Hello friends! Tomorrow marks the start of the 2011 MLB Playoffs as the 2 American League Division Series take center stage while the 2 National League Division Series begin on Saturday afternoon and I will preview those series tomorrow night but for right now let's talk American League Division Series shall we?
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers
A rematch of last year's Division Series in which Texas won in 5 games in a series which the road team won all 5 games! 4 weeks ago the Rays were all but out of the A.L. Wildcard as they were trailing the Boston Red Sox by 9 games as of 9/3/11. But then the unthinkable happened the Sox choked marking their biggest collapse since they blew a 14 game Division lead over their hated rivals the New York Yankees in 1978. Meanwhile the Rangers set a franchise record with 96 wins and will have the homefield this time around. Offensively both teams have big bats - BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce, and Ben Zobrist lead Tampa's offense against the Rangers big bats of Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli, and Michael Young so in terms of offense advantage Rangers! Pitching wise the Rays have James "Big Game" Shields and Mark Hellickson while the Rangers counter with CJ Wilson, Derek Holland, and Colby Lewis just to name a few so I'll give a slight edge to the Rangers here. Overall I expect this to be another hard fought series just like last year's series was! Kudos to Tampa for making that huge comeback to win the Wild Card but at the end of the day I have to go with the defending A.L. Champs to win this series in 3 maybe 4 games tops.
Winners: Texas Rangers (3 games to 1)
Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
Now while I look forward to the Tampa/Texas series I am honestly looking more forward to this series not because I'm a diehard Yankee fan but because of the starpower that will be on display in this series. In terms of offense Detroit will have their big bats Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, and Brandon Inge while the Yanks will be led by their big 3 of Mark Teixeira, former Tiger Curtis Granderson, and Home Run Derby Champ Robinson Cano and oh yeah they still have some guys named Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter who I heard were pretty good so in terms of offense clear cut advantage to the Yanks! Now pitching on the other hand is going to be a little tougher because Detroit will have their ace and future A.L. Cy Young winner Justin Verlander on tap for games 1 and 5 (if necessary) along with Max Scherzer and trade deadline pickup Doug Fister while the Yanks counter with C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, and Freddie Garcia. Now you can really make the argument that the pitching is even but because of how dominant Verlander has been this year I honestly have to give the slight edge to Detroit. In terms of bullpen wow is this going to be a heck of a matchup as both teams possess 2 of the best closers in the game today - Jose Valverde of Detroit who has converted 51 straight saves vs. the greatest closer of all time and new all time saves leader Mariano Rivera. If the Yanks are going to win this series they need to get to Verlander at least once and if they do then I like their chances but if Verlander continues his Cy Young run then this series will end just like it did back when these 2 met back in the 2006 ALDS with Detroit on top. Should be a great great series but at the end of the day I have to go with my gut and go with the Yanks to win this series in at least 4 maybe 5 games because of their big 3 bats, solid starting pitching, and they have the greatest closer of all time!
Winners: New York Yankees (3 games to 1)
Well friends that concludes the 1st part of this 2011 MLB Playoff Preview thanks so much for reading along and be sure to join me right back here tomorrow night when I preview the National League Division Series! So until then you know the routine everybody! Thumbs up talk to you later! YEAH!!! Bye for now!
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