MLB Playoffs
These are my prediction from three months ago. Not the best picks. 1/10
AL East- New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays NL East- Atlanta Braves Philadelphia Phillies
AL Central- Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins NL Central- St. Louis Cardinals Cincinnati Reds
AL West- Texas Rangers NL West- San Diego Padres San Fransisco Giants
AL Wild Card-Tampa Bay RaysNew York Yankees NL Wild Card- Philadelphia Phillies Atlanta Braves
AL Championship- Yankees over Rays Texas Rangers over New York Yankees
NL Championship- Braves over Cardinals San Fransisco Giants over Philadelphia Phillies
World Series- Yankees over Braves San Fransisco Giants vs. Texas Rangers
First Round
Texas vs. Tampa Bay
Texas won its first ever playoff series, behind notable star, Cliff Lee. Lee was dominant winning games one and decisive game five and only giving up one run to a Tampa team with the MLB’s best regular season record. Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Nelson Cruz were all productive at the plate. Also, pitcher C.J. Wilson, pitched a gem.
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
For the second consecutive postseason, the New York Yankees had little trouble advancing to the second round by beating the Minnesota Twins in three games. Minnesota hit the NY starters, but had absolutely no answers for the lineup featuring A-rod, Jeter, Texeria, and Granderson.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds were one of the major surprises of the MLB season. First baseman Joey Votto, will win NL MVP, hitting .324 with 113 RBI’s, but Votto and the Reds had no answer for Philadelphia’s pitching staff and Roy Halladay. Halladay pitched the first no-hitter in his postseason debut and the first since Don Larson’s perfect game in 1956 in game one. Game two was Roy Oswalt out dueling Cincinnati’s hitters and the game three sweep by Cole Hamels.
San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves
I was way too high on the Braves during the year. Jayson Haywerd had an amazing first year in the bigs, but needs to develop and mature before he can lead the Braves to the World Series. This series was the classic case of good pitching beating good hitting. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Freddy Sanchez were all fantastic and shut down Haywerd and the Braves offense.
