Here are the starting line ups for Game 1 of the ALDS between the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
ANGELS
John Lackey, P
RED SOX
Josh Beckett, P
Tune in tonight as Bloggers Anthony of the Oriole Post and Jason of My Baseball Bias join me for our hour long baseball show called, “The Hits Keep Coming†on Blog Talk Radio and on MVN Radio. Every week at 7PM Eastern Time (6PM Central/ 5PM Mountain/ 4PM Western/Pacific) we chat, analyze and comment about the world of Major League Baseball.
This week it’s the PLAYOFF EDITION as we tell you all you need to know about the ALDS and NLDS.
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Topics to be discussed this evening:
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See you all tonight!!!
I think everyone will remember that I sucked at this last year when I tried to do the predictions for the American League and National League Division Series Matchups. So I decided to do it again. This year you will see my predictions along with Steve’s. My predictions will be in blue and Steve’s in red.
This year the four teams playing for the right to represent the American League are the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees. The teams trying to represent the National League are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies.
American League Division Series:
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Both the Red Sox and Angels come into this series with their pitching rotations set up the way they want. Since the series provides an off-day after each game except after games 3 and 4, the advantage goes to the Red Sox. Lackey hasn’t had success at Fenway while the Sox will have Beckett and Matsuzaka going. The one thing the Sox have to be aware of is the Angels small ball ways and Vlad. If you make a mistake to Vlad, that ball will be somewhere on Lansdowne Street. Playing the small ball is what got the Angels there and the Red Sox will have to execute flawlessly to counteract that. In the end, I think it comes down to the bullpens and the Sox have the better overall bullpen. Red Sox in 4.
I think the Sox take it in four games. LA steals a game at home but with Josh Beckett going twice in four games and LA having no power threat other than Big Bad Vladdy Daddy they can’t get behind. In fact Guerrero is only expected to DH and with Gary Matthews Jr most likely out that means the outfield will be spread thin as rookies Reggie Willts and Nathan Haynes will most likely have to play. The Angels bullpen isn’t what it has been in past years sure they have Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Sheilds but other than that its weak. The Sox bullpen has been a strength all season and it will continue to be.
Also, please check out the roundtable discussion about the Angels and Red Sox series I participated in over at Red Sox Monster. Three other Red Sox bloggers and myself answered questions about the upcoming series.
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The biggest question out of this series is whether AROD can continue to do what he did in the regular season or will he have another quiet playoffs like years past. The Indians will throw their top two pitchers, Sabathia and Carmona in the first two games and they are as good as anyone out there. The Yankees will go with Wang and Pettitte so it will not be an easy task as well. The Indians lineup is built around speed and power while the Yankees lineup is probably one of the best there is. In the end, I think this comes down to the bullpens and ultimately the Yanks will come out on top in 5 games.
Ok which team shows up here. The Yankees who can’t pitch or the Indians who can’t hit? Everyone is high on Joba Chamberlain but you gotta get to him first. With the Indians having home field I think its big. C.C. Sabathia hasn’t faced the Yanks since 2004, that’s a huge advantage for him in Game 1. The Yankees have a better bullpen and everyday lineup. But they say good pitching stops good hitting so the Indians win in 5 as Sabathia gets two W’s.
The Patriots not only survived the first four weeks of the season without safety Rodney Harrison in the defensive backfield but most people didn’t even realize he was gone. When Harrison was suspended by the NFL for HGH use just prior to opening weekend many through out the media and even Patriots fans themselves thought 
they could be in for it and what was promising to be a special season could start off ugly.
But the team, as always, pulled together to survive loss of Harrison plus having all-pro defensive lineman Richard Seymour put on the PUP list for the six weeks with an ankle injury. Then came camera-gate and everyone forgot about Harrison’s absence.
Well Rodney returned to the facilities today. I’m sure he’s dying to play Sunday at home against Cleveland and I’m sure Pat’s fans will give him the same treatment they gave Belichick in Week 2. Nothing but love.
Comment of the week goes to Mendoza on the Pat’s projo blog discussing the return of Harrison:
“I feel bad for the first person to get hit by him next week”.
Speaking of Richard Seymour, I haven’t heard anything about if he is going to return for Week 7. This isn’t surprising as the Patriots are very secretive to begin with regarding injuries and never make injured players available to the media. The Patriots have to either activate him or place him on the season-long injured reserve list after Week 6.
The Bengals who started Monday’s game with only four healthy linebackers played nearly 3 quarters with only two after Lemar Marshall and Landon Johnson suffered injuries, neither returned to the field. Wednesday Cincinnati placed Marshall on the IR for the year and replaced him with Corey Mays who they claimed off waivers from New England. Mays played one game for the Patriots against the Jets in Week 1. He made one tackle in limited time near the end of the game. As a rookie out of Notre Dame last season he played in 8 games for the Patriots making 9 tackles.
162 games down. 11 more wins to the promised land. It’s playoff time in Major League Baseball. The Red Sox and Angels both spent yesterday mulling over roster decisions for the ALDS and some surprises on both. No Wakefield for the Sox and no Matthews, Jr. for the Angels. It’s going to be an exciting series as both clubs play different styles of baseball. Steve and I will have our predictions at high noon today. So while you’re eagerly awaiting those, check out the headlines from the Boston and Los Angeles area media.
Excitement for the playoffs! [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]
Deal turned up an ace [Boston Globe]
Colon out, so Moseley back on playoff roster [LA Times]
Sox buckle up [Boston Herald]
Boston should beat Angels in four [The Orange County Register]
Trying To Prevent Angels’ Playoff Run [Hartford Courant]
The start of something big? [LA Daily News]
Series business [Pro Jo]
Mom and Vlad [LA Times]
Lowell unflappable [Boston Globe]
Best and worst of Bill Stoneman [The Orange County Register]
Manny has plan [Boston Herald]
Injuries have Angels facing a depth test [LA Daily News]
Back Keeps Wakefield Off Roster [Hartford Courant]
There’s no pitcher like Beckett, and that’s just fine with the Sox [Pro Jo]
For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, LA Times, The Orange County Register and LA Daily News websites.
The Astros paid for overestimating their talent in 2007.
The Braves will not be re-signing Andruw Jones for 2008.
The Brewers believe they played their best down the stretch.
Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa is unsure about his future.
Lou Pinella has put the swagger back in the Cubs.
The Diamondbacks don’t mind being underdogs.
The Dodgers started their youth movement in 2007.
The Giants have a lot of questions to answer for 2008.
The Marlins have a lot to build on for 2008.
Willie Randolph will remain Mets skipper despite the collapse.
Justin Maxwell impressed the Nationals brass this season.
The Padres 2007 season was like a roller coaster ride.
The Phillies left Adam Eaton off their NLDS roster.
The Pirates had an inconsistent 2007 season.
The Reds fell short of their expectations in 2007.
The Rockies are playing percentages by starting two lefties in the NLDS.
As you take a look at the 25-man roster for the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, you will notice one player left off the roster. I will let you mull it over while looking at it.
Regulars:
Jason Varitek
Kevin Youkilis
Dustin Pedroia
Julio Lugo
Mike Lowell
J.D. Drew
Coco Crisp
Manny Ramirez
David Ortiz
Bench:
Eric Hinske
Alex Cora
Jacoby Ellsbury
Bobby Kielty
Doug Mirabelli
Kevin Cash
Pitchers:
Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Curt Schilling
Jon Lester
Jonathan Papelbon
Eric Gagne
Hideki Okajima
Mike Timlin
Manny Delcarmen
Javier Lopez
To see why Terry Francona left Tim Wakefield off the roster, check out Amalie Benjamin’s post at Extra Bases.
Other than Wake being left off the roster, the other surprise to me is Kevin Cash. But due to the way the series sets up, virtually every pitcher in the bullpen would be available in each game with the exception of Jon Lester, who is probably the long man.
This afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the winners of the Comeback Player of the Year Award for the National League and the American League. Picking up the honors in the National League was Washington Nationals first baseman Dimitri Young while Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman Carlos Peña won it in the American League.
If you can remember back in the latter part of the 2006 season, Young was released by the Detroit Tigers as he was suffering from alcohol dependency and other personal problems. He was invited to the Nationals spring training as a non-roster invitee and end up making the team. All he did was make his second All-Star team and hit .320 with 13 home runs and 74 RBIs. His .320 batting average was good for 8th in the National League.
Peña spent most of the 2006 season playing in the minors for the New York Yankees and was eventually released. He was picked up by the Boston Red Sox and spent part of the time in Triple-A with Pawtucket and eventually finished the season with the Sox. He was let go after the season.
The Devil Rays invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee and he almost didn’t make the club. He had a rough spring training and was sent to Durham on March 30th. An injury to Greg Norton led to Peña’s recall to the Devil Rays and he never looked back.
Peña finished the season hitting .282 with 46 home runs and 121 RBIs. All those were career highs for him. The 46 home runs and 121 RBIs also set single-season club records for the Devil Rays.
We had talked about this last week on our radio show and the consensus was that these two would win the honors.
Congratulations to both on a well deserved honor.
The Red Sox spent the off day mulling over their playoff roster and attending a rally at Boston City Hall. Today they will hold a full team workout at Fenway Park before heading home to rest up for Wednesday’s ALDS opener vs the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The game times were announced as well on Monday. You can see them by clicking here. So while there was no Red Sox game yesterday, you can bet the Boston area media was busy. So without further hesitation let’s take a look at the headlines and stories they wrote.
Once he gained edge, Pedroia looked sharp [Boston Globe]
New Spin On Rotation [Hartford Courant]
Playoffs may define Papelbon’s greatness [Boston Herald]
Sox set their rotation with eye toward maximizing Schilling [Pro Jo]
Donnelly can’t help but feel bittersweet [Boston Globe]
’Penning a solid plan [Boston Herald]
A lower-profile Manny still helped Ortiz have big year [Pro Jo]
For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Providence Journal, and Hartford Courant websites.
The Red Sox will need to slow the Angels down on the basepaths during the ALDS.
Anderson, Escobar, Lackey, Guerrero all provide leadership for the Angels.
The A’s suffered from the injury bug throughout 2007.
Despite not making the playoffs, the Blue Jays season was a success.
The Devil Rays are showing promise for a breakthrough season.
C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona will look to lead the Indians in the playoffs.
The Seattle Mariners are looking forward to a better 2008.
The Orioles took some small steps towards their organizational goals.
The Rangers will be looking to add a big bat to their lineup for 2008.
The Royals made some progress in 2007.
Detroit fell short in their quest to repeat as American League Champs.
The Twins lost focus on fundamentals in 2007.
The White Sox lived a nightmare in 2007.
Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens tested his injured hamstring down in Tampa.