Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette
The first round of the playoffs are behind us, and they featured quite a few dramatic ups and downs, as all 4 series went 5 games. Some surprise winners emerged from the first round, beating the odds to advance. The most surpised regarding the winners of the first round was the Gazette, who put up a donut, picking all 4 series incorrectly. Terrible, Awful, Horrible, there aren't enough negative words to describe our picks last round. But the best thing to do when you fall down is to get up and try again. So with out further adieu, here's our picks for the Division Championship Series round.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
(4) Oakland Bruisers vs. (1) Florida Shark Waves
The Bruisers pulled out the first round upset (even though they were the higher seed) over Monterrey with great pitching. Their starting pitchers allowed only 7 earned runs in 31 innings, and their bullpen was equally as impressive. Their batting stats in the first round were less than impressive, with a .246 batting average, and only 2 home runs in 5 games. They are going to have to do a lot better than that against the powerhouse Shark Waves. The Shark Waves led the league in ERA by far. The highest ERA by any pitcher on their staff was 4.40. They have a phenomenal rotation, and an equally stellar bullpen. Offensively Florida was 4th in the league in team batting average, and in the top 10 in OPS. Their lineups feature a number of players who can hit for average, hit for power, and steal bases. It's looking like an uphill battle for Oakland here for sure.
Prediction: Florida in 3
(6) Burlington Huskies vs. (2) Chicago Chokers
Burlington pulled off the first round upset of New York with a combination of great pitching and speed on the basepaths to advance to face divisional rival, the Chicago Chokers. The speedsters of Burlington swiped an impressive 15 bases in 5 games in round 1, and should continue to have a chance to run against the weak armed catchers of Chicago. The chances of repeating their strong pitching from the first round will be a tougher task. The two-time defending American League champions are an offensive powerhouse, who lead the majors in runs scored, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, OBP and OPS. Somehow, they finished only 2nd in home runs. The Chicago lineup features 5 .300 or better hitters, and 6 players with 30 or more home runs. Chicago's pitching was toward the middle of the pack, the wind must have been blowing out quite a bit at Wrigley this season, but the rotation features arguably the best pitcher in the league in phenom Carl Sosa (13-6, 1.99 ERA). They also have a great closer in Paul Watson, so the pitching staff should hold their own. It's looking good for Chicago here, and a 3rd straight trip to the World Series wouldn't be a surprise.
Prediction: Chicago in 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
(5) Houston Rockets vs. (1) Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens
Sacramento caught a tough break, having to face arguably the 2nd best team in the NL in the DCS, after earning the #1 seed. The Rockets' first round win over New York was characterized by decent starting pitching, great relief pitching, and outstanding offense. 6 of their RP's combined for 14.2 scoreless innings out of the pen in the first round (although 2 of their RP's did get roughed up). They hit an impressive .310 in the series, with 3 players hitting .474 or better, and they slugged 10 HR's. But their starting pitching was only mediocre, and will have to step up facing a tough Sacramento offense that was 6th in batting average, and 5th in OPS in the majors. The powerhouse offense is led by perennial MVP candidate Moses Terrero (.292 BA 48 HR 153 RBI) and Jack Bottalico (.337 BA 35 HR 103 RBI). If Houston's pitching isn't on top of their game, they'll be sure to take advantage. Houston's hot hitters will face a tough challenge in Sacto's pitching staff, who ranked 4th in the majors in ERA. Sacto has a rotation that's solid throughout. But their best pitcher is closer Sammy Feliz (1.96 ERA, 53 SV), so Houston better get the lead early if they hope to win. Overall we see this as an extremely tight series, and definitely the marquee matchup of this round.
Prediction: Sacramento in 5
(3) Cincinnati Flying Pigs vs. (2) Huntington Liberators
As impressive as Houston's bullpen was in the first round, Cincinnati's was better - their bullpen only allowed 1 ER the entire series! The stellar performance of the bullpen was a necessity, as their starting pitching was only mediocre. The offense was firing on all cylinders, hitting .305 for the series, which helped them ward off a tough Honolulu squad. Their opponent, Huntington, quietly put together a great season, featuring a top 10 pitching staff and a top 10 offense. Their rotation features 20 game winner Rabbit Kraemer and 17 game winner Marc Rigney, both who should provide Cincinnati's offense with a difficult challenge. They also have a slew of effective relievers. Offensively, the team home run leader interstingly enough was traded to Florida midseason. Although no one topped Luis Martin's 40 HR's (in only 88 games), they still have a solid offense with some power, and oh yeah speed, 2B Mel Ratliff swiped 107 SB's! This should be a good matchup, featuring 2 very evenly matched teams
Prediction: Cincinnati in 5
Good luck to all the teams!