After an extremely uneventful division series that did not have a single game 5 and included three sweeps, it is now time for the championship series. The NLCS is a rematch from 2008 between the Dodgers and the Phillies while the AL features the Yankees and the Angels.
The Dodgers looked absolutely amazing in their sweep against the Cardinals. The pitching of Clayton Kershaw, Vicente Padilla, and that Dodger bullpen shut down the hot bats of the Cards and were even able to out duel Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Because of the sweep, the Dodgers have their rotation in order with Randy Wolf set to start game one Thursday night in L.A. The Phillies will counter with Cole Hamels in game 1 with Cliff Lee having to wait all the way until game 3 to pitch because of his game 4 start against the Rockies.
If the Phillies stand any chance of winning this series, Hamels has to be in ’08 form. Last year in the NLCS against the Dodgers, Hamels was 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA against the Dodgers and took home the NLCS MVP award. In the regular season in ’09, Hamels was 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA and in his only outing so far this postseason, Hamels only lasted 5 innings against the Rockies while giving up 4 earned runs and taking the loss for the Phils. If Hamels can pitch like he did in ’08, the Phillies are the favorite.
For the Dodgers to win the series, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal, and Manny Ramirez will have to continue to hit the ball like they did against the Cards going a combined 16-37. That being said, players such as Matt Kemp and James Loney will have to step up their play after combining to go 5-26 against tough St. Louis pitching. A big key for the Dodgers will be how their 21-year-old game 2 starter, Clayton Kershaw, will pitch. If the youngster can handle the pressure and continue to pitch like he has been pitching all season, the Dodgers have a real shot. The Dodgers clearly have the edge in the bullpen with Jonathan Broxton at closer coming off a season in which he had 36 saves and a 2.61 ERA. Broxton, of course, was much more impressive than the Phils’ Brad Lidge, who had a 7.21 ERA with 11 blown saves.
The ALCS begins Friday night in the Bronx with a matchup of C.C. Sabathia vs. John Lackey. Personally, these look like the two best teams in baseball. Coming off sweeps of the Twins and Red Sox respectively, the two teams who lead the entire MLB in runs scored in ’09 will battle it out from coast to coast in what figures to be a long, high scoring series.
The Angels finally did what they have not been able to do in recent years by beating the Red Sox in the postseason. Not only did they beat the Red Sox, they swept them in three games outscoring the Sox 16-7 in the series. The lineup of Figgins, Aybar, Guerrero, Hunter, Abreu, and Napoli, just to name a few and trust me they have more, will continue to hit. Even against the likes of Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte, the bats will continue to stay hot for the AL West champs. If the Angels have any questions it is in their rotation. Between John Lackey, Jered Weaver, and the newly acquired Scott Kazmir, not one is a clear-cut postseason ace. Lackey has had previous postseason success, but Kazmir and Weaver combine for only 4 postseason starts. The Angels were 21st in the MLB in the regular season with a combined ERA of 4.45. That being said, for the Angels to win the series, the sticks will have to stay hot and the bullpen of Brian Fuentes and Darren Oliver will have to continue getting batters out.
The New York Yankees are coming off a three game sweep of the Minnesota Twins and look hungry for a championship. They have their rotation set up perfectly for the series and their bats look like they did all season long. The Yankees may be the scariest team left with their postseason goat, Alex Rodriguez, going 5-11 against the Twins with 6 RBI’s and two clutch home runs to help win games two and three. With the sticks of Jeter, Tex, Matsui, and Posada around what looks to be a different A-Rod, the Yankees should give the Angels pitching fits. Now that Joe Girardi has thrown out the “Joba rules”, that Yankee middle relief is secure again and Mariano Rivera can wait until the ninth to do his thing. Brian Cashman has finally put together a roster capable of winning a championship and to me; the Yankees are the favorite until someone knocks them off.
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