1. Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers
Rematch of last year’s division series where the Rangers walk away with the victory after a convincing 5-1 win in a decisive Game 5. Tampa Bay has the momentum, Joe Maddon might be Coach of the Year, and the team is entering the playoffs very confident after a miraculous end of the regular season. The pitching staff could give the Rays the edge on this series; however, even when pitchers have been crucial to advance in a playoff round in the past years -just remember how the San Francisco Giants won it all in 2010- I still believe Texas’ offense is one of the best in baseball and should prevail over the Rays pitching staff. Wilson, Ogando and Harrison should be providing quality starts and with the Rangers hot swinging bats, this team should be able to keep the game close against the Rays aces Shields and Price. Bear in mind, the Rangers have home field advantage here and should be playing with a lot motivation as defending AL champions. Look for a high scoring series. Tampa’s bats are hot and their skipper will be doing the right things to score runs in this series. This could be another 5 game series, where the offense will impact every game. That is why I’ll go with the Rangers in 5 games.
2. Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
With the Red Sox out of the picture in this postseason, Yankees fans might be thinking of another October parade in the Big Apple. Unfortunately this year New York is going to be an early upset in the playoffs. I see this series going the long way also, with Justin Verlander winning Games 1 and 5. Verlander, 24-5, 2.40 ERA and 250 SO in the regular season, has been by far the best pitcher this year and could have the chance to pitch twice at the game’s biggest stage, the Yankee Stadium. With such a big opportunity in his career and the way he has been pitching all year, I can’t expect any less than a spectacular performance by the ace against the all mighty Yankees. The Tigers have been playing great baseball and their remarkable record should spell trouble to any team. This might be the most interesting series in the divisional round. In terms of pitching matchups, I cannot see an edge in favor of either rotation. Yes, the Yankees are the best offense in baseball but Detroit has proved consistency throughout the season. Moreover, along Tampa Bay and Arizona, this squad has been one the hottest teams during the last month of the season. The Tigers will be a huge underdog in this series, which puts the pressure on the Yankees. Evidently, this is not the most obvious take, but the Tigers talent will prove this team is not in any way inferior to the Yankees. I admit, this is a tough one but I believe the Detroit Tigers will come on top at the end of this series.
Rematch of last year’s division series where the Rangers walk away with the victory after a convincing 5-1 win in a decisive Game 5. Tampa Bay has the momentum, Joe Maddon might be Coach of the Year, and the team is entering the playoffs very confident after a miraculous end of the regular season. The pitching staff could give the Rays the edge on this series; however, even when pitchers have been crucial to advance in a playoff round in the past years -just remember how the San Francisco Giants won it all in 2010- I still believe Texas’ offense is one of the best in baseball and should prevail over the Rays pitching staff. Wilson, Ogando and Harrison should be providing quality starts and with the Rangers hot swinging bats, this team should be able to keep the game close against the Rays aces Shields and Price. Bear in mind, the Rangers have home field advantage here and should be playing with a lot motivation as defending AL champions. Look for a high scoring series. Tampa’s bats are hot and their skipper will be doing the right things to score runs in this series. This could be another 5 game series, where the offense will impact every game. That is why I’ll go with the Rangers in 5 games.
2. Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
With the Red Sox out of the picture in this postseason, Yankees fans might be thinking of another October parade in the Big Apple. Unfortunately this year New York is going to be an early upset in the playoffs. I see this series going the long way also, with Justin Verlander winning Games 1 and 5. Verlander, 24-5, 2.40 ERA and 250 SO in the regular season, has been by far the best pitcher this year and could have the chance to pitch twice at the game’s biggest stage, the Yankee Stadium. With such a big opportunity in his career and the way he has been pitching all year, I can’t expect any less than a spectacular performance by the ace against the all mighty Yankees. The Tigers have been playing great baseball and their remarkable record should spell trouble to any team. This might be the most interesting series in the divisional round. In terms of pitching matchups, I cannot see an edge in favor of either rotation. Yes, the Yankees are the best offense in baseball but Detroit has proved consistency throughout the season. Moreover, along Tampa Bay and Arizona, this squad has been one the hottest teams during the last month of the season. The Tigers will be a huge underdog in this series, which puts the pressure on the Yankees. Evidently, this is not the most obvious take, but the Tigers talent will prove this team is not in any way inferior to the Yankees. I admit, this is a tough one but I believe the Detroit Tigers will come on top at the end of this series.
