2009 Playoffs Predictions

[jacksonianmarch]

I am actually not worried about CC. He has been worked this yr, but he wont be on 3 days rest down the stretch like he was last yr. I am also not worried about Pettitte. Burnett is the kind of guy who would cause me to bite my nails a bit. Its almost a 50/50 thing with him. Lights out or Lights off. Also, if we dont put up a good fight in the playoffs, it will be exceedingly disappointing.

[ElMaestro]

So' date=' seeing that the Yankees right now are the best team in baseball, how upset are you guys going to be if they don't go all the way? And are you worried about your big guns not performing like years past in the post season?[/quote']

 

To be sincere, will upset me more that they don't win the WS than the ALCS. Honestly, I don't think Detroit will be an obstacle for the yanks, but Boston or Anaheim will (this is assuming NYY, DET, BOS and ANA goes to playoffs). Both, Boston more than Anaheim, are better IMHO than any team in the NL, and that team will be the hardest obstacle they will have to overcome. So losing to one of them won't be that upsetting. If they win the pennant and lose the WS, then I will be mad

[Paradisecity]

I think the yanks have the best shot to win. If the sox rotation is firing on all cylinders then its a crapshoot.

 

Either way I dont see Anaheim or Detroit making it through 2 series.

[schillingouttheks]

BAL' date=' TOR, OAK, SEA, CWS, KC, TB only real hard was texas who was ice cold when they got to town and the Angels coming up.[/quote']

 

Stop it. Now.

 

The Yankees are a better team than the Red Sox. That said, the Yankees can be beat in a playoff series. Over the course of a season, I will take the Yankees.

[Spudboy]

I think the yanks have the best shot to win. If the sox rotation is firing on all cylinders then its a crapshoot.

 

Either way I dont see Anaheim or Detroit making it through 2 series.

 

I agree with this post.

 

The Sox have to make it to the post season first.

[Dojji]

I think the Sox are the team of all the playoff contenders best built for a short series. 3 shutdown starters and a loaded bullpen. If Daisuke returns to his 2007 form or better we'll easily have the best playoff pitching of the bunch, and that's what wins championships.

[bsox0407]

How is that any different from the Red Sox?

 

Are you 12? Cause those are the exact same teams the sox have played and sucked hard against. Stop being an idiot

 

im 18 cause the sox have played more of tampa bay when they were playing well and the white sox playing well. also texas in texas was a tough series because they were playing well when the sox weren't we didnt get oak and sea who are al west teams that suck.

[yankees228]

Stop it. Now.

 

The Yankees are a better team than the Red Sox. That said, the Yankees can be beat in a playoff series. Over the course of a season, I will take the Yankees.

 

I think the fact that the Yankees' can be beat in a postseason series goes without saying. Any team can be beat in a short series. In my opinion the Yankees were the best team in baseball in 2002 and 2003, but didn't win the World Series either time. Conversely, they were not the best team in baseball in 1996 and 2000, yet they won the World Series both times. It just reaffirms that the postseason is crapshoot.

[Cliff]

The Red Sox home record is right up to par with the Yankees... both teams are explosive, and I'd have to say neither of them really have the edge over the other. It'll be interesting to watch.

 

But the Yanks have the ability to take any game away from home as well. But I guess thats attributed to the fact that the Red Sox play much harder teams than the Yankees do... *rolls eyes*

[ORS]

But I guess thats attributed to the fact that the Red Sox play much harder teams than the Yankees do... *rolls eyes*

You are right, it would take a pretty stupid person to suggest such a thing. Thing is, as far as I can tell, you are the only person who has done it on this forum. Congrats, you win the stupid.

[Cliff]

You are right' date=' it would take a pretty stupid person to suggest such a thing. Thing is, as far as I can tell, you are the only person who has done it on this forum. Congrats, you win the stupid.[/quote']

 

I win the stupid? Score. I'm glad I won.. I didn't know it was a contest.

 

Anywhom, before you *attempt* to insult me, I suggest you read and comprehend all posts in this thread before doing so.

 

When the Yankees don't have weak teams to pound they won't last long in the playoffs IMHO.

 

cool you guys have played bad teams

 

BAL, TOR, OAK, SEA, CWS, KC, TB only real hard was texas who was ice cold when they got to town and the Angels coming up.

 

LOL! Oh well.. I dont know what I'm talking about though?

[MANNYHOF24]

You can continue to pick your matchups all you want. The fact is, 1-3 Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte can stack up with anyone's top 3. Hughes and Mariano are better than anyone's 8-9 punch in the bullpen. And our offense will roll with anyone's pitching. Put that together with probable home field in a stadium where the yankees are a ridiculous 50-22, and you have to say that NY is the favorite. Now, as we all know, that doesnt guarantee s***. But any predictions of them getting steamrolled in the early going are nothing but homerism.

 

Going team by team, I have to say that Detroit is the weakest. They do have a nice 1-2 punch of Verlander and Jackson, but Verlander really is the big #1. Jackson is still wild at times and easily waited out by a patient team. After those two, you run into a rookie in Porcello, and a guy who has been miserable since coming to Detroit in Washburn. Also, they have a bullpen that has been porous through the yr and also is missing their most important piece in Zumaya. Their offense is centered around 2 guys in Granderson and Cabrera, and as a whole has been incredibly disappointing.

 

The Angels are actually the second weakest team IMO, in the AL. Not based on record, mind you, but based on what they have become. Over the yrs, when they would steamroll us out of the playoffs, their starting pitching would be good and their bullpen would be completely and totally stacked. That is no longer the case in the pen, but the rotation remains strong. Lackey remains their ace and is starting to pitch like one. Weaver and Kazmir get to slot in as the #2 and #3 and Saunders has been an inconsistent #4. But their bullpen, the crux of their postseason success has crumbled. KRod is gone. Shields is out for the yr. Fuentes is in, and while he has saved a bunch of games, he has really been a middle of the road reliever with the ERA over 4. And there are a bunch of inconsistent guys in the middle. Their biggest improvement has been the offense with Morales and Hunter stepping into the middle of the order, and Vlady falling back a bit due to injury. Regardless, their offense can hang with NY and Boston. Their starting pitching can hang up front with Boston and 1-3 with NYY. But their bullpen no longer has that lock down quality that they used to have, which was the absolute dagger that they could throw into the hearts of NY.

 

Boston and NY are the top two teams in the AL, and this is after the sox slipped from that ranking for a short period of time around the AS break when their pitchers went down like flies and the offense hibernated. They are 1 and 2 in run differential. Both teams clobber opponents in their venues (1 and 2 in Home records). Both teams have a rather good 1-2 punch for the playoffs. Both teams have the lights out October closer. And both teams have offenses that score.

 

So, to expound on my predictions....

 

ALE winner- NYY

ALC winner- DET

ALW winner- LAA

ALWC winner- BOS

 

First round- NYY def DET 3-1

NY with the home field and pretty much the full team advantage should take this series based on the overwhelming offensive advantage and the bullpen advantage. I would assume we split the first 2 games but close it out in Detroit with Sabathia on the hill

 

First round- BOS def LAA 3-2

The sox will have to lean heavily on their top 2 in this series IMO. They have sucked on the road this yr, but they always seem to play LAA tough in any venue. My prediction is based on Boston taking 1 of 2 in Anaheim with Lackey outlasting Beckett and the sox team sleeping through one of the games on the road. My prediction also assumes that Saunders is outlasted in game 4 in Boston with Kazmir winning game 3 vs Buchholz and the sox sending Beckett to the hill in game 5 with everything on the line.

 

Second Round- NYY def BOS 4-3

Home field advantage comes into play something fierce in this one. We can hit Beckett. We havent been hitting Lester, but outlasting him. We can hit Buchholz and any other slop you throw out there. Its gonna be a war, predicting individual games is gonna be a waste cause nothing ever comes out the way it should. But, this time around, the home field will make all the difference. I think it ends with Pettitte facing off vs Buchholz in game 7 and a possible long game going deep into the night. Would it be any other way?

 

 

I would rather have you guys eliminated in the first round. That's the way I want it.

[Dojji]

Rotation:

 

BOS (Beckett, Lester, Buchholz)

DET (Verlander, Jackson, Washburn)

LAA (Lackey, Weaver, Kazmir)

NYY (Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte)

 

Bullpen:

 

BOS (Papelbon, Wagner, Bard, Okajima, Ramirez)

NYY (Rivera, Hughes, Aceves, Robertson)

LAA (Fuentes, Bulger, Oliver)

DET (Rodney, Lyon)

 

Lineup:

 

NYY

LAA

BOS

DET

[ORS]

I win the stupid? Score. I'm glad I won.. I didn't know it was a contest.

 

Anywhom, before you *attempt* to insult me, I suggest you read and comprehend all posts in this thread before doing so.

 

LOL! Oh well.. I dont know what I'm talking about though?

And, it's pretty clear he's talking about a segment of the season in response to someone else's post about that segment, whereas you are talking about the entire road record performance. What was that about comprehension?

 

BTW, I don't need to "attempt" to insult your intelligence. You manage doing that just fine every time you open your mouth.

[Cliff]

And, it's pretty clear he's talking about a segment of the season in response to someone else's post about that segment, whereas you are talking about the entire road record performance. What was that about comprehension?

 

BTW, I don't need to "attempt" to insult your intelligence. You manage doing that just fine every time you open your mouth.

 

Seriously, read the thread. Don't make me go through and repost things in chronological order because you can't click a 1, 2 or 3.

 

The posts I quoted came from 2 individuals..

 

One

When the Yankees don't have weak teams to pound they won't last long in the playoffs IMHO.

 

When the Yankees don't have weak teams to pound on... because both Boston and New York aren't in the AL East? So, somehow.. the Yankees schedule is filled with weak teams, but Bostons is not? How does that work? Take the season game by game, they all pile up..

 

cool you guys have played bad teams

 

..and the Red Sox have played the same teams. How does that work?

 

And' date=' it's pretty clear he's talking about a segment of the season in response to someone else's post about that segment, whereas you are talking about the entire road record performance.[/quote']

 

No, no.. no.. and no. I said NY and Boston have very similar home records. I then said NY has a better road record, but I guess thats attributed to the fact Boston has a harder schedule.

 

Figure it out... if Boston and Yanks have almost identical home records, but the Yankees have a better away record, and he stated that the Yankees play weak teams, it MUST be why the Yankees have a better away record. Right? He's justifying the fact that the Yankees overall record is because they play weak teams.

 

And again, no, no.. no.. PLEASE, read a thread. You're being thick. He was NOT talking about a segment of the season in response to someone else's post about that segment, BECAUSE NO ONE BROUGHT UP THAT SEGMENT UNTIL HE DID. So its not possible for him to RESPOND to someone that was talking about that segment of games when he BROUGHT UP THAT SEGMENT OF GAMES. Shh... please, read.

[redsoxrules]

Just an FYI cliff, the redsox and yankees dont have the same schedual and dont play the same teams the exact amount of games therefore it is possible that one has a weaker schedual

[Dojji]

When the Yankees don't have weak teams to pound on... because both Boston and New York aren't in the AL East? So, somehow.. the Yankees schedule is filled with weak teams, but Bostons is not? How does that work? Take the season game by game, they all pile up..

 

I'll respond to that one, since I said it.

 

It's pretty simple, and it's a big part of the reason why Yankees teams haven't done well in the postseason. Your strengths rely on a powerful lineup and an above average rotation. The problem with that is that this strategy is only truly effective against a mix of strong, average and weak pitching. You molest the average and weak pitching and trust your half decent rotation to keep you from getting into too much trouble against the strong pitching. A one-week slump from a key hitter in the regular season is annoying.

 

In the playoffs, in all likelihood, it's all strong pitching, and worse, most of the rest of the lineups you face are also pretty strong. Unless your lineup is firing on all cylinders good pitching is going to figure out enough of your hitters to limit your primary advantage, and your "above average" rotation, which usually isn't better than the rotations of the pitching build teams you face in the playoffs, can wind up getting exposed. A one week slump from a key hitter in the postseason is deadly.

[Cliff]

Just an FYI cliff' date=' the redsox and yankees dont have the same schedual and dont play the same teams the exact amount of games therefore it is possible that one has a weaker schedual[/quote']

 

Since the AS break.. I'll list the losing / tying series in order Boston has lost

2 of 3 @ Toronto

3 of 3 @ Texas

2 of 4 vs Oak

2 of 2 @ TB

4 of 4 @ NY

2 of 3 @ Texas

2 of 3 vs NY

3 of 4 @Chicago

 

I'll leave NY in there, just because the only reason the Yankees have a better record than Boston is because Yanks beat up on weak teams.

 

The Red Sox are 6 - 20.

 

Should Boston have lost or tied any of these series? If Boston wouldve played .500 ball theyd be leading the division...

[ORS]

And again' date=' no, no.. no.. PLEASE, read a thread. You're being thick. He was NOT talking about a segment of the season in response to someone else's post about that segment, [b']BECAUSE NO ONE BROUGHT UP THAT SEGMENT UNTIL HE DID.[/b] So its not possible for him to RESPOND to someone that was talking about that segment of games when he BROUGHT UP THAT SEGMENT OF GAMES. Shh... please, read.

His comment about strength of schedule was a direct response to Maestro's post about post-ASG performance. Quit telling me to read the thread when it is clear you either have not, or are incapable of understanding what people are talking about.

 

You then make an assumption and create a strawman that extrapolates that point as jusfiication for the road record comparison over the whole season. This is exactly what you have done. You suggest I'm being thick, but the reality is that you are being a smarmy dick. Seriously, fabricating a position that you mock with "rolls eyes"? Get over yourself.

[bsox0407]

You suggest I'm being thick' date=' but the reality is that you are being a smarmy dick. Seriously, fabricating a position that you mock with "rolls eyes"? Get over yourself.[/quote']

 

:clap::lol::thumbsup::lol::thumbsup:

[Youk Of The Nation]

Colorado over the Yankees in 7.

[RWTP24]

Colorado over the Yankees in 7.

 

Wow, a Red Sox fan not having the Sox in the WS. That might be a first.