AMERICAN LEAGUE
#2 St. Louis Redbirds (98-64)
Pitching: A (1st)
Offense: B- (8th)
Fielding: D (14th)
Speed: C (11th)
Power: B+ (5th)
W.G.: C- (12th)
vs.
#1 Philadelphia Stomp (99-63)
Offense: A (1st)
Fielding: C (10th)
Speed: C- (12th)
Power: A (1st)
W.G.: B (7th)
Likely Pitching Matchups
Andres Hernandez (PHI) vs. Phil Leonard (STL)
Jimmie Pulido (PHI) vs. Lonny Sanchez (STL)
Quilvio Lee (PHI) vs. Carter Maybin (STL)
Keys to the Series:
The top two teams in the AL square off for a ticket to the Fall Classic. Its a match up that features the top two pitching staffs in the leagues. Every game will be a great pitching match up. The Redbrids are a team anchored around a veteran, all star laden pitching rotation and a number of young, up and coming star level position players. The Stomp are the AL powerhouse, veteran laden squad that has been at the top of the AL for much of recent memory. Both teams possess underwhemling speed and fielding with excellent power to compliment their deep rotations. The Stomp will have the pitching edge every time Lee is on the hill. Unfortunately for the Stomp they needed Quilvio to pitch Game 5 of the ALDS and complete their comeback from an 0-2 deficit. So he'll only be available for two games this series. The Redbirds (especially in light of the injury to Dante Kobayahshi) will have the pitching advantage whenever Lee isn't on the mound. The Stomp though are slightly better with the leather and with the sticks. This should be an excellent, enjoyable series for baseball fans. With Lee unavailable until Game 3 and some untimely injuries, it doesn't look to be Philadelphia's year.
Prediction... St.Louis wins in seven.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
#5 Atlanta Soda Poppers (98-64)
Pitching: A- (3rd)
Offense: B- (8th)
Fielding: B (6th)
Speed: A (2nd)
Power: C (11th)
W.G.: C+ (9th)
vs.
#2 Little Rock Mockingbirds (106-56)
Offense: A (1st)
Fielding: A (2nd)
Speed: A- (3rd)
Power: A- (3rd)
W.G.: A (1st)
Likely Pitching Matchups:
Pedro Castillo (LR) vs. Eduardo Belliard (ATL)
Jullian Belliard (LR) vs. Benito Feliz (ATL)
Pedro Lecuona (LR) vs. Therman Olerud (ATL)
Keys to the series:
Atlanta did what they needed to do to pull off the massive upset of the team with the best record in the league. Despite losing Games 1 and 3 to Pepe Sosa, they won every game that wasn't started by Pepe. They took advantage of the Coyotes throwing issues, and stole 9 bases in the five games, including 5 bases in the pivotal, 10 inning Game 4. They also fixed the offensive woes that plague the team while playing Chicago, sort of. They scored only 3 runs combined in the two games that Pepe started, but scored 16 runs in the other three games. Little Rock had a similar story. They won the three games in which Matos wasn't pitching for Iowa and lost inn Game 2 when he took the hill. The Mockingbirds are trying to be the first team to win back to back NL Pennants since Milwaukee in Seasons 16 and 17. They've been one of the top teams in the league ever since the team relocated to Arkansas. They have the advantage of resetting their pitching rotation, while the Poppers are coming off of a brutal five game series. The Mockingbirds are a better team all around, and the seven game series usually favors the stronger team over the 'Wild West' style 5-game sets. While not exceptional at throwing out baserunners, Little Rock is much better than San Diego and the Poppers will have a harder time taking advantage in that department. For the Poppers to pull off another upset, they will have to not lose runners stealing bases, and hit with RISP and 2-outs. They will need to take advantage of every scoring chance because the Mockingbirds don't give up many.
Prediction... Little Rock wins in five.
