Jeter Out for the Seaon and Valverde makes it interesting

I have said it before, the Tigers need to cut Valverde loose. He is just not cut out for being a closer. He makes too many mistakes and every time he comes into the game I feel like the opposition has a good chance at winning the game. Fister certainly showed up for this game, although he walked 4 batters, he only gave up 6 hits and pitched the way he needed to for his team to win, and he deserved to get the W. The Tigers earned this win and I think we will see more games like this out of this team, but hopefully with less excitement at the end from Valverde.
Now onto the big story of the game, Derek Jeters ankle. This is a huge blow to the Yankees already anemic looking offense. Jeter had been hitting about .360 during the postseason and solidified his place as possibly the best hitter ever in the playoffs after knocking out his 200th career postseason hit before he was injured. I already thought the Tigers were gong to win this series, but now it becomes even more apparent that they will be the team to come out on top unless the Yankees can rally around this and step up and make up for the loss of their captain. If they can do it, that alone will make them a difficult team to beat simply because of the emotion involved in their game. But lets remember they still have to face Justin Verlander probably twice, Fister twice, and Scherzer twice. That is quite the uphill battle to face without the best player in postseason history.

Nationals choke and the Yankees squeeze out a tight one.

So as it turned out I was wrong about when the Nationals inexperience would come up and bite them. It is not very often that you see an epic collapse like that. When a closer like Drew Storen comes into the game with a two run lead and he gets two outs after a leadoff double, that is a situation where you need to throw strikes and not try to paint corners and just let the batter make contact and put the ball in play and let your defense take care of it. In that situation Storen needs to make sure he does not walk anybody and give them free base runners. Despite the fact that Storen seemingly blew the game for the Nationals, the fact that they were once up 6-0 cannot be overlooked either. This game was not just lost by Storen even though he will get most of the heat for this, but also the rest of the pitching staff of the Nationals. But lets not forget that the Cardinals are also a good team and should never be over looked. They put together some good at bats and earned themselves the right to advance to the next round. With the way they came back in the World Series last year, I expect a hard fought series going 6 or 7 games.

On the other hand, despite the fact that the Orioles lost their series, I believe they showed great poise under pressure despite being a very inexperienced playoff team. In none of the games were they blown out, they went into extra innings for two of the games and had a chance to win all of them. The pitching staff kept the Yankees potent bats in check for the entire series which will always give you a chance to win. But in the end they just didn't have enough in the tanks to get by Sabathia and his almost two complete games in this series. When you have a guy like Sabathia that can pitch that well for almost 18 innings in a 5 game series, chances are you will win the series. For the Yankees to beat the Tigers, the offense will certainly need to wake up, especially since the pitching staff of the Tigers is superior to the staff of the Orioles.

One thing is for sure, both the ALCS and the NLCS will be tough series lasting 6 or 7 games. But in the end the Giants and the Tigers will pull it out and end up playing in the World Series. Lets see how it plays out. Thoughts?

MLB Playoffs 2012

With the 2012 playoffs well underway, I thought it was time I say something about it. I have not been around for much of the season this year as I have moved to Budapest, Hungary and have not been able to watch very much baseball this year. First of all, I want to say that I like the new system with the second wild card team in each league. It adds a huge sense of excitement as if it were a game seven in the LCS or World Series with the win or go home mentality. That excitement should be a boost for the game in my opinion.
One thing that I don't like is that the team with the better record plays the first two games on the road. They have earned the right to home field advantage, and even though that ultimately means playing the majority of the games on their home field, it also should mean they get to begin a series at home and have the last game of the series at home if it gets to that point.
Now to get to each series, and I know I am a bit behind so we have already seen the Tigers and Giants advance to their respective LCS series, but we still have two left. I have been surprised at how poorly the Nationals have played this series so far. I do believe that it was a mistake to shut down Strasburg for the season. If anything, they should have had him skip a start occasionally throughout the season and had him on the roster for the playoffs. They are certainly a better team with Strasburg. I do believe they will pull this series out with Gio Gonzalez on the hill tonight.
The Orioles and Yankees also play their game 5 tonight. I believe the Yankees will pull this one out with the superior pitcher on the bump and the experience of having been here before and the Orioles just are not experienced enough, even though they have hung tough so far, I believe the Yankees just have too many weapons for the Orioles to handle.

With that being said, I am predicting a World Series of Tigers and Giants with the Giants winning it all. The Tigers beat the Yankees because they have a deeper pitching staff and they have an explosive offense that can show up at any time. Even though they have been on and off this season, I believe they will come through at the right time and they should be able to take advantage of the lack of pitching depth of the Yankees. I believe the Giants will win their LCS for the same reason, their pitching. They have many of the same pitchers from when they won it all in 2010 and they have experience and the talent to get to the World Series again this year with the Nationals not having the experience and the pitchers not having been extended much in the past.

I see the Giants taking the World Series from the Tigers. Their offense is not as good, but with Verlander the only playoffs tested pitcher I believe Fister and Sanchez will struggle and the Giants will be able to take advantage of that. With the pitching of Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, and Vogelsong, they have the deepest rotation in the playoffs. This depth and some timely hitting will be why they win the World Series.

What are your thoughts?

Cubs sign Marmol

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cubs have signed Carlos Marmol to a 3 year deal worth $20 million. Marmol serves as the teams closer. Marmol posted a 2.55 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP with 38 saves over 77 2/3 innings last season with the Cubs.

Indians to sign Cabrera

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Indians have agreed to sign SS Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera hit .263 with a .303 OBP over 537 plate appearances last season with the Reds.

Rangers sign Hamilton

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Rangers have reached a 2 year agreement worth $24 million, avoiding arbitration. This has worked out well for both sides. Hamilton is coming off of an AL MVP season in which he hit .359 with a .411 OBP, 100 RBI's and 32 Home Runs.

Nationals sign Cintron

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, The Nationals have signed infielder Alex Cintron to a minor league deal. The last time Cintron played in the major leagues was in 2009 with the Nationals. He spent last season with the Mets organization playing with their Triple-A team. Cintron has a career .275 average and .313 OBP.

Red Sox sign Aceves

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, The Red Sox have signed pitcher Alfredo Aceves to a Major League deal. Aceves will earn $650K and could earn $100K more in incentives. Aceves is coming off of a year where he pitched in only 10 games due to a back injury, but in 2009 he posted 3.54 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP over 84 innings that year.

Twins sign Liriano

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the Twins have signed pitcher Francisco Liriano to a one year, $4.3 million deal. Liriano posted a 3.62 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP over 191 2/3 innings last season with the Twins helping them win the AL Central title.

Orioles sign Guerrero

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Orioles have agreed to a one year deal worth $8 million with slugger Vladimir Guerrero. The deal is pending a physical. Guerrero hit .300 with a .345 OBP with 29 home runs and 115 RBI's in 643 plate appearances last season with the Rangers.