Playoff Preview: World Series

We are finally here! It's World Series time!

While Major League Baseball and most of its fans may have been salivating over the thought of a Dodgers versus Yankees World Series, an "I-95" series, as some have dubbed it, is definitely the better series from a baseball standpoint.

The Yankees and Phillies easily boast the best line-up in each of their respective leagues.

Headlined by Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees led the American League with 244 home runs this year, while Ryan Howard and the Phillies led the National League with 224.

Together, both teams have hit 468 home runs! That shatters the previous record for the most combined home runs by two teams playing each other in the Fall Classic.

There is also the aspect of one team trying to defend its title from the previous year, while another tries to claim what it believes is its rightful place in the sport.

Last year, Philadelphia rolled over the "Cinderella Story" Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win their first championship since 1980.

This year, the core of the team is the same. However, there have been multiple additions to the team since last October that make the Phillies even scarier than before.

While Philadelphia superstars Ryan Howard and Chase Utley did their thing batting third and fourth in line-up once again, the off-season addition of left fielder Raul Ibanez, and mid-season pickups Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez seemed to make the Phillies even more complete than last year.

Plus, the breakout seasons of Jayson Werth and catcher Carlos Ruiz didn't hurt either.

Up in the Bronx, the Yankees are finally looking like "The Yankees" again, returning to the World Series for the first time since 2003, and their 40th time in franchise history.

I would venture as far to say that last winter's addition of Mark Teixeira to the New York line-up was the smartest offensive signing that the Yankees have made since Reggie Jackson in 1977 (maybe even better, as Teixeira doesn't carry any extra baggage along with his big bat).

Despite his .205 average in the playoffs this year, Teixeira's MVP-caliber season was one of the chief reasons why the Yankees have returned to the playoffs in 2009 after a brief hiatus in 2008.

And while the old guard of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte have gotten their share of the postseason spotlight, the ALDS and CS were all about two players for the Yankees: CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez.

While CC Sabathia ended up being granted the ALCS MVP Award, most believe that both men equally deserved it, as Rodriguez managed to hit .429 with three home runs in the series.

If they can carry their positive play into the World Series, then it is going to be very hard to beat New York. Especially if Sabathia pitches on short rest, as he did this past week.

The keys to victory for both teams are as follows:

For Philadelphia, the bullpen, which struggled mightily in the regular season, must continue to display the dominance that it has in the postseason.

Closer Brad Lidge, who blew 11 saves during the regular season, has been a perfect three for three in save opportunities during the playoffs.

In addition, relief pitchers such as Chan Ho Park, Chad Durbin, and Scott Eyre, have made it exceedingly difficult to score on the Phillies in late innings.

If the Phillies have any hope of taking home another trophy this year, the 'pen must continue this trend against the Yankees, who have proven to be the comeback kids of 2009.

The Philadelphia line-up must also continue to stay consistent when it comes to getting on base. With the exception of Jimmy Rollins, each of the Phillie's big bats are hitting over .300 during the postseason.

As for New York, AJ Burnett must continue to turn in decent starts.

While he has not been anywhere near dominant during his three postseason starts, he has given the Yankees a chance to win each time he has gone out to the mound.

However, the reason why Burnett is so important to New York goes beyond just giving a good effort. It is because he has the chance to truly set the tone for the series in Game Two.

All assumptions are that CC Sabathia will be able to out-duel Cliff Lee in Game One. If this happens to be the case, Burnett has the opportunity to put the Yankees in prime position with a 2-0 series lead.

But, if Sabathia is defeated by the potent Phillie line-up in Game One, Burnett could decide if the Yankees go to Philadelphia in a 0-2 hole, or tied 1-1.

It is also important to note that manager Joe Girardi has stated that Jose Molina, who has become Burnett's personal catcher during the playoffs, will not be a guarantee to be Burnett's catcher. Particularly if Burnett is called on to pitch Game Five in Philadelphia, where the line-up will already be weakened by the pitcher's spot in the order.

In addition, the Yankee bats must wake up and deliver with runners on base.

It has been easy to overlook the failure of the New York line-up to both get on base and drive runners in with Alex Rodriguez carrying the offense on his back. However, many of the Yankee starters have been in a bit of a slump. Melky Cabrera is the only other Yankee starter hitting over .300 for the postseason.

Even Derek Jeter, who posted excellent numbers in the ALDS, struggled a bit in the ALCS, batting .259 (7-27).

While Girardi continued to keep the same line-up on the field for the entire ALCS, it will be interesting to see if he makes any moves involving players such as Nick Swisher or Robinson Cano, who have slumped for the majority of the postseason.

In the end, I expect the New York to persevere and defeat Philadelphia due to two words: Mariano Rivera.

A great challenge will be constructing a bridge from the starting pitcher to Mo each game, but if this can be done, the chances for the Yankees go way up.

Prediction: New York Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies in seven games.

Playoff Preview: Championship Series

After a division series round which featured three sweeps and one four game series win, the real fun will begin tonight, as the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers will open at Dodger Stadium. That will be followed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Yankee Stadium to kick of the ALCS tomorrow night.

I cannot begin to describe how excited I am for both of these series.

Yes, it would have been nice to see another epic Boston versus New York ALCS, however, it is my belief that the two matchups that his year has dealt to us could not have been chosen any better.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

For those of you with a short memory, this will be a rematch of last year's NLCS. The Phillies would take care of the Dodgers quite convincingly in five games and go on to win the World Series in 2008.

However, this year should be entirely different for one reason, and that is the maturity of the Dodgers.

Last year, the whole team basically tried to ride Manny Ramirez's bat through the playoffs and to the World Series. That plan did not end up working out very well, as Ramirez's bat proved to be nowhere near enough to counteract the Philadelphia lineup and dominant, young pitching.

This year, the rest of the starting lineup has managed to make itself heard. While a few of the team's established veterans appeared to regress, including the previously mentioned Ramirez, the Dodger youngsters did a great amount of speaking with their bats.

Outfielders Andre Eithier (coming off an impressive NLDS performance) and Matt Kemp, the future core of the organization, both had career years. Each hit for about a .300 average with over 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. 25-year old first baseman James Loney and 26-year old catcher Russell Martin managed to turn in solid years as well.

Turning attention to the starting rotation, manager Joe Torre announced that he plans to have young phenom Clayton Kershaw, who went 6.2 innings while giving up two runs during his NLDS Game Two start, start Game One of this series.

Kershaw will be followed by Vincent Padilla in the rotation.

Padilla pitched seven shutout innings during Los Angeles's clinching game over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

The combo of Kershaw and Padilla should give the Dodgers an excellent one-two punch to open up the series. Power arms are something that is extremely valued when it comes to October baseball and these two can really blow the opposition away if they are on their game.

Randy Wolfe, who lasted only 3.2 innings during his Game One start in the NLDS, will get the Game Three start. And as for Game Four, look for the Hiroki Kuroda to get the start over the unreliable Chad Billingsley if the Dodgers are down in the series.

However, if the Los Angeles is up, I would definitely not be surprised to see Billingsley in there, as he has the ability to deliver electric stuff from the mound.

On the other side of the diamond, there is really not much to say. The power-packed lineup of the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies is quite a site to behold.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jason Werth, and Raul Ibanez, the heart of the Phillie lineup, hit for a combined .367 batting average against the Colorado Rockies in their NLDS. And while the Dodger pitching is a step above that of Colorado, cooling the bats of these four down is a very hard task to accomplish.

If leadoff man Jimmy Rollins can get his bat going, and Shane Victorino continues to deliver in the two-hole, setting up Utley and Howard, the lineup will be even more dangerous.

Cole Hamels, who shut the Dodgers down in last year's NLCS, will start Game One. And Cliff Lee, coming off of a very impressive performance during the NLDS (16.1 IP, 2 ER) will start Game Two.

Ultimately, I expect this series to come down to the bullpen, and in that department, Los Angeles has the upper hand.

While Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge seems to have found a grove (for now), and the rest of the bullpen was not terrible during the first playoff series, their regular season stats (44 SV in 66 SVO this season - good for last in the majors) do not paint a pretty picture.

To compare the Phillie bullpen to a mediocre bullpen would be hard to do, nevermind the Dodger bullpen, which is one of the best in the league. And if the past has taught us anything, it is that, most of the time, the team with the best bullpen goes the farthest.

I would say that the starting rotation among the teams is about even, and would give the Phillies a slight edge in the starting lineup.

But the disparity between the two 'pens will ultimately give Los Angeles the series.

Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers over Philadelphia Phillies in seven.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. New York Yankees

Wow. This was unexpected.

Just as Yankee and Red Sox fans were getting the war paint ready yet again, the Angels threw both respective fans a curveball (no pun intended).

I must admit, I expected the Angels to finally get that huge monkey off their back and beat Boston this year. But, I did not expect it to happen in three games! With the clincher being in Fenway Park!

If you were to tell me that you expected the Angels to wrap the ALDS up in as neatly a little package as they did, I would laugh in your face and make some kind of comment about your pants being on fire.

The Angels barely gave the Boston a chance to breathe in Games One and Two and came back to win Game Three in the ninth inning against the all-mighty Jonathan Papelbon. Not even Nostradamus saw that one coming.

Yet, I digress. That is now the past, and I can't help but smile from ear to ear thinking about what the next week of baseball has in store for us.

While Red Sox-Yankees would have been fun for the Northeast, believe me when I say that Angels-Yankees is going to be a better series.

I personally think it would have taken the Yankees five games to get past the Red Sox.

Now, we've got major drama. Two totally different types of forces colliding: the New York Yankees, who can basically bludgeon a team to death with their offense, versus the Los Angeles Angels, who have the ability to "steal" a series right out from under their opponent.

The teams went 5-5 against each other in regular season play this year. And while the Yankees were swept by the Angels during their first visit to Angels Stadium in July, New York managed to salvage the final two games of a three game series during their second visit to the West Coast in September.

Most believe that those two games will prove to have worked wonders for the Yankee psyche in the long run. However, the Angels still play a brand of baseball that the Yankees are very uncomfortable with and not used to seeing.

For example, Los Angeles can manufacture a run by a Chone Figgins slapping a base hit to the opposite field, stealing second base, moving to third base on a groundout to the right side by Bobby Abreu, and scoring on a deep fly ball by Torii Hunter. They play like this very consistently.

Conversely, the Yankees have the ability to easily get that run back with a 450-foot Alex Rodriguez home run.

But with the Angels constantly showing off their wheels, the Yankees are going to have to make sure that they keep the mistakes to a minimum, no matter how many home runs they are capable of hitting once they get their turn in the box.

Overthrows, pass-balls, and walks would ultimately lead to New York's demise. And with the Angel ability to "make things happen", sloppy play by the Yankees is not out of the realm of possibility.

As expected, CC Sabathia will start Game One for New York, followed by AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte in Games Two and Three, respectively. Yet, in a curious move by manager Joe Girardi, Sabathia will most probably start Game Four instead of Joba Chamberlain or Chad Gaudin.

While I prefer seeing Chamberlain stay in the bullpen and I do not trust Gaudin in a big spot, Sabathia's previous track record starting on short rest in the playoffs is not anything to speak of. Although, the Yankees did not ask Sabathia to pitch on short rest to finish up the regular season as the Milwaukee Brewers did last year.

Still, it is still a risky move by Girardi.

Angel manager Mike Soscia did a little tinkering with his rotation as well. Most notably, Scott Kazmir, who owns a 2.74 career ERA against New York and is used to pitching against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays, will not start in either Game One or Two in the Bronx, but in Game Four back in Anaheim.

While the move may seem a little confusing, Los Angeles still will send out two legitimate starting pitchers in John Lackey and Joe Saunders, who had a very solid year of his own.

Both rotations stack up pretty evenly against each other. And if, as I mentioned earlier, the Yankees can keep the Angels under control on the basepaths, the lineups should stay in tune with each other as well.

Once again, as is the case in the NLCS, the ALCS, in all likelihood, will be decided by the bullpen. And in that department, New York is greatly favored.

If any Yankee starter is able to make it through six innings, the game will be turned over to a bullpen which include the extremely talented young arms of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Dave Robertson.

And, of course, there is Mariano Rivera.

The Angel bullpen has been week this year. And while Brian Fuentes is an All-Star caliber closer, he has shown a tendency to be soft in big spots.

That, mixed with the fact that the Yankees have 16 walk-off wins this year, does not bode for Los Angeles.

Yes, the Angels are going to give the Yankees a very hard fought effort, but New York's modern day "Murderer's Row" seems to be destined to make it to the World Series this year.

Prediction: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in seven.

The AL Cy Young Picture

As the regular season starts to wind down, postseason match-ups are not the only topic debated by both the experts and the fans. Who will receive what award starts to become a very heavily discussed matter around this time of year.

Today we turn to the American League Cy Young award.

This year's race can easily be narrowed down to just a handful of candidates. However, once you have your finalists picked, the task of separating the best becomes quite tricky.

The Favorites

Zack Greinke - Kansas City Royals
15-8, 2.08 ERA, 229 SO

Zack Greinke solidified his reputation as one of the American League's elite pitchers in 2009. He has always shown the ability to be a solid pitcher, but no one had expected him to be this good.

On a team which is now 25 games under .500, Greinke is on pace for 16 wins. He should also finish up the year around the 250 mark in strikeouts and he currently leads the league with his microscopic 2.08 ERA.

In addition, he managed to pitch six complete games.

The 25-year-old Greinke is a great story as well, as his stellar season has come just two years after he had to take time off from the game to battle his social anxiety syndrome and bout with depression.

Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners
16-5, 2.45 ERA, 196 SO

This would not be the first time that the young Seattle ace garnered positive attention, but it would be his first time receiving Cy Young type of attention.

Some of the experts believe that Hernandez actually has the advantage over Greinke due to a higher win total and a tougher division. In my opinion, those may not be the best reasons to take "King Felix", as he is affectionatly called by the Mariner faithful, over Greinke. However, if Hernandez was to win the award, it would be hard to argue against it.

2009 has certainly been Hernandez's best year, as he has set career highs in almost every major statistical category.

He ranks at least within the American League's top four in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts while logging well over 200 innings.

Perhaps With A Strong Finish...

CC Sabathia - New York Yankees
18-7, 3.31 ERA, 186 SO

Already 2007's AL Cy Young winner, Sabathia did not disappoint during the first season of his seven year, $161 million contract. The New York Yankees made it clear that Sabathia's responsiblity was to be a true ace of the staff and Sabathia did just that.

He currently leads the major leagues in wins with 18 and managed to pitch his way into at least the seventh inning during almost evey start, something not consistently done in this day and age.

While the Cy Young may be out of reach for this year, New York can at least be assured that they got a solid return on investment after CC's 2009 performance.

Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
16-9, 3.44 ERA, 245 SO

After a brutal 2008 (11-17, 4.84 ERA, 163 SO), Verlander returned back to form this year.

The Detroit ace leads the American League in strikeouts and has pitched three complete games.

If Verlander doesn't manage to take the Cy Young home with him this year, he can at least look forward to getting some consideration for the American League Comeback Player of the Year.

The Long Shot

Roy Halladay - Toronto Blue Jays
15-10, 3.01 ERA, 193 SO

Remember this guy?

It seems that after having a first half in which people could not stop talking about him (10-3, 2.85 ERA), Halladay cooled off a bit in the second half of the season (5-7, 3.21 ERA); particularly after numerous trade talks involving him kept popping up around the trade deadline.

Nevertheless, Halladay's end-of-season numbers should look very good, as they always do.

Despite Toronto's sub-par offense, Halladay managed to rack up 15 wins, while going the complete distance seven times.

Perhaps the Blue Jays will finally put an end to the 32-year-old Halladay's misery this offseason and finally ship him off to an actual contender. It would be awesome to see this guy go to work in the playoffs, don't you think?

The Yankees Had Better Get Their Act Together

So far, 2009 has proven to be the most exciting year for the New York Yankees since 2001. Clutch hitting late in games seems to be a recurring theme, there are finally some reliable arms in the bullpen, and most importantly, strong team chemistry seems to be back.

The team's dominance since the All-Star break has led many people to believe that the Yankees are uncontested favorites to be the American League representative in the World Series. You would be a fool to pick against the Bronx Bombers with a year like this, right? Well, not so fast.

There is no debating it. The Yankees are currently the best team in baseball. They lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by five games in the loss column for the best record in the American League, which would give them home field advantage throughout the playoffs (a vastly overrated benefit if you ask me, but that is neither here nor there).

But, the Yankees are not invincible. What seemed like a huge strength at the beginning of the 2009 season has now become a bit of a weakness.

At the beginning of the season, the Yankee rotation projected to be a collective group of established veterans and all-stars. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. Are you kidding me?! That sounds like a "murderers row" of pitching!

Unfornunately, this is no longer the case.

After some shaky starts (shaky is an understatement) and a minor league stint, Wang was finally put on the shelf, receiving shoulder surgery in late July. He is now out for the season, ending up with a 1-6 record and a 9.64 ERA.

With Wang out, the rotation still appeared strong. Prized prospect Phil Hughes was called up to fill in the fifth spot of the rotation and, for the most part, did a servicable job going 3-2 with a 5.45 ERA in seven starts. However, he has since been moved to the bullpen in order to cut down on his innings total for the year and protect his right arm.

Since Hughes's move, journeymen Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin have filled in the fifth spot for the most part. Both proved to be highly inconsistent.

A.J. Burnett has also proven to be a bit of an enigma. At some times, he has pitched like a Cy Young Award candidate. At others, he has pitched as if he is in way over his head. He stands at 11-9 with a 4.33 ERA. Not exactly what the Yankees had envisioned when they signed him to a five year contract worth over $80 million, but not terrible either.

The real concern with Burnett comes from his last nine starts. Since August 1st, Burnett is 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA.

And finally, the strategy devised by the Yankees to limit Joba Chamberlain's innings may have made Joba a complete mental case.

His last three starts have been good, giving up one run in his last start verus the Angels and two on both September 9th versus Tampa Bay and September 4th against the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, everything is relative. Because of the "Joba Rules", the starts lasted three, three, and four innings, respectively. In my opinion, this is not nearly enough to judge Joba on, especially since he still did not show any ability to get outs with a lesser amount of pitches.

So, looking at the playoffs, the Yankees are left with two reliable starting pitchers, with the rest appearing the be a bit of a crapshoot.

CC Sabathia currently has a 17-7 record with a 3.42 ERA. Pettitte stands at 13-6 with a 4.14. With the way things are going, these will be the starters for Games one and two in the ALDS.

Both are very solid choices, however Sabathia has even shown a tendancy to implode in the playoffs. In addition, let's not forget that Pettitte was originally penciled in as the fourth starter in the rotation and now is acting as a number two.

Perhaps this is thinking a little too much into it, but both facts could prove to be detrimental to New York.

In my opinion, the key truly is A.J. Burnett. If he can settle down, and pitch like everyone knows he is capable of, he can be slotted in as the number two pitcher during the ALDS, moving Pettitte, and his postseason-rich resume, back to what could be a pivotal game three.

However, if Burnett falters, so will the Yankees. With talk of Joba not even pitching in the first playoff series, the Yankees need A.J. to have his A-game by the time October rolls around.

Like defense in football, the old baseball cliche is that pitching wins championships. The Yankee offense can only bail out the latter end of the starting rotation so many times. While seeing walkoffs and games with scores the upwards of five runs is fun to watch, these things are often absent in the playoffs.

The previously struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka turned in a solid six innings for the Red Sox last night, giving up no runs and eventually earning the win.

At 6.5 games behind the New York (five in the loss column), it is doubtful that Boston will catch the Yankees in the division with so little regular season games remaining. But if Boston can throw Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Matsuzaka at you, along with ol' reliable Tim Wakefield in a playoff series, watch out.

While it may still be a little to early to start thinking about playoff matchups, the fact remains that the Yankee starting rotation had better get its act together if New York has any plans to bring home number 27 this year.