October is just around the corner, and the playoffs are coming
By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Assistant Baseball Editor
(C) 2008 PA SPORTSTICKER, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Welcome to October (well, on Wednesday, anyway) the month that eases us through the fall and into the harsh winter by allowing us one last look at America’s game on its grandest stage.
It’s the month that forces us to deal with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, but we like it as long as it means our favorite team is involved.
It’s the month that made stars out of Josh Beckett, Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter, David Eckstein, Troy Glaus and Curt Schilling over the last decade.
For those of us who love the sport, it’s the last gasp before a long winter, with only the hot stove league and fantasy football to get us from November 1 to pitchers and catchers reporting in mid-February.
So with the playoffs starting on Wednesday and seven of the eight participants already decided, it’s time to break down the matchups for each league and pick some winners.
Best Offense (American League): The Boston Red Sox offer the most balance, combining sluggers David Ortiz, Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis with speedsters Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp.
Dustin Pedroia is one of the more complete hitters in the game, and J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell would place the Red Sox head-and-shoulders above the rest if there were no health concerns.
Both Drew and Lowell have missed significant time over the past six weeks with back and hip injuries, respectively, and there is no guarantee that either will be ready to go on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The Red Sox lead all AL playoff teams in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and stolen base percentage.
If it’s home runs you’re looking for, the Chicago White Sox lead the majors with 233 blasts, though they haven’t locked up a postseason berth yet and will have to beat the Tigers on Monday and Twins on Tuesday to gain entrance to the party.
Best Rotation (AL): In the playoffs it comes down to a teams’ top three starters, giving the edge, again, to Boston.
Josh Beckett may not have had his most dominant regular season, but there is no pitcher in the game today that can match his postseason resume. The hard-throwing righthander owns a 1.73 ERA in 10 postseason appearances - nine starts - with 82 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings.
Beckett will be out until Game Three nursing an oblique strain, leaving the first two games up to lefthander Jon Lester and righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka, each of whom won games in the 2007 World Series and combined to go 34-9 this season.
The Rays boast a formidable trio in Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza and James Shields, but none of the three has ever appeared in a postseason game.
Kazmir, the ace of the staff, is limping to the finish line with an 8.36 ERA in his last three starts and has not recorded an out in the seventh inning of an outing since July 21.
The Angels will send John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders in the division series.
Best Bullpen (AL): The Rays are the best by the numbers, coming in with a 3.49 ERA and a .220 batting average against, though there is some question as to who will get the ball in the ninth innings.
Troy Percival’s back has prevented him from doing any heavy lifting down the stretch, but Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour have stepped in and filled the eighth and ninth with little difficulty.
Tampa Bay also boasts the best tandem of lefthanders in J.P. Howell and Trever Miller, and phenom David Price could be added to the roster as insurance.
Anaheim comes in next, with Scot Shields and rookie Jose Arredondo setting up for record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Best Manager (AL): With two World Series crowns in the past four seasons, Boston skipper Terry Francona gets the nod.
Francona has deftly maneuvered the Red Sox all season, getting the most out of a surprisingly weak bullpen and using the versatility that general manager Theo Epstein built into the roster to give everyone on the club adequate amounts of rest.
Francona is the only manager to win two rings this decade and has the faith of all of his players.
Anaheim’s Mike Scioscia and Chicago’s Ozzie Guillen each have rings as well, and Tampa’s Joe Maddon, who will likely win the AL Manager of the Year Award, has a ring from being on Scioscia’s staff in 2002.
Prediction (AL): The Red Sox and the Rays will meet in the ALCS after Tampa easily dispatches either the White Sox or Twins and Boston struggles to fend off the Angels.
Experience wins out in the ALCS, sending the Red Sox back to the World Series.
Best Offense (NL): The Chicago Cubs led the senior circuit in runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage en route to posting the best record in the league.
Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and Jim Edmonds clog the middle of the lineup, with Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Theriot at the top.
Jack-of-all-trades Mark DeRosa not only can play anywhere on the field but can hit anywhere in the lineup, offering manager Lou Piniella the freedom to set his offense according to matchups.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are mighty dangerous with Manny Ramirez surrounded by emerging stars Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Russell Martin, though they don’t have the depth that the Cubs display.
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers could each match Chicago hit for hit, but both are prone to streaks from the top to the bottom of the lineup.
Best Rotation (NL): This goes again to Chicago, which is so deep in the rotation that no-hit artist Carlos Zambrano and midseason steal Rich Harden will both sit and watch as converted closer Ryan Dempster gets the call in Game One against the Dodgers.
Dempster finished the season 17-6 with a 2.98 ERA and a .227 batting average against, leading the staff in all three categories.
Harden is 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA since joining the Cubs in July, allowing one earned run or less in nine of his 12 NL starts. The injury-prone righthander should be sharp for the playoffs, since Piniella was able to rest him in September.
Zambrano is more of a question after allowing 13 runs in 6 1/3 innings over his last two starts.
Los Angeles with Derek Lowe, Philadelphia with Cole Hamels and Milwaukee with CC Sabathia each boast at least one shut-down starter.
Best Bullpen (NL): Are you sensing a pattern? Again the edge goes to the Cubs.
Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol were both All-Stars this season and provide Piniella with two righthanders who can hit the upper-90’s in the eighth and ninth innings.
Need a couple of more power arms? Chicago also trots veteran Bobby Howry and rookie Jeff Samardzija out late in games and comes with Neal Cotts from the left side.
No. 5 starter Jason Marquis will work as the long man out of the bullpen and Chad Gaudin can pitch multiple innings as well.
The Phillies have had the best relief corps by the numbers this season, leading the NL with a 3.22 ERA, and close with Brad Lidge, who has yet to blow a save or suffer a loss this season.
Best Manager (NL): Just to stop the Chicago love-fest, we’ll give this one to Dodgers skipper Joe Torre, who won four rings as manager of the New York Yankees.
Torre has always had a calming influence on his clubhouses, a key factor when the pressure turns up a few notches in the playoffs.
Never the best in-game strategist, especially in terms of bullpen management, Torre makes up for those shortcomings in his dealings with the players and the media. He takes on all distractions while the players focus on the game.
Piniella earned a ring when he guided the 1990 Cincinnati Reds past the Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia skipper Charlie Manuel is no stranger to the postseason, having made an appearance with the Indians as well.
Milwaukee manager Dale Sveum is the greenest of the bunch, as his managerial career is not even two weeks old.
Prediction (NL): The Cubs will dispatch the Dodgers in four games, setting up a date with the Phillies, who will take care of a tired Brew Crew.
Chicago will finally prevail in the NLCS, moving on to the World Series for the first time since 1945 and setting up a series against the Red Sox that has TV executives drooling.
