Author: Alex Graves|Dean DeChiaro
The American League playoffs feature the most intriguing storylines. There are the Boston Red Sox, the defending World Series champions who play the Anaheim Angels, who have been regulars in the playoffs in recent years, but have not been to the World Series since they won in 2002.
The Chicago White Sox, who only made the playoffs after winning a one game tiebreaker against the Minnesota Twins, face the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that no one expected anything from this year. Not only is this their first playoff appearance, but it’s also the first time the team has ever even had a winning record.
The Red Sox and Angels series features some of the best pitchers in baseball. The Red Sox will go with Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, who combined to win 46 games this year. The Angels will counter with John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders, who combined to win 45 games.
A difference in this series is that the Red Sox are without one of their greatest players in the history of the franchise, Manny Ramirez – who was traded to the Dodgers. I’m not convinced that the lineup has enough power in the middle of the batting in order to beat the Angels. So, I’ll take the Angels in five.
If you’re a White Sox fan, don’t blink. If you do, you won’t even see your team play. The Rays come into the playoffs having won the second larges bumber of games in the regular season and are full of confidence. The Rays are a young group of players under the guidance of likely Manager-of-the-Year, Joe Maddon.
Although the Rays do not have a starting position player who hit over 300 in the regular season, their combination of strong pitching and defense should overwhelm the White Sox. The White Sox are without their best offensive player Carlos Quentin, who broke his wrist approximately a month ago. I’ll take the Rays in four.
For the American League Championship Series, I want to believe in the Rays, so I will take them to beat the Angels in six games.
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