Baseball Playoff Predictions

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Ay. I feel like making predictions for a sport I don't know a whole hell of a lot about. I always feel when I'm making my NCAA Tournament picks that some guy who knows nothing about College Basketball stands a better chance than me. This is my chance to be that guy.

Plus I'm motivated by what was the best 10 minutes of baseball I've watched since the 2004 ALCS (that was between the Yanks and the Sox). Here's what happened to my interest though: The Red Sox won the World Series, and immediately became as unlikeable as the Yankees. This left me with nobody to root for in this rivalry. And since half of ESPN's coverage is devoted to this overrated conflict (yea I said it), I have little choice but to ignore the sport that I've little interest in (probably because I never played it and the Royals have always sucked).

This is what will happen.

Tampa Bay over Texas in 6 4

The Devil Rays are hot. The Rangers did good last year I think. Seems obvious. Especially after seeing everybody on ESPN.com take the Rangers. Idiots.

Detroit over NY Yankees in 7 5

This Turdlander dude from the Tigers seems like the real deal. He wins Game 7 5 in New Yahk. The Yankees aren't even fun to hate anymore, they're just boring.

Milwaukee over Arizona in 5 4

Brewers seem rough. Prince Fielder (The Vegetarian Bomber) has a swagger to him. Ryan Braun wore a leather jacket on an episode of PTI, and passes the Sportscenter test (good highlights, game winning plays). I'm gonna go ahead and root for the Brew Crew in these playoffs. 

Philadelphia over St. Louis in 5 3

This is gonna piss my buddy Brockoli Jones off to no end, but the Phillies are getting to the World Series at the very least. Their pitchers are way better than everybody else's. 

*so apparently baseball begins the playoffs with 5 game serieseses

His dirkliness

2011 World Series Predictions

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With all of the hype surrounding the start of football season, I almost forgot that baseball is still going on!!!

But this one is for all of you diehards out there that wait around until the last 5 minutes of Sportscenter to catch the highlights of Thomas Jefferson's past time. I figured I had to get this in before your sport officially ended with the kickoff of Week 1 in the NFL on Thursday night. Hey at least your sport will no longer be overshadowed by a sport that's either a. locked out of all activities or b. smack dab in the middle of meaningless football games that most everybody hates.

So here goes the very first baseball article written by His Dirkness himself......

Philadelphia Phillies over Detroit Tigers in 5.

No doubt about it,
His Dirkness

Guest Article #2: Royals Trade David Dejesus

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There once was a young lad who grew up in Kansas City and wanted nothing more than a good baseball team. This fella, lets call him Zeets, saw his dreams come true the magical summer of 2003. The kid was hooked from that moment on. He can't get enough of one of the worst franchises in professional sports, the kind of dedication that you have to admire.

This is guest article number two, written by one of my friends and left completely untouched by me (first one can be found here). I always tell my friends if they write something I'll put it up. It works best on topics that I don't cover, like the terrible sport of baseball. Without further ado, here's my man's thoughts on the Royals trade of David Dejesus.

Written by Matt Zeets:


Thank God we finally got rid of David Dejesus. I was drained from watching his gold-glove caliber defense go wasted in the corners, and his hustle go wasted on such a long season and such a poor team. Sure, he was able to squeeze out a .318 average last year, but after dealing with a .289 average for his career, he owed us for all the grief. I was also sick of watching him get put in the leadoff spot simply because of his career .360 on-base percentage. Finally I was tired of his façade of being a good guy that got along with all the players and fans as well as anyone. He may have had most of Kansas City tricked, but a true Royals fan would will be happy to see #9 leaving KC for good. The only downside to this trade is that he is still in the AL and we will have to see him on occasion.

So I’m not that good of a mock-serious writer. I tried. In all seriousness though, trading David Dejesus is the right move on paper. We have had an abundance of outfielders in the past few years and as much as I hate to admit it, we need more pop at the corner outfield positions than Mr. Dejesus provides. Furthermore, with plenty of 1st and 3rd baseman coming through our system, I would not be surprised to see the Royals try out more than just Alex Gordon in the outfield. Dejesus is due $6 million this year, and will be up for free agency after that. If he had not gotten injured shortly before the trade deadline last year, he probably would have been moved then. While not a prototypical corner outfielder, Dejesus offers a balance in all areas of the game that is still valued more than the Royals can afford. As we’ve learned too many times in the past, the Royals cannot pay every player we bring up through the system. You have to pick your battles and sign the guys that you can build championship teams around like Greinke and Soria and let the well-rounded, lovable, center-fielder made corner outfielder, leadoff man that averages less than 7 steals a year go.

The Royals also got good value for Dejesus. While I stole this stat from another article, the Royals had an American League worst 4.97 ERA, so obviously they need to worry more about finding pitching wherever they can, rather than hanging onto another good, but not great, outfielder. Justin Marks, a starting pitcher in (single) A, was a third round draft pick in 2009, but has not looked that good yet. He was the throw in pickup, so if he does not ever get out of A ball, then it will not matter too much. Vin Mazzaro, a starting pitcher that has seen time in the majors both of the past two years, has not been great yet, but is projected as middle or late rotation starter. While neither player may ever turn out, they are both pitching prospects in their lower 20s, and are well worth the shot at better pitching they offer instead of the year more we would have been able to keep Dejesus, before having to give him up anyway.

While I think Dayton Moore probably made the right move for the team, I truly hate to see Dejesus go. He represents everything that is right about baseball and one of the last pieces of the 2003 team (if only 9 AB’s in 12 games) that made me love the Royals in the first place. I will miss his genuine smile. I will miss his post game ritual with Soria. I will miss his post-injury RBI tear he went on each year. I lament the fact that Dejejols will no longer make sense. David Dejesus, KC loves you and this one is to you .

Dragon Ball Zeets

Celebrity Guest Writing~~Brock Goetz~~NL Central Race

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Since the Dirkness has been ruled completely incapable of writing on the happenings of baseball, he went on a worldwide search only to find his main man, his number 1 fan-ness, coming to us all the way from the streets of Compton, via St. Louis, via Kingman, Kansas, I present to you the passionate writings of one Brock Goetz....

THE DOGFIGHT IN THE NL CENTRAL

With 1.5 months of glorious, heat-swamped, tug-boating Major League Baseball left, I requested a stately article from His Dirkness on this fantastic sport, but he seems to be shrouded in a permanent veil of pre-season NFL (the Cheeves). So for that angry mob of readers that are salivating for some WHIP, OPS, and BIPS stats, well I’m not going to get that far into it but at least this may cure part of that hunger.

“They’re all little bitches. Let me repeat: I hate the Cardinals.” These faux-gangsta phrases uttered by Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips before the definitive Cardinals-Reds series for 1st place in the NL Central must have been conceived to fire up his own team. Unfortunately for him, his team comprised of ex-Cards, and the city of Cincinnati, it led to a magnificent sweep at the hands of St. Louis with a combined 21-8 score over three games, in addition to a brawl that showed the Reds were the true punks (cleat kicking). The Reds came into the series with a two-game lead in the NL Central, homefield advantage, and a thirst for the postseason that they have not seen in over a decade. The Cardinals came in with an erratic, inconsistent offense, poor relief pitching, and possibly only the hopes of salvaging the third game of the series under Ace Adam Wainwright. But those words made public by Phillips sparked a canine-fury from the Cards that completely dissected and destroyed all of the “wholesome” chemistry the Reds have thrived on offensively with their starting rotation.

In Game 1, Cards Co-Ace Chris Carpenter (13-3, 2.89 ERA) brought a wild-bore mentality, even goring his own teammate Brendan Ryan twice for mistakes and miscommunications, going 7 innings strong and only allowing two late earned runs. Opposing him was rookie sensation Mike Leake (7-3), who has never played in the minors… yeah one of those guys. They both took a scoreless pitching-duel into the fourth until the Cards opened it up with a 12 pitch, 6 hit, 6 run streak in the inning. Spurred by five straight hits by the likes of Jon Jay, Pujols, Holliday, Rasmus, and Molina, the unlikely hero Skip Schumaker (the quintessential utility-player name) stepped up and nailed a Grand Slam (a theme that would reoccur triumphantly in Game 3). This left Leake totally bewildered, leading him to attempt to trot off the field after only two outs, which got him yanked before he could even finish the inning. The Cards went on to win 7-3.

Game 2 aka “The Brawlgame” solidified the intensity of this rivalry since the news of Phillips derogatory comments had reached every ear in the clubhouses, general management offices, and the streets of St. Louis and Cincinnati. Immediately to start the bottom of the first, lead-off hitter and trash-talker Phillips tapped the shin guards of catcher Yadier Molina as a “good game dawg” sort of purpose. After Yadi kicked the bat away, Phillips proceeded to do it again before turning his back and acting cocky. When he came back into the box, the helmets came off and some jiving was enacted, leading to a bench clearing commencement. Everything may have went off without a hitch until opposing veteran managers Tony LaRussa and Dusty Baker mouthed off to each other, proceeding the aforementioned wild-bore Chris Carpenter to get gritty with softy ex-Cardinal Scott Rolen trying to hold him back. The crowd surged towards the backdrop where Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto found himself sitting on the wall, kicking with his metal cleats, at the back of Carpenter, lacerating his back, and giving bench catcher Jason LaRue a concussion. Well in addition to looking like Easy E, Cueto proved that, in fact, he’s the one that fights like a bitch because he quote-unquote “feared for his life.” Things cooled off after that and Phillips quietly grounded out on the ensuing at-bat. You may be asking, “What did Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina do when he got up to the plate in the subsequent inning?” Well young one, he hit a blasting HOME RUN. Molina (2 hits, 2 RBI) and Matt “Every Day Should Be A” Holliday (4 hits, 4 RBI) powered the offense to a 8-4 victory behind the outing of rookie Jaime Garcia (10-5, 2.71 ERA) and gave Cueto (11-3) the loss.

In Game 3, Cardinal Ace and a co-leader of the Cy Young candidacy, Adam Wainwright (17-6, 1.99 ERA), once again put on a stellar performance, taking a 2-hit Shutout through the 7th until a rain delay took him out of the game. Once again, opposer Bronson Arroyo (12-7) took a scoreless pitching duel into the 5th until birthday-kid Colby Rasmus patiently executed an 8 pitch, full count, 2 out bases loaded at bat and nailed a subsequent dagger-like Grand Slam into center. Combined with the additional heroics of Jon Jay (the rookie that always starts the rally), Molina, and Schumaker, the Cards rolled to a 6-1 victory, which acted as the broom to sweep the Reds under the bench with all the sunflower seed shells and big-league chew.

In conclusion, ghetto-fighter Brandon Phillips finished the series going 2-14 and rarely hit it out of the infield… good one kid. The St. Louis starters allowed only 9 hits and 6 ER in 19 1/3 innings, while the Reds starters got punctured for 22 hits and 14 ER in only 14 innings. Oh the satisfaction involved there with both teams putting up their Top 3. Albert Pujols was quiet with 3 hits, 4 walks, and 2 RBI but many other heroes emerged to put the Cards up one game on the Reds in the NL Central. The dogfight will continue with one more series between these teams later on in St. Louis, hopefully finally getting credit for being the best rivalry during this 2010 season.

Brock Goetz - “Rickaay The Lead Off Man”