Eight teams remain in race for the World Series: LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, St Louis Cardinals, Oakland A's, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. We look at their chances
With the Wild Card games settled, we look at the match-ups in the best-of-five American and National League Divisional Series. The winners will head to the Championship series and from there hope to go to the World Series.
NLDS: Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves
LA Dodgers
For two hours last Friday the Dodgers were National League Champions, that is until whoever runs their Facebook page dialed back that honor to NL West champs. So the expectations in Los Angeles are clear, at least in their social media department. Of course, that little miscue preceded the news that Matt Kemp would miss the playoffs with lingering ankle issues, and that Andre Ethier, who also has a bad ankle, could be relegated to pinch-hitting duty, if he even makes the roster at all. Manager Don Mattingly seems confident with the likes of Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford still at his disposal, but fact is, removing those bats from the lineup changes the way Braves pitchers will approach Dodger hitters, which is much more aggressively. Even if Kemp was on the sidelines when LA ran up a 42-8 mid-season run, now the stuff of legend, the Dodgers now have to face an extremely tough Braves pitching staff with a thinner roster offensively. Now, you never apologise for wins in MLB or in any league, but during that torrid stretch of 50 games, just 16 were against winning teams. Yes, they were 13-3 in those contests, but naturally, the team has slowed down somewhat since then, and now they have to face a team that beat them in five out of seven this season. Is that a problem with these injury issues? Well, thanks to Clayton Kershaw and his ridiculously low 1.83 ERA, along with his sidekick Zack Grienke, not to mention Hyun-jin Ryu, Ricky Nolasco and closer-with-cutter Kenley Jansen, no, not really - even if the offense is making headlines now, LA are still very much about the pitching, which is likely enough to get them to the NLCS.
Atlanta Braves
There is a reason that the Braves have gotten little respect around baseball despite winning 96 games and cruising to a National League East title by 10 games. Over the years, the Braves have made a habit of not fulfilling postseason expectations. So now that there really aren't any, one can imagine Atlanta finding their way back to the World Series for the first time since 1999. That would be really something, because in the run up to the NLDS, much the focus was on where their all-star soon-to-be-free-agent catcher Brian McCann will land after the season, and whether or not manager Fredi Gonzalez would bench his two $13m players - B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla (Uggla was left off the roster), that finished the season with batting averages under .200. Still, this has been the case all season long, and that didn't keep the Braves bats from thriving thanks to their home run power. No NL team has hit more long balls than Atlanta - four players have over 20, including Justin Upton, B.J.'s brother who has 27. If you're a Braves fan concerned about Dodger pitching, it's because your team isn't great at getting on base, and that could be a problem against a stingy LA staff. The Braves have a few arms of their own, even without Tim Hudson who is out for the season with ankle surgery. Mike Minor, Julio Teheran and Kris Medlen, the NL pitcher of September who will face Kershaw in Game One, are a trio of above average starters, and the bullpen, anchored by Craig Kimbrel is absolutely air tight. Overall, it adds up to the lowest staff ERA in baseball, and you would never know it with all the talk of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Grienke. If the Dodgers are to sneak by Atlanta, it won't come easy.
Prediction: Dodgers in five
NLDS: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates
There's no need to question whether or not these Pirates can perform in the playoffs - we've already seen what they can do, which judging by their trouncing of Cincinnati in the Wild Card game, is an awful lot. Pittsburgh seem intent on making the most of their first postseason appearance since 1992, and already have the look of a team ripe for a run. Can they beat St Louis? Well, there's no doubt that's a tougher order than ousting the Reds, but many in Pittsburgh point to their beating the Redbirds in four of five games at PNC Park back in July as a point when Bucs fans started to believe this season was more about October and less about finishing .500. However, if we're going down that road, it must be mentioned that the Cards laid down the law in early September, outscoring Pittsburgh 26-10 in a series sweep that put St Louis ahead in the NL Central standings for good.
Overall, the Bucs won the season series 10-9 despite scoring two fewer runs. In 2013, Pittsburgh pitchers allowed 4.57 runs per game to the Cards, and 3.42 runs a game to everyone else - certainly cause for concern. However, their questionable offense actually scored more against St Louis' arms, scoring 4.47 runs per game compared with what they did against everyone else - 3.83 runs per game. In short, this series will be a war, and if you're in the great pitching beats great hitting camp, then the Pirates, with Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke, A.J. Burnett, who faces Adam Wainwright in Game One, and that shark tank of a bullpen, are your team here, especially when you consider the Redbirds bats were somewhat cooler in the second half.
St Louis Cardinals
Considering the success the Cardinals have had recently, two World Series titles, three National League pennants and seven playoff appearances in ten seasons, you may be surprised to learn that their 97 victories represents their highest win total since 2005. And while their bats get most of the publicity, St Louis pitchers have allowed the fewest amount of runs since, wait for it...1985! So, losing starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, again, another starter in Jaime Garcia and closer Jason Motte to major injuries doesn't seem to make any difference, and that's just the way it works in St Louis. Nearly everything this franchise does turns to gold, and that includes rookie pitchers such as Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha making major contributions, not to mention what lefty Kevin Siegrist has done out of the pen - a 0.45 ERA - the lowest by a lefty reliever with at least 35 innings pitched in the majors since 1876, according to STATS LLC. And don't forget about the reclamation of former Brewers closer John Axford who has bounced back in 13 appearances since landing in St Louis. Ace Adam Wainwright continues to lead the way and will make the first start against Pittsburgh. If there is an Achilles heel it's the closer position - Edward Mujica fell off the table in September and Trevor Rosenthal has been working the ninth inning as of late - I'm sure this will work out just fine, as usual. Their bats led the league in runs despite finishing third to last in the NL in home runs - instead, they double you to death, racking up over 300 two-baggers this season, Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter in particular. The downside? First baseman Allen Craig, amongst the most productive Cards is out for at least the NLDS with a sprained foot. Not to worry, Matt Adams of the baseball factory that is Western Pennsylvania is there to save the day, and he's hit the third most homers for St Louis this season...off the bench. So speaking of bench play, that will no doubt be affected now that Adams is playing at first - score that as a negative for their offense, that and how poorly they hit left handed pitching. Can they handle the Pirates? Definitely, but this one is way too close to call, but I guess I have no choice....
Prediction: Pirates in five
ALDS: Oakland Athletics vs Detroit Tigers
Oakland A's
We know about the Oakland A's economic miracle, their smelly, turd ridden stadium they've been trying to escape for years. We know that few fans go to the games, but that the ones that do provide as colorful atmosphere as you'll ever see. We've seen the film, read the book and lauded the General Manager, Billy Beane, for years. It's time to win something.
This will be the seventh time a Beane club has made it to the postseason, and they've made it to the American League Championship Series exactly once. If their GM Beane says the postseason "is a crapshoot" perhaps this is lucky seven for a team with exactly one household name in their lineup, and that's only because he shares it with a breakfast cereal (that's probably not fair to Yoenis Cespedes). If you don't know MVP candidate Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Jed Lowrie and the Oakland A's bats then I'd advise you to look here and check out one of the most dynamic groups in the game - what they lack in recognizable names they more than make up for in production. Their pitching is the best in the American League, somewhat hilariously led by a 40-year-old 18 game winner, Bartolo Colon and their Aussie closer, Grant Balfour, who has blown three saves all season. The A's won 94 games last season and 96 games this year. They are not a cute little overachieving joke, rather, they're serious contenders for a World Series title - if they beat Detroit, which is completely possible, even if they don't steal signs, no one should act surprised.
Detroit Tigers
Despite having their best team since winning their last World Series title in 1984, the Detroit Tigers will begin the playoffs on the road for the third consecutive year, heading out to Oakland where they fell to an 0-2 ALDS deficit a season ago before ousting the A's. Jim Leyland convinced Justin Verlander to be the second starter but he probably needed to drop one more slot - Anibal Sanchez has been the 1b to 1a, 21-game winner Max Scherzer this season, but Verlander is Verlander, and if he pitches like Verlander it won't matter.
But don't worry about their starters, or their offense, which with the best hitter on the planet in Miguel Cabrera (look what he does when he is hurt) making life cushy for Prince Fielder and everyone else is just fine. No, it's the bullpen that needs to get their act together, fast, after posting a 4.98 ERA in September. That won't work in October, and Drew Smyly and closer Joaquin Benoit need help. Bruce Rondon could fill that need - he's lowered his ERA more than two runs since late July.
Perhaps the most interesting Tigers storyline coming into the postseason is the Jhonny Peralta experiment - back from a 50-game PED suspension, the shortstop, who has been unseated by Jose Iglesias, has been playing in left field - October isn't usually the best time for experiments, just one reason for the forecasting below.
Prediction: Athletics in five
ALDS: Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays
On Wednesday, the Rays beat the Indians 4-0 in the American League Wild Card game, and to some, that will represent an enormous disappointment. Who besides Rays and Red Sox fans didn't want to see Terry Francona in the visitors dugout at Fenway Park, primed to stick it to his old bosses, ready to crush the dreams of ungrateful souls in dark offices. That's a big fat juicy steak right there, that's what we wanted. Instead, we get to watch one of the best-run franchises in the history of baseball take on the Sox in the ALDS. Whatever. I wanted Tito In Boston.
That's negative though right? Look at the bright side you say? Fine. Cleveland are out, and that means that some of us baseball fans out there can finally breathe a bit easier. Remember - the Tribe weren't just a team, they were a formula. "See what you can do with a few middle of the road free agents," said GM's around the league. "We don't need the big star, we can just load up on Michael Bourns and Nick Swishers, kick the crap out of the bottom feeders, catch a few breaks and make the playoffs - I love it." You could hear the murmurs of a new "Indians" way, in places like Queens, New York. A filthy, dangerous ideology, ready to set some sheepish organizations back years, maybe even decades. We can only hope Cleveland's loss represents a setback to such thinking.
And so the Rays, a band of barnstormers who have bounced around the country cheating death reach their latest stop - Boston, where Tampa will finally be able to lose a game and not go home (having won two consecutive one-off playoffs). The champagne infused Rays are on a roll, and they are in their sixth city in nine days, basically because of four players - David Price, Alex Cobb, Evan Longoria and Delmon Young, who hit his ninth postseason home run on Wednesday in Cleveland. That's nice and all, but that's not nearly enough, and so there is absolutely no way this Tampa team can begin to compete with a Boston powerhouse that beat them in seven out of 12 contests this season. I mean, they had four hits against Cleveland's Danny Salazar - what are they going to get off Clay Buchholz?
Boston Red Sox
How much damage was done to the relationship between the Red Sox organization and their fans during the September of 2011 nightmare and the horror show 93 loss season of 2012? Enough that the Nation have been slow to embrace a team of scrappy rough and tumble hard working bearded ballplayers that won 97 games and crushed opponents with their relentless offense. Attendance dropped for the first time in several seasons, businesses with tickets had trouble giving them away and perhaps most incredibly, on September 18th, the Sox sold tickets for $1 to fans wearing a beard - real or painted. It wasn't long ago that the team was boasting of a controversial sell-out streak, one that continued despite empty seats last season, one of many controversies that dogged an ownership that brought them Bobby Valentine and mega doses of ill will. No wonder their brass has spent most of the season out of sight as they worked behind the scenes to repair their bond with Red Sox Nation.
Expect the bus to fill up fast now that the playoffs are here, now that the best team in the American League look set to take center stage in their bid for a third World Series title in nine seasons. Yes, a season after nearly everything went wrong in Boston, nearly everything has gone right. John Farrell was the manager everybody wanted, David Ortiz was an elite power threat at age 37, Jacoby Ellsbury played over 130 games, Jarrod Saltalamacchia enjoyed a breakout season, new acquisitions, Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino were productive inside a revamped lineup. The pitching staff trimmed their ERA by just under a run from the 2012 team, Game One starter Jon Lester turned that trick by over a run. John Lackey revamped his game and his reputation, Clay Buchholz pitched like an ace and is back from injury in time for the playoffs, while the bullpen recovered from losing three stalwarts as Koji Uehara became an elite closer with a WHIP of 0.56 - that is not a misprint.
That's a whole lot of good right there, and throw in the fact that they're as tight-knit group with tremendous team chemistry and you've got quite a ballclub. Weaknesses? Well, after Buchholz, they don't really have a shutdown starter like a Zack Greinke for example (few in the AL do this season), but they are deep, and with their offense, I'm not sure it really matters. They should handle any of those pesky wild card teams, and match-up well against Detroit or Oakland.
Prediction: Red Sox in four
MLB playoffs schedule
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Los Angeles Dodgers
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David Lengel
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