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After picking 3 of the 4 division series correctly, I’ll take a shot at picking the winners of the League Championship Series also. In the one series I did get wrong, Tampa Bay vs. Texas, I mentioned that if the Rays’ bats went silent it would give the Rangers an opening to pull off the upset. If anything silenced the Rays’ bats, it was Cliff Lee’s pitching. Here are my choices for the ALCS and NLCS:

Texas vs. New York

This appears to be a lopsided series with the defending champion Yankees being well rested and having their pitching rotation set up perfectly. If  Texas is going to somehow win, they’ll have to do it the same way they eliminated Tampa, by scratching and clawing for runs and prolonging the series long enough to get 2 starts from Lee, since he won’t be available to start game one after having to pitch the ALDS clincher. It would help if Josh Hamilton’s bat came alive, but he appears to still be hampered by the injury that slowed him at the end of the regular season. The Yankees should get good starts from C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, and even if their pitching falters somewhat, the team’s lineup is just too good to keep contained, especially in a seven game series. Former Ranger Mark Teixeira will be a factor in the series with both his bat and glove, while another former Ranger, Alex Rodriguez, makes some noise with his bat also. The Yanks should win this series in 5 games.

Mark Teixeira (left) and Cliff Lee.

San Francisco vs. Philadelphia

This should be a great matchup – with the 2 best starting rotations in all of baseball going toe to toe. The series will be decided by which team manages to drum up the most offense, and in my opinion the Phillies have the lineup more capable of doing so. Their lineup has the type of players that can hit for power or also manufacture runs in tight pitching duels. If the Giants are to win the series, they’ll do it by matching the Phils’ outstanding starting rotation, keep the games close until the late innings, then take advantage of their superior bullpen to win the games in those late innings. I will pick the Phils to win, however, in a long, hard-fought seven game series. Ryan Howard, who hasn’t necessarily been the superstar hitter in postseason play that he has in regular season play, will have a breakout series also. Although my feeling is that Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum will cancel each other out by each winning a start, the Phillies’ rotation is a bit deeper than the Giants, and that will be the difference. 

Ryan Howard (left) and Tim Lincecum.

Major league baseball’s postseason begins today with a tripleheader. Here is a preview of the four divisional round series, and a key player involved in each one:

 New York vs Minnesota

I’m not sure if the Yankees are disappointed or not in failing to win the AL East crown, since being the wild card matches them up against a team they’ve owned in the postseason – the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees seem vulnerable this year because their starting rotation is supposedly weak after ace C.C. Sabathia. The key player in this series is Yanks’  pitcher Andy Pettitte. He is still rounding into form after spending time on the disabled list, and has been a rock in past playoff years for New York. Sabathia is a bulldog but has had some tough games in the playoffs before, and if Twins’ ace Francisco Liriano manages to beat him in game one, there will be a lot of pressure on Pettitte to repeat his past success. The Twins are a team that never quit and are on a mission to erase past post-season failures this year. I think the Yanks will win this series, although it won’t be a sweep like last season, when the Twins entered the series tired after having to win a playoff with Detroit just to qualify. New York will win it with superior offense spearheaded by Robinson Cano, and with the pitcher who never gets any mention – Phil Hughes – playing a lead role.

                                                           Yankees’ southpaw Andy Pettitte

Texas vs Tampa Bay

The Texas Rangers, who used to be the Washington Senators at one time, have never won a playoff series in their existence. The team was eliminated from the postseason 3 different times in the 1990s by the New York Yankees, a dynasty at that time. The Rangers are pinning their hopes of winning this series on proven postseason ace Cliff Lee and a potent offense. I like Tampa Bay to win this series and set up an ALCS matchup with the Yankees. The Rays have more playoff experience, having played in the World Series a couple years ago, and their left-handed ace, David Price, is probably better at this point than Lee. In a short series, the Rays should be comfortably in control before the Rangers realize what it takes to win. The key player in the series is the Rays’ Evan Longoria, who is the key component in their lineup. The team struggled offensively at the end of the year with Longoria sidelined with an injury, and if he shows any rust and struggles, Tampa’s offense may struggle and give the Rangers an opening to pull off the upset.

                                             Tampa Bay 3rd baseman Evan Longoria  

Atlanta vs San Francisco

This is an interesting series since both teams are relative newcomers to the postseason. Atlanta once dominated the NL East but not recently. They are hoping to ride the emotional wave of manager Bobby Cox winding up his baseball career, and will be striving to prolong that career as far into autumn as they can. The problem is that they don’t have the pitching to match what the Giants bring to the table. San Francisco not only has 2 strong starters in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but also a strong bullpen led by closer Brian Wilson, who will give the Giants good vibrations by closing out each of their victories and  is the key player in this series. San Francisco is also one of the best defensive fielding teams in all of baseball, a key factor in postseason play. Atlanta making the playoffs to honor Cox is a great story, but the Braves lost too many key players to injury, most notably Chipper Jones and Martin Prado, to win this series.

                                                  Giants’ closer Brian Wilson

Cincinnati vs Philadelphia

The two-time defending NL champion Phillies are an overwhelming favorite to not only make a third straight World Series appearance, but win it also. I’m not sure they’ll go that far, but they should win this series. Again, in a short series, with their overwhelming postseason experience they should be in total control here before the young Reds realize what hit them. You have to love the Reds’ moxy in winning the NL Central title this year, but Philly is just too good. Even if Roy Halladay stumbles in his first playoff appearance (you never know how a player will handle the pressure no matter how good he is), the Phils have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels behind him. Oswalt was 4-0 in postseason play with the Astros, and Hamels was their ace when they won the title 2 years ago. Philly’s lineup is just too good for the Reds to match also. They don’t call them the Fightin’ Phils for nothing, and all-star 2nd baseman Chase Utley is the engine that drives that lineup. He is the key player for them, as his teammates feed off his hard-nosed style of play.

                                                  Phillies’ 2nd baseman Chase Utley

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Reds for wrapping up the National League Central Division title last night in dramatic fashion, with a walk-off home run from Jay Bruce to defeat Houston. It is the first time the Reds will play in the postseason in 15 years, and their successful year is another feather in the cap of their manager, Dusty Baker. Cincinnati has always been one of the great baseball towns in the country, and, even though they haven’t exactly drawn in the fans in droves, it’s great to see a good, young team rise to the top. I wrote a post on this blog after the Reds were swept by division rival St. Louis earlier in the season that pretty much was an obituary for the young team, that they were overmatched by the much more experienced Cardinals and the series sweep was a sign of the big, bad Cards putting the upstart young Reds in their place. I couldn’t have been more wrong, as the Reds pulled it together and ran away with the division as St. Louis traveled in the other direction and fell out of the race. When a team stays on an even keel and rights the ship after being swept like the Reds were, it’s definitely a credit to the manager. Baker has now managed winning programs in San Francisco, with the Chicago Cubs and now with the Reds. It will be interesting to see how far he can take them in the playoffs. In the NL, the Phillies will be overwhelming favorites to make their third straight World Series appearance, and with the NL West teams battling it out amongst each other and tiring each other out, the Reds may emerge as the team with the best chance of dethroning the Fightin’ Phils. Baseball has been fighting to keep fan interest the last few years after the steroid era soured the game for a lot of casual fans, and with some of their playoff games lasting into the late hours of the night when young fans have long been asleep, so here’s hoping there are some exciting surprises in this year’s postseason. It might not be great for the almighty TV ratings, but I think a Reds vs. Rays or Giants vs. Twins World Series would be great for the game, and would be a great stage to showcase rising stars like Joey Votto, David Price, Evan Longoria, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Joe Mauer, etc.

The Minnesota Twins became the first major league baseball team to clinch a berth in the post-season the other night when they came back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Cleveland, 6-4, to wrap up the American League Central division crown. This is in sharp contrast to last year, when the Twins had to play an extra game, a one game playoff, with the Detroit Tigers, to sneak into the playoffs as the last team to make it. With their pitching staff depleted and no time to rest or regroup, the Twins went from the frying pan into the fire as they had to face the high-powered New York Yankees in the divisional round, and predictably, they were swept. This year manager Ron Gardenhire, who gets more more production from his low-key roster than any other manager in baseball, will have the luxury of setting up his pitching staff for the playoffs. Actually, it’s not like the Twins have a true ace, like a Roy Halladay or a C.C. Sabathia, at the top of their rotation. Their top starter this season is retread Carl Pavano, whose 17 wins are most on this club, which is the model franchise for any small market team that is looking to achieve success. The Twins have won the Central title 6 times in the last 9 years, despite not having big dollars to spend on free agents. The key is great scouting, an astute front office and Gardenhire. This club, once being considered for contraction by major league baseball, now has a new stadium, signed hometown hero Joe Mauer to a long term contract, and this season set a club record for attendance. Their roster is a good mix of young home grown players, good trade acquisitions and carefully-selected inexpensive free agents, like Pavano, Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson. The club lost one of their few high profile players, closer Joe Nathan, to injury but never missed a beat as Jon Rauch and Brian Fuentes, picked up from the Angels during the season, have combined for 45 saves. Amazingly, now that they have a post-season berth in hand, the Twins can finish with the best record in the American League and clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs, as the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays battle each other. No matter what, the road to the World Series this year for the Twins will likely again have to go through New York, but this time they’re better positioned for success.

Sports history is something you’ll see a lot on this blog, and today, courtesy of a website called www.nationalpastime.com , I decided to chronicle this date, September 15th, in baseball history, since there were some unique and odd occurrences.

In 1938, Lloyd and Paul Waner become the third set of brothers to hit a home run in the same game. Known as “Little Poison” and “Big Poison”, the Waner brothers are the first pair to do it with back-to-back homers.

In 1946, the second game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field is postponed in the 6th inning because the field is engulfed by a swarm of gnats. (Maybe Joba Chamberlain should have gotten a little more sympathy in that 2007 playoff game in Cleveland).

In 1950, Cardinals’ starting pitcher Cloyd Boyer hurts his arm while warming up and is replaced by Red Munger. Munger beats the Dodgers 6-2 and is a credited with a complete game, but not for a game started.

In 1952, the Pittsburgh Pirates become the first team to wear batting helmets with a temple protector. The helmets are worn both at the plate and in the field.

In 1969, Steve Carlton sets a major league record by striking out 19 New York Mets while pitching for the Cardinals, but the Mets win the game 4-3.

In 1971, a young relief pitcher for the Houston Astros, Larry Yount,  hurts his arm on his very first warmup pitch, and never gets another chance to pitch in the majors. So the career of the older brother of Robin Yount, who had one of the longest careers ever in the majors, amounts to one warmup pitch.

In 1978, the Dodgers win a home game against Atlanta, 5-0, and become the first major league team to draw three million fans.

In 1979, Bob Watson of the Red Sox hits for a “natural” cycle (single, double, triple, HR in that order) and becomes the first player in the modern era to hit for the cycle in both leagues, having done it with Houston in 1977.

In 1990, Bobby Thigpen, who was an outfielder in college, records his 50th save as the closer for the Chicago White Sox.

In 1996, the Baltimore Orioles rout Detroit 16-6 and break the 1961 New York Yankees’ record for most team home runs in a single season.

In 2000, Rickey Henderson passes both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron to move into 2nd place on the all-time list for total runs scored, trailing only Ty Cobb.

In 2002, the Twins clinch the AL Central crown, their first playoff appearance since 1991. Prior to the season, MLB had discussed contraction, and the Twins were the team being considered to be disbanded.

In 2004, with the bases loaded, the Marlins’ Mike Lowell tags out Expos catcher Brian Schneider at 3rd base,  making Schneider the victim of the “old hidden ball trick”.

It’s amazing to see how many things happen in baseball on a daily basis over the years, and this site documents them all. I was selective in which ones I included in this post, ignoring any accomplishments by Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmiero, for obvious reasons.

Baseball’s pennant races are headed down the stretch, and most of the excitement is being generated in the National League, where there basically are 5 teams battling for 3 playoff spots. In the American League, unless you believe the Chicago White Sox can pull off a miracle and catch the Twins, the only thing left undecided is which AL East team will win the division and which will wind up as the wild card between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. In the NL, kudos have to go to the Cincinnati Reds, who overcame being swept by division rival St. Louis earlier in the season and being written off as pretenders, to rebounding and leaving the Cardinals in the dust. Dusty Baker did a great job of righting the ship and the Reds are the only sure thing right now in the NL, with a 7 game lead over the Cards in the NL Central. In the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies appear to be peaking at the right time of the year. They are starting to get their injured players back and recently moved past the Atlanta Braves into the NL East lead. They are the most experienced and playoff-tested team in the league and should be able to secure a playoff spot, whether they remain in first place or grab a wild card spot. The race in the West looks like it’s going down to the wire, with 3 teams, the Padres, Giants and Rockies, all still alive. San Diego, which had a comfortable lead but went into a slump recently that brought them back to the pack, did themselves a huge favor by defeating the Rockies last night, cooling off a Colorado team that had won 10 straight games and seems to be in the midst of their annual September surge, where they come out of nowhere and play their way back into the race. Based on momentum alone, the Rockies should be considered the team that will eventually win the division, and if you look at each team’s remaining schedules the Giants may have a slight edge. But I still see the Padres holding on to win it and I also feel that the wild card will come out of this division, and that it will be the Rockies, with Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton, along with young phenom pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, leading the way.

At the beginning of the season, the chic pick to win the AL West was the Seattle Mariners, mainly because of their off-season acquisition of pitcher Cliff Lee, who was outstanding in the post-season for the Phillies last year. Well, Lee is leading his team to the division crown after all, except that team is the Texas Rangers instead of Seattle. The Rangers pulled off a major surprise when they grabbed Lee when all indications were that a trade was minutes away from completion that would’ve sent him to the Yankees. Seattle has long since fallen off the radar screen in the division race, while the young Oakland A’s have kept pace with the other favorite to win the division, the Los Angeles Angels. However, neither the A’s or Angels are close enough to catch Texas, or even be players in the wild card race, especially with the Yanks and Rays running neck and neck in the AL East. The Rangers have an interesting team with some good young players, and the addition of Vladimir Guerrero’s bat in the off-season was a major boost. I don’t like their chances of doing much in the playoffs, however. After Lee, their pitching is suspect. They are going to have to outslug their opponents to win, and in the post-season pitching and defense usually rule and runs are harder to come by. Guerrero would have to come up big and he has never really been a big post-season producer. Adding Lee and Jorge Cantu has helped them rise to the top of the AL West, but unfortunately I think this division is one of baseball’s weakest these days, and I don’t see the Rangers winning in the playoffs, other than the games Lee pitches.