2010 MLB Playoff Predictions: AL

It's October folks so you know what that means, playoff baseball!  Here's our AL Playoff predictions.

ALDS:

Twins vs. Yankees
The Twins were looking  at a matchup with the Rangers.  Then the almost unthinkable happened.  The Yankees lost on Sunday so now the two best teams in the AL (IMO) are playing in the ALDS.  The Twins have struggled lately and their two best players have been hampered with injuries.  Their pitching will also need to be spot on.  Meanwhile, the Yankees are always ready in the playoffs and with CC Sabathia going game 1, they should have an edge despite not having home field advantage.  Twins absolutely need to sweep the first two games at home because I don't see them getting a win at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees in 4

Rays vs. Rangers
The Rangers have also been hit with injuries as well.  Josh Hamilton is not 100% and you cannot afford to have your big bat banged up.  I don't know if the Rangers pitching is good enough to advance.  Plus, Cliff Lee hasn't been his self lately.  The Rays have been very consistent in the past month and I see them continuing that trend especially with playing the first two games at home.

Rays in 4

ALCS:

Rays vs. Yankees
If any team wanted to take down the Yankees your best bet would have been to secure home field.  Well, the Rays have just that.  I see this as a great matchup and either team can win it all if they advance to the World Series.  I'm a little unsure about the Rays' bullpen in this, which is the most important unit when it comes to playoff baseball in my opinion.

Yankees in 6

Expand MLB Instant Replay? No way

Once again we have the tiresome instant replay argument being brought up again in the MLB. We had ONE bad call recently and it shouldn't even have happened in the first place, and now we have a bunch of people screaming for it again...

What a load of crap.

The Twins got called out on a game-ending play at the plate. The A's were ahead 14-13 and Michael Cuddyer tried to score the tying run on a passed ball. Cuddyer was easily safe but called out to end the game.

But the Twins shouldn't have been in this position in the first place. They had a 12-2 lead in the 3rd inning; last time I checked in baseball rarely any lead is comfortable early in the game. It's a sport where you need to keep putting pressure on the opposing team.

The Twins didn't do their job after the 3rd inning. The pitchers struggled and hitters went quiet. The A's slowly crept their way back into it and then blew up with a 7 run 7th to take the lead. The Twins only have themselves to blame. They gave up a big lead then tried to blame it on the ump on one call to end the game.

I know it was a bad call but the umps can't see them all. That's why you can't put yourselves in a possible position where an umps call can "decide" the game. The umps are payed to be accurate and make sure the game goes along smoothly. But they're not payed to get every call right.

Now to replay. The human element is what makes baseball such a great game. There's just something about it that I like. Baseball is a game of judgment calls and was made that way for a reason. I would not like to see instant replay expanded to calls on the field.

Once you expand to 'on the field' plays you run the risk of delaying the game and ruining the tradition of the game. If we do this then what's to stop them from expanding to balls and strikes? You rarely see bad calls like this, but remember it's part of the game. It was a rather unfortunate ending to a game where the Twins unfortunately had it coming.

Francisco Liriano Needs To Be Called Up

What the HELL are the Twins waiting for? Good Lord! The Twins should consider themselves lucky to be where they are right now. They're starting rotation is not overly talented in the least and Liriano is exactly what they need! While other teams can go out and get a C.C. Sabathia or a Rich Harden for a big boost to their rotation, all the Twinkies have to do is CALL HIM UP!

On July 1, assistant GM Rob Antony said:

“We’re looking more for the seven, eight innings where he doesn’t walk many and he’s a little bit more in control of things. When you string three or four of those together, then you’re on a pretty good roll We told him it’s a two-part thing. He needs to dominate, to pitch better, and then there also has to be a spot, and as long as all these guys are pitching well, we’re not just going to create a spot unfairly to someone else.”

That was very obviously an excuse to keep Liriano at AAA. Since June 20, Liriano hasn’t given up a run, and has struck out 24 and walked 3, in 20 innings. Apparently, that’s just about what the Twins are looking for.

Oh yeah, there’s no room for Francisco Liriano in that rotation, since all our guys are pitching so well! Of course! I mean, it’s not like there’s a guy in the rotation who has the 44th best ERA in the league (out of 46), and has given up the most hits in baseball, and is in fact on pace to give up the most hits in a season since World War 2. If someone were performing that poorly, then perhaps he could be replaced by one of the best young pitchers in the game who happens to be embarassing hitters at AAA!

Maybe it’s just me, but it might be better to at least try to keep the guy happy. He is, after all, “The Franchise.” Call up Liriano. He’s dominating, and he very clearly has “a spot” in the rotation. There is no way that Livan Hernandez should be pitching over him in the rotation. If the Twins want to continue to keep it decently close in the 2nd half Liriano needs to be called up ASAP.

Johan Mania finally comes to an end

Hey Sportsflow readers, I am back again for another baseball personnel post. FINALLY, Johan Santana is officially not a member of the Minnesota Twins. I can’t believe the Red Sox finally gave up Lester and Ellsbury to get it done! Wait… I mean, I couldn’t believe it when I heard the Yankees gave up Melky, Hughes, AND Kennedy. Damnit… the Mariners gave up Adam Jones and Sherrill?

Nope. As it turns out, in the end it wasn’t the best offer that won the BINGO for Johan, but the most persistent. The New York Mets were in these talks from a bit after the get-go, but they were far and away the most persistent. The Yankees vs. Red Sox For-The-Best-Player-In-The-Game II (Last decision: NYY gets A-rod, BOS gets the 2 championships) turned out to be a dud. Not only was it a dud, but it was probably meant to be a dud from the beginning. Let’s face it, the REAL reason either of these teams were in this sweepstakes was so the other team wouldn’t get Johan. They were both really gung-ho about it from the start, but then this realization hit the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and Mets all at the same time: Johan wanted a HUGE contract, biggest in history for a pitcher, on TOP of the whole selling the farm to get him thing. It wasn’t worth it, not the money PLUS the prospects, and the offers slowly dwindled to one A+ prospect and a few mediocres.

Except for one team: you got it, the Mets. The Mets took advantage of the new way of thinking, pulled Martinez from the table, and STILL got Johan. I read what they gave up (contrary to ANY report, and repeat after me: there was NOOOO way the Twins were getting Jose Reyes. No way… no how.) and it was just shocking. The most shocking thing about it? I am a firm believer than the Twins didn’t have to trade Johan. It wasn’t mandated by Carl Pohlad. Thanks to the revenue sharing now enjoyed by MLB teams, every team starts off with over $70 million per year. Carl Pohlad is the RICHEST owner in baseball. I do repeat clearly, there is no one in the MLB richer than Mr. Pohlad. But even Pohlad’s wealth is irrelevant, because it’s not about that. Slowly, the Twin’s payroll has been going up. It was simply a matter of choosing the way to go. They chose Morneau and a rebuilding effort over keeping Hunter, Johan, Morneau, Mauer and Liriano together to see what they really could do with a full year of Liriano as a starter. They CHOSE not to… Bill Smith wasn’t forced to. They had the money… they chose to save it and rebuild instead. Smart? Maybe… they probably weren’t going all the way with that group in this climate of a STACKED American League for the next few years (fyi: The Yankees have $80 million coming off the books next offseason… I hate New York teams.) However, I’m blaming this more on a poor strategy (Twins fans DESERVE to have a good team to cheer for consistently… not one every 5 years) rather than baseball economics.

So I’m sorry Twins fans… I know a LOT of them, and I really feel sorry for you. As a Tigers fan, I knew that feeling. Here’s a toast hoping that Phil Humber is going to be a stud…