Forget all of the hoopla about a Red Sox/Yankees matchup as the best two teams in the American League will square off for the right to represent the American League in the World Series. For some reason the Red Sox are a 2-1 favorite but Indians fans should not worry as they were also 2-1 underdogs against the Yankees in Round #1. The matchups appear to be much closer than most expect on the surface and here’s a breakdown:
CATCHER: Victor Martinez is the best hitter on the Cleveland Indians and he was sharp against the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. He was 6 for 17 (.353 avg, 1.009 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Jason Varitek might be the team captain but the Red Sox are lucky they didn’t follow his example in the first round against the Angels. He was only 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .455 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. EDGE: INDIANS
FIRST BASE: Ryan Garko of the Indians had an excellent series against the Yankees but his defense might hurt the Indians in this series. Garko was 4 for 11 (.364 avg, 1.136 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Kevin Youkilis also had a solid series in the first round as he was 3 for 12 (.250 avg, .869 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. EDGE: EVEN
SECOND BASE: Rookies will be playing this position for both teams and they are a lot alike in skills. Asdrubal Cabrera took Josh Barfield’s job away from him late in the season. He’s an excellent defender and he had some clutch hits in the first round against the Yanks. He was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .575 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Dustin Pedroia was probably the 2nd best rookie in the American League (Delmon Young was better) and he has the important job of leading off for the Red Sox. Pedroia is a great defensive player for the Sox. He was only 2 for 13 (.154 avg, .522 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI against the Angels. EDGE: SLIGHT FOR RED SOX
SHORTSTOP: Jhonny Peralta was incredible in the first round of the playoffs against the Yankees. He was 7 for 15 (.467 avg, 1.226 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 3 doubles and 2 RBIs. Julio Lugo also had a solid first series against the Angels. He was 3 for 10 (.300 avg, .664 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. EDGE: INDIANS
THIRD BASE: Casey Blake had a awful first series for the Indians. He was only 2 for 17 (.118 avg, .294 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. The Indians need much more than that out of Blake against the Red Sox. Mike Lowell is one of the best all-around third basemen in the major leagues. He was 3 for 9 (.333 avg, .920 OPS) with 1 run scored, 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. EDGE: RED SOX
LEFT FIELD: Kenny Lofton turned back the clock in the first round of the playoffs as he was outstanding both defensively and with the bat. He was 6 for 16 (.375 avg, .882 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Manny Ramirez was unstoppable against the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. Ramirez was 3 for 8 (.375 avg, 1.740 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. EDGE: RED SOX
CENTER FIELD: Grady Sizemore is one of the most dynamic players at his position in all of baseball. He also is one of the most dangerous leadoff hitters in all of baseball because of his power. He was 6 for 16 (.375 avg, 1.212 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base against the Yankees. Coco Crisp is a solid player but nothing special. He was 2 for 10 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI in the first round. EDGE: INDIANS
RIGHT FIELD: Franklin Gutierrez will likely get more starts in right field over Trot Nixon because of his defense. Gutierrez has one of the best arms in all of baseball and he was a solid hitter during the regular season. He was 2 for 10 (.200 avg, .533 OPS) with 2 runs scored. J.D. Drew had a poor season and he didn’t play too well against the Angels. He was 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .364 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs. EDGE: EVEN
DESIGNATED HITTER: Travis Hafner is one of the best DHs in the American League and it showed against the Yankees. He was 4 for 16 (.250 avg, .867 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. David Ortiz is swinging a super hot bat right now as the ball is looking like a beach ball to him. He was 5 for 7 (.714 avg, 2.417 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs vs. the Angels. EDGE: RED SOX
STARTING PITCHING: The Cleveland Indians feel really good about their starting pitching which has been good all season long. They got three good starts against the Yanks and that was a big key in sending them home. C.C. Sabathia will start Game #1 of this series and he will need to be better than he was against the Yanks to beat the Red Sox. He worked 5 innings and he allowed 4 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 6 batters and whiffed 5. He did win the game with help from the bullpen. Fausto Carmona was incredible this season and he was even better against the Yankees last week. He pitched the first 9 innings of Game #2 against the Yanks and he allowed only 3 hits, 1 earned run, walked 2 batters and whiffed 5. Jake Westbrook pitched good for 4 innings of his start but then the roof caved in and he was the losing pitcher in Game #3. He worked 5 innings and he allowed 9 hits, 6 earned runs, walked 0 and whiffed 1. Paul Byrd pitched the closing out game against the Yanks as he survived 5 innings to be the winning pitcher. He worked 5 innings and he allowed 8 hits, 2 earned runs, walked 2 batters and whiffed 2.
Josh Beckett will open the series against the Indians and he’s a big game pitcher. He set the tone against the Angels in Game #1 as he threw a complete game shutout allowing only 4 hits while whiffing 8. Curt Schilling will be the Game #2 pitcher for the Red Sox and he also came up big in round #1 against the Angels. He threw 7 innings and he allowed 6 hits, 0 earned runs, walked 1 batter and whiffed 4. He was the winning pitcher. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been dropped to #3 and for good reason. He was the only pitcher that got ripped by the Angels. He only lasted 4.2 innings in his start and he allowed 7 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 3 batters and whiffed 3. Tim Wakefield rested his bad back in the first round of the playoffs but he’s penciled in as the likely Game #4 starter. He will give the Indians a different look with his knuckle ball that helped him win 17 games in the regular season. EDGE: INDIANS
BULLPEN: The Indians bullpen was a big reason for the ease they dispatched the Yankees with. Joe Borowski led the American League in saves during the regular season but he often walked the tight rope as his stuff isn’t that good. He pitched in 2 games against the Yanks and he earned 1 save while working 2 innings and allowing 1 hit, 1 earned run, walked 2 batters and whiffed 1. Rafael Betancourt will likely be the 8th inning man as he continued his great work this season in the first round against the Yankees. He pitched in 2 games against NY and he allowed 1 hit, 0 earned runs and whiffed 3. Lefty Rafael Perez was the most dominant pitcher in the first round of the playoffs for the Indians. He pitched in all 3 games and he won a game while working 6 innings and allowing only 3 hits, 1 earned run, walked 1 batter and whiffed 6. Rookie righty Jensen Lewis also made the Yankees look helpless against him. He pitched in 2 games and he worked 2 innings allowing 0 hits while whiffing 4. Lefty Aaron Fultz will be the early specialist in the pen for the Tribe. He pitched in 1 game against NY and he allowed 2 hits, 0 earned runs and walked 1 batter.
Jonathan Papelbon won Game #2 against the Angels and he’s one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball. He worked 1.1 innings and he allowed 0 hits, walked 2 batters and whiffed 1 against the Angels. Hideki Okajima will handle the 8th inning against the Indians and he was solid in the first round of the playoffs. He pitched in 2 games and he worked 2.1 innings and he allowed 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Manny Delcarmen worked 1.1 scoreless innings with 1 strikeout in the 1st round and it appears that he has moved ahead of veteran Mike Timlin. Timlin didn’t pitch in the first round of the playoffs but he will likely get a chance against the Indians as he is still a solid pitcher. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez worked 1/3 of an inning without giving up a run against the Angels. Eric Gagne has been reduced to a mop up man for the Red Sox. He worked 1 inning in the first round and he allowed 1 hit and 1 earned run. EDGE: SLIGHT FOR THE RED SOX
BENCH: Look for Trot Nixon to get some playing time in this series as the Red Sox will use all righty starters. Nixon was 2 for 4 (.500 avg) with 1 run scored, 1 double, 1 homer and 2 RBIs against the Yanks. But he also made a big error in right field that allowed the Yanks to scored 2 unearned runs. Backup catcher Kelly Shoppach is Paul Byrd’s personal catcher and he’s a good hitter so he will start at least 1 game in this series. He was 2 for 3 (.667 avg) with 2 doubles and a run scored in the first round of the playoffs. Jason Michaels will back up in the outfield and he’s a solid player. He went 1 for 1 with a double against the Yanks. Chris Gomez didn’t play in the first round but he can handle every position in the infield defensively and he’s a pesky hitter. Josh Barfield also didn’t get to play in the first round and he will likely be reduced to pinch running or as a defensive replacement at 2B.
The Red Sox won’t use their bench too much against the Indians but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t talented. Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury will likely play the most of the bench players for the Red Sox. He will likely pinch run and be a defensive replacement for Manny Ramirez late in games. He was 0 for 1 with 1 run scored in 2 games against the Angels. Catcher Doug Mirabelli didn’t get to play in the first round but he will likely start Game #4 of this series as he’s Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher. He doesn’t hit for average but he can hit the occasional bomb. Eric Hinske (0 for 1) and Bobby Kielty (DNP) both can handle the outfield corners on defense and they have some power. Alex Cora also didn’t play in the first round of the playoffs but he’s an outstanding defender. EDGE: INDIANS
PREDICTION: I have a feeling that this series will go 7 games with the Indians prevailing. Dice-K will blow game 7 as the Indians batter him twice just like they did to Chien-Ming Wang in the first round of the playoffs.
