But that's a topic for another blog post. Today, I just want to talk about some of this weekend's matchups. I'll obviously talk about the Series by the Bay, but there are a few other series that deserve to be mentioned, as well.
Oakland A's vs. San Francisco Giants
Over/under on combined runs scored these three games. Twenty? Twelve? Six? Will we see three games like the April 18th Giants-Phillies game?
You get my point. These are two teams that don't score many runs (Giants are 25th, A's 27th in the MLB in Runs Scored), while being above-average in the pitching department (Giants 5th, A's 11th in MLB team ERA). So if you like seeing very few batters getting on base and runners getting stranded the few times they do get on base, this is your kind of series.
Of course, we might end up seeing a bunch of 9-8 games because that's just how baseball is sometimes. Baseball is basically Roddy Piper.
Boston Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The "Overblown by ESPN" series of the weekend. The folks in Bristol, CT love talking about the Red Sox, and the Phillies aren't too far behind as far as attention from ESPN goes, so expect to see these games lead-off "Baseball Tonight" all weekend.
As overhyped as it might end up being, this match-up is still pretty intriguing:
- You've got two franchises that have been near the top of baseball for the past decade or so but are currently struggling because of lack of balance (Phillies have plenty of pitching, but Giants/A's-like hitting; Sox have plenty of hitting, but not enough pitching or healthy clubhouse snacks).
- The Phillies' Jonathan Papelbon has a chance to face his former team -- who he helped win two World Series -- for the first time since he left.
- Another Boston-Philly series (Celtics vs. 76ers) is going on this weekend.
- Both teams are playoff contenders who are around .500 right now, so winning this series would help cool down the rabid fanbases that are in both Boston and Philly.
There are definitely some interesting storylines to keep an eye on, even though it seems more likely that the broadcasters and talking heads are going to focus less on the interesting stories and more on the annoying ones.
This is probably the best matchup of the weekend. Both teams are 24-15 (tied with Texas for the third-best overall record in baseball) and, if you were to take a poll from baseball experts right now, are probably a top 2 or 3 candidate to represent their league in the World Series.
This might not be as glamorous as the Red Sox-Phillies series, but if you like quality all-around baseball, these two teams are probably the most likely to deliver it.
Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers
You know how I said the Braves-Rays matchup is the most likely interleague series to feature the best quality of baseball this weekend? Think about the complete opposite of that, and you've got Twins vs. Brewers.
Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals
These are two teams with talented young players that currently have top-6 MLB records, and no one expected them to be near the top of the standings at any point this season . Will they continue to be this good all season? The Nats are probably a little more likely than the O's, but no one really knows. Their fanbases should just be happy this series is being looked at more like the Braves-Rays series than the Twins-Brewers series.
No comments:
Post a Comment