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Carpenter vs. Wilson in World Series Game 1

Glenn Andrew — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:00:46 +0000

Game 1 of the 2011 World Series is on Wednesday, and it should give us a good indication as to what type of series this will be. If you saw this match-up based on what MLB experts had predicted prior to the start of the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise. However, knowing that the St Louis Cardinals were 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the Wildcard position back in late August makes this match-up that much more intriguing.

The Texas Rangers offense is widely recognized as one of the best in baseball, but not too many baseball fans realize that the Cards finished with the top offense in the National League. Along with Albert Pujols, NLCS MVP David Freese and Matt Holliday have lifted this St Louis team past the 2 best teams in the NL with red-hot bats. This trio has combined for 47 hits, 7 homeruns and 29 runs batted in through two post season series, and will be needed if the Cards are to take down the Rangers in the World Series.

After a sluggish start to the ALCS the Rangers finally broke through with a 7 run performance in game 4 followed by 15 in the series winning game 6. There no questioning that this lineup is loaded with talent, but they may have a tougher time taking on a Cardinals pitching staff that they haven’t seen. Despite putting up some big number over the last few games against Detroit, the Texas line has been average this post-season. Had it not been for Nelson Cruz bailing them out several times with dramatic late inning home runs, the Rangers may have found themselves heading home. Things will not get easier for this team as they face one of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball in game 1.

Chris Carpenter finished the regular season with a 10-2 record over the second half, and has continued his dominance in the playoffs. A phenomenal performance over the Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Halladay in game 5 of the NLDS lifted the Cards into the Championship series against Milwaukee. Carpenter is 2-0 this post-season, and will look to make it 3-0 as he takes on the Rangers in game 1 at home.

Baseball handicappers must be under the assumption that the Rangers will have their bats ready to go Wednesday as they are listed as small underdogs against the Cardinals and their “Ace”. Tune in Wednesday as the World Series kicks off with a battle between C.J. Wilson and Chris Carpenter in what should be a pitcher’s duel.

Cardinals look to Garcia to take Series lead

Glenn Andrew — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:00:50 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers evened the National League Championship Series with a hard fought win on Thursday. After starting the series off with a convincing win over the St Louis Cardinals in game 1, the Brewers offense has gone flat scoring just 3 runs in both game 3 and 4. Fortunately for the Brew Crew they finally have a pitching staff that can keep pace with their offense, and have been slated as heavy favorites to win the National League Championship by MLB handicappers.

It will be up to game 1 winner Zack Greinke to steal another road win Friday night so that the Brewers can head home with a 3-2 series lead. There’s a good chance that Greinke will need to be far more dominant this time around as Jaime Garcia looks to rebound from a miserable game 1 performance. Garcia has been the Cardinals most consistent starting pitcher all season long, and has come up huge in several key situations. Game 5 is generally referred to as a swing game as the winner more often than not ends up winning the series. It’s obvious that this game is as close to a “must win” situation for the Cardinals as it can get, because going back to Milwaukee down 3 games to 2 would be a nearly impossible scenario to overcome.

The Brewers finished the 2011 regular season with the best home record in baseball. Being 33 games over .500 at home is not something that comes easily. Milwaukee is one of the most fan friendly environments in baseball, and it’s clear that this team feeds off of their fans energy. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder haven’t disappointed this post-season as they have continued where they left off in the regular season. Both of them hit a homerun off of Garcia in game 1 as they sent him packing after just 4 inning of work, but things will be more difficult this time around.

As we have learned in the past it’s hard to beat a solid starter twice in one series. Chris Carpenter proved that in game 5 of the N.L.D.S., and Garcia will do his best to prove that point again Friday night. Tune in as the Cardinals look to get a 3-2 series edge over baseball experts choice to win the National League pennant.

Carpenter will need another Playoff Gem against Milwaukee

Tony Bravo — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:00:34 +0000

The last time Chris Carpenter took the mound he delivered one of the most memorable performances in St Louis Cardinals history. St Louis was down 2 games to 1 against the 102 win Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L.C.S., but much like the regular season St Louis found a way to survive.

MLB handicappers had the Cardinals listed as heavy favorites to win the National League Central, but Milwaukee’s pitching staff stepped up their game with their new acquisitions and ran away with the division. All of the Cardinals hopes of getting back to the playoffs seemed out of reach as they found themselves 8.5 games back of the red-hot Atlanta Braves for the wildcard spot at the start of September. However, an 18 win September coupled with an absolute meltdown by the Braves left St Louis in the wildcard spot by 1 game. This team has no quite, and that has been evident all post-season as well.

Losing game 1 wasn’t a surprise for anyone including baseball experts that had the Brewers listed as heavy favorites. The loss did not phase the Cards one bit as they bounced back with a 17 hit, 12 run performance in game 2 that send them heading home with a 1-1 split. On top of regaining home field advantage in this best of 7 N.L. Championship Series, St Louis is sending what may be the hottest pitcher in baseball to the mound. Carpenter went 10-2 over the second half of the season, and threw a 3 hit complete game in game 5 against the Phillies to send the Cards into the next round. The combination of Weeks, Braun and Fielder makes it tough for any pitcher to navigate this Milwaukee line-up without allowing runs, but Carpenter has shown that he’s capable of shutting down any line-up. The Brewers had just 8 more runs than Philly over the regular season, but they hit for a higher average, and showed far more power.

This will be a far tougher challenge for Carpenter, but if the Cardinals offense can continue to put up runs at the rate their going, he will get more than enough run support to secure another post-season win. Tune in Wednesday as Carpenter faces off against Yovani Gallardo and the Milwaukee Brewers in game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Tigers look to Fister for much needed Win

Glenn Andrew — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:00:27 +0000

After a shocking win over the New York Yankees in the A.L.D.S., the Detroit Tigers find themselves going against a team that is far more potent both on the mound and at the plate. The Texas Rangers had a rough time over the second half of the season, and actually allowed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to get within a couple games of the American League West lead before they eventually pulled away to win the division by 10 games. Baseball experts predicted that the Rangers would have more than enough offense to run away with their division, but no one knew how well their pitching staff would be this year.

Texas doesn’t have what could be considered a shut-down starter, but they do have a rotation full of pitchers that can eat innings and keep games close for their talented bullpen. A perfect example of how solid their staff is would be to look at Monday’s game against Detroit. Derek Holland allowed 3 runs in just 2 2/3 innings, but the 5 pitchers that were handed the ball after him went 8 1/3 without giving up a run. While the Rangers may own a 2-0 lead in the A.L. Championship Series, they should not get too comfortable as the Tigers have displayed a hard-nosed mentality this post-season that will have them fighting to the final out.

Detroit’s offense hasn’t received the attention that they deserve. They finished just behind the Rangers in runs scored this season, and were 3rd in team bating average at .277. Miguel Cabrera quietly finished the year with a .344 batting average, 30 homeruns and 105 runs batted in. He is commonly referred to as the most dangerous hitter in baseball by MLB experts, and has the ability to change the outcome of a game with one swing of the bat. Losing Magglio Ordonez will hurt this team, but they’ve managed to score runs all season long without his help. Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila present some serious challenges for opposing pitchers, and will need to step up big to give the Tigers any chance of overcoming a 2-0 hole.

With Justin Verlander taking a loss in game 1 it will be up to the rest of Detroit’s starting rotation to hold down the fort until he gets another shot at the Rangers in game 4. Scherzer did his part Monday night as he held the potent Rangers line-up to just 3 runs over 6 innings in what turned out to be a 7-3 loss. Detroit has a better than average chance to get a game back on Tuesday when they send mid-season acquisition Doug Fister to the mound. Fister has been a spark plug for the Tigers in the second half. He went 8-1 for Detroit with a ridiculous 1.79 earned run average in 10 starts, and has been the key to their late season surge.

Tune in Tuesday as the Detroit Tigers look to get back into this A.L. Championship Series with a win behind their offense and a strong pitching performance from Doug Fister.

Jackson and Cardinals look to Force a Game 5

Glenn Andrew — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:00:56 +0000

With the Tampa Bay Rays eliminated from the playoffs in a 4-3 loss to Texas Tuesday all eyes will be on the St Louis Cardinals to see if one of the “miracle” teams can make their way to the divisional series. Along with Tampa the Cardinals fought back from an 8+ game deficit in September to win the wildcard spot. Despite coming into the playoffs red-hit the Cardinals were listed as huge underdogs to the Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L.C.S by baseball handicappers. Now that they are down 2-1 to Philly the Cards will leave it up to newly acquired Edwin Jackson to keep them alive and force a game 5.

Jackson was picked up form the Chicago White Sox in late July after going 7-7 with a 3.92 earned run average. Thus far this pick up has been favorable for St Louis as Jackson has been fairly consistent on the mound allowing 3 runs or less in 10 of his 12 starts. Although Jackson was permanent fixture in the Cardinals rotation over the second half of the season he never had the opportunity to face the Phillies, but will get his chance Wednesday night in the N.L.D.S.

MLB experts have listed Philadelphia as -115 favorites for Wednesday’s game. Roy Oswalt has been a top tiered pitcher in the N.L for nearly a decade, but at 34 he’s clearly on the down side of his career. He often gets lost in the shuffle at Philly as Hamels, Lee and Halladay rightfully get the majority of the attention. However, Oswalt still has plenty left in the tank as he has continued to maintain an ERA below 4.00. His 9-10 record was a product of a handful of poor outings and not getting run support from a Phillies batting order that finished well below expectations offensively. He will be ready to battle Wednesday in a game that could send Philadelphia to the League Championship Series against the winner of the Diamondbacks/ Brewers match-up.

Tune in tonight as Jackson and the Cardinals fight to force a game 5 against the Phillies with a win against Oswalt.

Collmenter looks to extend Series against Brewers

Glenn Andrew — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:00:59 +0000

The 2011 season comes down to one game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will send Josh Collmenter to the mound in a do or die situation as they are down 2-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Divisional Series. There are many baseball experts that feel like the Brewers have the potential to win the World Series this season, but Arizona was one of the hottest teams in the baseball coming into this match-up, and felt like they had a legitimate chance to make some noise this post-season.

Milwaukee has had more than enough offense to contend over the last few seasons with Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder leading the way. However, this is the first time that they have had a pitching staff with the capability to hold their own. Yovani Gallardo and Zach Grienke have done their job as they have guided Milwaukee to wins in each of the first 2 games of this series, and now it’s Shaun Marcum’s turn to finish off the D-Backs in what could be a clean sweep.

Marcum has gone under-the-radar for most of the season as all the talk regarding the Brewers has centered around their talented offense. With a 13-7 record and a solid 3.64 earned run average, you could say that Marcum has been the most consistent pitcher for Milwaukee this year. MLB handicappers apparently know what Marcum brings to the table as the Brewers are listed as -112 road favorites in a potential closeout game.

Arizona doesn’t get the credit they deserve. They actually finished ahead of the Brewers in terms of runs scored in 2011, but you wouldn’t know it with all of the hype surrounding Milwaukee. For all intensive purposes this series looks like a done deal, but if Arizona can pull out a win in game 3 they will put a ton of pressure on the Brewers to close out the series. Tune in Tuesday as Collmenter looks to extend the series with a tremendous pitching performance.

Verlander vs. Sabathia in First Round Pitcher’s Duel

Glenn Andrew — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:00:08 +0000

As amazing as the last day of the regular season was it pales in comparison to post-season baseball. There is no other sport in which so much emphasis is put on each and every pitch and at bat. No team has proved that notion more over the last 15 years than the New York Yankees. New York obviously didn’t put too much effort into their final series with Tampa Bay as they sat the majority of their ever day players as well as their starting rotation. For the Yankees, nothing but a World Series win in acceptable.

Letting the Tampa Bay Rays battle back from a 7-0 deficit in the 7th inning in the final game of the year is the least of the Yanks worries as they have to get prepared to face the most dominate pitcher in baseball this season Friday night. Had the situation been different a loss of that magnitude could put a “black cloud” over a team heading into the playoffs, but New York had virtually none of their regulars on the field and had already thrown in the towel for the remainder of the regular season once they clinched the best record in the American League. New York will find out if allowing the Rays to get into the playoff was a mistake in the ALCS, but right now they need to worry about a Detroit Tigers team that baseball experts have as a potential surprise team this playoff season.

The Tigers have gone 46-23 since the All-Star break, and are getting it done both at the plate and on the mound. Miguel Cabrera finished the year with the highest batting average in the A.L., and led his team in every major offensive category. Cabrera has been overlooked for most of the year as Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury have stolen the limelight with the incredible numbers they’ve put up. However, Carbrera finished just 3 hits short of 200, had 30 homeruns, 105 runs batted in, 111 runs scored, 48 doubles and an OPS of 1.033. It will be hard for MLB experts not to put him on the short list of potential MVP candidates this season.

Cabrera hasn’t done it alone. Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila have all been instrumental in the Tigers success following a slow start that saw them 7.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians on May 23rd. Detroit has the type of offense that doesn’t look to manufacture runs through sacrifice bunts and base-stealing, but with good old fashioned hitting. The Tigers offense finished the regular season 4th in runs scored and 3rd in batting average, but the key to this team’s success in the post-season boils down to how their starters (other than Verlander) perform under pressure.

The same sentiment can be said for the Yankees after Sabathia. While Freddie Garcia and Bartolo Colon have exceeded expectations in New York, they haven’t shown the consistency from game to game to be trusted in the playoffs. Ivan Nova has been tremendous for the Yankees as he finished the year with a 16-4 record and an ERA under 4.00, but his youth and inexperience with come through under the microscope that is the MLB post-season. New York will do their best to give their pitchers some breathing room early in games with the most explosive offense in baseball, but things could go sideways if their bats get cold.

Tune in Friday as the 2011 MLB Playoffs begin with a match-up of two great offenses and the top 2 pitchers in the American League.

Cardinals and Braves Fight for N.L. Wildcard

Tony Bravo — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:00:17 +0000

What a fitting end to the season for the St Louis Cardinals then to have their best pitcher on the mound. Chris Carpenter is one of the reasons why the Cardinals are fighting for the wildcard spot when most MLB experts had them finishing at the top of the N.L. Central prior to the start of the season. It wasn’t too long ago that the Atlanta Braves looked to have a strangle hold on the wildcard position as they were doing their best to keep pace with the Philadelphia Phillies at the top of the N.L. East, but they have faltered down the stretch and are now tied for the final playoff spot.

Carpenter may be the hottest pitcher in the National league over the second half of the season. He was a miserable 1-7 after an interleague loss to the Kansas City Royals on June 17th. Since allowing 10 hits and 4 earned runs to K.C. Carpenter has gone 9-2 and has lowered his earned run average by nearly a full run. He will need to continue his dominance against a feisty Houston Astros team that has been hammering the ball lately. If not for a blown opportunity in extra innings on Monday the Cards would actually have a one game lead heading into the last game of the year.

The Braves have been locked in a tough battle at home with the best team in all of baseball, and have been unable to get past the Phillies talented pitching staff. Wednesday’s match-up will be their best opportunity to avoid getting swept as they take on Joe Blanton. Blanton missed nearly 4 months of the season with inflammation in the elbow, but looks to be back at 100 percent as he hit 92 MPH on the radar gun in his last start against the Mets.

Atlanta will counter Blanton with Tim Hudson in what should be a pitcher’s duel. Hudson left Friday’s game against the Nationals after the 5th inning as he was feeling pain in his neck. He has been cleared to go Wednesday, and will need to be at his best to give the reeling Braves a chance at either tying or winning the N.L. wildcard race.

Both Atlanta and St Louis are deserving candidates for the wildcard, but only 1 will have the opportunity to make a splash in the playoffs. Tune in Wednesday as the season concludes with the N.L. wildcard race coming right down to the wire!

Rays fighting hard for Wildcard Berth

Glenn Andrew — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:00:06 +0000

With just 2 games remaining in the regular season the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox are tied for the lead in the American League wildcard race. Boston wasn’t only predicted to get to the playoffs, but were expected to win the A.L. East by the majority of baseball experts. An absolute meltdown over the last month of the season coupled with the Rays playing their best ball of the year has taken this playoff race right down to the wire.

At no point in the season did the Rays look as though they were going to apply any pressure to New York or Boston, but a 29-17 record since August 7th has propelled the Rays into a deadlock with the Sox. Pitching has been the difference maker for Tampa Bay over the second half of the season as David Price, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson and James Shields have all improved their performance since the All-Star break.

Offense hasn’t been a problem over the last few years for the Rays, but they have struggled at times this season to get their bats going. Not having All-Star Evan Longoria in the line-up for nearly 30 games at the beginning of the year put the Rays in a whole, but they never gave up despite being over 10 games back in the wildcard race in late July. Batting average hasn’t been the Rays strong suit this season however they have been able to drive in runs with power. Casey Kotchman is the only Ray batting over .300 on the season, but they have 7 players with double-digit homeruns and 9 with 15 or more doubles.

Normally ending their season against the Yankees would be detrimental to the Rays chances at getting the final playoff spot, but the Bombers are already locked into the top spot in the American League and are more interested at lining up their pitching for the post-season. Tampa took game 1 of this series as they took advantage of New York’s reliever turned starter Hector Noesi with a 3 run 3rd inning. Tune in Tuesday as Hellickson battles Bartolo Colon as Tampa looks to hold off Boston for the A.L. Wildcard.

Rays and Red Sox fight for A.L. Wildcard

Tony Bravo — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:00:40 +0000

Who would’ve ever thought that the American League wildcard race would come down to the wire. It wasn’t but a 3 weeks ago that the Boston Red Sox were 31 games over .500 and a full 9 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the wildcard lead. However, a 5-16 record since August 31st has put Boston in a situation in which they will need to fight until the end to hold off the hard charging Rays from overtaking them for the final playoff position. At no point in this season did MLB handicappers think that Tampa Bay had any chance of contending in the A.L. East or the wildcard as they never seemed to get any consistency from their pitching staff. That has all changed over since the beginning of August.

Tampa’s “Ace” David Price had an earned run average close to 4.00 on August 7th, but has lowered it by more than a half a run since, and has gone 3-2 in the process. Price hasn’t been at the top of his game this season, but his record isn’t a good representation of how well he’s thrown the ball. Along with Price, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson have stepped up their game in the second half, and have put the Rays in a position to surpass the Sox.

Two very important series in the American league begin on Friday as the New York Yankees host the reeling Red Sox while the Rays try to gain ground against the high powered Toronto offense. Fortunately for Boston they will not have to face C.C. Sabathia during their 3 game set with the Yanks, but there’s no doubt that New York will be doing their best to sweep the series and send them home come playoff time. Jon Lester takes on Freddy Garcia in Friday’s match-up. At first glance this looks to be a huge mismatch in the Red Sox favor. However, Garcia has exceeded expectation of both baseball experts and New York’s front office and will make it tough for Boston to get to the finish line without a battle. Garcia’s 3.77 ERA is not indicative of how well he’s pitched this season. He has allowed 15 earned runs over his last 3 starts, and will need to perform well Friday night to give this Yankees team the confidence that he can be a contributor in the post-season.

This weekend may be loaded with college and NFL football action, but the wildcard race (for both leagues) in Major League Baseball will make for must-watch TV. Tune in Friday as the Rays and Red Sox battle to earn the right for the wildcard in the American League.