As October begins so does the race for the World Series.
by Sam Thomas
photo by Manny Perez
When you flip the page on your calendar from September to October what comes to mind? Halloween? It’s the tenth month? World Series Playoffs?
With the regular season over its time for the playoffs, and with new and old faces among baseballs best, it’s sure to be one explosive series after another. With the National League and American League Western, Central, Eastern, and Wild Card winners the best eight teams in baseball take to the field to prove who is the best team in the world.
The first round of the playoffs will sure to be full of excitement and full of upsets. Starting in the NL, a battle of the bats will erupt between the National League West-winning Los Angles Dodgers taking on the National League Central winning Chicago Cubs. This sure fire series is a dead heat when it comes to hitting and fielding. This series will be won with pitching. The Cubs have a superior starting rotation made up of the one-two-three punch of Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, and Rich Harden who are all almost sure-win-pitchers. Along with their league-leading pitching they pack and arsenal of relief pitchers that rival any team in Major League Baseball. With all the cards leaning towards the Cubs it’s a big surprise that the Dodgers take the series because, as any baseball player or fan knows, when your hot your hot so watch out Chicago the Dodgers are going to take the series. Dodgers lead the series as of today October 2, 2008 two to zero.
The next to take the field are the NL East winning Philadelphia Phillies and the NL Wild card winning Milwaukee Brewers. With the superiority of Phillies pitching compared to the inexperience of Milwaukee, and the dominating batting lineup of the Phillies anchored by veterans Jimmie Rollins, Chace Utley, and Pat “the bat” Burrell, the Phillies should take down the Brewers and walk into the second round smashing the Brewers in the first two games of the series leading two games to none.
Onto the American league, the highlight series comes down to the American League West winning and holders of the best record in baseball, Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim take on the powerhouse Wild Card winning Boston Red Sox. Choosing a winner among these two teams is no easy task, but the completely dominating starting pitching of the Boston Red Sox made up of Jon Lester, Daisuke Mtasuzaska, Josh Beckett, and knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield, the Red Sox are nearly unbeatable and should discharge the Angles in sweep fashion leading the series one to nill after the first game.
The last to duke it out amongst the AL are the Cinderella AL East winning Tampa Bay Rays and the AL Central winning Chicago White Sox. The fiery youngsters of Tampa Bay take on the seasoned veterans of Chicago. The raw power of the Rays is too much for the oldies but goldies of Chicago. Expect a big series from Carl Crawford, B.J Upton, Carlos Pena, and rookie Evan Longoria. The Rays take the series in straight games leading the series one to nothing after the first game.
With the NL and AL division series on the line it’s going to come down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Both series are sure to go 6 or 7 games, for all the teams match up nearly perfectly.
Starting in the NL the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers again with their superior starting rotation are going to be too much for the Phillies to cope with. The firepower of the Dodgers line up made up of Many Ramirez, Russell Martin, and James Loney take the Phillies down and move onto the World Series crowned as National League Champions.
The matchup of American League rivals Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays is a toss up. Both teams have very good starting lineups, starting pitching, and deep bullpens. The series is sure to go seven games with the Rays coming out on top. The Cinderella team from Tampa really turned up the heat in the second half of the season, beating the Sox 8 out of 15 including some impressive come-from-behind victories and nail-biting extra inning slugfests. The Rays come into the playoffs very hot and will continue their hot streak, plowing over the White Sox, while the Red Sox will have to engage in a knock down, drag out brawl between themselves and the Angles. The Rays should take the series and will be crowned American League Champs.
The World Series comes down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays. The series goes to the Rays. The firepower of their youngsters will be too much for the Dodgers to handle. The Rays end their Cinderella story collecting the rings and the crown of the World Series champions. The playoffs are going to one exciting time for baseball fans, and when the Rays walk away with the title, remember, you heard it from me first.
