Ah, October, the best time of the year. It's September 27th, four days from October. You know what that means. It's playoff baseball time. Who doesn't love a little fall classic action? And the best part, the season is coming down to the wire in a few divisions. Will the Yanks lock up the east? Will the White Sox win the central? Will Miguel Cabrera win the triple crown!? So many questions, but luckily for you, I'm here with the answers.
Let's start with the Yankees. Although I am from New York, my posts shall always be non-biased pieces of work. Thus, I believe the Yankees will lock up the east due to a few factors. Their schedule. They've got the Blue Jays and the Red Sox. While the Red Sox will always play the Yankees hard, the Blue Jays have been eliminated from the playoffs for a while. This implies that maybe they won't put it their best effort because it's the last few games. But Chris, it's still professional baseball, of course the Jays will compete. Yes they will, I'm not saying they won't. However, I am saying that to begin with they are an inferior team to the Yankees, plus they will be disheartened by their lack of reaching the playoff woes. This is a deadly combination that the powerhouse Yankees will likely exploit with flying colors. I believe that the Yankees with lock up the division by winning 3 out of 4 games with the Jays leaving the Orioles to the ever so bitter wild card spot. Unfortunately, as I continue to write this at 9:00 P.M. I realize that the Yankees have lost. However, I still feel that they will make necessary adjustments to secure the division
Lets talk the AL Central. White Sox? Tigers? Who will win? Well, I believe it will be the Tigers. Let's think about this for a second. The Tigers are coming into stride, while the Sox have not been playing their best ball. Let's take a look at their roster line-up as well. The tigers have a very possible triple crown winner in Miguel Cabrera, a major slugger in Prince Fielder, and some minor guys such as Delmon Young, and Austin Jackson. The White Sox have Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn (The Strikeout King), The Youk, AJ, Alex Rios and a few others. Yes, it may appear that they Sox have the edge, but they are in a slump. Out of the last twelve games, the White Sox have won 4. The Tigers, however, have won seven out of twelve while winning the last four straight. Therefore, the Tigers are coming into the final stretch on somewhat of a hot streak, as opposed to the White Sox who have not been playing their best ball at all. Let's look at another critical aspect of reaching the playoffs; pitching. The Tigers have Verlander, Scherzer and Fister. All 3.9 and lower ERA guys. On the other side, the White Sox have Sale, Peavy and a very streaky Liriano. The closers for both teams, Reed and Valverde are relatively the same statistically, but I would choose Valverde due to his extensive postseason career. Having said that, I believe that the clear cut better team is the Tigers due to their powerful line-up, lethal pitching staff and their impeccable baseball as of lately.
The last topic I would like to discuss is if Miguel Cabrera will win the triple crown, and boy is it close. As of 9:15 P.M. pacific time his stats are .326 avg, 42 HR and 133 RBI's. He is leading each category except Home Runs. Josh Hamilton has 43 homeruns and seems to be seeing the ball just fine coming off a vision injury. Thus, it is very hard to say because I don't know if Miguel will go off and have a three homerun game tomorrow. Likewise, for Josh Hamilton. However, I do feel that Miguel will play his best ball due to the playoff situation that the Tigers are in. Therefore, I'm not saying it will happen, but it is very likely that due to the urgency the Tigers require, Miguel will step up to the plate, literally, and come through for his team. In term, winning his the first triple crwon since Carl Yastrzemski won it in 1967.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I know I'm no Rick Reilly, but I do love sports and I hope you enjoyed my opinions.
The NBA season starts in 33 days! I am so excited! I can't wait to watch my boy Lebron take the Heat back to the promise land!
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