The Hunt for Baseball’s Most Coveted Prize
October is fast approaching and every MLB fan realizes the significance of the upcoming stretch run; that is, the final week of the regular season. In the American League, the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers have all but wrapped up their respective divisions while in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds have done so as well.
The American League East division crown is now up for grabs as the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are separated by a mere .5 game.
In the National League West, the San Francisco Giants hold a slim .5 game margin over the San Diego Padres while the Colorado Rockies are lurking in the distance at 3.5 games behind S.F.
The Atlanta Braves maintain the N.L. Wild Card lead for now, but the Padres and Rockies are within striking distance, fighting for their postseason lives.
(Note: The San Francisco Giants visit the Colorado Rockies this weekend for a HUGE 3-game series.)
Now, if the postseason were to begin today, the American League matchups would look like this:
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins
While the National League divisional series’ would shape up as follows:
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Yankees and Rangers split the season series at four games apiece; however the Rangers have some question marks entering this matchup. Josh Hamilton, the team’s leader in batting average (.361) and home runs (31), is in the process of rehabbing a pair of broken ribs and it is unclear when or IF he will be available, though he will get the next 7-10 days to continue to rehab and rest for the postseason.
On the other side, the Yankees have some injury issues of their own as Mark Teixeira is nursing a broken toe and a sore right palm while continuing to play down the stretch. On a more positive note, the Yanks will welcome back Any Pettitte from a long stint on the disabled list after he began the season 11-2 with a 2.81 ERA.
Tampa Bay will end the season against less than stellar competition and may steal the division from the Yankees, however, as it stands today, the Rays would travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins.
The season series gives a slight edge to the Rays at five games to three, nevertheless the Twins have the leagues best record and will continue to ride Jim Thome’s bat into the divisional round (Thome averages a homerun every 10.8 at-bats). The Rays have depended upon a dominant rotation all season long and AL Cy Young candidate David Price (18-6, 2.84 ERA) will look to build upon his regular season success and previous postseason performance.
The Philadelphia Phillies are the hottest team in baseball, having won 10 in a row and have gone 44-15 since July 21 when they trailed Atlanta in the division by 7 games. The acquisition of Roy Oswalt has paid dividends as he has gone 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA in 11 starts with the team.
In a rotation that already features Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, the Phillies appear poised for a deep run in October. The San Francisco Giants will try to neutralize a potent Phillies offense with a superb pitching rotation of their own, which holds the leagues best ERA (3.39).
Two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum heads a pitching staff that has held opponents to three runs or less in their last 17 games, a MLB record since 1920. The Giants haven’t been to the postseason since 2003 but they may become a legitimate threat in the National League if their offense can ride rookie sensation Buster Posey and keep pace with the teams dominant pitching.
This will be Bobby Cox’s final year as the manager of the Atlanta Braves, ending an illustrious managerial career, and the Braves would like nothing more than to send their beloved manager off with a diamond-studded ring.
Like the Giants, the Braves depend on their fourth-ranked pitching staff (3.57 ERA) to keep the team afloat while a mediocre offense may or may not show up. The Reds are just the opposite. Riding NL MVP candidate Joey Votto (.323 batting average, 35 HR’s, 106 RBI), the leagues fourth ranked offense looks to take manager Dusty Baker to the Promised Land. In the postseason for the first time since 2000, the Reds will not waste this rare opportunity.
For tickets to these games or travel packages to see your favorite team, be sure to visit Premier Global Sports. Click here for more information.
One Comments on “The Hunt for Baseball’s Most Coveted Prize”
-
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Robert Tuchman, TDC. TDC said: The Hunt for Baseball's Most Coveted Prize - 100SportingEvents: This will be Bobby Cox's final year as the manager... http://bit.ly/bgilix [...]
