The Travis Time MLB Playoff Report: The LCS Preview

by user TMyst

With only hours before the opening game, Travis takes a look at all four LCS teams and realizes that we’ll be watching one of the hardest to predict LCS’ in recent memory

It’s always a little bit harder to watch a baseball series when the New York Yankees aren’t involved. With the Yankees, you knew that you’d be watching a team of all-stars that came in as the clear favourites. You knew who to cheer for, and everybody had a united front. In this year’s LCS, that standard feature isn’t there. I’m still not clear on who to cheer for and who to cheer against. Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of each team:

Detroit Pros: Their fantastic celebration after beating the Yankees. They knew it was only the LDS, and they knew that they needed to hop on a plane headed to Oakland. But it appears that the Tigers are believers again. They had a disappointing second half, seemingly confirming what everybody thought: that they were a fluke. All of a sudden, they knock off the Yankees, and immediately hold a huge celebration on the field just to let the city of Detroit know that they have a competitive team. Cons: Their problem in the second half might have had something to do with overconfidence, and something to do with the fact that they heavily underestimated Minnesota, and began to cave when they realized it. What does that celebration on Saturday tell us? That they might be getting a little overconfident. Add to that the fact that Minnesota just got thwomped by Oakland, largely due to the fact that they didn’t know what they were in for, and this series could be a Detroit disaster.

Oakland Pros: Frank Thomas. Forget the fact that he’s got a World Series win from last year. If the A’s go all the way this year, this will be known as Frank Thomas’ only World Series victory. Also, the A’s might have the claim of the ultimate underdog. Compared to New York, Boston, Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago, and even, to an extent, the Angels, Oakland got barely any press heading into the playoffs, and then absolutely stumped Minnesota, who came in as a heavy favourite despite the fact that Francisco Liriano’s face was plastered on the side of a milk carton. Cons: Good luck naming one of their hitters outside of Thomas. It’s not as fun cheering for a team if you don’t know who’s hitting for them. That usually doesn’t bode well for an offence, either. You can’t always just hope that the bats coast on the success of their team’s arms.

St. Louis Pros: A great fanbase, a team that appears to be jelling together, and the fact that they’re not a huge market team. Also, they might be the only team in the National League playoffs who own a surefire winning pitcher in Chris Carpenter. You want reason #1 as to why the NL can’t keep up with the AL? They don’t have any pitching. Having three brilliant two-way players (Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen) usually also helps a team get some cheers, too. Cons: If a team nearly choked away a double-digit division lead in the last two weeks of the season to a team that frightened absolutely nobody because they consistently can’t score more than one or two runs per game when their three stud pitchers are on the mound (Let’s not even mention the fact that the Astros also have one of the most brutally uneven closers in baseball, meaning that even if they do get a typically razor-thin lead, there’s a huge chance that they can’t hold it), maybe they shouldn’t even be in the playoffs.

NY Mets Pros: For Blue Jays fans: Carlos Delgado. Likely no incentive otherwise. Cons: There’s way too much money on this payroll, they still don’t have a pitching staff, and when I say that I don’t want the World Series going to New York, I don’t just mean the Yankees. After that runthrough, it’s safe to say that I’m cheering against 24 of the 25 Mets. As for the AL, it’s still a tough call. I’ll probably sway towards the Tigers, but I’ll be hoping for the junior circuit in the World Series, anyway, so let’s just hope for an excellent series.

My Predictions: A’s in seven, Cardinals in six

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