Friday, October 12, 2007
ALCS Predictions
Good Morning! Last night the NLCS got underway with the Rockies taking a 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Tonight the ALCS will get underway with Game 1. As I did for the NL yesterday, here is my look at the ALCS. Be sure to leave your predictions in the Comments.
Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians
| Red Sox |
Score |
Indians | Thoughts | |
| C | Jason Varitek | << | Victor Martinez | Most overrated player in baseball versus best hitting catcher in baseball. Not a close matchup. |
| 1B | Kevin Youklis | > | Ryan Garko | A Greek God, or just a really good hitter. |
| 2B | Dustin Pedroia | = | Asdrubal Cabrera | Cabrera has been excellent since his call up. Pedroia has been great since May. |
| 3B | Mike Lowell | > | Casey Blake | Lowell had an excellent year and is as good as it gets at the hot corner. If Casey Blake is your #8 or #9 hitter, you've got a pretty good lineup! |
| SS | Julio Lugo | < | Jhonny Peralta | Lugo is far better than he played in 2007, but Peralta has a lot of pop. |
| LF | Manny Ramirez | >> | Kenny Lofton | Lofton is "clutch" in the playoffs, right? Well, Manny is just Manny. |
| CF | Coco Crisp | << | Grady Sizemore | Grady or Coco? I like Coco as much as anyone, but if you think he's better than Grady, you're coocoo. |
| RF | JD Drew/Bobby Kielty | = | Franklin Gutierrez | Drew's got all the money, but no more ability. |
| DH | David Ortiz | = | Travis Hafner | Two top DHs in the game, and the ND Native doesn't have to take a back seat to anyone. |
| G1 SP | Josh Beckett | = | CC Sabathia | Two of the Top pitchers in the AL. I'd vote CC #1 for the Cy, and Beckett somewhere lower, maybe #2. |
| G2 SP | Curt Schilling | < | Fausto Carmona | Schilling was good in ALDS, but Fausto's been great all year. |
| G3 SP | Daisuke Matsuzaka | = | Jake Westbrook | Dice-K struggled the last couple of months, and although Westbrook is not dominant, he can pitch. |
| G4 SP | Tim Wakefield | = | Paul Byrd | I wonder whose fastball would be faster? Not sure. |
| G5 SP | Josh Beckett | = | CC Sabathia | |
| Curt Schilling | < | Fausto Carmona | ||
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | = | Jake Westbrook | ||
| Bullpen | Okajima/Gagne/Timlin | < | Betancourt/Perez | The Cleveland Duo is as good as anyone. |
| Closer | Jonathan Papelbon | >> | Joe Borowski | Borowski is horrible. Papelbon is really good. |
|
6 |
CLE by 2 |
8 |
Summary/Prediction
Boston has a great team, and they are certainly the odds on favorite to win the series. But hey, this Cleveland team is really good, and every perceived advantage that the Red Sox are thought to have, Cleveland can match them. So this should be an excellent series, and my prediction will be Indians in seven games. Am I crazy? My non-scientific method tells me that I may not be all that crazy. What do you think?
Any thoughts or arguments? Please e-mail me or Comment below!!
|