And then there were 4

Tonight is the kick off the LCSes (weather pending). With a new series unfolding means more predictions, oh boy! I was 2 for 4 on my last round, getting one right for each league. Not so good. Hopefully it'll be better this time around. The NLCS starts tonight at 8:07, we have a match up of the young-guns: Hamels v Kershaw. Should be a great game to watch. Enough with my droning here's the deal:

NLCS-Phillies and Dodgers: I really like Cliff Lee in the post-season, he's been down right unbelievable for the Phils this season. I think he's a lock for game 3, he does need some rest and if Happ/Pedro can hold their own for game 2 then I'm leaning towards the Phillies. Plus their bats are really live in the late innings, Houston Street was responsible for two losses in the NLDS. Three through 5 in the Phillies line-up is pretty mean looking. However, George Sherill has only 2 earned runs, since being traded to the Dodgers from the Orioles on July 30th. Don't think there will be any late game heroics. Dodgers bats, however, have been not too great. Most games have been put onto the bullpens shoulders, with little to no runs. These games were against to Cy Young candidates though. Vicente Padilla was great in his last start, going 7 innings with only 4 hits. I still think the Phillies are going to take the series, Dodgers wont go down with out a fight though.

Phillies in 6.

ALCS- Angels and Yankees: Ok, so everyoen has been saying this and I think I'm starting to believe it more and more, that this is the Yankees year. After not making the postseason last year, they bounced back by spending a ton of money and possibly buying the World Series. They are sticking to a three man rotation of CC, Burnett and Pettitte. All three have been pretty nasty, three earned runs over 19 innings between the three of them. Granted it was against the Twins who were exhausted from trying to clinch the AL Central, but they still looked great. And since when is A-Rod clutch in October? I guess this whole hoopla of him and cheating has fueled him to actually play ball when it matters. 2 HRs, 6 RBIs and .455 average so far. Weird. The Angels look really good too, Lackey pitched over 7 innings of shut-out ball and their pen was up to snuff. They didn't run like they were expected to, but there's nothing stopping them against New York. The Yankees look almost too good this year.

Yankees in 5.

2009 World Series: Phillies/Yankees.

The time has come....

After an amazing game last night, the AL Central has finally been decided and the playoff picture is complete. Here's how the match ups look for the LDSes and some predictions.

NL:
Rockies/Phillies: Philly in 3. Let's face it, they look good and Colorado lost their ace Jorge De La Rosa to a groin injury. They may take one, but Philly will prevail. That is if their bullpen can hold it together.

Cardinals/Dodgers: Cards in 4. I'm really looking at the pitching in this match up because their offense is pretty evenly matched. But Cardinals pitching is just phenomenal, two Cy Young candidates? And we all know how the Dodgers love to choke in October.

AL:
Red Sox/Angels: Red Sox in 5. This series will come to the bitter end, judging by the Red Sox pitching the first two game will decide this series. Lester and Beckett pitching away, then the shakiest part of the rotation, who have not been impressive whatsoever. The Angels are going to run all over the place, but in the end J-Bay and the firey Sox offense will prevail.

Yankees/ Minnesota: New York in 3. As much I would hate to see the Metrodome's last game go down in a loss, but it's inevitable. The Twins pitching is exhausted, their offense is beat and they arrived in New York at 3 in the morning. They had to use their best pitcher just to make the postseason. Sorry Twins fans, it was a great run and an instant classic, but it's New York's year.

AL Central heating up

One might say it's already hot, but today is D-Day for both of these teams, it's win or go home (or into a one game playoff). I don't know whether to call this a Twins resurgence or a Tigers collapse. Seeing as how the Tigers were up 7 games at one point, I'm going to pin this on the Tigers. Last night, all Detroit had to do was beat struggling Freddy Garcia and the White Sox, instead they get spanked. While the Twin go on to beat one of the top Cy Young candidates in dramatic fashion, thanks to Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young.
Currently the Tigers are up 3-0 on the Sox, while the Twins are just under way. If they both win/lose, it comes down to a single game play off to be played in the Metrodome on October 6th. Anyways this falls, what a great way for the final season of the Metrodome to be finished.

Mike Blowers...is....god?

Working in radio play-by-play I often hear predictions from broadcasters such as, "This is the game that he'll really turn it around," or "Tonight I think *insert team name here* can really bring the whole season together with this win." But rarely do I hear an announcer predict some thing this audacious... and get it right. Mariners do a pregame segment called "Pick to Click" where they make predictions and here's how it went: Matt Tuiasosopo will hit his first career home run during his second at-bat in the 5th inning, on a 3-1 fastball, to left-centerfield, second deck. Well, you can figure out the rest with me having to explain it. Both the prediction and the play-by-play call here: