MLB Week in Review (October 6-12)
The Division Series have now been decided as the postseason stable has been cut in half in the pursuit of the World Series. After the MLB saw their big experiment in the Wild Card Games take place they were hoping to continue the excitement. The Wild Card Games were good with the first single elimination games provided great play and plenty of drama. As the league moved on they focused on the Division Series as 8 teams would look to a new format and a short five game series to keep their hopes alive. The new format would see the top ranked team travel for the first two games and go home for the last three. This caused a few raised eyebrows as the series could end in three games meaning that the team with the worse record has the advantage in the first two games and could get up 2 games to 0 at home. It was a controversial decision and one that will only last one season but it did provide some great baseball. In the American League the New York Yankees would take on the Baltimore Orioles in a matchup that had been a battle throughout the season. The battle that decided the AL East winner would once again get underway to decide who would move on, the powerful and consistent Yankees or the surprising Orioles. The series was a direct reflection of the season long battle as the Yankees and O’s went back and forth with no team will to give up. The Yankees looked to get out to an intimidating start winning the first game 7-2 but it didn’t phase the Orioles who came back to win the second game 3-2. Then came the heart of the series as the teams played a total of 25 innings in Game 3 and 4 with both games going into extra innings and both teams splitting the games. It came down to Game 5 as the Orioles ran out of magic and the Yankees took control winning the game 3-1 and taking the series. In the other series there was a very scary Detroit team against a very surprising Oakland team. Many thought that the series would be an easy one for the Tigers but that wasn’t the case. The Athletics continued their surprise season into the playoffs but it wasn’t easy. The Tigers took the first two games of the series putting the A’s into elimination games almost immediately. Going back to Detroit the A’s looked to be in trouble but they would not give up as they took the next two games staying on the right side of elimination. Again a series would come down to the final game as the Tigers showed their power winning 6-0 and ending another surprising team’s run at the World Series. The National League was not much different as all of the series went the distance and had plenty to watch. In the NL the two previous World Series champions would be back and in the fight for the World Series. Last year’s champions the St. Louis Cardinals would take on the surprise Washington Nationals in a very familiar position. Last year the Cardinals won the championship from the wild card and they were looking to do the same this year as the wild card winner. After dropping the first game in the series the Cards came back to put the pressure on the inexperienced Nationals winning Game 2 and 3. The Nats did not give up though as they came back to win Game 4. The Nats looked like they would take the series in game 5 but a familiar comeback by the Cardinals ended the game sending the Cards to the NLCS. The 2010 World Series Champions were also in the mix as they took on the Cincinnati Reds. The series seemed over before it started as the Giants went down 2 games to 0 to the Reds putting them into elimination games immediately and heading to Cincinnati. The Giants would not give up though as they took Game 3 in the 10th inning and then took the next two games for the massive comeback and taking the series. The Division series were great with plenty of drama and great play leaving fans to wonder how will the rest of the postseason play out.
The Championship Series looks to be a good one as well with four teams still remaining to fight for the World Series berth. The ALCS will feature two of the strongest teams in the American League and two of the scariest. The New York Yankees are a team that has been here before and done everything that you can do in baseball. They are the old guard that has yet to give up it’s spot as they look strong once again. With CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter going strong the Yankees are looking to get back to the World Series after missing out the last two years. The Detroit Tigers are the new guard with Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder, and Miguel Cabrera mixing to make a very good corps. The Tigers are looking to get to the World Series after building up a team in the past few years and adding Fielder this offseason. The series will be a good one with plenty of offence to see. The biggest part of the series though could be the anticipated matchup of Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia that should provide one of the best pitching matchups this year. The NLCS will see a very unique matchup as the last two World champions will face off for another chance at the title. The San Francisco Giants are back after a terrible 2011 following their 2010 World Series win. They have a good pitching corps but a much improved offence led by Buster Posey. The St. Louis Cardinals are in a very familiar spot this year after winning the World Series in 2011. In 2011 the Cards came from the Wild card to win everything and this year they are looking to do the same to repeat. Both teams will face off in a matchup of two former champions with both teams looking to get back for a chance at another World Series in a great matchup. The NLCS and ALCS are looking to be good matchups as the postseason continues to look like they can continue the level of the postseason.
MLB Postseason:
ALDS:
New York Yankees 3 – 2 Baltimore Orioles
Game 1: NYY 7 – 2 BAL
Game 2: BAL 3 – 2 NYY
Game 3: NYY 3 – 2 BAL (12th)
Game 4: NYY 2 – 1 BAL (13th)
Game 5: NYY 3 – 1 BAL
Oakland Athletics 2 – 3 Detroit Tigers
Game 1: DET 3 – 1 OAK
Game 2: DET 5 – 4 OAK
Game 3: OAK 2 – 0 DET
Game 4: OAK 4 – 3 DET
Game 5: DET 6 – 0 OAK
NLDS:
Washington Nationals 2 – 3 St. Louis Cardinals
Game 1: WSH 3 – 2 STL
Game 2: STL 12 – 4 WSH
Game 3: STL 8 – 0 WSH
Game 4: WSH 2 – 1 STL
Game 5: STL 9 – 7 WSH
Cincinnati Reds 2 – 3 San Francisco Giants
Game 1: CIN 5 – 2 SF
Game 2: CIN 9 – 0 SF
Game 3: SF 2 – 1 CIN (10th)
Game 4: SF 8 – 3 CIN
Game 5: SF 6 – 4 CIN
ALCS:
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
Game 1: DET @ NYY (October 13th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 2: DET @ NYY (October 14th; 4:00 pm EDT)
Game 3: NYY @ DET (October 16th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 4: NYY @ DET (October 17th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 5: NYY @ DET (October 18th; 4:00 pm EDT)
Game 6: DET @ NYY (October 20th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 7: DET @ NYY (October 21st; 8:00 pm EDT)
NLCS:
San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Game 1: STL @ SF (October 14th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 2: STL @ SF (October 15th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 3: SF @ STL (October 17th; 4:00 pm EDT)
Game 4: SF @ STL (October 18th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 5: SF @ STL (October 19th; 8:00 pm EDT)
Game 6: STL @ SF (October 21st; 4:30 pm EDT)
Game 7: STL @ SF (October 22nd; 8:00 pm EDT)
Games Played If Needed
The Sport Addiction 