Written by Rob Bertrand

Who would have thought that an ALCS and NLCS without any of baseball’s major market teams would be so exciting? Lots of people actually. As much as the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox bring to the table in terms of fan following and TV ratings, there is a whole other audience that loves the underdog and loathes the teams with infinite amounts of capital to spend on talent. America’s heartland is being well represented with the Brewers, Tigers, Cardinals, and Rangers comprising baseball’s Final Four for the 2011 season. Loaded with talent, these smaller market teams have shown they have what it takes to be a contender.

Everyone knows the names of each team’s top players: Verlander and Cabrera for the Tigers, Pujols and Holliday for the Red Birds, Fielder and Braun for the Brew Crew, Hamilton and Young for the Rangers. But it takes more than just a couple of stars to win, it takes a team. Here is a look at a some other key players from each team that have contributed in big ways to their team’s postseason success in 2011. For those fans that treasure a good cardboard memory, we’ve even included a look at their key rookie baseball cards.

Image via Wikipedia

Texas Rangers

By now every baseball fan knows who Nelson Cruz is but that couldn’t be said before the playoffs started. Despite hitting just .212, he has produced some amazingly timely home runs, (5) total, accounting for 11 RBI. His key cards have gained just as much attention as the player himself, so get them while you can.

Key Rookie Card: 2005 SP Authentic #152 (autographed)

St. Louis Cardinals

A prototypical defensive shortstop and top of the order guy, Rafael Furcal brings a consistent glove and veteran postseason experience to a club that suffered through key injuries and was over 10 games out of the pennant race at the start of September.

Key Rookie Card: 1999 Bowman Chrome #364

Detroit Tigers

Victor Martinez led the AL in batting average with runners in scoring position during the regular season. Opposing pitchers have kept him in check this postseason, with him batting just .194, but again, timely hitting proved to be something Martinez had a knack for.

Key Rookie Card: 2001 Donruss Class of 2001 #258

Milwaukee Brewers

A gifted utility player that contributes to the depth of the team, Jerry Hairston Jr, is adept at multiple positions but feels most at home at second base. Platooning at the position with Rickie Weeks, both brought a strong arm and deft footwork to the keystone position.

Key Rookie Card: 1998 Fleer Tradition Update #U32

While both National League Divisional Series will be going to a decisive Game 5 tonight, the Tigers and Rangers have each earned a berth to their league’s Championship Series. We’ll take a look at how these two teams match up to try to determine which club will represent the AL in the World Series.

Offense

Each of these clubs featured one of the more prolific offenses in the AL. The Rangers scored the third most runs of any AL team over the course of the season, while the Tigers scored the fourth most. However, the gap between them is larger than that statistic might indicate. The Rangers were the only team that was able to keep up with the big-money clubs in New York and Boston, as their 855 runs were only 20 behind the league-leading Sox. After the Rangers, there’s a large gap, as the Tigers scored 787 runs to finish fourth in the league. Advanced statistics suggest the gap between the teams’ offenses is a little smaller, as the Rangers’ wRC+ of 113 outpaced the Tigers by only 4%.

The Rangers’ offense got big production from some surprising places this year, while several of the players who carried the team to last season’s World Series have taken a step back. The team’s leader in offensive value was catcher Mike Napoli. Napoli spent 2010 splitting time behind the plate in Anaheim with Jeff Mathis. This offseason, Napoli momentarily went to the Blue Jays in exchange for Vernon Wells, although the deal was more about losing Wells’ massive contract and less about actually acquiring Napoli from the Jays’ perspective. Napoli was sent packing once again almost immediately, this time in exchange for closer Frank Francisco. Napoli has taken advantage of his new opportunity in Texas, putting up a 5.6 WAR in only 113 games through an impressive 178 wRC+. Napoli hit 30 home runs in 432 plate appearances during the regular season. The next lowest PA total for a 30-homer hitter was 525, nearly 100 chances more than Napoli. So, if you picked Napoli to lead the AL in slugging this year, well… I don’t believe you.

I discussed Ian Kinsler in my AL MVP post, but he deserves another mention, as he’s been incredibly valuable on both sides of the ball and had the most prolific offensive year of his career by a long shot. His 7.7 WAR was the best mark on the club. Adrian Beltre’s 5.7 WAR led the team’s position players other than Kinsler, and his 134 wRC+ was second only to Napoli. In his first season in Texas, Beltre earned the first installment of his big multiyear deal signed last offseason and then some, putting up big offensive numbers and playing the premium defense at the hot corner we’ve come to expect from him. It’s rare that 4.2 WAR is considered a letdown, but Josh Hamilton produced less than half as much this season as his MVP campaign in 2010. While his numbers may not make him an MVP candidate again this year, he’s certainly a dangerous hitter. After a season of unrest between Michael Young and his front office that ended with him requesting a trade, Young gave the Rangers some serious reasons to retain him. Young gave the team positional flexibility and another big bat in their deep, potent lineup. The Rangers were the only team in baseball with five players who produced 20 or more runs above average on offense, and that’s not even counting Nelson Cruz, who had a big down year after a breakout 2010.

While the Rangers do have a better lineup, the Tigers aren’t exactly slouches. Led by Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers have a number of big bats in the middle of their lineup. Alex Avila’s breakout season was interrupted by a deep slump down the stretch and during the divisional series. The Tigers will have to hope he can bounce back during this series and continue to cement himself as one of the best catchers in baseball. Victor Martinez, acquired last offseason to protect Cabrera, has been effective in that role, as his 130 wRC+ this season tied a career high. Delmon Young, acquired on a waiver trade, has been a force in Detroit’s lineup over the final stretch of the team’s regular season, and then set a franchise record with three ALDS home runs. However, he left Game 5 with an oblique strain after his first inning home run. If the injury is significant, Young could be done for the postseason. The Tigers will be hoping it’s only a minor strain. Then there’s Jhonny Peralta who led all AL shortstops with 120 wRC+. Peralta put up a career-high 5.2 WAR in an outstanding season.

Pitching

C.J. Wilson is the clear ace of the Rangers staff. Wilson will hit free agency this season, and it’s been speculated that they’re likely to lose him to another team. Wilson’s 3.29 SIERA was 10th in the AL. He’ll be followed by Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, and Matt Harrison. Holland had something of a breakout this year, putting up 3.6 WAR. He was behind only Neftali Feliz among the Rangers’ top pitching prospects in 2009 before joining the big club, and may be beginning to realize some of that potential. Harrison also had a pretty big breakout campaign, putting up 4.2 WAR in 30 starts after never topping 0.7 in his previous three seasons in the majors. Harrison is one of two Rangers who successfully moved from the bullpen to the rotation this season, as Alexi Ogando’s success as a starter has been a big storyline for this team. Ogando has been moved back to the bullpen for the playoff. He performed admirably throughout the Rangers’ series against the Rays, culminating in a spotless eighth inning of game 4 setting up Neftali Feliz for the series ending save. Ogando and Harrison’s success may pave the way for Feliz to move to the rotation next season, but the Rangers won’t begin to discuss that decision in earnest until the end of their playoff run.

Across the diamond, Justin Verlander put together one of the best seasons from any pitcher in recent memory. His last start of the season gave him a shot at being the first 25 game winner since Bob Welch in 1990. Not much else needs to be said about the Triple Crown winner, other than the fact that the Tigers will pitch him as many times as they possibly can in this series and every time they do he will almost certainly give them a chance to win. Verlander will be followed in the rotation by Rick Porcello, as the Tigers used both Doug Fister and Max Scherzer in their game 5 victory. Porcello and Scherzer are both young guys with big stuff, but who haven’t seen the results to match their potential yet. Both put up 2.7 WAR this season, Fister may end up being the most important acquisition by any team at this year’s trade deadline, although Hunter Pence will certainly give him a run for his money. Fister has produced 5,6 WAR this season, including 2.4 and a 2.63 SIERA in 70.1 innings with Detroit. These starters will hand the ball to the Tigers’ impressive bullpen, led by Jose “Papa Grande” Valverde. Valverde certainly has a tendency to make the ninth inning a bit of an adventure, but he’s 51-for-51 in save opportunities this season after closing out the ALDS in New York.

Home field advantage, which the Rangers clinched over the Tigers on the final day of the season, could be a huge deciding factor in this series. In the bandbox in Arlington, the Rangers’ potent office could take over games and simply out-mash the Tigers. However, in the expansive Comerica Park, the Tigers’ pitching will have a decided advantage. I think the Tigers will win at least two of their three home games, and I will be very surprised if Justin Verlander doesn’t give his team a fairly good chance to win at least one of the games in Arlington. If the Rangers can take the other three games in Arlington, that would likely set up a Verlander vs. Wilson in game 7 in Texas for all the marbles. In a deciding game, with the team on his back, it’s hard to bet against the best pitcher in the American League, so I’m going to take the Tigers to advance in what should be a thoroughly entertaining series.

The Giants eliminated the Phillies in six games to win the 2010 National League Championship to go on to the World Series to play the Texas Rangers. I must state that I did get tired and annoyed with the announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who frequently derided the Giants, and couldn’t believe that the Giants could beat the the powerful Phillies.
The Giants did beat the Phillies with vim, vigor, and veracity. The Giants out-pitched the Phillies when they had to, and out-hit them when they needed to. Giants manager Bruce Bochy did out-manage Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to get the Giants successful match-ups throughout the the whole six game series. I don’t think that I’ve seen a more brilliant job of play-off managing and player execution than I saw in the NLCS.
I do think that this Giants team has made an arrangement with Bay Area cardiologists to make sure that the hearts of Giants fans are working and functioning, mine included. There has never been a better example of this than in Game 6 of the NLCS. Jonathan Sanchez gave up two first inning runs, and melted down in the third inning with an altercation with Chase Utley. (Sanchez and Utley did have previous history.) The Giants bullpen of Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgardner, Javier Lopez, Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson shut down the Phillies the rest of the game, and did not allow them a run, while stranding multiple Phillies base runners. The Giants got the runs that they needed to win on a base hit by Aubrey Huff, an error by Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco, and an opposite field home run by Juan Uribe, just enough to win.

After seven months of Giants baseball, I am still expecting this Giants team to crash, and it hasn’t happened yet. I thought that after the Giants lost Game 5 at AT & T Park that the Giants might go back to Philadelphia and phold (fold). It happened in 1987, and in 2002, but it didn’t happen here, and not with this team.
Now, the Giants are picked by the national media to lose to the Rangers. They are the underdogs. I have come to accept and relish the underdog status of the Giants, along with the constant “torture.” I have also started to think that there just might be a big orange and black parade down Market Street ( and not for Halloween) to end at the Civic Center in San Francisco, and I might actually get to see it.
As I said at the start of this season….Dare to dream….so close and yet, so far away.

The New York Yankees haven’t made the World Series every year, it just seems that way. Since 1921, the Yankees have appeared in the World Series 40 times, winning 27 championships.

By contrast, post season play is something very new for the team that dethroned the Yankees as the American League Champions.

Since entering the league as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961 and moving to the Dallas–Fort Worth area to become the Texas Rangers in 1972, the franchise has had little success. They reached the playoffs three times between 1996 and 1999, but lost in the opening round all three times while winning only one post season game.

Just as a comparison, while the Senators-Rangers went 50 years without making the World Series, the Yankees have made 15 World Series appearances and claimed 11 titles during that stretch. In addition, they reached the playoffs nine other times for a total of 24 playoff appearances in 50 years.

Since the failed attempt to implement a salary cap in baseball in 1994, the Yankees have made the playoffs in 15 of 16 seasons with seven World Series appearances and five titles.

To many Yankee fans across the world, appearing in and winning the World Series every year isn’t just a hopeful expectation, it is considered an expected right. Over history, failure to achieve the annual objective has often resulted in quick changes, regardless of past success.

Beloved manager Joe Torre, owner of four World Series rings, was run out of town because the Yankees had lost in the opening round of the playoffs three years in a row and had gone eight years since claiming a World Series championship. But Torre wasn’t the first New York manager to endure such a fate.

Joe McCarthy led the Yankees to eight World Series appearances and seven titles in 16 years, but when the team went three straight seasons without a post season appearance, he was fired during the 1946 season.

Despite having led the Yankees to the World Series title in his first season guiding the team in 1947, Bucky Harris was fired following the 1948 season and replaced by Casey Stengel. The move certainly worked out for the Yankees as Stengel led them to seven World Series titles and 10 appearances in 12 seasons.

Image via Wikipedia

However, after losing a dramatic seventh game in the 1960 Series, Stengel was replaced by Ralph Houk. The Yankees won the next two titles, but after being swept by the Dodgers in the 1963 Series, Houk was replaced by Yogi Berra despite the fact that New York won 104 games that season.

In 1964, Berra led the Yankees to 99 wins and the seventh game of the World Series, but it didn’t help the Yankee legend as he was fired after the season.

A similar fate met many Yankee managers during the George Steinbrenner era, but perhaps none was more pronounced than the firing of Dick Howser after one season leading the team in 1980. The Yankees won 103 games that season, but were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

Steinbrenner also had little patience with Torre’s immediate predecessor as Buck Showalter was fired following the 1995 season despite having led the Yankees to their first post season appearance in 14 years.

Photo of Yankees Mgr Joe Girardi by Icon SMI

It is doubtful that Joe Girardi’s job is in jeopardy after reaching the AL Championship Series in 2010, but given the past history it isn’t difficult to understand why there have been rumors of him looking at other potential jobs.

You can also bet that even with a 2010 payroll over $206 million, the Yankees will be in the market for new talent to put on the field in 2011.

With veteran shortstop Derek Jeter in need of a new contract and a number of other players reaching the downside of their careers, there will certainly be new faces added to the lineup in 2011.

The Yankees won’t be adding another championship in 2010, but you can count on them being back in the mix again next year.

Get 2010 World Series Tickets at StubHub!

The play-offs, thus far, have been incredible with great pitching and clutch hitting. The Giants certainly took care of the Braves beating them three games to one. The most impressive game was Tim Lincecum striking out fourteen hitters and only giving up two hits, winning 2-0.

Well, once the Giants got past the Braves, it was on to face the Phillies. Surprise playoff hero Cody Ross hit two home runs off Phillies ace Roy Holladay, to spur the Giants to a 4-3 win. The Giants lost the second game, 6-1, despite a good a starting pitching performance by Jonathan Sanchez.

Game 3 of the 2010 NLCS was truly special!! I went to the Public House, which is a bar and restaurant right next to AT & T Park. I got there early for the Mac/Murphy Show on the Giants’ flag ship radio station KNBR broadcast in the morning. I sat down at a table, and started talking with some other Giants fans. A very nice woman, Consuelo, came in and joined our table. She said that she had an extra ticket for the game. I said that I would buy her breakfast in payment for her extra ticket. This worked out great!! We all talked about our passion the Giants, and our history with them. It was very special!! We also all got together after the game to hang out and celebrate their win.

One of the highlights of the pre-game party was the appearance of Ashkon, who has done a great Giants highlight video on Youtube, which has had over 650,000 hits. It is wonderfully creative, and truly touches the soul of what it means to be a Giants fan, with Giants highlights and pictures of fans. My only regret is that I’m not in the video, but it is truly great!!

Oh, did I forget to mention this? Yes, the Giants did win, 3-0 behind a spectacular effort by Matt Cain. He threw seven innings of shut out ball, and the bullpen finished it up. The Giants got clutch hits by “who else?” Cody Ross, Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez. This win gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the NLCS, and put the Giants in the drivers’ seat.

Photo of Ryan Cavan taken from Google Images by Ashlee

Another highlight of the game was the people that Consuelo and I sat next to were not only great Giants fans, but that their son, Ryan Cavan is a minor league second base man playing in the Giants farm system. He’s played for the Giants n Augusta, GA, and will play for the San Jose Giants next year. Ryan grew up on the South Bay Peninsula and played college ball at UC Santa Barbara. Another story of a local guy trying to make good!! I could hear the pride in his parents’ voices as they spoke of him. I also believe that the parents both realized how difficult it is for Ryan to make it as a professional baseball player. I do wish Ryan all the luck, and I do hope that he does continue the Giants’ tradition of being a good second base man, and that he does play one day at AT & T Park.

I had the great fortune and pleasure to watch the Game 4 win with my neighbor and dear friend, Diane. We’ve been watching games together for many years. And we do share a great love of the Giants and all things orange and black, including Halloween. It was a very exciting game, with the lead going back and forth several times throughout the course of the game. There were also so many Giants heroes in the game– Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson out the Giants bullpen pitched great! Aaron Rowand throwing out a runner at home plate, Buster Posey with two clutch hits, and a ninth inning hit, which helped to set up the win, Pablo Sandoval who had a bad year after hitting .330 in 2009 even came through with a clutch double to drive in the tying and lead runs in the sixth inning. And of course, Cody Ross, with another clutch hit. Oh, and don’t forget Juan Uribe who got the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to score Aubrey Huff. This win puts the Giants one win away from going to the World Series. With a pitching match-up of Tim Lincecum vs Roy Holladay it should be a great game!!

If you had told me that the Giants would be so close to going to the World Series in March or April, I would have thought that you were absolutely insane. Of course, this is not the same Giants team that existed in April or May. It is a team of gamers and I love them. The only thing I can do is hope that this Orange October continues to roll on…

ALCS

Angels -vs- Yankees

Angels ALDS recap:

So who would have thought that the Angels pitching would both out pitch Boston’s starters AND completely shut down Boston’s offense for most of that series? Also, almost everyone gave the advantage at the closer position to Boston (Papelbon over Fuentes) and in the end it was Papelbon and Wagner (who’s 6th on the all time saves list with 385) were the ones who couldn’t hold onto the lead in game three. A point to remember is how successful the Angels hitters were in the regular season. At one point in August, I believe, they had all 9 starters hitting over .300 and had around a .010 point lead over the Yankees in team batting average. I was wrong on this prediction,but who was with me on this one?

Yankees ALDS recap:

OK, no real surprises here except for the long overdue arrival of A-Rod driving in runs in post season play as he drove in 6. I actually thought the Twins would win one game in this series on simple adrenalin while being on a hot streak to close out the regular season. I didn’t, however, think it would be game one as I thought they’d have jet lag or partied too much the night before after such a long and emotionally draining 163rd game against the Tigers. My bet would have been against Burnett. I did, however, get this one right.

My ALCS Prediction:

Like the Angels in the ALDS  who had a history of being owned by Boston in recent playoff history, the Yankees have a history of being beaten by the Angels. Like the Angels just did, I think the Yankees will overcome recent history & advance to the World Series, but I don’t think it will be a cake walk for them to do it. This time it will come down to the closers and Rivera will NOT allow a blown save in a series deciding game in this series. I’ll take the Yankees in 6 or 7 games!

NLCS

Dodgers -vs- Phillies

Dodgers NLDS recap:

Even with both teams healthy I would have expected either team to sweep this series. That just goes to show you how unpredictable baseball is and that is what makes the game so great in my eyes! The Dodgers patched rotation pitched better than the one-two punch of Cy Young Award candidate teammates Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright (and Joel Pineiro, too). Who would have thought that Padilla, LA’s number 5 starter on the depth chart, who had been claimed off waivers (I believe) from Texas would have beaten the rejuvenated Pineiro? Furthermore, how can a team with big time hitters Pujols and Holliday look so anemic to the point that they even could get swept? All this while LA’s biggest bat was practically a sleep for the first two games. I was wrong on this prediction, too, but who was with me on this one?
Phillies NLDS recap:

This series was the most exciting one to watch in my opinion with the last three games being decided by just one run! In the end, I was right on with my Phillies in 4 games prediction. The Phillies closer situation was NOT a factor in this series, but it may become on in the NLCS.

My NLCS Prediction:

Although I am more comfortable with the Dodgers rotation, I see the Phillies hitters as an improved bunch this time around, taking more pitches like Boston and the Yankees usually do. If this becomes a slugfest, then the obvious advantage goes to Philly, but if it’s a pitching dominated series, then I’ll side with the Dodgers unless Hammels can find his 2008 form to go along side Cliff Lee and if Pedro can flash some magic of his own. But in the end, without knowing how this will play out, because this is baseball after all and NOT the WWE, I will pick the Phillies to return to the World Series facing the Yankees, beating LA in 4/5 games.

The Angels are headed to the ALCS, after they finally defeat their traditional post season nemesis, the Boston Red Sox.  Bet the house on it.

Granted, it’s hard to come up with a solid baseball-based argument to support that bold statement.  The Red Sox have owned the Angels in the post season since Dave Henderson broke my heart with his dramatic home run in the ’86 ALCS.  Since that home run, the Red Sox have swept the Angels out of the post season in 2004 and 2007, and just plain embarrassed them in 2008.

But I feel it in my bones… this is the year all that changes.  And while I’d be foolish to even attempt to support it with any game related facts, here are the 10 reasons why I feel so strongly:

1) I’m the Angel correspondent.  If I don’t believe that, who will?

2) Paul Byrd – I hear he’s a lovely guy, but his teams (2004 Braves, 2005 Angels, 2007 Indians, 2008 Red Sox) have all been post season losers.  That streak continues in 2009.  BTW, Byrd’s nickname is “Frasier”, because of his resemblance to TV’s Kelsey Grammer….

3) Tom Werner – Coincidentally, Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner is an Executive Producer of Kelsey Grammer‘s new ABC series, “Hank.”  I’ve seen “Hank”, and it’s not good.  I believe the struggling “Hank” will distract Werner from his important day-to-day minority shareholder duties, and the ensuing result will be an early post season exit for the Sox.

4) Jered Weaver‘s Haircut - Granted Weaver has only been a .500 pitcher since he trimmed his locks in early August, but there’s no questioning that he’s a better looking man because of it, and as he adjusts to the enhanced confidence that results from that, he will propel the Angels pitching staff past the Red Sox.

5) Barack Obama – When Boston defeated the Angels in 1986, 2004, 2007 and 2008, the country was lead by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.  This year, the Angels are facing the Red Sox for the first time under a Democratic administration, which will lead to a more liberal amount of run scoring and an Angel series victory.

6) My season tickets – I’m not presumptuous enough to believe that my seat location has anything to do with how the Angels perform on the field, but the numbers speak for themselves.  For 35 years, my family has had season tickets behind the visiting dugout…. and for 35 years, the Angels have come up empty against the Red Sox.   This year, in search of shade, we’ve moved behind the Angels dugout, and concurrently, the Angels are poised to not only win this year’s playoffs, but begin a 35 year period of post season dominance.

7) Regular season dominance - In 2008, the Angels dominated the season series vs. the Red Sox (8-1), only to struggle in the playoffs and lose 3-1.  This regular season, the Angels struggled, coming out ahead (5-4), so logic would follow that they will dominate the playoff series.

Casey Kotchman – In 2008, the Angels traded Kotchman for Mark Teixeira.  The Red Sox traded Adam LaRoche for Kotchman.  The Angels clearly got the better of these two transactions, and thus will clearly get the better of the Red Sox in the post season.  If you’re not buying that logic… how about, in 2008, the Angels traded Kotchman and were cursed in the post season and lost in 4 games.  In 2009, the Red Sox traded for Kotchman, and will also be cursed in the post season.

9) Last Links to 2002 – With Scott Shields on the 60 Day DL after season-ending knee surgery, the Angels have only 2 players on the current roster who played on the 2002 Championship Team – John Lackey and Chone Figgins.  Both players are free agents … and attractive free agents whose return to Anaheim is anything but certain.  So this playoff drive is potentially the last to be lead by a player with a link to the World Series team, and a sentimental reason to motivate the current roster.  But there’s no more sentimental motivation for the Angels than….

10) Nick Adenhart – The Red Sox were the first team the Angels played after the tragic death of their young teammate, and with emotions already raw, they were further angered as the Sox’s Josh Beckett threw at the head of their team leader Torii Hunter.  The team has played with Adenhart’s inspiration all season, and they’ll be easily reminded of Beckett’s head hunting and the previous playoff embarrassments.  This series will test the character of the Angels… and they will finally shake the proverbial monkey off their backs and rally to face the Yankees in the 2009 ALCS.

=============================================================

Drew Brown is a longtime Angel season ticket holder who blogs about the Angels at AngelsBaseballOnIce.com You can follow him on Twitter @angelsbaseball

After being beaten in game 6 by Josh Beckett and the Red Sox, a game the Rays should have won, the Rays beat Jon Lester in game 7, a game they should have lost. Bottom line: the Rays played better in 4 of the 7 games played and that’s all that really matters.

Both sides had injuries to key players. Boston was missing SP Curt Schilling who was out for the whole year and then lost 3B and 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell to a torn labrum in his hip during the post season. For the Rays, they have gone through two rounds of the playoffs without their closer, Troy Percival, which is probably a bigger loss than the Red Sox seeing that they won 95 games without Schilling and even more than the loss of Lowell, too.

Taking a look back at game 6, Beckett vs. Shields, the Red Sox won 4-2. They have got to stop calling Shields “Big Game” until he wins some big games. H went 0-2 in his two big games pitched in the ALCS. In game 1 he lost to Matsuzaka and he lost game 6 to Beckett who wasn’t even his usual post-season dominant self. Beckett did; however, pitch like a veteran. He didn’t have his best stuff, probably due to some injury (oblique or otherwise) and he knew better than to try to overpower hitters. He has learned how to pitch rather than just throw, which relies on having excellant stuff.

Game 7 was a 3-1 victory by the Rays in which both starting pitchers pitched well. One, Matt Garza, just pitched better than the other , Jon Lester who had  a no hitter going for the first 3 innings. The Rays just out played the Red Sox! Even the Red Sox players have admitted this much. They did so on the mound, the basepaths and at the plate. You just gotta like this Rays team. They’ve got spirit and they have a great manager, unorthodox at times, but effective, especially given the make up of his team.

I guess 9 really does equal  8 and it must also equal 2.

This ought to be a great World Series match up, I just hope that it will be viewed as such and reflects in the ratings.

In tomorrow’s match up we have Boston’s new Ace of the staff, Jon Lester going up against the Rays # 3 starter in Matt Garza who pitched very well in game 3.

But, I have to give the advantage to the Sox in game 7 as the momentum has most definitely shifted. The Rays had their chance in game 5 to put away a sleeping giant and they couldn’t get the job done! Now this young team with all this talent and great potential look like the pressure is finally catching up to them and Boston has their old swagger back. The Rays are making errors which is uncharacteristic of a team that has one of the best defensive players in the American League.

This won’t hurt them long term as they should be contenders in the vicious AL East for years to come. Infact, this will probably make them stronger in the long run as these sort of situations usually do. This will happen with the Rays because they have a strong manager leading them and they have a solid core of players who are both talented and tough mentally as well. If not, they would have folded under the pressure well before the playoffs even started.

Bottom line is that the Sox have the experience, the momentum and the better talent going into game 7 and they will win and advance to host the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series and defend their title as World Series Champions.

Phillies be afraid, be very afraid! The Red Sox have a chance, if they win game 7, to become the first back to back World Series winners since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.