sports: I must start of this post with a bit of self-admonishing. I really would have loved to write an end of the season baseball post, particularly giving reference to the picks I made at the beginning of the summer. Especially given the fact that despite a few major injuries I did pretty well (http://robpoppost.blogspot.com/2012/04/mlb-2012-preview.html). But given the fact that I was very neglectful of baseball during the summer, and now am almost overwhelmed by the fact that the new television schedule, fall movie releases, and my day job are taking up almost all of my time (not to mention I'd like to have a social life on of these weeks), to try and sum up all of what a summer of baseball entails in just a handful of paragraphs seems impossible. I guess I should say shame on me for being a bad fan over the summer. But at least I am ready to talk playoffs.
But before I do, I must briefly mention a few true highlights of the regular season, some of which may be mentioned as I look ahead to the playoff match-ups. First and foremost the history making Triple Crown of Miguel Cabrera must be looked at in awe. This is a guy, who has for years now been arguably the best hitter in baseball, but has consistently taken a back seat to Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. But after reaching this Holy Grail for baseball players, and being the first to do it since 1967, Cabrera has absolutely eclipsed his piers, and given us a year that will be remembered for all time. Mike Trout, Cabrera's main competition for AL MVP, has had an equally impressive year from a more advanced standpoint. Trout's all around numbers, from his power to run production, both driving them in and generating them himself on the base paths, his speed, and his golden glove in the outfield have produced one of the most remarkable seasons in Major League history. And to think he did it while he was only twenty, which means that his best years should be ahead of him. The other highlights are going to mentioned as teams in the playoffs.
One of those highlights, being arguably the biggest surprise of the season, is the Baltimore Orioles They will play the Texas Rangers, who despite leading the AL West nearly wire to wire, lost the lead in their division on the final day of the season to the Oakland A's, another huge and pleasant surprise, in the Wild Card play in game. This match-up is one of a fairly classic one. Texas is filled with tons of high profile fire power both in their pitching rotation and their lineup on a team that has become a perennial powerhouse. The Orioles on the other hand, are the surprise upstart of the year, and maybe one of the biggest surprises in recent memory. With a team full of players that even now at seasons end\ are not stars, with little to speak of in terms of stand out statistical years , on a tiny budget. But they seem to have that magic that is hard to lock down in statistics, having won Major League bests in one run and extra inning games and finishing the year, despite their record, with the lowest run differential amongst all teams over .500. It is an incredibly tough game to call. The new play in game raises so many questions about how a team will be managed to be prepared to move forward, not to mention that this really is a head/heart match-up. But I am going with Texas. Despite Baltimore's remarkable run, their youth and inexperience, combined with the firepower of the Rangers lineup and experience and home field advantage, the Orioles will just fall a bit short.
In the National League, the play in match-up will be the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. Typically I would pick the Cardinals to win this game, being the defending World Series champs that, despite losing Pujols last off season still has a ton of players from last years team with clutch experience, not to mention a big gamer in Chris Carpenter(who because injuries kept him out most of the season is not starting this game.). But I just think in this game circumstance will overcome. With Atlanta playing at home, with a far superior all around pitching staff, which will come in to play if the game is tight as the two National League managers work their bullpens, and a crowd hoping for more opportunities to see Chipper Jones keep playing, the Braves should overcome the defending champs. As a side note, I want to say that despite the outcome it has been a joy watching Chipper Jones, one of the best switch hitters of all time, play for the same team for nineteen years. His article, which he wrote, in Sports Illustrated only reaffirmed the fact that next year baseball will not be better off without him.
After these two play in games, the divisional series begin the push towards the World Series. Then we will see the divisional winners take the field. In the American League these are the Detroit Tigers, who took their division in the final week from the surprise White Sox, the Yankees, and the Athletics. Looking up and down these teams there are lots of flaws and upsides that lead to doubts and questinos, and no matter how the wild card game breaks, I suspect that the American League representative will come from that wild card game since we will have one of the best, in the Rangers, or "that team", in the Orioles, coming out of that game.
In the National League, the division winners waiting in the wings after the play in game are the Nationals, Giants, and Reds. In opposition to their American League counterparts, these division winners really do seem to be the class of their League. And whoever comes out of the wild card game will have their hands full.
I know I said that I was neglectful during the regular season. And that is the very reason I am not going further than the play in game with my predictions. As the playoffs unfold, the match-ups and recaps with come for every series. I am still not sure I am in favor of the play in game (http://robpoppost.blogspot.com/2012/03/he-163rd-and-164th-game.html), but it sure has created a ton of intrigue and excitement as we push towards October baseball. Don't be surprised if these two games come down to managerial decisions rather than actual talent on the field as the four mangers decide which pitchers to start, how to use and save their bullpens, and how aggressive to be with lineup changes knowing that a win is going to only force more difficult decisions rather than put them in a better place.
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