With one round in the books, the Major League Baseball playoffs have left more people scratching their heads than anything else. Out of the four match ups, three teams swept their opponents 3-0. The Angels, Dodgers, and the Yankees were all on the winning side of the broomstick last week; it took the defending champion, the Philadelphia Phillies, an extra game to dispose of the Colorado Rockies.
Out of the predictions I gave you in the last article, the Tigers were the only team that failed to make the postseason, and the Cardinals were the only team that failed to advance to their league's championship series. Guessing the series scores were a matter of pressing my luck, but I still estimated they'd be in the same ballpark (pardon the pun).
The elimination of the Cardinals was a real sting – not just to me, but all baseball fans. Not taking anything away from the Dodgers, but if you would have bet me all the money I had to my name that the Cards would get swept in the opening round, I'd be turning tricks on Anderson Hill Road to pay tuition.
On paper, St. Louis got manhandled, but if you actually watched the series, it was far from it. Ace pitcher Chris Carpenter turned in a less than stellar performance in the series opener in Los Angeles (5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 BB) but the fact that his offense didn't manage to manufacture more than three runs on 11 hits didn't help his cause.
In game two, fellow Cy Young hopeful, Adam Wainwright did manage to turn in a phenomenal start, allowing just one run in eight strong innings while striking out seven. Unfortunately, an error by Matt Holliday late in the game cost Wainwright and the Cardinals a victory.
Game three was the one that stirred a bulk of the commotion in the series. With the Cardinals past their two golden geese and the Dodgers with no real standout pitcher, expectations were that the hottest bats would win this game. St. Louis' Joel Pinero only made it four innings before getting the hook while his counterpart Vincente Padilla cruised through seven innings without a challenge. Nobody expected a team that was 37-25 since acquiring Holliday get swept, in any series.
With the field down to just four teams, the action will only get more exciting due to the fact that each team has something unique to prove. The Phillies can become the first National league team to repeat as world champions since Pete Rose's, “Big Red Machine” accomplished the feat in 1976. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still riding the sad motivation brought on by the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart earlier this year. A ring in memory of his presence to the team would be the ultimate vindication.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre might not only lead his first NL team to the Fall Classic, but there is a strong possibility of him facing the very team that got rid of him so disgracefully in the New York Yankees. If successful, Torre would be just the third manager in history to win championships in both leagues, joining Sparky Anderson and current Cardinals manager, Tony LaRussa.
Since the indignant removal of Torre, the Yankees have spent money all over the MLB to revamp their team into a winning ball club. After finishing with the league's best record (103-59), a perfect start to the postseason, $250 million dollar summer spending spree, no year is more pivotal to produce a title than 2009.
(Editor's Note: This article was written prior to the start of the Championship Series)
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