The Travis Time MLB Playoff Report: LDS Day 3
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by user TMyst
A major point came out of each of today’s LDS games: Game 1) The Tigers remembered to play like they played early in the season, putting the Yankees’ ALCS spot in quite a bit of jeopardy. Game 2) If Jeff Weaver is effective, then his opposition’s batting order is not. Game 3) Shea Stadium is the favorite to become this year’s site of the annual AL World Series sweep.
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So while we all enjoy an already-great American League playoff field that got even better today, the National League playoffs will go to the club that proves themselves to be the least ineffective. And in my opinion, they’re all pretty damn ineffective. The only glimmer of hope: The Mets/Cardinals NLCS on the horizon could be a gem. We won’t be seeing the best teams, but we’ll watch two (potentially) explosive offenses, two great fanbases, and two teams that appear to be too good for the National League, but absolute fodder for the American League.
You can tell by watching the Mets that they’re not ready for any of the four AL playoff clubs. Their bullpen’s gonna be exhausted by next weekend, their defense was already looking shaky at the end of tonight’s game, and Tom Glavine (who was ineffective as a #2 playoff pitcher in his prime) is the ace that this team’s relying on. Regardless, they can hit the ball out and they can run, and that’s plenty enough for a top-flight NL team this year.
St. Louis is incredibly intriguing, as long as you’re willing to change your mindset on how their series has gone this week from “Wow, the Padres stink!” to “Damn, the Cardinals are good!”. I’m not gonna buy the fact that Jeff Weaver’s a reliable pitching option, because from what we’ve seen from him his whole career, he’s not. But with Chris Carpenter being worth two guaranteed wins in any NL playoff series (especially with the pitching staff that the Mets have got going), two wins out of five from Suppan, Marquis, and Weaver is doable.
Factor in the bats: Beltran, Delgado, and Wright for the Mets. Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen for the Cards. Save for Carpenter’s two starts, this series is gonna be a home run derby. I’d say we’ve got at least one game with nineteen runs being scored, and another two with fifteen coming in.
With the Mets and Cardinals, are we going to see well played, strategic baseball? No. This is gonna be a shootout. Both teams have to know going in that they’ll be the next week’s victim. This is going to be the only competitive playoff series that the National League will be involved in this year, so both teams should be leaving everything on the field. With the National League, that’s usually more than you can ask for.
All of Travis MacKenzie’s work can be found on his site, Travis Time (http://KingTravis.blogspot.com). Some of his sports-related work is featured on MOP Squad Sports (http://www.mopsquad.com) and Armchair GM (http://www.armchairgm.com). Any questions or comments directed towards Travis can be placed in comments on Travis Time, on the MOP Squad Fan Forum, or e-mailed to mailto:TravisTime@gmail.com
