MLB Postseason Play Predictions: Yankees Vs. Cardinals In World Series

As the regular season winds down, all our heads turn towards the usual suspense that is the MLB Postseason.

This year, the Postseason has more potential than it did last year, considering the teams that are involved.

The always-interesting Yankees are vying for their 27th World Series title.

The drama that is the Twins-Tigers most likely will carry into the Postseason.

The Angels and the Red Sox will face off once again, and the Angels will try to exercise the demons that appear when these two teams square off.

The Phillies, the defending World Champions, have more problems to face now than they did last year.

The return to dominance of the Cardinals, led by three MVP-and-Cy Young candidates (Pujols, Carpenter, Wainwright), is exciting fans everywhere.

The Dodgers have been slumping lately, especially with respect to Manny Ramirez, forcing the team to show true grit in the playoffs.

The always-dramatic Rockies are back again, as fans wait to see whether or not they can go all the way.

With the basic outlines of these teams in the air, it's time to approach predictions as to which teams will meet in the Fall Classic.  To begin with, it's necessary to observe the imminent Playoff matchups.

ALDS:

New York Yankees (102-59) vs. Minnesota Twins-Detroit Tigers (85-76)

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (96-65) vs. Boston Red Sox (94-67)

NLDS:

Los Angeles Dodgers (94-67) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (91-70)

Philadelphia Phillies (92-69) vs. Colorado Rockies (92-69)

Let's begin with the ALDS.

Yankees vs. Twins-Tigers

The New York Yankees have won the most games (102) by far in baseball.  They basically have two aces on the staff (Sabathia, Burnett) and a veteran who excels in Postseason play (Pettite).  Plus, they have the best offense in the league (they've hit over 240 homeruns), and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs to cap it off.

The Detroit Tigers have an ace, Justin Verlander, on the staff, who leads baseball in strikeouts.  That's all well and good, but after that, Detroit's rotation begins to fall off.  Yes, Porcello and Edwin Jackson are fine young pitchers, but does he have what it takes to match up against A.J. Burnett or Andy Pettite?

The Twins seem like the lesser of the two AL Central contenders.  They do not have a real 'ace' on the staff.  Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Carl Pavano, and Brian Duensing are not aces, but most of them are solid.  It's a shame that the series wouldn't be longer, because their young #4 pitcher, Duensing, is better than the Yankees' Chamberlain.  On the hitting side, the Twins are led by (future)MVP Joe Mauer and clutch Michael Cuddyer, with Joe Nathan to seal all the deals.

Yes, I think the Twins are going to beat the Tigers into the Postseason.  Their play the past couple of days (they even got past Greinke) has made people believe them much more capable than the Tigers, who are slowly foundering.

However, neither team has what it takes to stun the Yankees.  The Tigers have Miguel Cabrera, Verlander, and perhaps Granderson, Magglio, Jackson, and Porcello, but nothing really after that.  The Twins have an all-star closer and two serious hitters in Mauer and Cuddyer, but enough to overthrow the Yankees.

Oh, and the Yankees won the season series against Detroit and Minnesota 5-1 and 7-0, respectively.

New York Yankees def. Minnesota Twins, 3-0

Angels vs. Red Sox

Two of the goliaths dueling in the ALDS promising to be the most intense of the first round series.  Jered Weaver vs. Josh Beckett, John Lackey vs. Jon Lester, Scott Kazmir vs. Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon vs. Brian Fuentes.

Bobby Abreu, Kendry Morales, Chone Figgins, Juan Rivera, Vladimir Guerrero, Erick Aybar, Torii Hunter, Howie Kendrick vs. Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay.  Wow, the teams seem pretty much even, and from the looks of it, the Angels seem to have a bit of an edge.

They have homefield advantage, all of the main lineup is batting over .290, and their starting rotation isn't as edgy as Boston's.  However, Boston's bullpen is much more compact than LA's, with Wagner and Papelbon to seel the deal, plus Okajima as a lead-in to those guys.

Yes, LA has more depth in their lineup.  Yes, LA's starting rotation is more than just two aces, yes LA has a better record.  However, the demons are still there and late in games, while Boston's bullpen is mowing you down, LA's bullpen is making things "interesting."

Boston Red Sox def. Los Angels Angels of Anaheim, 3-2

Let's move to the NLDS:

Dodgers vs. Cardinals

You're probably wondering, "isn't it possible for LA to face the Phillies instead?"  No, the Phillies won the season series vs. St. Louis, so even if the Phillies lose today and St. Louis wins, the Phillies will still take the (2) seed and it will be LA vs. St. Louis.

Both LA and St. Louis have been struggling lately, both losing five or six games in the last week.  But don't count out the Cardinals.  They limped in the playoffs in 2006 and ended up taking home the top prize.  And Albert Pujols is on the team.

And the Cardinals have 2 Cy Young-caliber pitches in their rotation.  Not just two aces like the Yankees have, 2 Cy Young pitchers.  Think about that for a bit.

The Dodgers do have a large number of quality pitchers, ranging from Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, Vicente Padilla, Jeff Weaver, and especially Jonathan Broxton.  However, even though all of these pitchers are very fine (the Dodgers have the lowest ERA in the National League), they can't match up against Carpenter or Wainwright.

One can visualize the Dodgers losing a bunch games 2-1, 1-0, 3-2, you name it.  Plus, even though the Dodgers have Andre Ethier, Orlando Hudson, and James Loney, Russell Martin has struggled this season and Manny Ramirez is in the middle of a major slump.

For the Cardinals, after Albert Pujols, they have Ryan Ludwick, Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, and Yadier Molina, all who have a fair amount of power and who add a lot of depth to the lineup.  Speaking of depth, even the players who don't get a lot of attention like Brendan Ryan are performing well.

The Dodgers are a great team.  They have a great manager and great young ballplayers.

But they won't be getting past the Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1

Phillies vs. Rockies

The two teams have the same record.  And they excel in many different fashions.

The Colorado Rockies are solid.  They have a nice offense led by Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitski.  They have a nice rotation led by Jason Marquis and Ubaldo Jimenez.

However, despite the bullpen problems that the Phillies have, they have a team that should be able to avoid Mets-like bullpen collapses.  Ryan Howard, Raoul Ibanez, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino all are hitters that can turn the tables with a swing or two.

And the Phillies' rotation led by Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee has the definite ability to get late enough into games that the bullpen issues won't be a problem... for now.

I like the Rockies.  They provide drama every year they're in the postseason.  However, their offense is nowhere near the Phillies' and their starting pitchers are not up to scale with Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.

Philadelphia Phillies def. Colorado Rockies, 3-1

Okay, now we know who is in the ALCS and NLCS.  Who is it?

ALCS:

New York Yankees (102-59) vs. Boston Red Sox (94-67)

NLCS:

Philadelphia Phillies (92-69) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (91-70)

Let's begin with the matchup that everyone revels:

Yankees vs. Red Sox

Before even stating the facts, let's just throw it out there: this series will go 7 games, no doubt.

The teams have faced each other throughout the season and split the series 9-9, which is amazing considering that the Red Sox begin the season 8-0 against the Yankees.

Both of the teams 1-2 punches (for starters and relievers) are pretty much even.  Sabathia is slightly better than Josh Beckeett, but Jon Lester is slightly better than A.J. Burnett.  In the bullpen, the addition of Hughes has turned everything around for the Yankees, and the trade for Wagner has provided Jonathan Papelbon the cushion he needs.

On offensive terms, both teams are powerful.  Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez are the cornerstone of a Yankees lineup that has quality hitters at every position.  For the Red Sox, David Ortiz has bounced back significantly from his abysmal start to the season, and Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, and Dustin Pedroia all have the ability to crush balls if need be.

On the speed side, Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury provide such.  Ellsbury has 66 stolen bases this year, which is incredible.

Since the teams have so much in common, it's necessary to go through the series game-by-game.

In Game 1, Sabathia and Beckett will lock horns and live up to expectations.  The score will be 2-2 going into the ninth when Derek Jeter knocks a game-winning base hit to right field and the Yankees win, knowing how valuable homefield advantage is.

In Game 2, Burnett and Lester will square off, but Burnett won't bring his A-game.  He'll grit through 7 innings and give up 3 runs, but Lester will carry a shutout into the ninth as the Red Sox take Game 2.

In Game 3, Andy Pettite will overpower Daisuke Matsuzaka as the Yankees jump on the Japanese starter for 5 runs in five innings.  Pettite will pitch seven innings of one-run ball and the Yankees will take Game 3 7-2.

In Game 4, the Yankees will play Russian roulette and ask Chamberlain to give it his all.  He doesn't.  Chamberlain and Wakefield will each struggle as the offenses break out for 23 runs.  However, the Red Sox will inch ahead in the 8th on a Jason Bay homerun and take Game 4 13-10.

Game 5 will feature Sabathia versus Lester this time, as the Red Sox want to have Beckett prepped for Burnett.  Sabathia will struggle a bit, yielding 4 runs in 7 innings.  Lester won't be as good as Game 2, but, even on four-days-rest, will throw eight innings of two-run ball as the Red Sox take a 3-2 lead in the series with a 5-3 win.

In Game 6, with fans remembering the August 7th instant classic, Burnett and Beckett will engage in an epic duel that matches the caliber of the matchup 2.5 months previously.  And once again, Alex Rodriguez will end the game in extras with a walk-off grand slam, and the Yankees remain alive for Game 7.

In Game 7, Andy Pettite will pitch the game of his life, remaining perfect through five.  Unfortunately for the Sox, Matsuzaka won't deliver, giving up 6 runs in 7 innings.  The Red Sox watch with a heavy heart as the Yankees celebrate their 40th American League chamionship.

Yankees def. Red Sox, 4-3

With the Yankees in the Fall Classic, they now await whom their opponent will be...

Phillies vs. Cardinals

This series will feature a large amount of pitcher's duels, as Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright will do battle against each other as Pujols and Howard watch with anticipation.

Remember how I said the Phillies bullpen problems wouldn't cost them yet.  Cancel that out now.

Because the series will contain numerous pitcher's duels, the score will be close going into the later innings, in which the Phillies bullpen will founder.  Despite having homefield advantage against the Cards, the series will unfold like so.

In Game 1, Cole Hamels and Chris Carpenter will square off and the score will remain tied going into the ninth inning.  However, Albert Pujols will lead off with a homerun and although the Phillies will try to claw back, loading the bases with two out in the bottom frame, Ryan Franklin will strike out Ryan Howard on a changeup in the dirt to end it.

In Game 2, Cliff Lee will carry a no-hitter into the ninth as Adam Wainwright tries but fails to match him, yielding two 2-run homers to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.  With Albert Pujols up, Cliff Lee will get him to fly out to the warning track as the Phillies faithful will explode with awe as the first no-hitter in postseason play since Don Larsen's is complete.

In Game 3, with the Phillies' motivation high after Game 2, the offense will explode agaisnt Joel Pineiro for three runs in the first.  After that, Pineiro will buckle down and retire the next 17 batters in order, and the Cardinals will fight back against the Phillies on homers from Pujols and Molina against Brett Myers.  Going into the critical ninth, Charlie Manuel will turn to Ryan Madson and pray... fortunately, he delivers.

In Game 4, facing a 3-1 deficit with a loss, Tony LaRussa will turn to Carpenter to throw on four-days rest.  And once again, he will deliver against J.J. Happ, who will pitch well enough to lose the game 4-1.

In Game 5, it will be Cole Hamels against Adam Wainwright.  Unfortunately, both pitchers will struggle as the score accelerates to 5-5 going into extra innings as the Cardinals load the bases in the bottom frame with no out for Pujols, who will fly out to sacrifice the runner in from third and win it.

In Game 6, down 3-2, the Phillies will turn to Cliff Lee to repeat his performance from Game 2.  Unfortunately, John Smoltz, left for dead after several abysmal performances in the regular season, will deliver.  Enough to keep the score close in the top of the ninth.

With two outs and no one on and the Phillies up 4-3, Brad Lidge will walk Albert Pujols intentionally, only to have Matt Holliday knock a two-run homer just over Shane Victorino's reach.  And in the bottom frame, Chase Utley will look at a called strike three reminiscent of Beltran in 2006 as the Cardinals celebrate another championship.

St. Louis Cardinals def. Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2

So the World Series is:

New York Yankees (102-59) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (91-70)

You decide who wins it all.