ALDS Preview and Predictions

Red Sox vs. Angels:

Head-to-Head: The Angels nudged the Red Sox in the regular season by 5 games to 4. LA took the AL West title 10 games up in first with a 97-65. Boston clinched the Wild Card pretty easy with a 95-67 record, 8 games up of the next-best contender. The Angels ended their regular season taking 7 of their last 10 games, while the Bo Sox lost 4 of 10.

On the Mound: Boston is sending Jon Lester to the mound for game 1, who went 15-8 with a 3.41 ERA and 225 strikeouts in the regular season. The Red Sox also have Josh Beckett (17-6, 3.86) and Clay Buchholz (7-4, 4.21 in 16 games) who are making a tough trio with Lester in the starting rotation. John Lackey gets the start in game 1 for the Angels. He finished 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA on the season. LA’s pitching staff may be a little less notable than Boston’s, but they do have closer Brian Fuentes who led the AL with 48 saves.

My pick: Angels: When it has mattered most at the end of the regular season, Boston just hasn’t seemed to come through. With the chance to still clinch the AL East, the Red Sox were swept by rival Yankees in New York and then also were swept at home by the Blue Jays. They did end the season with a 4 game sweep of the Indians, but sweeping a 65-97 ballclub who lost 25 of their last 27 games isn’t saying much. Boston needs to come out of their slump in order to take down the Angels, and I just don’t see that happening.


Twins vs. Yankees:

Head-to-Head: New York has taken all 7 games against Minnesota in the regular season. The Yankees ended with the best record in baseball and the only team with 100 wins with a record of 103-59. The Twins squeaked out an AL Central title by beating Detroit in the season’s 163rd regular season, playoff-tiebreaker game. They ended with 87 wins, 76 losses. Both teams finished the regular season well, taking 7 of their last 10 games.

On-the-Mound: The Yankees are starting AL tying win leader C.C. Sabathia in game 1. Sabathia went 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA. The rest of the rotation includes A.J. Burnett, who finished the season on a good streak, with final numbers of 13-9, 4.04.
Andy Pettitte will bring postseason experience and his 14-8 record, 4.16 ERA. And of course, closing legend Mariano Rivera will provide from the bullpen as he did all season with his 44 saves. The Twins will counteract with Brian Duensing in game 1. Duensing has started just 9 games in the regular season and finished with a 5-2 record and 3.64 ERA. Minnesota also has Scott Baker (15-9, 4.37) and Carl Pavano (14-12, 5.10) in their rotation, and big-time closer Joe Nathan, who was 2nd in the AL in saves with 47.

My pick: Yankees All bias aside, how could I not chose New York in this one? When talking about momentum, both teams have it; but the Yankees take the cake when considering everything else. Not only have the Twins lost to the Yankees every time this season, but they also have not won in Yankee Stadium (new or old) since July 4, 2007. Minnesota will be dragging in game 1 after the 12 inning dramatics last night with travel added on. Joe Mauer is a big help for the club as reigning MLB batting leader. However, Minnesota offense will need more help than that against a New York offense that includes Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (who just recently had a record 7 RBI in 1 inning). Not to mention guys up and down the line-up that can get hot and produce anytime. I don’t want to bank on a sweep, but I do think the Bronx Bombers will be a shoe-in to the ALCS.