Smoke 'em if you got 'em: ALDS Recap

Tastes like victory

During the Division Series, I found myself intrigued by the AL match-ups more so than the ones in the NL.  This is different than my normal NL-centric leanings, and probably had a lot to do with the fact that I despise both the Cardinals and Phillies, and (wrongly) didn't give the Diamondbacks much of a chance against the Brewers. The junior circuit kicks off their Championship Series tonight in Texas with the two most colorful managers left in the postseason facing off in a battle for the pennant.  Before that happens, lets take a look back at what went down in the Division Series.


In the Yankees v. Tigers series, we had the tastiest pitching match ups of the playoffs with C.C. Sabbathia taking on Justin Verlander in Game 1, and hopefully Game 5.  Unfortunately, rain washed out Game 1 after an inning and a half. The game resumed the next day in the bottom of the 2nd with Doug Fister and Ivan Nova facing off.  Gane 1 ended up being a pretty lopsided affair with the Yankees winning 9-3.  In Game 2, the Tigers sent Max Scherzer to the mound to face Freddy Garcia, and Scherzer got the better of Garcia, going 6 scoreless innings before Jim Leyland went to his bullpen.  In a bend but not break effort from Jaoquin Benoit and Jose Valverde the Tigers escaped the Bronx with a 5-3 victory.  Game 3 brought what we had all been waiting for, the return of Sabbathia and Verlander, and this time they actually got to pitch.  Verlander started out shaky, giving up 2 runs in the top of the first, quieting the raucous Comerica Park crowd.  The Tigers touched up C.C. for 2 in the third, tying the game. Verlander buckled down after his rocky start and looked like the ace he was in the regular season, hitting triple digits on the radar gun four times.  C.C. struggled with his command all night, walking six and allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings.  Verlander gave up the lead with two in the top of the 7th inning, but Delmon Young broke the tie in the bottom half on an opposite field home run.  It would be all the Tigers needed as Verlander set the top of the Yankees order down in the 8th, and Jose Valverde kept his saves streak alive despite walking two Yankee batters.  Game 4 was another lopsided affair, but not in the way everyone imagined it would be.  The pitching matchup for Game 4 had every Yankees fan's worst nightmare coming true, with A.J. Burnett on the mound in an elimination game.  It looked like the nightmare would be realized when Burnett walked the bases loaded in the 1st inning, but the first of two Edmonds-esque* catches by Curtis Granderson got the Yankees out of the jam.  Rick Porcello started the game for the Tigers, and was not very effective, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings.  The Tigers bullpen was even worse and the Yankees won 10-1.  On the off day between Games 4 and 5, it seemed like the momentum had turned in the Yankees' favor.  The 5th and deciding game would once again feature Doug Fister and Ivan Nova, and would end up being the best game of the series.  Ivan Nova did not look sharp, giving up two solo home runs in the 1st inning, and ultimately leaving after the 2nd due to forearm tightness.  It would turn into a battle of the bullpens, and the Tigers came out on top, holding the Yankees to a single run in the last four innings, capped off with Papa Grande shutting down the top of the Yankee order 1-2-3 to move on to the ALCS. 


*This is not meant as a compliment, as Granderson (like Edmonds would so often do) took a bad route on both balls and had to make up for it with two amazing catches.                                    


In the other series, the defending AL champion Texas Rangers took on the surging Tampa Bay Rays.  Game 1 was, for me, the most anticipated game of the playoffs with 22 year old southpaw Matt Moore getting the start for Tampa.  It was a risky move on Joe Maddon's part handing the ball to a guy who had seen action in only 2 major league games, with one of them a relief appearance.  The move paid off and we saw why some were calling Matt Moore the best pitching prospect the Rays have ever seen, going 7 scoreless innings, surrendering 2 hits and striking out 6 batters.  The Rays won the game handily, 9-0 with the help of two Kelly Shoppach homers, and it looked like they were going to keep their magic alive.  Unfortunately for the Rays, that would prove to be their only win as the Rangers edged Tampa out in the next three games by a margin of only 4 runs.  In the fourth and deciding game, Moore came on in relief after Jeremy Hellickson had surrendered three solo home runs (two to Adrian Beltre) in 4 innings.  Moore again looked sharp throwing 3 innings of 1-hit ball and tallying up another 2 strikeouts.  Unfortunately the one hit he gave up was another solo home run to Adrian Beltre, and after an attempted rally in the 9th, that would prove to be all the scoring the Rangers needed to advance to the next round.  This year's Rangers team looks even better than the team that won the pennant in 2010.  The additions of Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli have made their offense even more formidable and they helped shore up their bullpen at the trade deadline acquiring right-handers Mike Adams and Koji Uehara.  After making it out of the crap shoot that is the Divisional round, the Rangers appear to be the team to beat this year. 

I hope that's not an inverted W.