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#Post#: 54--------------------------------------------------
MLB Playoff Push
By: adityalakhani1 Date: October 8, 2012, 5:26 pm
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MLB Playoff Push by Adeel Bari '15
With both the American League Division Series and National
League Division Series set, the race to the World Series has
officially begun. After a long season of hard work, injuries,
amazing plays, the teams that made it are ready to get going on
the road ahead. In the American League, baseball fans will be
able to watch the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers -
with Miguel Cabrera’s (the first triple crowner since 1967) bat
locked and loaded – face off in a 5 game series in Detroit.
In the second ALDS, fans will watch the Yankees and the Orioles
play some hard nose AL-East baseball. New Yorkers all around are
hoping for the Yanks to pull through and earn their 28th
championship, and with a lineup like the Yankees have, they will
be hard to defeat. With Robbie Cano on a super hot streak coming
into the playoffs, one item to watch will be whether or not he
will continue pulling the Yankees along. Despite everything,
it’s safe to say that not even the best MLB analysts had the A’s
and Orioles in the hunt for a pennant, but as pleasant
surprises, they will be teams to look out for.
In the National League, we will be entertained with two more
great matchups. One is the Reds and the Giants, which should be
low-scoring series, with both teams armed with a pitching staff
in the top 5 ERA in the National League. The second NLDS
matchup, between the Nationals and the Cardinals will surely
bring up excitement. With the young and fresh Nationals bringing
playoff baseball to the Greater Washington D.C. area for the
first time since 1933, the entire east coast is making a push
for the Nationals to make it to the World Series. However,
they’re going to have to get through a veteran, mature and
fundamentally sound team, the reigning World Champions, the St.
Louis Cardinals. Led by Yadier Molina and a potent offense, the
Cardinals are hoping to diffuse any notion that they are
inferior to the Nats.
One interesting storyline to follow this postseason will be the
possibility of the A’s and Giants meeting in the World Series.
With both teams being in the Bay Area of California, it would
send “Nor-Cal” into frenzy! Fun fact: the last time these two
teams met in the World Series, a catastrophic earthquake rocked
the San Francisco area, devastating San Francisco and postponing
the series for a week. Many hope that the two teams meet again,
but hopefully, there will be no earthquake this time around.
Another MLB storyline to note is the free agency of Josh
Hamilton. On the last day of the season, many baseball fans
recall the mishap in the outfield that Hamilton had, as he
dropped a pop-fly. This miscue may have cost the Rangers their
season, depending on how you look at it. In the wildcard play-in
game, Hamilton went 0-4 at the plate and was booed off of his
home field in what very well could have been his last home game.
As the playoffs heat up, it will be interesting which players
bats stay strong, what pitchers do well, and how the pressure
affects the younger teams. Some will rise, some will fall, but
that’s just the MLB playoffs. Well, this will very well not be
my last MLB Playoff Push column. For the Highlander, this is
Adeel Bari. Enjoy October, the playoffs, and all the drama along
with it!
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