MLB Week in Review (October 4-10)
It seems like only recently that the second round of the MLB postseason was beginning and teams were starting their march towards the World Series. Now the second round is over as the Division Series are done and only four teams remain in the hunt. Heading into the division series there was still a lot unknown about every team in the postseason. There was a lot of talk about who could make it and what they would do but in reality nobody ever knows. The bright lights of the postseason can send teams and players into a cave where they are rarely ever seen. Those light can also bring the best out of teams and prove that they were made for the postseason. Coming into the postseason it seemed like a few teams had the advantage with great teams that have had plenty of experience in the playoffs. The Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals all had this on their shoulders. Meanwhile the Washington Nationals were expected to do well with a young team that had little holes. Then the postseason began and the weaknesses of every team began to show that much more. The Tigers were seen once again as a team that could be waited out until you get into the bullpen where you can do damage. The Dodgers proved to be a team that got frustrated easily while their pitching did not stand up. The Nationals were proven to be too inexperienced to handle the pressure of the postseason and the pressure of being favourites in the postseason. The only team with heavy weight on their shoulders to come out on top was the St. Louis Cardinals, who continue to be the most consistent team in baseball. There were other teams with a lot less pressure on them that turned out to be the teams to watch in the postseason. One that was seen as a potential threat but was always overlooked against the other teams and with the lack of some of their best players was the Baltimore Orioles. Without Chris Davis and Manny Machado the Orioles had a good end to the season but were not expected to do a lot in the postseason. They proved that wrong in a big way when they easily got by the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were expected to make some noise in the postseason with a great starting rotation and good offence. The Orioles had a better offence and took advantage of a below average bullpen to get the 4-game series win. The Two most surprising teams have made their way from the wild card game to the Conference Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants have had plenty of success in the last few years so maybe it isn’t the smartest to count them out. Still they were a wild card team and didn’t look like a World Series team until the wild card game. That is when Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout and the offence put up 8 runs. Then they went on to beat the team that many though could win it in all in the Washington Nationals. Beating them in four games it never really seemed like the Giants were in danger aside from one mistake in the third game that allowed the Nats to get ahead and take the game. Now they look like the strongest team in the National League but will face the always consistent Cardinals in the NL Championship. The Kansas City Royals have been perhaps the most surprising team in the postseason this year. Nobody expected them to still be around especially since this team had not seen the postseason since 1985. Many expected them to go out against the Athletics in the wild card game but after 12 innings of fight the Royals hung around and won the game. The Division Series was even more surprising when the Royals swept a very good Los Angeles Angels team. Now they enter the AL Championship against the Baltimore Orioles who seem to be the popular pick at this point in the postseason. Could these two team complete the surprise and take their runs to the World Series? Nobody know as an unpredictable postseason continues on with the Championship Series underway.
Extra Innings
(More on the week that was in the MLB)
Beckett’s End
As the Dodgers were eliminated from the World Series they lost one of their bigger acquisitions on the year in Josh Beckett who announced that he will retire after falling short on one more attempt at the championship
Rockies Rare Change
The Rockies have a habit of sticking with their people giving Bob Gebhard 8-years and Dan O’Dowd15 years to figure out how to win a championship but now they will go on to their third manager after firing O’Dowd and bringing in long time Rockies executive Jeff Bridich
One Remaining
Adam Dunn has announced his retirement and that leaves an interesting gap in baseball as the true designated hitters are falling fast with only David Ortiz left and nearing the end of his career as the DH position continues to lose its’ legends
The Sport Addiction 