mjbish23 said:
Ummmm....NO (might I add, your reasoning behind that post is ASTOUNDING). ManRam is history, and Ortiz isn't seeing NEARLY as many pitches as he did with him present. That was a deadly 1-2 combo in that lineup, but now the "1" of the sequence resides in Dodger Blue.
The pitching staff is really on a skid as of late as well. Did you see Beckett getting HAMMERED the other night? Dude was gone by the 2nd inning. Plus, his ERA is almost 4 1/2! OUCH. Paul Byrd is a shitty 3, with a 7-11 record...oh, and his ERA IS 4.55. Lester & Matsuzaka are the only ones you can count on right now.
My pick:
Chicago Cubs
vs.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Cubs win it in 6 games.
Chicago has CRAZY depth on the hill!
1. C. Zambrano (12-5, 3.38 ERA)
2. T. Lilly (12-6, 4.32 ERA)
3. R. Dempster (14-5, 2.92 ERA)
4. R. Harden (8-2, 2.04 ERA)
5. J. Marquis (8-7, 4.67 ERA)
Only place they could run into trouble in the post-season is with Marquis...he's hot and cold, and misses spots A LOT, thus the high earned run average.
Bullpen: they have the crazy stuff of Marmol, setting the table for Kerry Wood (25 SV). Plus, Cotts and Howry can be called on when needed.
That's DEEP.
OH, and their lineup & defense are ridiculous as well.
Soriano, Edmonds, and Fukudome patrolling the outfield...while Aramis and Lee hold the corners down, and up the middle you've got DeRosa and Theriot. STRONG. Soto behind the dish is underrated too, IMHO.
---
Anaheim's pitching is sometimes a little suspect, but their power offense wins them quite a few games.
Anderson, Hunter, Vladdie, Teixeira (good addition...even though he's hot & cold at times), Matthews...plus there's speed to burn as well with Figgins and Kendrick. Imagine if Anaheim still had Big "O" out @ short. MAN...
I just see Anaheim's staff stepping it up a bit in the post-season, keeping games close if the offense isn't there. But, when it's there, the Angels are a tough team to beat. ESPECIALLY if K-Rod gets a chance, it's basically lights out.
We'll see what happens though....like ZZ said, such a great season left ahead of us.
God, I love this game.