Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Season 18 Division Series Preview

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. Salem Silver Bullets (110-52) vs. 5. Charleston Country Boys (101-61)

*This matchup features the AL West division champions vs. the first wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the  League Championship Series to play the Jacksonville / Atlanta winner. Salem won the season series 6-4. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:

Game 1: Park (SAL; 16-10, 3.70) vs. Chang (CHR; 20-6, 2.77)
Game 2: Harris (SAL; 8-12, 4.45) vs. Halladay (CHR; 15-11, 4.16)
Game 3: Taylor (CHR; 19-10, 3.80) vs. Barker (SAL; 13-8, 2.80)

*Prediction: I hate having to predict games involving my own team. This is a rematch from last year when Salem swept the series. However, it wasn't pure domination, Salem won in the final inning in each game. Charleston got some much needed rest by sweeping Montreal in the first round, and will come out firing winning Game 1, but Salem has too much experience and will take the series in 5 games due to poor fielding by the County Boys.

2. Jacksonville Jackers (105-67) vs. 6. Atlanta Aliens (99-63)

*This matchup features the AL South division champions vs. the second wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the League Championship Series to play the Salem / Charleston winner. Jacksonville won the season series 7-3. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:

Game 1: Stokes (JAX; 20-8, 2.25) vs. Uribe (ATL; 22-5, 2.22)
Game 2: Cox (JAX; 15-7, 3.31) vs. Pritchett (ATL; 17-8, 2.75)
Game 3: Jung (ATL; 14-4, 3.03) vs.  Armas (JAX; 12-10, 4.08)

*Prediction: Atlanta has a very good team. Jacksonville also has a very good team. I honestly don't know what gives here. When Atlanta played Hartford, I chose Atlanta b/c I didn't think Hartford could beat Uribe twice. Well, I feel the same way about Dion Stokes. I'll say the wildcard here is the Jacksonville bats (Butler, Parnell, and Nicholson). Jacksonville wins a couple of close games closed out by Emmanuel Lopez, and they win the series 3-1.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. Tampa Bay Orange Crush (110-52) vs. 5. Kansas City Mythbusters (104-58)

*This matchup features the NL South division champions vs. the first wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the League Championship series to play the Las Vegas / Mexico City winner. Tampa Bay won the season series 9-1. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:

Game 1: Washington (TB; 19-8, 2.38) vs. Carew (KC; 19-9, 3.38)
Game 2: Mesa (TB; 17-4, 3.24) vs. Riley (KC; 16-5, 3.69)
Game 3: Anderson (KC; 15-9, 4.36) vs. Arnold (TB; 17-6, 2.89)

*Prediction: First, this will be a great battle! I think KC pulls this one out in 5. I honestly don't feel great about this pick, but it boils down to one thing... KC has Sven Owen and Tampa Bay does not. 

2. Las Vegas Lightning (94-68) vs. Mexico City Margaritas (92-70)

*This matchup features the AL West division champions vs. the second wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the League Championship Series to play the Tampa Bay / Kansas City winner. Las Vegas won the season series 6-4. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:

Game 1: Bennett (LV; 18-4, 2.55) vs. Ausmus (MC; 14-10, 3.32)
Game 2: Brush (LV; 14-6, 3.10) vs. Salvador (MC; 15-7, 4.00)
Game 3: Atchley (MC; 13-11, 4.79) vs. Ordonez (LV; 12-7, 2.75)

Prediction: I went against MC in round 1 and got burned. So, this round I'm gonna go with... you guessed it, Las Vegas. On the arms of Brush and Bennett, Vegas win the series 3-1. 

Monday, February 25, 2013

Season 18 Division Play-in Series Preview

AMERICAN LEAGUE

4. Montreal Royals (87-75) vs. 5. Charleston Country Boys (101-61)

*This matchup features the AL North division champions vs. the first wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the division championship series to play Salem. Charleston won the season series 6-4. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:

Game 1: Easley (MON; 16-10, 3.70) vs. Chang (CHR; 20-6, 2.77)
Game 2: Benoit (MON; 8-12, 4.45) vs. Halladay (CHR; 15-11, 4.16)
Game 3: Taylor (CHR; 19-10, 3.80) vs. Franco (MON; 13-8, 2.80)

*Prediction: Charleston wins 3-0. This is not your father's Montreal team. Charleston had the second best record in the AL, and Montreal does not have the firepower to compete.

*Results: Charleston wins the series 3-0. 

3. Hartford Bulldogs (94-68) vs. 6. Atlanta Aliens (99-63)

*This matchup features the AL East division champions vs. the second wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the division championship series to play Jacksonville. Atlanta won the season series 7-3. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:


Game 1: Berg (HAR; 8-5, 2.68) vs. Uribe (ATL; 22-5, 2.22)
Game 2: Neal (HAR; 7-7, 3.56) vs. Pritchett (ATL; 17-8, 2.75)
Game 3: Jung (ATL; 14-4, 3.03) vs. Franco (HAR; 6-8, 4.68)

*Prediction: Atlanta pulls this one out in 5 games. Hartford is really tough at home, but it's tough to think that Hartford can beat Wladimir Uribe twice.

*Results: Atlanta wins the series 3-1.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

4. Huntington Knights (77-85) vs. 5. Kansas City Mythbusters (104-58)

*This matchup features the NL East division champions vs. the first wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the division championship series to play Tampa Bay. Kansas City won the season series 7-3. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:


Game 1: O'Brien (HUN; 8-5, 2.68) vs. Carew (KC; 19-9, 3.38)
Game 2: Valdez (HUN; 7-6, 4.11) vs. Riley (KC; 16-5, 3.69)
Game 3: Anderson (KC; 15-9, 4.36) vs. Navarre (HUN; 8-7, 4.02)

*Prediction: Kansas City sweeps this series with relative ease. Huntington was fortunate to play in the NL East and will have fun being in the postseason but it won't last long.


*Results: Kansas City wins the series 3-0. 

3. Pawtucket Washouts (86-76) vs. Mexico City Margaritas (92-70)

*This matchup features the AL North division champions vs. the second wildcard team. Winner of this series will advance to the division championship series to play Las Vegas. The two teams tied the season series 5-5. Here are the probable match-ups for the first 3 games:


Game 1: Bryant (PAW; 4-7, 4.76) vs. Ausmus (MC; 14-10, 3.32)
Game 2: Franco (PAW; 11-11, 4.26) vs. Salvador (MC; 15-7, 4.00)
Game 3: Atchley (MC; 13-11, 4.79) vs. Owen (PAW; 9-8, 4.30)

Prediction: My brain tells me to go with Mexico City as they won more games than Pawtucket in a tougher division, but a team that gets lucky like Pawtucket to make it into the playoffs had to do so for a reason, right? Pawtucket wins in 5.

*Results: Mexico City wins the series 3-1.

Season 18 Season Wrap Up

Season 18 Wrap Up

Well... Since I only did season predictions for the AL, I'll compare how I did and then offer commentary on how the NL teams finished.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL North
* I was pretty spot on with this division. The most I missed by was Chicago and Detroit by 3 wins. Montreal took the division which was to be expected, but what was more impressive was that he did it while improving his minor league system as much as he did. It was a quasi-rebuild. Chicago, Detroit, and Burlington pretty much performed status quo.

AL East
* I did a pretty good job here but underestimated Hartford's rebound by 10 wins. Augusta also outperformed my projection by 9 wins to take second place. I thought with all the offseason moves Pittsburgh made that they would have a chance to compete, but fell short. Trenton hung around there and has some minor league studs just around the corner.

AL South
* Well, when you go out on a limb, sometimes the limb breaks, and that's what happened here. Jacksonville's massive payroll made the U.S. Government jealous, but it paid off with a division crown, his 6th in 9 years. Charleston and Atlanta made VERY strong pushes but could never get closer than 3 games. Predictions for the AL South were spot on: Atlanta -1, Charleston -1, Jacksonville -8, and Durham dead on.

AL West
* This is the division I missed the worst on. My best prediction came with Oakland with -5. Salem, Tacoma and Portland were complete misses.  Apologies to Salem who claimed home field in the AL and Portland who far exceeded my prediction. And then there's Tacoma... well buddy, I sure tried. I thought your offseason moves would have put you over the top.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

As I mentioned, no predictions here, so instead, I offer some thoughts...

NL North
*Pawtucket and Cleveland battled it out for the division crown, and it came down to the final day. On paper, Cleveland was in the driver seat... won head to head (8-2) and had a better division record; however, none of that matters when you lose and the other guy wins. So, Pawtucket took the division and drew a tough matchup with Mexico City.

NL East
*The NL East was the winner this year for Mr. Irrelevant. Huntington won the division for the first time since Season 1 with a record of 77-85. The rest of the division, shame on you, although not really fault. New York and Baltimore had replacement owners (and both coming back, which is great).

NL South
*As powerful as the AL South (top 3 teams had 305 wins), the NL South was even stronger (top 3 teams had 306 wins). Tampa Bay continues to dominate that division winning 110 games. You wonder if they'll be some turnover in the offseason, but for now, they take home field advantage. Kansas City takes a tough 2nd place but as a consolation prize gets Huntington in Round 1. Finally, Mexico City (like Atlanta in the AL) takes the 6th seed for the playoffs.

NL West
*Las Vegas took down the NL West for the second straight year, but I think the bigger story is that we will be having a playoffs without Colorado Springs. They did a good job of getting rebuilding the farm system while still having a strong ML team. SF and ANA put up a good fight, but it's tough to compete in the wild NL West.

What was the best Season 19 off-season move in High Fives?