New York Yankees vs Detroit Tigers

My initial reaction was the Tigers win this series in 5 games because of pitching. Justin Verlander and Doug Fister have been pitching out of this world lately and Jose Valverde was a perfect 49 for 49 closing out games this season. But, after looking at it further – the match-up is actually stacked in the Yankees favor. Over the season, the Yankees pitching staff has been surprisingly good (4th best in the AL). It is in fact better overall than the Tigers. The key is going to come down to scoring runs, something the Yankees are known for doing. The Yankees will out slug the Tigers and when it comes down to it, the Yankees can manufacture runs. The Tigers on the other hand cannot manufacture runs – they had the least stolen bases in the entire MLB. When you consider that the Yankees have home field advantage – I’m taking the Yankees in 4 games.

Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays

Great hitting (Rangers) vs great pitching. It’s very cliche, but pitching and defense wins championships and that will be to the Rays advantage in this series. The Rangers will surely miss having the dominating Cliff Lee in their rotation this postseason. It’s not only pitching, the Rays also had the fewest errors in the AL, while the Rangers had the 3rd most.  I’ll take the Rays in 5 games.

NLDS

Philadelphia Phillies vs St. Louis Cardinals

The Phillies are looking like the team to beat this postseason. They can score runs, but more importantly they can pitch. They easily have the best rotation of all the remaining teams, and that should be able to power them through the Cards in this series. But, don’t write the Cards off so quickly – if any team can dethrone the Phillies it is the Cards. The Cards were the best hitting team in the NL and they scored the most runs. They have the offensive firepower to potentially upset the Phillies rotation, but a lingering injury to Matt Holiday will be crucial to the Cards success/failure in this series. I’ll take the Phillies in a close 5 game series.

Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The Brewers and Diamondbacks are two very similar teams in terms of make-up. They both have strong offenses and slightly above average pitching staffs. The Diamondbacks may have a slight edge in the bullpen, to offset the slight hitting edge that the Brewers have. This should be a fun series to watch. The Brewers had the best home record in the MLB and that should prove to be the difference in this one. I’ll take the Brewers stealing a game in Arizona and winning the series in 4 games.

Thoughts? Comment below!

[Photo Credit: halloffamememorabilia.com]

American League Division Series (ALDS):

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
This is probably the most one-sided match-up in the postseason. I like the Yankees in this series. I think the Yankees are a more complete team and will benefit tremendously from home field advantage.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox
This is going to be a very competitive series, but someone has to win it and I think that someone will be the Angels. These two teams are way different. The Red Sox are more of the power team, whereas the Angels are the small ball speed team. Past history doesn’t bode well for the Angels, but I think this year things will be different. If the Angels win one of the first two games against Lester or Beckett, I think they will win the series thanks to home field advantage. Also, Varitek cannot throw anybody out so expect the Angels to run (and run a lot).

American League Championship Series (ALCS):

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Yankees will get their playoff nemesis in the ALCS. The Yankees have not had much past playoff success against the Angels, but as I mentioned before I think this season will be different and the Yankees will win the series. Why will this season be different? Well similarly to the Red Sox – Angels match-up, these two teams are way different (the Yankees are the power team and the Angels are the small ball team). The difference again will be the home field advantage, the Yankees home stadium is built perfectly for the team. Also, I honestly believe that the pitching is pretty even in terms of match-ups (Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte are just as good as Lackey, Weaver, Kazmir).

National League Division Series (NLDS):

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have one of the most amazing turnarounds that I have ever seen in the MLB. They were playing some pretty terrible baseball until they fired Clint Hurdle. After they overcame that “hurdle,” they have played some top level baseball and almost won the division. Despite that I feel that the Phillies will win this series. Cliff Lee was a top 3 deadline pick up this season, and the Phillies have a solid line-up with Utley, Howard and Ibanez. My one concern is the back of the pitching staff, the Phillies need to find a solid option to close out games. If they can’t find a reliable option, they may be in danger of the upset.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
I really like the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Acquiring Matt Holliday was a great move and they have probably the best rotation in the playoffs with Carpenter and Wainwright (either could win the Cy Young). Ryan Franklin is solid at closing out games. The Dodgers don’t have the pitching to win this series and they have not been playing their best baseball in September.

National League Championship Series (NLCS):

Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
I think the Cardinals will win this series and join the Yankees in the World Series. The Cardinals have as good a  line up as the Phillies with Pujols, Holliday (if not a better one). The real difference is the pitching, the Cardinals pitching is much better than the Phillies. I would take Carpenter, Wainwright and Pineiro over Lee,  Hamels and Blanton/Happ any day of the week. I would certainly take Franklin over Lidge/Madson.

World Series:

New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Yankees look to do what they did the last time they opened a new stadium- win the world series. Clearly the Cardinals have the better starting rotation, but the Yankees have better line up when looking at the line up as a whole. The key to this series will be the fact that the Yankees have home field advantage. It will be a hard fought series, but I look for the Yankees to win it in 6 games. The Yankees are hungry for a championship, as they showed in the off-season by getting Sabathia, Teixeira and Burnett. I don’t think anything will stop the Yankees from achieving that goal.

Questions or comments? Feel free to post a comment below or send me a tweet @MikesPickz