I will shrug it off. How could anyone think about sleep with a Sox postseason game on.
One thing I gotta note with the Dodgers is their youth. The core group haven't really been playoff-tested (Billingsley, Martin, Loney, Kemp, Kuroda) so it's a toss up as to whether they'll be productive in crunch time. I'm hoping so but at least it'll give em some experience. They do have a group of ex-Sox's to help them out though (Nomar, Manny, Lowe). Cubs are definitely the biggest challenge but if they can get past them, it's smooth sailing to the WS.
Yeah I do unfortuantely but it's nothing a few cans of Red Bull can't fix (I only got 3 hours of sleep when I went to Game 1 of the WS last year and was somewhat fine). I'm hoping the game ends by 1 the latest, luckily I only need 5 hours of sleep to function.
i don't like baseball but i've got the game on right now. i'd have to say if i'd root for anyone it'd be philly.
What actually happened? I saw OC kick dirty after Balfour's first pitch and them yelling at each other but that was it. Longoria is going to be a stud. I wouldn't be surprised in 2 years if we're trying to debate which 3rd baseman is better between and David Wright.
Is it that or that it's the 3rd straight time he's pitched with 3 days rest and the Brewers have been riding his arm hard since they traded for him? I really don't know. He was terrible with Cleveland last year and I'm sure it's easy to say he was bad today because he's just not a very good October pitcher but I guess we'll never know how much those big pitch count/short rest games took out of him.
OC was trying to be just like his Manager, a wise ***. Balfour took offense to it, and came back and struck him out, and stared and told OC to take a seat. I loved it. Both teams came out but nothing happened, both managers were yelling at each other. The Rays won't back down, they have some fight! Can't disagree about Longoria.
I'm not sure what's worse the fans in Tampa with those cowbells or the fans in Philly waving those stupid towels. Do teams really need to use gimmicks to get their teams going? It's the playoffs.
He was awful last post-season with the Indians and has looked worse today which is likely because of the short rest. I just think he isn't a pitcher you can count on in big games and may not work out if he goes to a big market team like the Yankees because of the pressure that will be on him every start from the fans and media. Both are terrible and annoying. IMO the cowbells are worse, whose terrible idea was it to give the fans a cowbell to pump up their team.
Agree with both points. As great as CC was for the Brewers I wasn't sure you could completely trust him after last year. I did however think that he was going to win today's game.
Loved watching him in college. Too bad he couldnt join his teammate Weaver in Anaheim... I love Longoria, but get annoyed watching how easy it is for guys like him and Braun to come up to the majors and dominate while Brandon Wood still cant figure out how to hit an off speed pitch lol.
Yeah tell me about it. I can't believe it was only 4 years ago that Wood was suppose to be the next can't miss big thing. I think the Angels hurt him by calling him up and having him sit on the bench/hardly playing the last few years but the guy just has a hole in his bat. He's still young to turn it around but I don't think he'll ever hit for high average and will probably always strike out a lot.
Just checked in after the Debate. Looks like the curse is alive and well. As a Yankee fan, I'd like to see Torre and Mattingly do well. As a young Yankee fan, I don't recognize the Dodgers as a rival. However, my dad and grandpa view the moves of Torre and Mattingly blasphemous. Once a NY'ker always a NY'ker I guess. Luckily, I'm FL born and raised, baby!
I'm sorry, but this is just hilarious to me. I've got nothing against Chicago sports, but I'm laughing my *** off right now. This "curse" will never end.
Zambrano pitched a good game. His defense let him down big time. And Manny is should be MVP of the National League. Two months, 17 homers, 53 RBI's and a .396 average? Insane. Oh and two games in the NLDS? Two homeruns, 2 RBI's +.400 average. He is making himself a ton of money this offseason.
I've never seen a pitcher get a standing O after giving up 6 runs in 6 plus innings in a pretty much must win playoff game.
17 homers 53 RBI's? Thats the answer Oh yeah, and he threw the darling Red Sox directly UNDER the bus... Damn Cubs. Now I KNOW why I am not a CUBS fan.... Lets go....Phillies I guess...no damnit cant root for them either.... Lets go ACL..Yeah lets go Designated Hitter...Nope cant go here either.....
Pujols has better numbers overall than Manny and actually played in the NL for more than 50 games. He deserves the MVP in the NL.
How can you not feel bad for the Cubs fans? They love this baseball team and they let them down every year.
