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The 2009 baseball season is quickly coming to an end with the playoffs just around the corner. It has been an exciting year in baseball and will continue to be an entertaining one as the playoff race heats up. Here are my playoff, MVP and Cy Young predictions.
The New York Yankees will win the AL East and move onto the playoffs where they will match up against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees began to take control of the division during the summer months and quickly separated themselves from the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The squad from Detroit will also march onto the playoffs after outlasting the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers have a well-balanced lineup and an absolute stud in starting pitcher Justin Verlander.
With hitters such as Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, the team has the potential to score a good amount of runs.
However, the Yankees are currently the most dominating team in all of baseball, and I see them taking down the Tigers. Wild Card Series 3-1
The series between the Red Sox and the Angels should also be an exciting battle. Both teams have the ability to mix power with speed throughout their lineup, while featuring a strong pitching staff.
After watching the recent series between both of these clubs at Fenway Park, it’s clear that the Sox hold the upper hand at this point in time.
However, the Angels will have home-field advantage, which will clearly work to their favor.
In the end, the Sox will move on and once again and face off against the Yankees for another match up of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. Wild Cards Series 3-2
The LA Dodgers have played strong baseball all season long and have established themselves as a powerhouse in the National League. They have a very strong and productive lineup that all season long has been able to score a large amount of runs each game.
Their starting pitching is moderately strong and they do have one of the best closers in the game with Jonathan “The Bull” Broxton.
The Colorado Rockies will outlast the San Francisco Giants to earn a Wild Card berth. The Rockies are an up-and-down team that has the ability to catch on fire at any time.
They play great defense, have some solid hitters and an ace in Ubaldo Jimenez. With that said, Colorado does not have enough power to get past the hard-hitting Dodgers and will head home in four games. Wild Card Series 3-1
Philadelphia vs. St. Louis will be the best first round series by a long shot during this year’s playoffs. Both teams have MVP-type hitters and a few dominating pitchers, further adding to the excitement of what should be a wonderful series.
Each team also made a major move during the trade deadline in order to better position themselves for a late World Series push. The difference in this series will come down to which bullpen pitches better late into a ball game.
The Cardinals have a very solid closer in Ryan Franklin and good setup men with Kyle McClellan and Trever Miller.
On the other hand, the Phillies have had major problems with their closer Brad Lidge and may need Ryan Madson to step up and fill in.
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