* Every great performance deserves another, I suppose, and that was exactly what we enjoyed from the hulking left arm of CC Sabathia on Sunday, Game 162 for his Milwaukee Brewers. Sabathia, making his third straight start on three days rest, pitched a complete game, beating the Chicago Cubs 3-1, and securing the National League wild card for the Brewers. Ryan Braun hit a big three-run home run to put the Brewers up in the eighth inning, and CC handled the rest.
The Brewers had to wait about a half hour after beating the Cubs to find out whether or not they would be playing a one-game playoff on Monday against the New York Mets to determine the wild card winner. Thanks to the Florida Marlins, and the Mets bullpen, that one-game playoff won't be necessary as the Mets' season was effectively ended with a 4-2 defeat to Florida. The problems are vast for the Mets, but when it came down to it, the fact is that the Mets needed Johan Santana to pitch every day in order to win, and that's obviously not possible. I'm sure they will be big players in the free agent market this winter, and they will have another crack at it heading into their new Citi Field next season.
With the Mets loss posted in Miller Park, the crowd erupted into a frenzy while the players danced around in cool, champagne-drenched nostalgia. Milwaukee has been starved for a winner, and they finally have a club they can follow to the ballpark and cheer for as they head into the NLDS. The Brewers will play the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS starting Wednesday, and this is where they will be put to the test. We know there is much euphoria surrounding greater Milwaukee today, but the Brewers are going to need a complete team effort to beat the Phillies.
The problem for the Brewers is much like the problem for the Mets: CC Sabathia is followed by Anybody's Guess. Sabathia will be pitching on three days rest again on Thursday in Game 2, meaning manager Dale Sveum is going to have to piece together a rotation around him. Ben Sheets is done for the season and will have to have his elbow looked at to determine if he needs off-season surgery. Dave Bush is a candidate to start Game 1, and so is young righty Yovani Gallardo. The bullpen is a current work in progress, but Seth McClung turned in quite an impressive performance on Friday against the Cubs, and he figures to be the rock in the late innings.
The Phillies, however, are lined up perfectly heading into the playoffs. They have their ace, Cole Hamels, going in Game 1 with Brett Myers backing him up in Game 2, not to mention one of the best closers in baseball in Brad Lidge pitching better than ever. Chase Utley is going to play like one of the best middle infielders in baseball, Jimmy Rollins is going to be flying all over the diamond and burning around the bases, and Ryan Howard has reappeared as the elite power hitter that he is. There is a lot of sock in that lineup to go along with a solid pitching staff, and we all know Citizen's Bank Park is going to be rocking on Wednesday -- white towels and all.
Prediction: Phillies in 4
* With the Brewers clinching the wild card, they are not eligible to play the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs because both teams come from the same division in the National League. Due to that little nugget, we are treated to an early post season gem when the Los Angeles Dodgers go to Wrigley Field to face the Cubs on Wednesday. The Cubs wrapped up the NL Central more than a week ago, and the Dodgers took care of the NL West before heading up to San Francisco for the final series of the regular season this past weekend. With both teams having time to rest, both clubs have had the opportunity to line up their starting rotations for the playoffs.
The Dodgers will send Derek Lowe to the mound in Game 1 against Chicago's Ryan Dempster. Dempster is 14-3 with a 2.86 ERA at Wrigley Field this year, so he is lined up not only for Game 1, but for Game 5 at Wrigley Field if necessary. Lowe has been arguably the hottest pitcher in baseball in the last month and Wrigley Field is perfect for his style of pitching. Ground ball after ground ball will die in that thick infield grass at the Friendly Confines.
This may be the best series we see in the entire post season if for nothing more than the depth of both organizations. After Dempster, the Cubs have Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ted Lilly lined up. No starter, except for Demspter who would be pitching on regular rest in Game 5, is going to be asked to come back on short rest or pitch out of the bullpen. This should be liberating to the starters as they know they can go out for 120-130 pitches and eat up as many outs as possible and give it all they have, knowing they won't be asked to come back until the next round.
The Dodgers back up Lowe with Chad Billingsley, who has been as impressive as most pitchers this season, and then will go with Huroki Kuroda as the third starter who will attack the Cubs with a power sinker. If Joe Torre doesn't want to bring Lowe back on short rest for Game 4, he can send Greg Maddux to the mound to face Lilly. Pretty even match-up. If I'm the Dodgers, I like my chances. If I'm the Cubs, I like my chances.
The wild card of this series is the youth in the Dodgers' lineup. We know the Cubs are going to score runs and we know Manny Ramirez is going to hit -- if he is pitched to. If Andre Eithier and Matt Kemp and James Loney can produce in the middle of that order, then the Dodgers will have a real chance of knocking off Chicago. Both bullpens are strong points for both clubs, so we should see a lot of great match-ups in the late innings with runners on base. This is going to be fun.
Prediction: Cubs in 5
* If you want two powerhouses right off the bat, we have them out west in the ALDS. The Red Sox will visit the Angels in the first round and the Angels have home field advantage throughout the post season. We found out yesterday that Josh Beckett has been pushed back to start Game 3 in Boston instead of Game 1 in Anaheim because of a strained side he suffered in his bullpen session. Any and all news makes fan bases quiver this time of the year, but I don't think there is really anything to worry about.
Beckett will be fine and I fully expect to see him at his best in Game 3. That leaves us with an intriguing match-up in Game 1 with John Lackey going against Jon Lester. Lester has come on this season as one of the premier left handers in baseball, and I am as excited as anybody to watch this kid take off over the next few seasons. I really believe he is going to win a Cy Young and will be among the Top 5 pitchers in all of baseball at some point soon. But with the bright lights and big stage, I can't bet against John Lackey.
The Angels will send Ervin Santana in Game 2 and Joe Saunders in Game 3 after Lackey. Daisuke Matsuzaka will go in Game 2 for the Red Sox and Beckett in Game 3. I wish Mike Scioscia put Saunders in between Lackey and Santana to stagger the right handers, but to also fulfill my post season wish of a Santana-Beckett match-up in Game 3 in the hostile house that is Fenway Park in Boston. Talk about potential pitching dominance. Wow.
Both offenses are great, but I see the Angels being more conducive to playing in both ballparks. Mark Teixeira needs to continue to be the monster he has been since coming over from the Atlanta Braves at the Trade Deadline and Vladimir Guerrero needs to provide him with some protection. The Angels are such a scrappy bunch than you can never count them out due to their ability to wear down starting pitchers and then feast on the underbelly of bullpens.
The Red we know can score runs. But I am curious as to see how Jason Bay is going to hit away from the Green Monster and what happens when David Ortiz doesn't get many good pitches to hit. Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia are MVP candidates, so they will have to continue to produce at a high level for the Red Sox to keep pace. With all of that said, and we can probably call the rotations and lineups equal, the Angels have the advantage in the bullpen.
Yes, Jonathan Papelbon is a beast. I wouldn't want to face him in the ninth inning. Justin Masterson has stepped up down the stretch to become a key set-up guy for Terry Francona who can roll over ground balls for innings at a time. But I wouldn't call Masterson a sure thing. He is a rookie, mind you, and there certainly will be an adjustment to the bigger stage. Not that the post season attention will scare the kid. Mike Timlin, Manny Delcarmen, and Hideki Okajima follow the first two.
Frankie Rodriguez nails down the back of the bullpen for the Angels; say what you want about him, but Rodriguez finds a way to rise to the occasion. What makes the Angels so strong is the depth of the bullpen. Scot Shields can still be as good a set-up man as anyone in baseball, and Jose Arredondo has been electric in his rookie season. Darren Oliver is just as good as Okajima as a lefty specialist, and he has the ability to pitch more than one inning. Those three guys right there should be enough, after the starter does his job, to get the ball to Frankie.
Prediction: Angels in 4
* The Tampa Bay Rays still await their first-round opponent, and it is possible that they may not know who it is until as late as Tuesday. The Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins both had let downs this past weekend after a highly emotional three-game series between the two clubs in Minnesota earlier in the week. The Twins swept the White Sox to take control of the AL Central, only to drop 2 0f 3 at home to the Kansas City Royals to finish the regular season. After being swept by the Twins, the White Sox went home and lost the first two games to the Cleveland Indians, failing to take advantage of Minnesota's losses. After losing five straight, the White Sox beat Cleveland on Sunday, leaving us exactly where we were after they played the Twins.
So after all of that, the Detroit Tigers are forced to fly to Chicago to play a make-up game when they would rather go home for the winter and forget about the expectations that they didn't live up to. If the White Sox lose, the Twins are the AL Central champs and will face Tampa Bay. If Chicago wins, the Twins will travel to U.S. Celluar Field on Tuesday for a one-game playoff to determine the division winner.
Lucky for us, we don't need to know the opponent in order to evaluate this series. The Rays have been baseball's best story, and they rode that momentum to the AL East title. They are stacked with high-powered arms. Whoever they face will likely see James Shields in Game 1, Scott Kazmir in Game 2, and Matt Garza in Game 3. If manager Joe Maddon wants to use a four-man rotation, he has power-right hander Edwin Jackson to turn to in Game 4.
The Rays bullpen was already strong to begin with, but it is even better now thanks to the September call-ups of David Price and Jeff Niemann. Both of these kids are fearless and have big fast balls, making them perfect fits for the late innings of a playoff game. Look for Evan Longoria to continue his Rookie Of the Year season in the playoffs, and Carlos Pena is going to finally garner some attention as one of the most underrated young first basemen in the game. Whether it's the Twins or the White Sox, I'm afraid it doesn't much matter. The Rays have too much pitching.
Prediction: Rays sweep
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