LCS Preview

I was too tired when I got home last night, and am about to head out for the weekend. So here it is - the short, short version.

C.J. Wilson walked the most batters in the AL this year, and was only second in the Majors behind Jonathan Sanchez. The Yankees draw a lot of walks. I realize he just shut down the Rays, another team that draws a lot of walks, but the Yanks also hit lefties much better than the Rays did this season (.790 OPS compared to .733 for Tampa). Expect the Yanks to take Game One. Tommy Hunter was great at home this year, and had even splits against teams below and above .500, but he is still the inferior pitcher in his matchup against Phil Hughes. Expect perhaps not a pitchers duel, but a close game, and the Yanks to prevail.

In all, I see the Rangers winning only Cliff Lee's start, and for this series to end in New York. Yankees in five.

The Giants scored 11 runs in four games. Two were directly attributable to umpire error (Buster Posey's "steal" in game one and the ump completely whiffing on Omar Infante's foot being on the second base bag in game four) and two were directly attributable to Brooks Conrad's shoddy defense. Unfortunately for San Fran, the umpire calls won't go in their favor 100% of the time and Brooks Conrad was not traded to Philly in the last couple of days. Now, one could make the argument that late in games, Bruce Bochy willingly sacrificed some offense by subbing out Pat Burrell for Nate Schierholtz and Aubrey Huff for Travis Ishikawa. The Giants may find themselves needing that offense in this series, and may keep those two bats in the lineup all game, which could lead to more runs on the board for San Fran. But it will also greatly increase the chance that they make defensive miscues, making the net effect a wash. Phillies in five.

With the two series' likely to end early, expect a lot of media blather to revolve around the off-days between the LCS and the World Series. I'll be back with a more in-depth preview for the first Fall Classic rematch since the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers back-to-back in '77 and '78.