World Series Wrap-Up

This year it seemed like all the talk about the World Series was the ratings, and rightfully so because of how how horrifically bad they were, but lets just put that aside for a moment and talk about how incredible the 110th Fall Classic was from an on-field standpoint.

Start with game one. The build up in Kansas City, the host city, was enormous. It was the first time that a World Series had been held on those grounds since 1985, the year of George Brett. Fox’s pregame hosts were forced to yell into their hand-held microphones before game one just to be heard over the electric crowd behind them. However, once the game started, the hometown Royals didn’t give their team much to get up and yell about. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner was on his game from the first pitch that he threw in the seventh inning. The later-to-be-named World Series MVP allowed just one run on three hits in the outing, giving his team the early edge in the series with a 7-1 win.

Though statistics show that game one winners in the World Series are more likely to win the series, I had a feeling that the Royals weren’t going to go down without a fight. My hunch was proven to be true in game two of the series. The KC kids’ offense came alive, tacking on seven runs on nine hits in the game to even the series at one. Royals second baseman Omar Infante came alive, batting in two runs on a two-run homer in the sixth inning. KC starting pitcher Yordano Ventura, who, at age 23, is just nine years older than me, went five and a third innings, allowing just two runs in his first ever World Series outing. I can’t emphasize enough how much he did for his team throughout the year. The righty finished the regular season with a 3.20 ERA, and averaged just 1.8 runs per game in his last 10 outings outings of the year.

The series shifted to San Francisco for game three, where, even though the Giants have won three World Series in the past five years, the crowd is alway energetic.  Game three was an absolutely riveting pitchers duel between Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie and Giants veteran Tim Hudson. Both teams made an interesting decision, which proved to pay off, which was to take their starter out of the game in the fifth inning. Most teams would be hesitant to take their starter, who was pitching well at the time, out of the game in the fifth, but both the Giants and Royals have fantastic bullpens, and managers who know when and how to use them. Even though season awards are voted on before the Postseason, I think that KC manager Ned Yost is a clear choice for AL manager of the year. He actually led his team to the American League title, which is more than any Yankees manager can say for any of the 40 World Series teams that they managed. They were simply at the helm of an extremely well-funded ballclub.

Game four was an offensive explosion from the middle of the order of the San Francisco Giants. San Francisco scored 11 runs on 16 hits, leading them to an 11-4 win, and tying the series up. However, the Kansas City bats weren’t exactly quiet either. They chased Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong out of the game after just two and two third innings, scoring four runs in the top of the third inning. Game four wasn’t exactly pretty pitching like game three, but it was extremely exciting nonetheless due to how much offence there was.

Game five was all San Francisco offensively. The Royals were only able to squander four hits off of starter Madison Bumgarner, who didn’t allow a run and went the distance in his Giants’ 5-0 win.

There was no way the the Royals were going to let the Giants come back to Kansas City and take the series in game six. With Ventura on the mound for KC, I knew right away that we were looking at a game seven. The Royals offense came back to life, as they beat the Giants 10-0 in a one-sided slugfest, forcing a game seven.

The next day, the amount of work that got done in offices in the bay area and in Kansas City was at a bare minimum. Butterflies floated through the stomachs of baseball fans all across the country, as it was time for the most exciting thing in sports: a World Series game seven. Every game seven is special, but this year, the deciding game of the World Series was one for the ages. Tim Hudson started for the Giants, but he lasted just an inning and two thirds, giving way to Jeremy Affeldt who went two and a third, before manager Bruce Bochy handed the ball to the most popular guy in San Francisco: Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner threw five rock solid innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Bumgarner was sensational, especially considering that he was only throwing on two-days rest, three days less than he is used too. San Francisco could not have asked any more MadBum.

Bumgarner was nearly flawless until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and Alex Gordon stepped up to the plate. Gordon knocked a single that got by Giants centerfielder Gregor Blanco, and Gordon took two bases on the error, advancing to third.

It’s a situation that every young baseball fan dreams of being in...two outs, bottom of the ninth, game-tying run on third. Heck, Sal Perez probably dreamed about it when he was a kid, just the only difference between his difference between his dreams and reality are that he probably pictured himself hitting the base hit to tie it and send the game into extras instead of popping out to end the World Series. Perez got under a pitch and sent it a mile high before it came down in the glove of Pablo Sandoval to crown the Giants the 2014 world champions.

In my next column I’ll look into the ratings of the World Series and give a breakdown of the numbers to find out how much the sport of baseball really is struggling with popularity.

League Championship Series Preview

            So far, the excitement level of the 2014 MLB Postseason has not disappointed. My predictions from two weeks ago on the other hand…well, let’s not get into that.

            In the American League, it has all come down to Royals and the Orioles, two underdogs who both went up against two powerhouse teams in the divisional series. After the trade deadline when the Tiger picked up starter David Price, and the Athletics got Jon Lester, everyone thought that it was fairly safe to say they would face off in the ALCS. That turned out not to be the case.

            It’s incredible, when you look at what’s happening with Kansas City. Out of the MLB’s 30 teams, only 11 have a lower payroll. Only three members of their roster have ever even played in a postseason game before. They are last in the league in home runs. Those facts alone would lead you to believe that Kansas City is not a postseason contender. However, the young Royals have come alive in October, winning the do-or-die wild card game, sweeping the Angels, who had the best regular season record, and now beating up on the AL East Division winners, the Baltimore Orioles.

            Going into the postseason, Kansas City’s strong points were that they had good starting pitching, speed, incredible relief pitching, great defense, and amped up fans. However, you may have noticed that the Royals offense has been the thing that has led them to their recent success. Prior to game three of the series, the Royals had a slugging percentage of .429, while their opponent’s slugging percentage has been limited to just .349. In fact, in every major offensive category except for at bats, the Royals’ statistic tops their opponents statistic, which is a credit to how good their pitching has been this postseason also.

            On the other side, of the diamond, the Orioles pitching, and relief pitching in particular, has not looked particularly impressive. Birds submarine reliever Darren O’Day got the loss in the first two games in the series, allowing three earned runs in just 1.1 innings pitched over the first two games of the ALCS. The second man in the Birds’ supposed 1-2 punch, Zach Britton, has been pathetic. He came on in game one of the series, pitched a third of an inning, walked three batters to load the bases, cutting the path for O’Day to come in and blow the game.

            At this point, I’m going to jump on the bandwagon and pick the Royals. KC has the upper hand at this point with the series lead and the way they’ve been playing, I don’t see Baltimore stopping them.

            In the National League Championship Series, which is now tied up 1-1 between the Giants and the Cardinals, we are going to see some hard fought baseball from here on out. In tonight’s game, the Cards send John Lackey to the hill to face off against Tim Hudson. If you’re St. Louis, Lackey is the guy who you want. He has pitched more playoff innings than any other active pitcher, and last year threw sensationally in the postseason for the Red Sox. However, Hudson is on nine days rest going into tonight, and in his one outing against the Cards this year, he threw seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. I like the Cards in the game, but the Giants in the series. The next three games in the series will be in San Francisco, and Giants fans are always pumped up, especially so in the postseason. Tonight’s game starts at 4:00 PM on Fox Sports 1.

            While the Cards and Giants are both veterans to postseason play, Baltimore and KC are two underdogs who haven’t had the chance to play for a World Series title in a long time. Whatever happens in the NL, I think it’d be nice, and good for the sport of baseball of either the Orioles or the Royals could come out on top for a change.

Postseason Predictions

            It truly did take 162 games to decide this year’s MLB season. It came right down to the wire on Sunday before we knew what the 2014 MLB Postseason picture would look like. At the risk of looking like a fool of before the ink is dry, here are my predictions.

Angles vs. AL Wild Card

            The LA Angels will face the winner of the one-game playoff Wild Card game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics tonight. I think that regardless of who wins the Wild Card, the Angels are in pretty good shape for the series. With a lineup that features Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and David Freese, LA gets it done with their star power. Pujols slugged 28 homers and drove in 105 runs this year and he’s hungry for another run deep into the postseason. I predict the Angels to go to the ALCS.

Orioles vs. Tigers

            This looks to be the best of the American League divisional series. Detroit looked virtually unstoppable at the trade deadline but they struggled out of the gate after picking up Rays ace David Price. It’s time for Price, and starting pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to come around and start pitching up to the hype. Verlander won his last three regular season starts but prior to that was not the pitcher that Detroit will need him to be in the postseason. The Orioles waltzed their way to the AL East division win, and the Tigers will be a wake up call to them. On paper, Detroit wins this series, but Baltimore is full of passion and they feature a middle of the order that can be very dangerous. With that said, I don’t think that the Birds’ pitching will be able to hold up against the Detroit staff that is full of postseason experience. I predict the Tigers to go on to the ALCS.

Nationals vs. NL Wild Card

            The NL Wild Card game on Wednesday will be a battle. It features two teams who ended up with identical records and will have to throw everything at that game to stay alive. That puts a strain on the pitching staff of the Wild Card winner going into the NLCS. I Like the Giants to win the game, but not the series. San Francisco will have to throw ace Madison Bumgarner in the Wild Card game, which will leave Tim Hudson to start the divisional series. Hudson has won just one of has past 10 starts, and is not the guy who you want to start a series. The Nats on the other hand are a well-rounded team who won 96 games in the regular season. Three of Washington’s five starters finished the year with ERAs below 3.00, and they also have one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Nationals also have an outfield that is filled with offensive pop. Center fielder Denard Span finished the year with a batting average of .302, and let’s not forget what corner outfielders Bryce Harper and Jason Werth can do offensively. I predict the Nationals to go on to the NLCS.

Dodgers vs Cardinals

            The Dodgers came up short last year, losing to the Cards in the NLCS, and they will be as hungry as a lion going into the divisional series. LA’s rotation is led by Clayton Kershaw, who features the dirtiest curveball that I’ve ever seen, and who ended the season with 21 wins and a remarkable 1.77 ERA. The offense includes Matt Kemp, who is finally starting to look like his old self, and produced up to expectation offensively for the Dodgers this year. Even though this may be hard for Red Sox fans who remember the Boston version of Carl Crawford, the speedy outfielder finished the season with an even .300 average, and has produced well in his last 10 games. They are facing a Cardinals team that hasn’t seen a whole lot of changes from last year and are still very dangerous, but I think that this rematch will end differently than last time around. I predict the Dodgers to go onto the NLCS.

            If you’re picking one series to watch, this is it. It’s going to be some great baseball and both teams are going to have to fight hard if they want to win.  

            Red Sox fans can enjoy being world champions for a few more weeks. We can brag all we want up until then, but it’s time to pass the glory on, as a new champion will soon be crowned.

            For baseball fans, there is no time of the year that is more exciting than right now. Lets enjoy it while we can.

            Also make sure to tune in tonight at 6:30 on WDEV for The Kid & The Geezer Postseason Special. The geezer Mal Boright and I will welcome your phone calls and give our in-depth postseason analysis.