2009 National League Postseason teams
NL East Champions: Philadelphia Phillies
Good: Devastating team power with an amazing 4 players totaling 30 plus homers… Defending World Series champions…. 3 players with 20+ steals… Great team D… Solid rotation, led by LH Cole Hamels, midseason acquisition Cliff Lee and Rookie of the Year candidate J.A Happ
Bad: 4 players with 100 strikeouts… Ballpark can work for and against team with small dimensions…. Bullpen has battled injury and changing roles
Ugly: Closer Brad Lidge has had a brutal year after the perfect 2008 season(ZERO blown saves in 41 chances plus postseason). He has 11 blown saves with a 7.21 ERA in 09!
NL Central Champion: St. Louis Cardinals
Good: Best player in the game in 1B Albert Pujols… Excellent top 3 rotation with Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Pineiro… Team makes contact, only 1 player with 100+ Ks…. Deep bullpen, hi-lighted by closer Ryan Franklin(38 saves)…. Typical Tony La Russa team, lots of interchangeable parts that play the right way. Sum of the whole, not the individuals!.. 4 Legit ML OFs
Bad: Very little team speed, only 2 players with double figure steals. A rarity for both La Russa and the Cardinals franchise! Whitey Herzog is throwing up somewhere!… Not an elite line-up after Pujols and Mid–season acquisition Matt Holliday
Ugly: Uncertain 4-5 starters…. 3B Troy Glaus has missed almost the entire 2009 campaign with shoulder surgery, hitting .172 with 2 RBI in 29 at bats! Not good for a guy who was supposed to protect Pujols!!
NL West Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers
Good: Everyday line-up presents a good balance of veterans and youngsters… Pitching staff 1 thru 11 is solid… Manager Joe Torre has been thru everything you can imagine and brings a calming presence to the locker room… Deep bench with options… CF Matt Kemp is a top 5 MVP candidate and dynamic talent… SS Rafael Furcal is back healthy and changes this whole line-up
Bad: Injury status of spark plug 2B Orlando Hudson hurts the infield D and overall energy of club… Team has fallen off since amazing start… Bullpen was severely taxed with injuries to starters anmd general overuse by Torre
Ugly: Major healty concerns with the top 3 in rotation: RH Chad Billingsley, LH Clayton Kershaw(tired arm) and Hiroki Kuroda(out for at least the 1st round) … Awful season for admitted roids cheat OF Manny Ramirez. Looks disinterested and unmotivated.
NL Wild Card: Colorado Rockies
Good: Excellent team power with 4 regulars hitting over 20 homers and additional 3 with 10+… Maybe the best fielding team of all time with studs at 1B(Todd Helton) and SS(Troy Tulowitzki)… All 5 starters with ERAs under 4.50, led by staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez(15-12,3.47) and veteran Jason Marquis(15-13,4.04) … Interim Manager Jim Tracy has provided a calming influence, emphasizing defense from day 1… Closer Huston Street(35 for 37 in save opportunities) … PH-1B Jason Giambi provides this team with a legit power bat off the bench , a Matt Stairs type role(ask your friends who are Dodgers fans!)
Bad: Team strikes out a ton with 5 starters topping 100 Ks… Health of Street was an issue late in the year with biceps tendinitis. Set-up man Franklin Morales filled in but the drop off is noticeable. Need Street to be 100%
Ugly: Major health issues with LH Jorge De La Rosa(16-9,4.38) leaving his last start with a groin injury. Long time veteran SP Aaron Cook has also battled injuries late in the year, making only 27 starts. Team might be short a top 3 starter if either misses time.
2009 American League Postseason Teams
AL East Champions: New York Yankees
Good: Devastating line-up 1 thru 9 that features amazing team power with 7 regulars topping 20+ homers… Hall of Fame closer in Mariano Rivera… Underrated defensive team led by 1B Mark Teixeira… #1 starting pitcher in CC Sabathia
Bad: Issues with every starting pitcher they send out: CC has been awful in the postseason, AJ Burnett has never performed well in big spots and Andy Pettitte is 135 yrs old…Management has ruined Joba Chamberlain, who is as likely to throw a 7 hitter as he is to pitch to 7 hitters in start…. Ball park gives up home runs both ways
Ugly: No team faces more pressure to win and recent history dictates this group folds when challenged… 3 words: Postseason A Rod… Did I mention Pressure?… Joe Girardi is about as likeable as an executioner….. Without question, the easiest team to hate in Pro Sports
AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox
Good: Team offensive approach that works counts and wears down starting pitchers… 3 starting pitchers with sub 4.00 ERAs in Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz …. 5 players with 20 home runs… Deep talented bullpen, hi-lighted by closer Jonathan Papelbon…Excellent team D, led by an underrated outfield…. Better team speed than you think , starting with CF and lead off man Jacoby Ellsbury
Bad: Health issues with both Beckett and Lester…..No bench… Unstable 4-5th starter situation with Tim Wakefield injured and Dice K, Daisuke Matsuzaka having a tough year…. Can LH set up man Billy Wagner pitch back to back a year removed from Tommy John Surgery?
Ugly: Streaky offensive team…. Health at SS with trade deadline move Alex Gonzalez now beaten up, joining Nick Green and Jed Lowrie in the infirmary… 4 players with 100+ Ks… LH RP Hideki Okajima struggled in September and October with a 7.36 ERA
Amazing stat: Sox DH David Ortiz had 1 home run in April and May combined. Since June 1st, he has 27!!!!!!!
AL Central Champions: Minnesota Twins
Good: Unbelievable momentum entering the post season, just ask the Detroit Tigers! …. Best player in the AL in C Joe Mauer…. Play as a team with a National League style that is more about the sum than the parts… Elite closer in Joe Nathan as well as an excellent set up core…. (top RH and LH relievers with sub 2.50 ERAs) … Best homefield advantage in all of MLB… Team has 5 players with double figure steals…. Very solid D in all areas… Good power tandem in 1B-OFMichael Cuddyer and DH Jason Kubel… Best Manager in the game in Ron Gardenhire
Bad: Lineup does not scare anyone…. Team has been in playoff mode for the last 2-3 weeks and has to be running on fumes….Solid starters 1 thru 5 but do not strike out hitters and allow balls to be put in play, a bad recipe for success vs some of these powerful AL playoff teams
Ugly: Season ending injury to 1B Justin Morneau kills this small market club. The Twins cannot replace .280-30-120 with some kid from Double A. Impossible.
AL West Champions: Los Angeles Angels
Good: Amazingly consistent offensive team that features 8 of 9 regulars hitting over .285!!!!!!!…. Solid 4 man rotation with a balance of 2 righties and 2 south paws…. Team brought together by the tragic death of SP Nick Adenhart in April …. Great manager in Mike Scioscia…Excellent team athleticism on both the bases(6 players with double figure steals) and defensively
Bad: Bullpen is not what it was during the Percival-KRod-Shields years. Brian Fuentes is solid(45 saves, 7 blown) but he was shaky late in they year and lost some save chances to set up men… Health issues with several starting pitchers all year including John Lackey and Ervin Santana…. Not much recent success in the playoffs
Ugly: The Angels always play the Yankees tough(eliminated them twice in this decade) but have no luck against first round opponent Boston. Game 1 is critical to this club’s postseason dreams.
