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2007 Postseason Predictions and Awards

The other day, a friend of mine in my dorm bet me five dollars that the Cubs would advance farther than the Indians in this year’s playoffs. Naturally, I took the bet, for two reasons. First, he has no clue what he’s talking about, and secondly, well, I do. After thinking about it though, I realized I may have made a terrible mistake. Because looking at the matchups this year, I can not remember an October I’m looking forward to more in terms of the talent and storylines of each and every match-up. It’s hard to pick winners in a postseason when almost every series can go either way. But here goes anyway; JDWC’s predictions and analysis for the 2007 MLB postseason playoffs and awards.

NL Divisional Playoffs:

Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72, 1st in NL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (85-77, 1st in NL Central)

Pitching: The Diamondbacks will send out a rotation of ace Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez, and Doug Davis to counter the Cubs’ rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Jason Marquis. Both bullpens have some big guns at the back end, and should be bolstered by regular season starters who can provide relief in this series. With the late season struggles of Zambrano and the postseason experience Hernandez brings, look for Arizona to have a slight advantage. Edge: Diamondbacks

Hitting: Both lineups are sparked by powerful leadoff hitters, but Chicago’s Alfonso Soriano provides a slightly bigger one. All the way through the lineup, the Cubs have slight edges, especially because of the presence of veterans matching up against the young Arizona lineup. It’s tough to give the Cubs too much of an advantage in this category the way guys like Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark have been hitting all year, but the likes of Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee should counter nicely. Edge: Cubs

Overall: In a series that is so balanced on both ends, it’s hard to choose against the team with the better pitching and home-field advantage. Despite the youthful offense, the Diamondbacks should be able to hold off the Cubs in five games. Ninety nine years and counting. Edge: Diamondbacks

Philadelphia Phillies (89-73, 1st in NL East) vs. Colorado Rockies (90-73, Wild Card)

Pitching: The weakness of both teams is the depth of pitching. After Colorado’s Jeff Francis and Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels face off in Game 1, it may be a complete free-for-all on offense. Neither bullpen goes real deep, but the Rockies’ pen has been strong during their run to the playoffs. Mostly based on that, Colorado has the edge in this department. Edge: Rockies

Hitting: What this series lacks in pitching it more than makes up for on the offensive side of the ball. Both lineups are stacked with speed at the top and power in the middle and each side has at least one serious MVP candidate. Matt Holliday leads the Rockies’ in this category against Jimmy Rollins and reigning MVP Ryan Howard. Both teams had late-season surges just to make the postseason. The only deciding factor is that the Rockies have a younger team, who may falter in the pressure of October. Edge: Phillies

Overall: The 2007 playoffs are full of intriguing match-ups that will give analysts fits. This one won’t help the cause, as the teams are almost identical in talent on both sides. Both teams are riding hot streaks, but I have to take the one-game playoff into consideration. And as much as I’d like to take the Cinderella Rockies, their bullpen will be too worn out at the beginning of the series; and that’s tough to make up for against such a strong Philly offense. Colorado goes down in four. Edge: Phillies

AL Divisonal Playoffs:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (94-68, 1st in AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (96-66, 1st in AL East)

Pitching: As good as the NL match-ups will be in the playoffs, the AL ones blow them out of the water. The Angels and the Red Sox are the two best all-around teams in the playoffs, so isn’t it fitting that one will have to be knocked out this early? The Angels boast John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver in their rotation against Boston’s Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka. It will be interesting to see how Dice-K and Weaver fare in the postseason, but the other four starters have playoff (and World Series) experience. In the end, I think the Halos’ pitching staff will be a little overwhelming. Edge: Angels

Hitting: How do you pick between the two? The Angels have the likes of Chone Figgins, Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson, while the Red Sox will bring Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz to the table. It’s nearly a push, but with Manny Ramirez just returning with a clean bill of health, I think he’ll be in full kick-ass mode in this series and will give the Sox an advantage on offense. Edge: Red Sox

Overall: True, speed kills, and the Angels have more than enough of that. But, the combo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez also kills. This will be such an intriguing series with high-profile matchups everywhere. Ortiz and Ramirez vs. Guerrero and Anderson. Lackey and Escobar vs. Beckett and Schilling. K-Rod vs. Papelbon. It’s tough to choose against either team, and it’s hard to believe the series won’t go to five games. Edge: Red Sox

Cleveland Indians (96-66, 1st in AL Central) vs. New York Yankees (94-68, Wild Card)

Pitching: It would seem like the Indians have an advantage in this category with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, but Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte will be a surprisingly good counter to the Tribe’s two big guns. Wang won 19 games this season and Pettitte is a proven veteran. In the end, I think Cleveland still has the edge here, but not by much at all. Edge: Indians

Hitting: Both offenses are explosive, but really, is it a contest? The Yankees are led by a lineup that is stacked from top to bottom, including likely MVP Alex Rodriguez and his 156 RBI’s. I know A-Rod’s postseason history isn’t very impressive, but look for him to explode this year (and then sign a monster contract in the off-season of course…) and give the Indians’ pitchers fits. Edge: Yankees

Overall: This is another series that’s nearly guaranteed to go all five games. How could it not? It’s tough to pick against such a strong New York team with proven leaders like Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, but the Indians have a feisty young offense with Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez. I think the story in this one will be the bullpens, and despite the early-season struggles of Mariano Rivera, the emergence of Joba Chamberlain will be a huge factor in this series. Edge: Yankees

NL Championship Series

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Pitching: Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez and Doug Davis easily trump Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Batting Machine. The D’backs have a huge advantage on this side, but the question is whether or not they can keep the Phils’ offense in check. My guess is they will do a good enough job to make the Diamondbacks the favorites in this series. Edge: Diamondbacks

Hitting: Arizona has that young, explosive offense, led by Chris Young. But, the Phillies, once again, are nearly unstoppable. Jimmy Rollins has already backed up his statement that they were the team to beat in the NL East, but can he carry his team to the World Series? The way he’s been playing, along with the rebirth of Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard supplying the power, the Phillies are definitely the better hitting team in this series. Edge: Phillies

Overall: There’s one little statistic that kills the Diamondbacks in this series, and is the reason why the Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series. They allowed more runs this season than they scored on offense. That’ll kill them, and I’m surprised it hasn’t caught up to them yet. The Phillies will tear up the Diamondbacks when Brandon Webb isn’t pitching, and take the series in six. Edge: Phillies

AL Championship Series

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees

Pitching: The Red Sox do have an advantage in this category and I think Daisuke Matsuzaka will perform well in this series to give them a little bit of a boost. Despite facing the Yankees’ explosive offense, the Sox still have the better staff. Don’t count out the Yankees, though because Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte (and Roger Clemens if healthy) is no slouch of a rotation either. Edge: Red Sox

Hitting: Once again, the Yankees are just too good from top to bottom to be the underdog in an offensive category in the playoffs. Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu are going to step up in this one and contribute more than enough offense to complement A-Rod. But, will that be enough to put them over the top of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz? Edge: Yankees

Overall: Remember the 2004 ALCS? This will be just like that (minus a large amount of drama) in terms of competitiveness and closeness. I expect it to go all the way to seven games, and to be a fan’s dream to watch. Another difference in this series is that the Yankees are the underdogs and carry all the momentum this year. I’m actually a bit surprised they didn’t catch the Sox at the end of the regular season. Either way, I think the Yanks will pull it off, and be the team America loves to hate once again. Why do I always find myself rooting for the underdog in this series? Edge: Yankees

World Series:

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Yankees

Pitching: Finally, a match-up where the Yankees assert dominance in the pitching category. Wang, Pettitte and Clemens will be huge in this series against a weary Cole Hamels and his band of merry followers. The Yankees have a better rotation, a better bullpen and of course a better closer. I hope Rollins doesn’t guarantee anything this time around. Edge: Yankees

Hitting: This is a little closer, but still in the Yankees’ favor. Despite the strength of the Phillies’ lineup, I don’t think it’s going to do more damage against New York’s rotation than the Yanks’ lineup will do against the Phillies’ rotation. I have a feeling some of these games could get out of hand, and the Yankees will go all Rangers on the Phillies. Okay, not that bad, but it’s going to be ugly. Edge: Yankees

Overall: All four AL playoff teams had at least 94 wins, four more than the best NL playoff team and five more than the Phillies. And that’s for a reason. Usually I complain about the winner of the All-Star Game getting home field advantage in the World Series, but it really doesn’t make a difference this year. Spotting the Phillies one pity win, the Yankees will take a laugher of a series in five games. Edge: Yankees

Postseason Awards:

MVP:

AL: Alex Rodriguez, NYY; NL: Jimmy Rollins, PHI

Cy Young

AL: Josh Beckett, BOS; NL: Jake Peavy, SD

Rookie of the Year:

AL: Dustin Pedroia, BOS; NL: Troy Tulowitzki, COL

 

2 replies on “2007 Postseason Predictions and Awards”

please please please be right. Barring the fact seeing the Yanks a predicted WS champ for the first time in years basically made me giddy, this was a fantastic read. Every section was great– insightful, and well-informed. Nice job.

comment Thank you Yank Tank. I’m actually surprised that I ended up picking the Yankees. I just really think, based on the matchups, they are the best team in the AL, and barring last year’s fluke win, the AL always dominates the NL, so once it gets to the World Series…there’s no contest either way.

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