2008 MLB Playoffs

[HD MM]

Top Matchups For The 2008 World Series

1. Cubs vs Rays: The "Blue Moon" Series.

The team with the longest World Series drought vs. the team that has never made it to the playoffs. Talk about two teams unlikely to meet in the World Series. Does anyone have a Farmer's Almanac to check if there's a blue moon rising?

2. Dodgers vs Red Sox: A New Curse in the Making?

With the Red Sox facing their former stars Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra (under the management of their former nemesis Joe Torre nonetheless) what more could you ask for? Will Torre bring life to the Dodgers franchise while the Red Sox suffer another drought of titles under the curse of Ramirez? This could be baseball lore in the making!

3. Angels vs Dodgers: The Gang Wars Series

Red vs. Blue going head-to-head in LA. Sound familiar? Perhaps Fox or CW should televise the Crips vs. Bloods to give us back-to-back double headers each night during the fall classic.

4. Twins vs. Phillies: The Swing State Series

Lacking their stars from '07, Hunter and Santana, the Twins might be a bigger surprise to see this post season than the Rays. With consistent playing from Mauer and Moreneu, a Minnesota match-up against Philly could be good. Both teams are playing fantastic ball and the week after the World Series ends, both Minnesota and Pennsylvania (both swing states) will be deciding the fate of our next President.

Top Matchups For The 2008 World Series

 

[KCK_Halo]

3. Angels vs Dodgers: The Gang Wars Series

Ummm...those of us who actually live here will happily take the title of FREEWAY SERIES, thank you.

 

[KCK_Halo]

WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Brewers (Yovani Gallardo...0-0....1.88) @ Phillies (Cole Hamels...14-10....3.09) 3:07pm ET

Dodgers (Derek Lowe...14-11....3.24) @ Cubs (Ryan Dempster...17-6....2.96) 6:37pm ET

Red Sox (Jon Lester...16-6....3.21) @ Angels (John Lackey...12-5....3.75) 10:07pm ET


THURSDAY'S PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

TBD @ Rays (James Shields...14-8....3.56) 2:37pm ET

Brewers (C.C. Sabathia...17-10....2.70) @ Phillies (Brett Myers...10-13....4.55) 6:07pm ET

Dodgers (TBA) @ Cubs (Carlos Zambrano) 9:37pm ET

Bill,

Out here they are saying Chad Billingsley will get the nod for Game 2. Don't know if that is from the mouth of Joe or not.

 

[BillD1984]

With the Red Sox facing their former stars Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra (under the management of their former nemesis Joe Torre nonetheless) what more could you ask for? Will Torre bring life to the Dodgers franchise while the Red Sox suffer another drought of titles under the curse of Ramirez? This could be baseball lore in the making!



They left out Derek Lowe, who was the winning pitcher of all three clinchers in the 2004 postseason.

 

[BillD1984]

Bill,

Out here they are saying Chad Billingsley will get the nod for Game 2. Don't know if that is from the mouth of Joe or not.

Thanks KCK,

I was surprised when a I saw the "TBA".

I thought there may have been a health issue with Billingsley, especially considering he's been the Dodgers most consistent starter

 

[KCK_Halo]

Thanks KCK,

I was surprised when a I saw the "TBA".

I thought there may have been a health issue with Billingsley, especially considering he's been the Dodgers most consistent starter

Not that I have heard.

BTW, if you've not seen him pitch, you're in for a treat this week. He LOOKS like he could be pitching with Koufax and Drysdale...he just has that certain look about him in that Dodger uniform. Very retro.

 

[BillD1984]

Not that I have heard.

BTW, if you've not seen him pitch, you're in for a treat this week. He LOOKS like he could be pitching with Koufax and Drysdale...he just has that certain look about him in that Dodger uniform. Very retro.

I have seen Billingsley a few times and came away very impressed.

That's one thing about the Dodgers, they've been a pitching-producing machine over the years.

 

[BillD1984]

Josh Beckett threw a side session today, and the news was "very encouraging" according to Tito Francona. It looks like Beckett will start game 3 Sunday in Boston.

 

[BillD1984]

Francona is also confident that J.D. Drew (back) will be able to go, however a decision on Mike Lowell (torn labrum) will be made Wednesday morning, when Francona must submit his ALDS roster.

 

[BillD1984]

The Brewers have announced that Ben Sheets will start game 3 of the Brewers-Phillies series on Saturday.

Good news for the Brew Crew!

 

[KCK_Halo]

Josh Beckett threw a side session today, and the news was "very encouraging" according to Tito Francona. It looks like Beckett will start game 3 Sunday in Boston.

 

[BillD1984]

Francona is also confident that J.D. Drew (back) will be able to go, however a decision on Mike Lowell (torn labrum) will be made Wednesday morning, when Francona must submit his ALDS roster.

As much as I love Mike Lowell, I don't know if I'm comfortable with his limited mobility in this series.

It's not even the hitting that bothers me, it's Lowell in the field. The Angels, under Mike Scioscia, are one of the best prepared teams in the league, and you know Scioscia will try to exploit (who could blame him) Lowell's lack of mobility by having Chone Figgins lay down a bunt if he gets an oppurtunity. Figgins speed on the base paths, with the big boppers coming up after him, could prove to be very problematic for the Red Sox. That's why I see Lowell as a pinch hitter at best in this series.

These are the possible lineup scenarios to replace Lowell:

AGAINST RIGHTIES:

A) Move Kevin Youkilis to third and Sean Casey plays first. This is the best offensive option. OR

B) Youkilis stays at first, Jed Lowrie moves from shortstop to third, and Alex Cora plays SS. This is the best defensive option.

AGAINST Joe Saunders: Youkilis moves to third and Jeff Bailey plays first.

There is one other rather drastic option (this wouldn't totally surprise me if the Sox are down 2 games to 0 and desperately needed an offensive spark):

Move Youkilis to third, move David Ortiz to first, and Lowell becomes the DH. The defensive repercussions with this are scary!

 

[BillD1984]

If J.D. Drew can't play, the Red Sox will go with some combination of Jacoby Ellsbury/Coco Crisp/Mark Kotsay in right/center. Jason Bay, of course, will play left.

 

[Jimbo]

As much as I love Mike Lowell, I don't know if I'm comfortable with his limited mobility in this series.

It's not even the hitting that bothers me, it's Lowell in the field. The Angels, under Mike Scioscia, are one of the best prepared teams in the league, and you know Scioscia will try to exploit (who could blame him) Lowell's lack of mobility by having Chone Figgins lay down a bunt if he gets an oppurtunity. Figgins speed on the base paths, with the big boppers coming up after him, could prove to be very problematic for the Red Sox. That's why I see Lowell as a pinch hitter at best in this series.

These are the possible lineup scenarios to replace Lowell:

AGAINST RIGHTIES:

A) Move Kevin Youkilis to third and Sean Casey plays first. This is the best offensive option. OR

B) Youkilis stays at first, Jed Lowrie moves from shortstop to third, and Alex Cora plays SS. This is the best defensive option.

AGAINST Joe Saunders: Youkilis moves to third and Jeff Bailey plays first.

There is one other rather drastic option (this wouldn't totally surprise me if the Sox are down 2 games to 0 and desperately needed an offensive spark):

Move Youkilis to third, move David Ortiz to first, and Lowell becomes the DH. The defensive repercussions with this are scary!

I would think it would be option A

Jimbo

 

[BillD1984]

I would think it would be option A

Jimbo

I agree. I would much rather have Casey's bat in the lineup over Cora's.

 

[Jimbo]

Blackburn has been a pleasant surprise tonight.

Jimbo

 

[SabresRule]

Blackburn has been a pleasant surprise tonight.

I originally thought that not using Liriano would blow up in Gardenhire's face.

 

[BillD1984]

I originally thought that not using Liriano would blow up in Gardenhire's face.

AND if things work out tonight for the Twins, they'll have Liriano ready to go Thursday afternoon in St. Pete.

 

[BillD1984]

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS

ALDS

Red Sox vs. Angels

Lineups- EDGE: Angels

Starting Pitchers- EDGE: EVEN

Bullpen- EDGE: Angels

PREDICTION: Angels in 4.


White Sox vs. Rays

Lineups- EDGE: White Sox

Starting Pitchers- EDGE: Rays

Bullpen- EDGE: Rays

PREDICTION: Rays in 5.


NLDS

Dodgers vs. Cubs

Lineups- EDGE: EVEN

Starting Pitchers- EDGE: Cubs

Bullpen- EDGE: Cubs

PREDICTION: Cubs in 5.


Brewers vs. Phillies

Lineups- EDGE: EVEN

Starting Pitchers- EDGE: EVEN (Brewers have an ace, Phils have more depth)

Bullpen- EDGE: Phillies

PREDICTION: Phillies in 4.

*************************************************************

LOOKING AHEAD:

ALCS: Angels over Rays in 5. Torii Hunter MVP

NLCS: Phillies over Cubs in 6. Ryan Howard MVP

World Series: Angels over Phillies in 5. Vlad Guerrero MVP

 

[SabresRule]

This is the strangest playoff year in a long time for me.

The teams I usually root against in the playoffs (Yankees, Cardinals) are not in.

The Brewers and Rays are in.

When was the last time you can recall such a weird postseason of October baseball?