MLB Playoff Picture 2010- World Series

by Mike Trovato


After six months of play, just two teams remain in the quest for greatness. The Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants were favored by no one coming into the playoffs, but both needed just six games to knock off the 2009 pennant winners from their respective leagues.

Tonight, the Rangers and Giants will play Game One of the 2010 World Series, and within the next ten days, only one will be left standing as Champions of Major League Baseball.

Texas Rangers

Texas handled the reigning World Champion New York Yankees on all fronts, out-pitching and outhitting the most productive lineup in baseball during the regular season. Slugging center fielder and MVP candidate Josh Hamilton hit .350 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, belting 4 homers and 7 RBI against New York to take the ALCS MVP honors. The Rangers clubbed 14 doubles against Yankee pitching, en route to a collective .304 average for the ALCS. A stellar performance by Colby Lewis the Game 6 clinched Texas' first World Series berth in franchise history. Lewis shut the Yankees down, whiffing 7 and allowing just 7 base runners through 8 innings of one-run ball. More importantly, the Rangers advanced without needing to throw Cliff Lee in a Game 7, meaning Ron Washington will throw his ace in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.

San Francisco Giants

In the NLCS, San Francisco's offense held its own against a Philadelphia Phillies rotation that was expected to silence the Giants' bats. Instead, it was the Phillies bats that were held in check by Giants pitching, managing just 3 home runs and a mere .214 team average against the young arms of Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner. Though the Giants didn't hit all that well either, they received a boost from one of their mid-season acquisitions, outfielder Cody Ross. Ross accounted for 3 of the Giants' 4 home runs in the series, but two of them powered San Francisco past Phils ace Roy Halladay in Game 1. The 4-3 victory became the trademark for Bochy's squad, as three of their four victories came in one-run fashion, sealed up by flame-throwing closer Brian Wilson.

Analysis

Obviously, the way teams match up are a huge factor in how interesting a series can be. Some series are a matchup of two dominant offensive teams, other times a pitcher's duel seems eminent. But the stark contrasts in the way these two teams match up is what makes the 2010 World Series even more intriguing.

The Giants have not faced an offense as potent as that of the Texas Rangers all season long, playoffs or otherwise. Texas produced 787 runs and hit .276 as a team during the season, and is averaging nearly 5.4 runs per game this postseason, including 38 runs against the Yankees. On the other hand, the Rangers have not faced a pitching staff as dominant as the Giants pitching staff. San Francisco owned a 3.36 team ERA, the lowest in baseball this season, and only the Atlanta Braves had a lower ERA than San Francisco's 2.37 throughout the postseason.

Offensively, the Giants have remained consistent with their regular season output, and actually tallied a lower team average than they did during the season. For that reason, San Francisco may have less to fall back on, as their pitching is by far their main strength. Yet, that was the case in the NLCS, against a better pitching staff than Texas, yet they still managed a win against Roy Halladay.

What may prove to be a deciding factor is the Rangers pitching. Texas has overachieved against what is supposed to be "elite" competition during the playoffs, with ERAs and opponent batting averages significantly lower than what they were during the course of the regular season. The Rangers bullpen was strong as well, as their relievers held a solid 2.25 ERA against the Yankees. That said, Texas may be able to rely on their pitching to get them through, should their hitting falter. Another interesting foot note is that Texas will have to field Vladimir Guerrero while playing by National League rules at AT&T Park. Interestingly enough, the pitching matchups may offset the defensive drop-off, as the Rangers will throw Lee and C.J. Wilson, two lefties, in Games 1 and 2.

Prediction

Texas by far has the better hitting and is much better on the base paths than the Giants are. Although, so were the Giants' last opponents, and things turned out alright for them so far. The starters between Lee and Lincecum's projected starts can go either way, though I do like Cain, but it can't be ignored that the Giants have not faced a well-rested Cliff Lee. Despite his regular season numbers, Lee is a bona fide force on the mound in playoff baseball, with a career 7-0 postseason record and 1.26 ERA, including two World Series victories in 2009. It would be very difficult to see the Giants having much success should they have to face Lee three times, in the event of a Game 7, though I don't think it will go that far.

Rangers defeat Giants, 4 games to 2

Mets revive road trip, get some help from Yankees

by Mike Trovato

The New York Mets' roster looks quite different than it did at the before the team flew across the country to begin its ten game road trip. The loss of Alex Cora and Carlos Delgado earlier in the week has left Jerry Manuel without a utility man and void of a true first baseman on the roster. Jose Reyes' tendinitis in his knee has kept him out of the lineup for the better part of New York's 10-game road trip, leaving the Mets no choice but to call up Ramon Martinez to fill in at short. And with the likes of Daniel Murphy and Jeremy Reed filling in at first, the Mets may be in the market for a versatile bat, as speculation has arisen including names like Aubrey Huff and Mark DeRosa.

Following the week long span that entailed a 70 inning home run drought, and a four game losing streak with only six total runs scored, a five error game and Ryan Church's third base mishap, the makeshift Mets lineup has rebounded nicely, taking the first two games from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Yes, on a road trip full of injuries, there have been a lot of things this past week that I'm sure the New York Mets would like to forget, but Saturday night's 3-2 victory, their second in a row over the Sox is certainly not one of them.

What looked at first to have the makings of a high-scoring affair turned out to be a pitcher's duel, pitting Josh Beckett against Mike Pelfrey. After falling behind 2-1 in the first inning, Pelfrey settled down nicely, striking out a season-high six batters over 7 impressive innings of work. Beckett was even better, going 8 strong while striking out five. The only run he allowed was unearned, coming on a Gary Sheffield single plating Carlos Beltran after Beckett's pickoff attempt got away from Kevin Youkillis, allowing Beltran to advance to second.

The real fireworks came in the 9th inning, the Mets down to their last out. With Sheffield on first, Omir Santos came to the plate, one career home run under his belt. Santos belted the first pitch he saw, a 97 mile-an-hour fastball from Boston's shutdown closer Jonathan Papelbon, off the top of the Green Monster. Originally ruled a double, the replay showed that the ball hit above the wall, and the umpires reversed the call, awarding Santos the dramatic (albeit delayed) go-ahead home run.

Santos' second career dinger proved to be a game-winner as the Mets defense, which had been absent during the week in Los Angeles, arrived in style. With no outs and Youkillis on first, David Wright made a spectacular grab on a Jason Bay shot down the third base line. Luis Castillo saved the wide throw on the back end of a game-saving defensive gem. Two batters later, Ramon Martinez redeemed himself for the four errors he committed since being called up from Triple-A. Martinez made a diving snag of a sharp grounder by Mike Lowell deep in the hole at short, one-hopping the throw to Daniel Murphy, who made the pick at first for the final out of the game to solidify J.J. Putz' second save as a Met.

It is a huge plus to see J.J. Putz get the job done, after he had received criticism for his comments about being unable to get his adrenaline up in his transition from Mariners closer to Mets setup man. More important than Saturday's save for Putz is the bigger picture for New York as a team. Before the game, $36 million closer Francisco Rodriguez was taken to the hospital after collapsing with severe back pain. The extent of the injury is unknown, but from the sound of it, K-Rod may be the latest Met on the shelf.

The win is the Mets' fifth on the current road trip, ensuring at least a .500 stint away from home. Given the rash of injuries, the Mets can be thankful to have come away with a winning record on the trip, especially considering that Boston and Los Angeles are owners of the best home records in their respective leagues. Despite having slipped into second place, the Mets can return to Citi Field back in first when all is said and done. For that to happen, it will take a win on Sunday, and ironically, some help from the Yankees.

It is a rare occasion to find myself rooting for the Yankees, something I haven't done since the 2000 Subway Series, but this weekend has been one of those rare occasions. Normally it would bother me to see Melky Cabrera celebrate for any reason, but I found great satisfaction watching him drive in Robinson Cano for the winning run off of Brad Lidge Saturday. Likewise, I'm sure Yankee fans took great pleasure in seeing a furious Jonathan Papelbon jumping out of the dugout as the Mets solidified Pap's first loss of '09.

If you're like me, a Mets fan with many friends who are Yankee fans, enjoy these moments while they last. We need to help each other out, because the reality that with a little help from the Braves against Toronto, the Mets and Yankees have the ability to put each other in first place on Sunday with victories over the other's rivals. Kudos to whoever is responsible for scheduling Mets/Red Sox alongside Phillies/Yankees; it has really added another level of excitement to this weekend's set of interleague games.