Just finished watching the White Sox / Twins play-in game. One word: awesome. This is playoff baseball, boys and girls. Great pitching, stellar defense, and a big fly by a future Hall of Famer. Too bad the Twins were on the losing side of the ledger; after losing their best pitcher (Santana) and one of their best hitters (Torii Hunter) from a year ago, nobody thought they’d be competitive in this division. So kudos on a great season to the Twins.

The AL had several other great story lines this year. The emergence of the Rays. The redemption of Josh Hamilton. The out-of-nowhere pitching of Cliff Lee. Jon Lester’s no hitter. All in all, it was a very satisfying season.

AL MVP
This one is nearly as tough to call as the NL. The Angels are the league’s best team, but they lack that one big bopper with MVP numbers. Justin Morneau has received plenty of pub lately, and deservedly so. His 129 RBIs helped fuel the Twins improbable run at the AL Central crown. Joe Mauer also deserves some consideration after winning his second batting title in three years. Carlos Quentin’s season ended a month early, but he was probably the front runner in this category before his injury. You could probably even make a case for Dustin Pedroia here as well. I’ll choose Morneau but I’ll admit that this could go a couple of different ways.

AL Cy Young
This one is a slam dunk. Cliff Lee has been simply incredible this year. In any other year, Roy Halladay’s 20 wins and 2.78 ERA would merit the hardware. But Lee’s 22-3, 2.54 line is impossible to ignore. Honorable mention to Mike Mussina who finally notched a 20 win season, something Hall of Fame voters won’t be able to hold against him.

AL Rookie of the Year
Another slam dunk. Evan Longoria is the man. Despite playing most of April in the minors and missing a month late in the season due to injury, Longoria established himself as an impact hitter in the heart of the Tampa Bay order with a .272, 25, 85 season. Honorable mention to Jacoby Ellsbury.

AL Manager of the Year
I appreciate what Ron Gardenhire has done in Minnesota this season, but this award belongs to Tampa Bay’s Joe Maddon. He helped this young team keep it together during a couple of critical stretches this season and he deserves to be acknowledged for displaying such a steady hand.

ALDS: White Sox vs. Rays
The White Sox have been playing playoff baseball for a couple of days now, so I feel compelled to pick them as an upset special here. But Tampa Bay didn’t win 97 games by accident. The Rays are built on speed and pitching, leading the league in stolen bases and ranking 2nd in ERA, Batting Average Against and saves. Their offense, however, is somewhat lackluster; Akinori Iwamura leads the team with a .274 batting average. On the other hand, Chicago boasts an offense that was 2nd in the league in slugging percentage and 5th in runs. I could see this one going five, but I’m going to go chalk and pick Tampa Bay on the strength of their superior pitching.

ALDS: Red Sox vs. Angels
This should really be the ALCS, since these two teams are the best teams in the league. As it stands, they’ll play each other in the 5-game NLDS. The Red Sox are the most balanced team in baseball: they finished the season 1st in the league in OBP; 2nd in batting average, OPS, runs scored and opponent’s OPS; 3rd in slugging percentage, stolen bases, and batting average against; and 4th in ERA and WHIP. However, they also open the playoffs with questions about the health of Mike Lowell, JD Drew, and Josh Beckett. On the flip side, the Angels starters did NOT look good in their final regular season tune-ups and that scares me. But Mike Scioscia’s team always does everything well, and I have a hard time picking against them. The lineup is so much deeper with the addition of Mark Teixeira; the bullpen is always lights out; if Lackey and Santana can pitch the way they have most of the season, Los Angeles will be tough to beat. Given the uncertainty re: the health of some key BoSox, I say Angels in five. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boston win. How’s that for hedging? 🙂

ALCS: Rays vs. Angels
I think these teams match up well. But I think the Rays Cinderella season stops here. The Angels are a more complete team and I think they’ll roll over the Rays on their way to the World Series.

World Series: Cubs vs. Angels
I know I’m really going out on a limb here, picking the teams with the best records from both leagues. But other than the Red Sox, I don’t see anybody really challenging the Angels in the AL and the Cubs pretty much have their ticket punched in the weaker NL. This should be another great matchup. Clearly, I’m going to pick the Angels to win. There’s not even a small part of me that wants to see the Cubs win. I just hope they make it here so it’ll be sweeter when they lose! And yes, I am bitter that they’ve won the NL Central two years in a row.

Should be a great October!