After a stunning 9-0 win in Game 1, the Rays really flattened out after that. They held leads in Games 2 and 3 but let the Rangers come back and win in both. In Game 4, the Rangers scored four runs on four solo homers - one from Ian Kinsler and three from Adrian Beltre. The series ended on a groundout to second in Game 4, making it the only series that didn't go five games in this most unlikely of postseasons.
Personally, I expected this one to go five games just like last season's. The road team won all five games last year and again won three of four this year, so the key is to not have home field advantage when the Rays play the Rangers. It didn't live up to last season's showdown, but the home runs were entertaining enough.
Yankees-Tigers: Tigers 3-2
 |
| 'El Papa Grande' gets it done again. |
So much for the Verlander invincibility factor. Game 1, hyped as a pitching duel between the AL's top two starters in Verlander ans C.C. Sabathia, turned into a blowout pitched by Doug Fister and Ivan Nova because of rain. Robinson Cano had six RBIs in this joke of a playoff game. Miguel Cabrera's homer and Max Scherzer's shutdown Game 2 performance evened the series heading back to Detroit, but the series wouldn't finish there.
After Verlander actually did get to beat Sabathia in Game 4, the Yankees got another blowout in Game 4. It wouldn't have been a blowout without Curtis Granderson, however, who single-handedly saved three runs from scoring in the first with an unbelievable diving grab. Game 5 was another Fister-Nova matchup, and it didn't go as planned for the Yankees. Nova allowed solo homers to Don Kelly and Delmon Young in the first which led manager Joe Girardi to pull him after two innings and inexplicably use seven pitchers in the nine-inning game. And how ironic it was that it was Sabathia of all pitchers who gave up the go-ahead run on a single to Victor Martinez. A Robinson Cano homer and a Mark Teixeira bases-loaded walk brought in two Yankee runs, but Jose Valverde closed it out in the ninth after Derek Jeter came 10 feet from sending the Yankees to the ALCS in the 8th.
At the sight of the Jeter fly ball, I panicked a little. I was rooting for the Tigers, as was most of the rest of the country, it seems. The Tigers really handed the Yankees what they needed - a wake-up call. With their ever-problematic starting rotation and constantly declining roster, the Yankees will be a worse team next season. Even if they could get another unbelievable season out of Curtis Granderson, which they won't, they will not again be able to outscore opponents so badly to the point where starting rotation barely matters until the playoffs. But the problem is, as it has been for some time, who starts after Sabathia? Not the free agent bust A.J. Burnett. Nova is too young and inexperienced. Freddy Garcia is too old and only a temporary fix in the rotation. Bartolo Colon, ditto. The Tigers exploited these weaknesses with clutch homers and three solid wins. Note how the Yankees' only two wins were complete blowouts.
Brewers-Diamondbacks: Brewers 3-2
Yeah, you read right. After the Brewers won the first two games, all I heard from friends and baseball colleagues was how the Crew would sweep. No sir. I am proud to reiterate that the D-Backs won both home games in exciting fashion. The Brewers looked totally lost in the desert to the point where I thought momentum had totally shifted to Arizona's favor. After outscoring the Brewers 18-7 combined over the two games, I thought the D-Backs would march out of Game 5 with a berth to the NLCS.
This game marked the final of the battle between MVP candidates Justin Upton and Ryan Braun, both of whom played well in the series. Upton homered in Game 5, but the Brewers had a 2-1 lead in the ninth. Incredibly, Gerardo Parra of the D-Backs doubled and scored on a bunt single off Brewers closer John Axford, who hadn't blown a save since
While watching the Brewers celebrate, I was struck by two things. Anybody else notice that Gomez also scored on a walk-off single (by the Twins' Alexi Casilla) in 2009 to win the AL Central for Minnesota in the one-game tiebreaker against Detroit while now he sends Milwaukee to the NLCS in similar fashion? Also, one of the great YouTube sports moments ever happened postgame with the Brewers' interview failure. Or at least it would have, if not for MLB copyright laws. But anyway, here's what went down. TBS play-by-play man Victor Rojas tells the audience that TBS reporter Sam Ryan is on the field with Morgan for an interview. Morgan is actually with Prince Fielder, who evidently didn't want to be interviewed. Fielder doesn't answer Morgan's question, just saying "gotta go" and walking away. Luckily Sam Ryan was able to snag Ryan Braun immediately after, and Braun actually cooperates, talking about the "legacy" he and his teammates are trying to create. Morgan, however, comes up behind Braun and yells to the camera and then storms off. Sam Ryan and the TBS crew, who definitely want to talk to Morgan more than Braun in that situation, ditch Braun to follow Morgan, who ignores the camera and starts yelling to the crowd. Sam Ryan stuck the microphone at him, and he dropped two f-bombs on national TV yelling to the crowd. Upon seeing this I actually laughed out loud. That's what TBS gets for putting a mic in the man's face!
Phillies-Cardinals: Cardinals 3-2
In a most dramatic turn of events, the Phillies are out of the playoffs already. The Cardinals, as unlikely as it was that they would even make the playoffs, beat them in five, facing two elimination games. I hate all the hype about the Phillies and their supposed dream team of a starting rotation, but them being eliminated in the divisional round? By St. Louis?! The Phillies had the Cardinals on the brink of elimination, too. They should have won Game 4 and not have even had to go back to Philadelphia. They didn't, however, and Roy Halladay's first mistake was the one that cost the game in Game 5.
There was a time when the Phillies were one of the most powerful offenses out there. The time has come and gone. With an ever-aging roster, the Phils were middle-of-the-pack in most offensive categories this season. A 1-0 loss in Game 5 was a literal and symbolic struggle to get runs, a problem that had come up before in the regular season. Most of the time the pitching didn't warrant many runs so they would win anyway, but the offense lost the final and decisive Game 5 although the box score says Halladay did. The Phillies' last chance has come and gone. Because of the age of their roster and disappointing support from the farm system recently, I doubt they'll reach another World Series with this team. The 'four-headed monster' of Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels will have to be disassembled eventually. And that's it.
LCS Predictions:
Rangers-Tigers: Tigers in six (games: TEX, DET, DET, TEX, DET, DET)
Cardinals-Brewers: Brewers in five (games: MIL, MIL, STL, MIL, MIL)
No comments:
Post a Comment