Division Series Recap

Yesterday, we correctly predicted the Giants to beat the Nationals, our first correct prediction since Game 1 of the Cardinals-Dodgers NLDS. This gives us a final record of 4-10 for the division series. Which is terrible, but not as terrible as some ESPN analysts. Couple things we learned from the first round and what we are looking forward to in the second round:

• We are excited to watch Bryce Harper fully-healthy next year.
• The rise of Brandon Finnegan has been incredible. 
• The starts failed to shine. Especially in Los Angeles. We're looking at you, Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw.
• There were no Game 5s, but the majority of the DS games were intense to the end. Hopefully the CS games continue the trend.
• The same teams continue to get it done in the NL. The Giants and Cardinals in the NLCS is like Groundhog Day.
• Finally some new teams representing the AL. No one likes a Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers snoozefest.
• Royals speed vs Orioles power is going to be awesome.

Predictions for both Championship Series' coming tomorrow.

ALDS Preview: Detroit Tigers vs Baltimore Orioles

3 Players to Watch on Detroit:

1. Joe Nathan. Nathan has 35 saves this year and a 4.81 ERA. Besides a hiccup on September 16th vs the Twins, he's has a solid month. The last three outs of the game are the most important, especially with this Orioles lineup that can score anywhere in the lineup. Good sign for Tigers fans: The current O's are 9 for 51 vs Nathan, a batting average of .176. Also, the O's heavily rely on the home run, and Nathan hasn't allowed a homer since June. In the May series vs Baltimore, Nathan pitched 3 scoreless innings, recording 3 saves and helping the Tigers sweep.
2. Torii Hunter. Hunter has a higher batting average (.389) vs Baltimore this year than any other team in the American League. Along with that impressive batting average comes 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Getting on forces opposing pitchers to pitch to Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Also of note: This season, Hunter has homered vs Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Bud Norris, 3 of the 4 probable Baltimore starters this series.
3. Justin Verlander. This one is obvious, but not as obvious as it was last year or two years ago. Verlander has struggled this year, but his velocity is up this past month, and his final two regular season starts combined for 15.1 IP and only 2 ER. He pitched an 8-inning, 2 ER gem vs Baltimore in April (although he did take the loss). If Verlander can perform at the high level we've seen in past postseason games, the Tigers easily can become the American League Pennant favorites.

3 Players to Watch on Baltimore:

1. Steve Pearce. The argument could made be that Pearce is the MVP of the Orioles season. His .293 was a career high (min. 100 PAs) and his 21 homers this season were more than his first 6 seasons in the majors combined. His emergence has played a big role in helping plug the hole in the Orioles lineup that was once Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Matt Wieters. Pearce only played in two games vs the Tigers this year, both before he started heating up at the plate, but is a career .333 hitter vs Scherzer and Price combined. 
2. Delmon Young. Young off the bench has been a huge part of the Orioles success this year, hitting .302 with 7 homers in a very limited role. He also brings postseason experience to a team that lacks it, having won the 2012 ALCS MVP award as a member of the Tigers. If this series gets to game 4, expect Young to have started the two games vs Price and Porcello, who he has hit .325 off of in his career.
3. Zach Britton. I was going to choose the entire Orioles bullpen for this last spot, but I'll talk about them a little bit later. Britton has anchored the Orioles bullpen since Tommy Hunter lost his closer role in May. He's been lights outs, collecting 37 saves with a stellar 1.65 ERA. In order for the O's to pull out close games, Britton may need to get guys like Miguel Cabrera out, who, in 9 PAs, has 4 hits and 3 walks (an OBP of .778). Britton has yet to face the Tigers this year, but in his career he has 3 starts vs them and has gone 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA.

3 Matchups to Watch:

1. Jones and Cruz vs the Tigers Starting Rotation. Games 1 and 2 pose favorable match-ups for the Orioles 3-4 tandem. Take a look at their splits vs Max Scherzer:That's pretty scary. And vs Price they are a combined .292 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs. However, once we get to Game 3 and possibly Game 4, the stats change. Jones and Cruz are combined 13 for 64 (.203) vs Verlander with 18 Ks. And they are even worse vs Porcello, going 8 for 50 (.160) with 13 Ks. If this series comes down to Games 3 and 4, look for other guys such as Nick Markakis and Delmon Young, who both have solid numbers vs Verlander and Porcello, to step up for the O's.
2. Miguel Cabrera vs the Orioles Bullpen. It's no secret that Miguel Cabrera is one of the best hitters in the game, if not the best hitter in the game. It's also well known that Orioles starters don't always last in the game long, and the bullpen is usually involved by the 7th inning. The Orioles dream 7th-8th-9th inning scenario is Andrew Miller-Darren O'Day-Zach Britton. Miggy hits .600 vs those three combined. Getting Cabrera out in late inning situations will be huge for Baltimore success. 
3. Ian Kinsler vs Orioles Starting Rotation. Kinsler was 5th in the AL this year with 100 runs scored. When he gets on base, he forces pitchers to pitch to the big bats of Cabrera and the Martinez duo behind him. If Kinsler can consistently get on vs the O's starters of Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez, and Norris, who he hits for a combined average of .289, there could potentially be some long innings for the Orioles pitching staff.

Prediction:

Both these teams are capable of winning a World Series this year. They have their weaknesses at certain positions (Tigers bullpen and Orioles at 3B), but strengths to overcome them. I'm biased being an O's fan, but I think the Orioles will take both home games before heading to Detroit, and ultimately win the series in 4.

All stats via Baseball Reference. 

The Official Closer Walk-On Song Playoff Bracket
Heading to the bottom of the 9th. It's a one run game. All of a sudden, a bell starts ringing. Dong.  The whole crowd stands. Dong. The gates to the bullpen open. Dong. Trevor Hoffman emerges and jogs towards the infield. Dong. This is the moment everyone has been waiting for: Watching one of the greatest closers of all-time finish a game. Hoffman's Hells Bells was a walk-on model for other closers in the 1990s; in fact, it was the inspiration for Yankees executives to start the Mariano Rivera and Enter Sandman tradition.
We looked at the walk-on song for every closer in the MLB. We polled a group of baseball fans. Each division has a winner, and there are 2 wild cards for each league. So it's pretty much the MLB Playoffs.

AL East:
Baltimore: Zach Britton-For Those About to Rock (AC/DC)

Boston: Koji Uehara-Sandstorm (Darude)

New York: David Robertson-Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Tampa Bay: Jake McGee- My Way (Limp Bizkit)

Toronto: Casey Janssen- DOA (Foo Fighters)

Winner: Britton. Spoiler: The AC/DC song usually wins. Robertson takes second as he does hail from Alabama (so it makes sense even in NYC). Third to Koji. Fourth to Janssen. Fifth to McGee.


AL Central:
Chicago: Jake Petricka- The Pretender (Foo Fighters)

Cleveland: Cody Allen- The Outsiders (Eric Church)

Detroit: Joe Nathan- Stand Up and Shout (Steel Dragon)

Kansas City: Greg Holland- Fade Away (Breaking Benjamin)

Minnesota: Glen Perkins- Right Here, Right Now (Fat Boy Slim)

Winner: Petricka. Even though he stole it from 2012-2013 Jim Johnson. Holland in second. Allen third. Nathan fourth. 100 yards of crap. And then Perkins with his Fat Boy Slim.


AL West:
Houston: Chad Qualls- Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine)

Los Angeles: Huston Street- Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)

Oakland: Sean Doolittle- For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica)

Seattle: Fernando Rodney- Animals (Martin Garrix)

Texas: Neftali Feliz- Con Los Pies (Chimbala)

Winner: Street. We didn't even realize this was Street's walk-on until we started this project. Great pump up song. Rodney second because that song just matches his personality perfectly. Doolittle third. Feliz and Qualls tied for fourth.


NL East:
Atlanta: Craig Kimbrel- Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N' Roses)

Miami: Steve Cishek- Send Me/Represent (116 Clique)

New York: Jennry Mejia- Los Mate (Tego Calderon)

Philadelphia: Jonathon Papelbon- Bout That Life (Meek Mill)

Washington: Rafael Soriano- Pitch, Soriano (Soriano's Dominican friends made this for him)

Winner: Kimbrel. Easy choice. Soriano second. Really worth a listen if you have never heard his song. Cishek third. Papelbon and Mejia at the bottom. Papelbon would be a favorite in this competition if he were still in Boston with Shipping Up to Boston.


NL Central:
Chicago: Hector Rondon- No Idea

Cincinnati: Aroldis Chapman- Wake Up (Rage Against the Machine)

Milwaukee: Francisco Rodriguez- Sandunqueoso (Tego Calderon)

Pittsburgh: Mark Melancon- Thunderstruck (AC/DC)

St. Louis: Trevor Rosenthal- Hail to the King (Avenged Sevenfold)

Winner: Melancon. Via AC/DC rule. Rosenthal second. K-Rod third. Rosenthal fourth. Could not find Rondons walk-on song anywhere. But it wouldn't beat Melancon anyway.


NL West:
Arizona: Addison Reed- Your Betrayal (Bullet For My Valentine)

Colorado: LaTroy Hawkins- All Me (Drake)

Los Angeles: Kenley Jansen- California Love (2Pac)

San Diego: Joaquin Benoit- My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Fallout Boy)

San Francisco: Santiago Casilla- Cult Personality (Living Colour)

Winner: Benoit. We had no idea that was the actual title of that song. Casilla second. Hawkins third. Jansen fourth. Reed fifth. But all these songs were pretty good.


Playoffs:
AL Wild Card Game: Sweet Home Alabama VS Animals

ALDS 1: Sweet Home Alabama VS Kashmir
ALDS 2: The Pretender VS For Those About to Rock

ALCS: Kashmir VS For Those About to Rock

NL Wild Card Game: Pitch, Soriano VS Hail to the King

NLDS 1: Pitch, Soraino VS Thunderstruck
NLDS 2: Welcome to the Jungle VS My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark V

NLCS: Thunderstruck VS Welcome to the Jungle

WORLD SERIES: Thunderstruck VS Kashmir

Thunderstruck and Mark Melancon is the winner. Close final vote but it pulled it out over Kashmir and Street. Also shout out to Pitch, Soriano. Made a good run.

Leave a comment below if you agree/disagree with anything!