Tag Archives: Detroit Tigers

Giants take 3-0 World Series lead

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There is surely no stopping them now.

The San Francisco Giants are on the brink of another World Series title after winning Game Three 2-0 and opening up a 3-0 series lead over the Detroit Tigers.

We all know the facts: the only team to ever recover from such a deficit was the 2004 Boston Red Sox in their incredible ALCS victory over the New York Yankees.

It could happen again, but few would be prepared to put much money on it.

So while the Tigers lick their wounds and aim to salvage some pride by avoiding a sweep, the Giants can start thinking about another World Series win to go alongside their 2010 triumph.

The two Giants rosters are not exactly the same, but there are plenty of similarities between the two seasons.  Both times San Francisco entered the Fall Classic as underdogs. Even after they defeated the Texas Rangers 4-1 in 2010 they were still seen as the second-best team in the series by some, with the congratulations being accompanied by questions over whether their batting lineup was the worst ever to win the title.

The phrase ‘damning with faint praise’ comes to my mind.

After the Giants took a messy 2010 Game One 11-7 (the two teams combining for 6 errors), Matt Cain dominated the potent Rangers’ lineup in Game Two, twirling 7.2 brilliant scoreless innings. Texas made the series interesting with a 4-2 victory in Game Three but then Madison Bumgarner (8IP, 0R, 3H) and Tim Lincecum (8IP, 1ER, 3H, 10K) gave them no chance in the next two games and that was that.

The Giants’ exceptional pitching took them to the World Series title in 2010 and, after shutting out the Tigers in Games Two and Three, it’s looking like the story will repeat itself in 2012.

Baseball fans have debated for years, and likely always will, about the relative merits of a strong pitching staff against a strong batting lineup.

The old line of pitching being key in the postseason is a bit simplistic as good pitching is an important element in any situation and one thing is absolute: it doesn’t matter how brilliant your pitching is, if you don’t score you can’t win a game of baseball. What is true is that the better your pitching, the less times you are likely to have to score to beat your opponent.

Good pitching will not always win you a game, but more often than not it will keep you in it. Perhaps that is where playoff pitching gains more prominence, that it’s more important to stay within striking distance in the short-series postseason format where you are liable to come up against another very good team.

Or maybe it’s just the nature of this time of year and the different sense of perspective it lends. Lose three games consecutively in the regular season and the whys and wherefores aren’t analysed so deeply because you can make those games back up in your next series.

Lose the first three games in a World Series and it’s desperation time. All you can do is hope to win one game to stay alive for another day.

The Tigers have to believe that they can stage the ultimate comeback to give themselves any chance. Their Game Four starter Max Scherzer has pitched outstandingly well in recent weeks and you just know that Justin Verlander is desperate to atone for his Game One outing with a typically dominating display in Game Five. Avoid the sweep with Game Four, take the series back to San Francisco with Game Five and suddenly that one win the Giants need to secure the World Series title doesn’t seem quite the foregone conclusion that it does today.

The Giants’ answer to all of that is Matt Cain. We know he can be perfect on the mound and whilst he hasn’t been at his very best so far this postseason, there isn’t anyone they would rather have taking the ball in this situation.

Their pitching did the job in 2010 and it may well do it again two years on.

San Fran take Giant leap towards World Series glory

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Just a few days ago I was predicting that the Detroit Tigers would win the 2012 World Series in six games over the San Francisco Giants.

I was far from the only person tipping the Tigers either. The Old English D dominated the prediction table on ESPN.com, for example.

Detroit earned the tag of being favourites by sweeping the New York Yankees in the ALCS and they’ve got the talent to get back into the series despite trailing 0-2 thanks to the Giants’ 2-0 Game Two victory in the early hours of Friday morning.

However if they are going to live up to my ‘win in six’ prediction they’ll have to take the next four games and that’s going to be a big ask against a surging Giants team.

The lively home crowd at AT&T Park filed away from the stadium knowing that while there’s still plenty of work to do, their team has put themselves in a great position to capture a second World Series in three years.

They have benefitted from some good breaks in winning the first two games of the series – the fortunate bounce off the third-base bag in Game One and Gregor Blanco’s bunt that stayed fair in Game Two, in particular – but the old saying that you make your own luck comes to mind.

Pablo Sandoval wasted little time banishing his personal disappointments of the 2010 World Series with his three homer onslaught in Game One. It didn’t matter where the pitch was, the Kung Fu Panda was more than happy to stick the ball over the fence.

Then in Game Two Madison Bumgarner rebounded from his disappointing recent form by making some adjustments to his pitching mechanics with pitching coach Dave Righetti. The hard work paid off in spectacular style as the Giants’ starter reeled off seven scoreless innings, limiting the Tigers to just two hits and two walks whilst striking out eight.

Bumgarner’s sole mistake came at the start of the second inning when a pitch got away from him and hit Prince Fielder.  It looked like it would prove costly when the next batter Delmon Young stroked a double down the left-field line; however the Tigers’ third-base coach Gene Lamont decided to be aggressive and waved Fielder around third, only for the hefty slugger to be thrown out at home plate.

In fairness to Lamont, Fielder was only just out thanks to some excellent defensive work by Marco Scutaro – acting as the emergency cut-off man when the ball sailed over shortstop Brandon Crawford – and catcher Buster Posey. The gamble nearly paid off, but there’s no doubt that it was a major gamble considering Fielder’s lack of speed and the fact that the Tigers would have still been set for a good inning with runners on second and third and no outs recorded.

Baseball Prospectus’ Run Expectancy matrix shows that in 2012 teams scored 1.9 runs (let’s call it 2 for the sake of practicality) from that position compared to 0.65 with one out and a runner on second.  Jhonny Peralta and Avisail Garcia were retired in order by Bumgarner to end the inning with no damage done and he may have escaped even if Fielder hadn’t been waved around third, but the Tigers definitely made things harder for themselves in that spot.

It could be, and indeed has been, argued that Jim Leyland also made things harder in the seventh inning when he decided not to bring the infield in and effectively conceded a run on a groundball to turn a double play.

Josh Chetwynd on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra’s commentary expressed his reservations about the strategic move and – rightfully, as it turned out – the dangers of conceding a run late on in a tight game. In the context of the game, on balance I would have to agree with Josh rather than Jim because the potential impact of allowing that run was very significant.

However, it could have gone wrong either way Leyland had played it, as bringing the infield in increases the odds of a groundball getting through to the outfield and potentially leading to a big inning. It was a ‘Second Guess City’ situation; whichever way you play it as the manager you’ll be second guessed if the result doesn’t go your way.

My thought at the time was that Leyland was concerned with the way his offence was misfiring on the night and that giving up more than one run would be fatal.  That was confirmed by the Tigers’ manager after the game when he stated, “we felt like we played double-play depth because we felt like we couldn’t give them two runs … to be honest with you, we were absolutely thrilled to come out of that inning with one run”.

The logic behind the call is easily understandable. Perhaps the question then is whether that logic showed Leyland being pragmatic (we’re not swinging the bats well and this will at least give us another chance) or negative (if I bring the infield in we might not get the out and then we’ll be in real trouble etc).

However you want to view it, the moment is gone now and the Tigers head back to Detroit hoping that the Comerica Field crowd can inspire a comeback from their 0-2 series hole.

As a neutral I’m hoping that the Tigers can make a series of it. Meanwhile, Giants fans will be more than happy if the season only has two more games to run.

World Series 2012 preview

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The Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants will play Game One of the 108th MLB World Series in the early hours of Thursday morning, U.K. time.

The two teams have made the World Series 30 times combined, emerging victorious on 10 occasions (6 times for the Giants – 5 of which from their period as the New York Giants – and 4 for the Tigers).

However, this will be the first time they have faced each other in the Fall Classic.

The schedule

All of the games in the best-of-seven series are scheduled to begin at just gone eight in the evening Eastern Time. While we in Britain move out of British Summer Time this coming Sunday, Daylight Time in the States continues for one extra week. That means the first three games of the series will begin at just gone 1 a.m. U.K. time, with the remaining games starting one hour earlier.

Game One – 24th Oct. (1 a.m. on Thursday 25th U.K. time)
Game Two – 25th Oct. (1 a.m. on Friday 26th)

Game Three – 27th Oct. (1 a.m. on Sunday 28th)
Game Four – 28th Oct. (00.05 on Monday 29th)
Game Five – 29th Oct. (00.05. on Tuesday 30th)*

Game Six – 31st Oct. (00.05 on Thursday 1st)*
Game Seven – 1st Oct. (00.05 on Friday 2nd)*

* if necessary.

The coverage

BBC Radio will once again be providing their own dedicated commentary for the World Series on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra, available on DAB Radio, Digital TV and online (for U.K. residents). Simon Brotherton and Josh Chetwynd will be in the booth at AT&T Park and Comerica Field.

TV coverage is provided by ESPN America, most likely showing the MLB International feed with Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe on commentary duties. MLB.TV subscribers will be able to watch or listen to the games live and on-demand online, with the TV feed being FOX’s U.S. National TV coverage presented by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

The series match-up

The San Francisco Giants are returning to the World Series two years after winning the championship for the first time since crossing coasts and moving to the Bay Area in 1958.

They have been the comeback kings of the 2012 playoffs, recovering from an 0-2 deficit against the Cincinnati Reds to win the best-of-five series 3-2 and then fighting back from a 1-3 deficit in the Championship Series to win their best-of-seven match-up with the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3.

In fact, the Giants’ resiliency has been a feature of their season. They lost star closer Brian Wilson to season-ending elbow surgery early on and then suffered the indignity of seeing their run-scoring catalyst Melky Cabrera’s season – and reputation – go up in smoke following a failed drugs test in mid-August.

However, Cabrera did provide his teammates with a parting gift. His MVP-winning performance in the All-Star Game helped the National League to an 8-0 victory and home-field advantage in the World Series. Games One and Two, as well as Six and Seven if required, will take place in San Francisco as a result.

The Giants’ opponents have also had to battle against some bad luck on their way to the Fall Classic. Detroit’s World Series hopes appeared to have taken a significant blow during the offseason when Victor Martinez suffered a season-ending knee injury and created a sizeable hole in their batting lineup.

The Tigers’ 83 year old owner, Mike Illitch, responded by getting his cheque book out and spending $214m on a nine-year contract for free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. The signing of Fielder alongside the presence of established stars Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander made the Tigers overwhelming favourites to win the AL Central division and whilst the Chicago White Sox nearly scuppered their plan, Detroit proved too strong in the end and made their way into the postseason. A hard-fought 3-2 series win over a spirited Oakland A’s team was followed by a 4-0 thumping of the New York Yankees to book a place in the World Series early, leaving the team kicking their heels while the National League series continued.

The layoff has raised some concerns that the Tigers might come into the World Series slightly off the boil. Such fears are understandable considering what happened in 2006, the last time Detroit made it to the Fall Classic. As has occurred in 2012, the Tigers quickly swept their way through the Championship Series (against the A’s) that year whilst the National League Championship Series went the full seven games. The Cardinals ultimately got the better of the New York Mets 4-3 in that series and went on to beat the Tigers in five games.

Could history repeat itself with the battle-hardened Giants jumping on the too-well-rested Tigers this time around?

It could – there’s no doubt about that – but putting too much store in the Tigers being undercooked would be a mistake. Detroit are a well-run club and have played several practice games to keep their players ticking over. More importantly, they earned the ability due to the rest period to align their starting rotation exactly as they wanted and that should more than counter any possible rustiness.

Justin Verlander, the ace of aces, will be Detroit’s starting pitcher in Game One, with Barry Zito likely to take the ball for the Giants. That’s a notable pitching match-up advantage for the Tigers and, upon consideration of the two rosters, on paper it seems fair to peg them as favourites to win an entertaining series in six games.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the 2012 postseason so far it’s that trying to predict how things will turn out is liable to leave you looking foolish.

It’s best instead simply to sit back and enjoy watching or listening to the drama unfold.

A 3-0 hole

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For once this season, expecting the unexpected didn’t quite work out.

On paper, the New York Yankees’ struggling offence didn’t stand a chance against Justin Verlander in Game Three of the ALCS. The Tigers were a certainty to win, you could bet your house on it.

This, of course, meant that the Tigers winning was exactly what was not going to happen. Logic flew out of the window a long time ago this MLB season and that should have given the Yankees hope that the odds would be made a mockery of once more.

It would have also made Tigers fans nervous when Phil Coke relieved Verlander during the bottom of the ninth inning and subsequently allowed two baserunners with Detroit holding a slender 2-1 lead. The next chapter in this crazy season was about to be written: the Yankees were going to get back into the series by winning a game that Justin Verlander had started.

But then, all of a sudden, logic returned with a vengeance.

New York had their chance in Game One when they rallied for four runs off Jose Valverde in the bottom of the ninth to take that game into extra innings. They had dealt their opponent a devastating blow but were not able to land the knockout shot and the Tigers recovered to win the game 6-4. Joe Girardi’s team deserve credit for the fight back; however they let a great chance slip by once they had done all the hard work and they may not get another.

Girardi tried to kickstart his offence in Game Three by drafting in Brett Gardener, who has been out injured for the vast majority of the season, and leaving both Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher on the bench. It didn’t work and now they find themselves in a deep hole.

CC Sabathia will take the mound for the Yankees in Game Four (a 2 a.m. start on Thursday morning U.K. time) and a combination of their ace lefty and personal pride gives them a good chance of avoiding the 4-0 series sweep. Recovering all the way from an 0-3 deficit, with an offence in turmoil, seems beyond them.

Could the Yankees suddenly find some form out of nowhere and reel off four straight wins, the final one coming against Verlander in a Game Seven? Probably not, although maybe the rule of expecting the unexpected might come back into play at least one more time this season.

Scorecards in action: Rays-Tigers 10 April 2012

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We were treated to an excellent game involving two talented pitchers on Tuesday, as Matt Moore and Rick Porcello took the mound in an early evening start UK time.

The potential for an enthralling pitching duel had me reaching for a blank scorecard for the first time in the 2012 regular season. I took the opportunity to use a new scorecard I have created and the completed result can be downloaded below.

[ilink url=”https://baseballgb.co.uk/wp-content/20120410RaysTigers.pdf” style=”download”]10 April 2012 – Rays vs Tigers Completed Scorecard[/ilink]

 

What doesn’t show up on the scanned version is the crease in the middle of the A4 page. The scorecard was in part designed specifically with my Tesco cheapo A5-sized clipboard in mind. Folding the A4 page in half makes for a compact A5 sheet that I then simply flip over every half-inning. All of the usual stat boxes for every player, and for the game itself, are printed on the other side of the piece of paper (not scanned here) so that I can maximize the space for the in-game details on one side, with the post-game stat work being done on the other.

The idea of the scorecard is to track in two separate spaces the plate appearance outcome (top half of the square) and how each batter’s time on the bases ended (bottom half). Additional info can be added, such as any RBIs and stolen bases if desired, but otherwise it is as simple as that.

It’s basically a way to record the key points without tracking every detail as to how a batter made their way around the bases.

It’s an approach to take into account my occasional laziness when it comes to keeping score of MLB games. Scoring at this level still helps me to appreciate the action more and gives me the details I like to look over once a game is complete, either for my own interest or to inform a piece of writing.

It does not provide a complete record of the game and I suspect that not tracking runners all the way could make it more likely for me to miss something at first glance, but with MLB games that doesn’t really bother me. If I miss one of two runners getting home immediately when it happens, the replays and score at the top of the screen will set me right.  Additionally, while even with this scorecard you can normally still go over it and work out what happened and when, if I do want to check a minor point that I haven’t specifically recorded then it will only be a few clicks away on MLB.com Gameday.

So it’s not something you would want to use to keep score of a British baseball game, where you get one look at the play and everyone’s relying on you to know if one run scored or if it was two, but it works in the MLB context.

The game itself

One of the benefits of keeping score is that it allows you to pick up on trends during the game and afterwards. In this case, my attention was grabbed by the pattern at the bottom of the Tigers’ batting lineup, and at the very top.

As noted previously here, Austin Jackson has been tagged as an important part of the Tigers’ offence this season, playing a vital role in getting on base in front of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Jackson is often referred to as the lead-off hitter, I used it myself in that aforementioned story, but in reality that label doesn’t mean much as batting first in the lineup only guarantees you’ll lead off the first inning.

In the case of this game, Jackson didn’t lead off another inning after the first, whereas the eight-spot hitter Gerald Laird led off on three occasions (third, fifth and seventh innings).

The scorecard neatly shows that Laird and the number nine hitter Worth both made outs to start those innings against Matt Moore, bringing Austin Jackson up to the plate with two outs.  He kept the inning alive on the first two occasions by working a walk and the third occasion his presence made Moore change his plan of attack.

I was watching the game on ESPN America and they were showing the Fox Sports Detroit presentation, with Mario Impemba and Rod Allen on commentary. The Tigers play more day-games during the working week than most teams (only the Cubs and Rays played more in 2011). Consequently, like many UK-based baseball fans, I listen to Impemba and Allen’s commentary fairly regularly and they are one of my favourite broadcasting duos, mixing knowledge and analysis with a welcome dash of humour and fun.

The pair were really on the spot in this contest.

When Jackson came up to the plate in the seventh inning, Allen was noting how the veteran Jose Molina had been guiding Moore through the game and that the pitcher hadn’t shook off a sign from his catcher throughout. As the words were coming out of Allen’s mouth, Moore was staring in at Molina and shaking off the sign so that he could get back to his fastball.  As I was saying to myself ‘Moore just shook him off’, Jackson was driving the pitch into the seats for a home run and Allen picked up on it straight away.

There followed a scary moment at the top of the eighth inning when Miguel Cabrera shook his left hand after taking a swing and continued to grimace a couple of swings later. As Impemba and Allen were expressing their concern, Cabrera struck the ball into right-centre field, narrowly failing to clear the fence and ending up with a double instead.  Allen declared that Cabrera’s ability to wait for his pitch and then to drive it with authority the other way was why he’s the best hitter in baseball. It’s hard to disagree with that.

Watching Cabrera hit is always a treat because he’s a master at his craft. Matt Moore lived up to the hype with a strong season debut and Rick Porcello’s performance bodes well for a very good season from him as well (the movement he gets on his 88-92 MPH two-seamer is ridiculous).

Add watching those talents with the pleasure of filling in a scorecard and it made for a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a Tuesday evening.

Fielder and Detroit agree on a nine-year contract worth $214m

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I closed down my Twitter app for half an hour to get on with some writing on Tuesday evening. During that period news broke that free agent Prince Fielder has reached agreement with the Detroit Tigers on a nine-year contract worth $214m

Like most baseball fans, my reaction was along the lines of ‘BLOODY HELL!!!’.

The full repercussions of this news, still to be officially confirmed at time of writing, will be considered over the days and weeks ahead as we look forward to Spring Training.  However, here are some of my initial thoughts.

The money involved

We’ll probably need to wait several days to get the full ins and outs of the actual contractual terms, but if we start from the position of a nine-year commitment worth $214m, that makes for a total sum of just a shade over £137m. It would put Fielder in line to be earning £292,870 per week, every week for the next nine years. Yes, the drinks – and the pub in which they are served – are on Prince.

Boras does it again

Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras, has shown once again that people really shouldn’t doubt his ability to get his clients a huge payday.  Despite all of the big market teams who were never likely to be in the running for Fielder’s services, Boras still managed to secure the fourth largest deal in MLB history.  Continue reading →

Championship Series action and off-the-field drama

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CovHlWEThere’s no doubt that the off-the-field goings on in Boston (and potentially in Chicago) are capturing the headlines so far on Wednesday. 

However, Game Three of the NLCS and Game Four of the ALCS should get everyone back talking about the action on the field, for a while at least.

Game Four of the ALCS begins at 21.19 BST on Wednesday evening with Nat Coombs and Josh Chetwynd covering all the talking points live on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra from 21.00.  The Texas Rangers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 over the Detroit Tigers.

Doug Fister pitched brilliantly for Detroit to get them back into the series on Tuesday; however the Tigers know that it was only the first stage in their recovery from losing the first two games of the series in Texas.

Game Three was a ‘must win’ contest for them and you could say the same about Wednesday’s Game Four as well.  A victory for the Rangers would give them a 3-1 series lead and leave the Tigers needing to win all three remaining games.  That can be done, but it will be a very tough proposition against this Texas team. Game Five of the ALCS on Thursday is another early start, also beginning at 21.19 BST. 

As for the NLCS, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals won a game apiece from the first two at the former’s Miller Park.  The Cardinals  – more specifically first baseman Albert Pujols – put a thumping on the Brewers in Game Two after dropping the series opener. 

The series now relocates to St. Louis and Game Three brings together two quality starting pitchers in Yovani Gallardo and Chris Carpenter.  First pitch is set for 01.05 a.m. in the early hours of Thursday, while Game Four starts at the same time in the early hours of Friday.

All of the above games are being shown live on ESPN America and are available live and on demand to ‘international’ MLB.TV subscribers at MLB.com.

Big turnover in Boston

The Red Sox revelations are extraordinary.  After parting company with Manager Terry Francona, it looks like General Manager Theo Epstein is on the verge of leaving the organization as well.  Epstein is reportedly close to becoming the Chicago Cubs’ new General Manager following the dismissal of Jim Hendry in the latter stages of the regular season. 

If he does make the move, it will be the second half of an incredible ending to what has been a successful era in Red Sox history.  Few, if any, would have predicted prior to the 2011 season that Francona and Epstein would be gone by the end of the year.  Everything looked like being in place for yet another World Series appearance. 

Of course, those expectations are in part a reason for the strength of the reaction to the team’s miserable September collapse, but it just goes to show how quickly a position of strength can suddenly crumble.  Francona agreed to a separation and quickly found his way to the FOX announcers’ booth, while the frustration at Fenway and the challenge of the Cubs appears to have tempted Epstein to have a crack at reversing another curse.

With the Chicago White Sox surprisingly recruiting former player Robin Ventura as their new manager and the Los Angeles Angels overhauling their Front Office and scouting department, there are plenty of changes taking place in the American League for teams that didn’t reach their goal of making it to the playoffs.

Championship Series schedule

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CovHlWEThe rain did its best to interupt Game One of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), but it was the Texas Rangers’ bullpen that took control after the starting pitchers departed and helped their team to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. 

There was a considerable debate in Spring Training about how best to use Neftali Feliz: whether he should remain in his closer role or go back to being a starting pitcher, as he was in the Minor Leagues.  

A quality starting pitcher is always more valuable to a team than a closer, not least because you can expect to get around three times the amount of innings from them over the course of a season. 

The Rangers feel that Feliz does have the pitching arsenal to make it as a frontline starter, but they had other starting pitching options this year and decided that using him as a closer made the most sense. 

That may change over the coming offseason. If they lose C.J. Wilson as a free agent, it might make more sense to replace him in the rotation with Feliz and then spend some of the money that would have gone towards a starting pitcher on one of the premium closers that will hit the market as free agents (principally Heath Bell, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez and Ryan Madson).

That’s a decision for another day.  Right now, the Rangers can enjoy bringing Feliz into a 3-2 game in the ninth inning and watching him strike out the side, blowing a 101 MPH fastball past Austin Jackson in the process.

Many in the UK (including myself) will be catching up on Feliz’s flame-throwing fireworks this morning rather than having watched it live.  The game started in the early hours of Sunday morning and after 1 hour 50 minutes were taken up by the two rain delays, the game didn’t finish until just gone 6 a.m. UK time.

Looking at the current schedule for the coming week – up to and including the potential Game Five in each series – we will be able to enjoy three of the contests live at a more convenient time.  That starts with tonight’s NLCS opener between the Cardinals and Brewers and continues with Games Four and Five (if needed) of the ALCS on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The schedule is stated below with start times in BST and the later games (i.e. games that actually start in the early hours of the following day from our perspective) listed in italics.  Continue reading →

Dramatic Division Series leaves four teams still standing

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MlbHlSqThe Division Series followed a breathless end to the regular season, but we had no reason to fear that it would be a let-down in comparison.

Fans of the teams involved would probably prefer a simple sequence of series sweeps; however the rest of us crave a postseason full of drama and excitement, series that go the distance, see-sawing and providing a rollercoaster of emotions, games being decided by the narrowest of margins.

It’s a lot to ask for and we hold onto these expectations knowing that they can’t always be met.  Yet sometimes we get lucky and if the Division Series round is anything to go by, we could be in for a classic postseason.

Consider the following:

  • Three of the four series went to a Game Five decider
  • All four deciding games were won by a single run
  • The two favourites were knocked out

Phillies and Yankees fans won’t appreciate the final item on the list, but it has made the rest of the postseason all the more unpredictable for the rest of us.

Philadelphia came into the year with an impressive track record and a starting rotation that had many debating whether it was one of the greatest of all time. The Yankees are the Yankees.  For once, they didn’t make a big splash over the offseason, but their sky-high payroll was testament to the star power and experience they possess.

Somewhere amid the annual burying of A-Rod, there was an air of disdain among some New York commentators about the Tigers’ cheek: how dare Detroit defeat the mighty Yankees.  Similarly, you could look at the Cardinals and question what right they have to deny the Phillies the World Series berth that their roster and regular season performance indicated they deserved.

Well, that’s playoff baseball for you.  It’s cruel when you’re on the losing side of it; glorious when you’re not.  Continue reading →

Teams on the brink on Tuesday

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MlbHlSqThe Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers will all have the chance to secure a spot in the Championship Series round of the 2011 MLB postseason today.

The Rangers and Tigers both won yesterday to lead their respective series 2-1, while the Brewers take a 2-0 lead to Arizona.  The Phillies and Cardinals are tied at 1-1 as they play Game Three of their series today.

Rangers-Rays (Rangers lead the series 2-1)

The Rangers get the first crack at making it through with an early start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.  Game Four of their series begins at 19.07 BST and will be broadcast live on ESPN America. 

Texas used a four-run seventh inning to win Game Three 4-3, leaving rookie Desmond Jennings’ two homers for the Rays counting for nothing.  The Rays will look to another rookie to help them stave off elimination in Game Four. 

Jeremy Hellickson is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honours following his impressive season in the Rays’ starting rotation and he will aim to continue that positive form in his first postseason start. The Rangers will counter with Matt Harrison, who made a brief appearance out of the bullpen in Game One.

If the Rangers are able to win tonight, they will be celebrating in a stadium that makes for an odd setting on TV. It always seems strange when the TV broadcast shows pictures of glorious sunny Florida weather, only to then cut to the dour in-door surroundings of the domed arena that is Tropicana Field. 

Normally I would be glad to miss the scenes of October sunshine that seem to poke fun at us Brits gathering in the impending gloom of nights drawing in and tumbling temperatures.  However, our recent glorious weather has meant jealousy could have been avoided this year. 

I’m sure the Rays’ players, fans and owners would love to be playing outdoors, but an open-air ballpark for the Rays doesn’t appear to be on the cards in the near future. Sadly it looks like they will be the ones suffering from the green-eyed monster as the Miami Marlins move into their new home next year.  Continue reading →