MLB Playoff Divisional Series Predictions

The playoffs are now set with the conclusions of the two wild card play-ins, but not without controversy. The St. Louis Cardinals emerged out of the play-in game on the National League side, thanks to a questionable infield fly ruling by the umpires. There was also some eyebrows raised on the American League side when the Baltimore Orioles continued their improbable run over the two-time defending AL Champs.

Tonight, the real playoffs start. Back to micromanaging, high intensity, full series playoff baseball. Here are my predictions for this season's playoffs.

Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers

This series is a very interesting one. The Tigers on one side has some superstar names that lead their lineup and pitching staff in Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, power hitting Prince Fielder, and arguably the best pitcher in the game Justin Verlander. On the other side, most people probably can't even name a starter for the A's, hitter or pitcher. The A's have flown under the radar all season and they finally overtook the Texas Rangers for the AL West to avoid the play-in game where anyone can win. The Rangers are now home watching after losing the division by one game and the wild card game.

My Take: Tigers in 5 The only reason they win is because Verlander will get a chance to pitch in 2 of the 5 games. This will be a lot closer of a series than people think, don't sleep on the A's.

Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants

This will be the best pitched series out of any of the Divisional Rounds. The Giants obviously have a strong staff if Tim Lincecum is their number 3, but Matt Cain put together a very strong to earn the number 1 spot in the rotation and Madison Bumgarner really established himself as one of the top young arms in the league. The Reds don't get much credit for their rotation. Reds ace Johnny Cueto quietly put together a 19 win season and has a legitimate chance to win the Cy Young this year. Behind Cuteo, the Reds have Mat Latos who also quietly went 14-4, Homer Bailey who is fresh off his no-hitter, and Bronson Arroyo who always pitched well in big spots.

My Take: Giants in 4 If there is one thing I have learned this season, is that good pitching beats good hitting. The Reds have a clear advantage at the plate with guys like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and company but the Giants have a rotation tailored to win a 5 game series.

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

Jeffrey Maier better be ready for this series

The Yankees and Orioles were separated by one game or tied in the AL East for basically all of September until the last game of the season, and now look who each side has to beat to keep their seasons going. Most people look at this series as a gift for the Yanks, it is compared to playing the Rangers, but the Orioles are no joke. They have proven doubters wrong all year, and manager Buck Showalter really has his guys believing that they can make some noise this October. I think the Yankees have an advantage here because not many Orioles have playoff experience and one thing a series shows is mistakes.

My Take: Yankees in 4 I'll give the Orioles one win here because the stupid format of this year's postseason. The Orioles will get to play the first two games at home and the Yankees get the last 3, technically giving the Yanks home field advantage because they are home for 3 out of 5, but games 4 and 5 are not guaranteed. The format should be 2 in New York, 2 in Baltimore, and the last one in NY, but hey what do I know.

Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals

The new guys against the defending World Series champions. The Nationals had been bottom feeders in the NL East that was dominated by the Braves and Phillies for years. Not this year, the Nationals exploded onto the scene taking the whole league by storm winning 98 games and the best record in the entire league. That being said, the Nats shut down Stephen Strasburg, one of their aces, for the rest of the season for precautionary reasons. The Cardinals on the other hand, had to win the wild card game on the road and now they will get the first two home games like I mentioned about the Orioles above. A huge drawback from playing in that game was that they used their ace Kyle Lohse and he won't be available until game 4. Big names like Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are still nice to
have on your side, but neither have been impressive since
Carpenter returned.

My Take: Nationals in 5 I can't see this series going anything less than 5 games. I absolutely love the Cardinals lineup. Love. I just think that with Lohse for only one game and Strasburg out too, that Nationals ace Gio Gonzalez pitching twice is a huge edge. Also, the electric crowd in Washington will help them in the last few games. Besides the Yanks, I am looking forward to this series.

We'll see how I do, and I'll make sure to give Championship Series predictions when the time comes. Enjoy the playoff baseball, it's the best brand of baseball out there.