mercoledì 24 ottobre 2018

NLCS 2018 review

They played the National League Championship and the subsequent access to the World Series 2018 the LA Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers, a series that immediately seemed very difficult to predict. Difficulties that derive from the balance of values ​​in the field and the very good performance seen by both teams in the divisional. With the advantage of the field factor, the Brewers made their debut in the walls of Miller Park, hosting for Race 1 nothing less than Clayton Kershaw. But despite this they were able to win the first chapter of the series with a score of 6-5, showing immediately to be lethal against any pitcher and to have a bullpen able to finish the game better. Race 2 saw opposing the two southpaws Ryu and Miley, the second phenomenal with 5.2 inning without suffering a point, but the advantage of 3-0 was frustrated by Barnes and Jeffress that suffering 2 points each have compromised the race for their team . With the series migrated to California the Brewers immediately made it clear to their rivals that they would come back to play ial Miller Park. This is thanks to an excellent performance by Chacin who has left the hosts with 0 points with the young Walker Buehler who have not managed to counter a really solid Milwaukee in the launchers department. Race 4 under 2-1 for Los Angeles was a "must win", both Hill and Gonzalez played an excellent match and even the bullpen were up to the task, bringing the match in a draw with a score of 1-1 until the thirteenth inning where Bellinger sent the credits with a walkoff hit that put the series in balance for the second time. The pivotal game was undoubtedly race 4 for how it came the victory for the Los Angelini but race 5 was not far behind with Kershaw on the launching pitch capable of limiting the attack by the Brewers only two points and also thanks to the help of Jansen to bring the Dodgers for the first time in the lead in the series. The return to Miller Park benefited the Brewers, in particular their attack capable of destroying Ryu and forcing the 7th race scheduled the day after. A race 7 where you could expect a Kershaw in "short rest" but the Dodgers skipper opted for the young Buehler while the champions of the NL Central resorted to their best pitcher in this postseason, the number 52 Chacin. Unfortunately for the Winsconsin franchise, the Mexican was not up to the other performances, while the young ace of the Californians surprised everyone by giving a single point in 4.2 innings. In the rest of the game we thought the bullpen led by a brilliant Jansen to bring the Dodgers to their second consecutive appearance at the World Series.

Nothing to say about this series, it was beautiful and unfortunately one of the two had to lose. Los Angeles was the most complete team thanks to a considerable number of investments in recent years and this especially in the situation of late innings and matchup has made the needle hang on their side. For Milwaukee there is obviously the love in his mouth for another Championship lost but there must be the awareness of having built a very competitive team where to make it complete at most will be required at least two starting pitchers able to download the weight from the bullpen and guarantee more stability and security to the team.


mercoledì 10 ottobre 2018

NLDS 2018 review

The National League proposed to the divisional two clashes that on paper it was difficult to predict at the level of result but that on the field they gave a net and peremptory result. In the first of the two series Milwaukee prevailed over Colorado thanks to a stellar performance of its pitchers, especially that of the bullpen who did not give anything to their rivals in three games. The best and most fought race of the series was certainly the first where the Brewers had gone ahead 2-0 to be then reached on 2-2. With the race in the balance the guests also had the chance to take the lead but the hosts' bullpen managed to keep the draw result above all thanks to a lethal Josh Hader. During the low part of the tenth inning it was the former Royal Mike Moustakas who gave the victory to his team with a single walk-off that finally paved the way for the franchise in Wisconsin for the rest of the series. The other two matches unlike the first were a walk for the Brewers who have managed to not give a single point in the following two games thanks to an amazing performance of all the pitching stuff but also an attack able to produce four and six points respectively. As for the losers the disappointing performances of Arenado, Story and Blackmon in the first place have cost the franchise series of Colorado. The Rockies knew they had to score a good number of points in order to win, especially against the Brewers' starters but that was not the case, both the power and the contact were canceled by the other party. As far as the pitcher park is concerned, in my opinion he behaved well, counting above all that he faced one of the strongest MLB attacks with a hot Christian Yelich, who alone could put in trouble an entire pitching stuff.
The Brewers have confirmed themselves as the hottest team of the moment not only thanks to their offensive performances and with a solid bullpen but amazing all with a rotation of starting pitchers able to zero in three races one of the most explosive attacks of the league, all in ballpark more suited to hitters than to pitchers. The lineup is very deep and is well suited to all kinds of matchups boasting a mix of left and right handed that only the Dodgers have in the National League.
The other series saw the Dodgers prevail on the Braves for 3-1, in the two initial games in California despite a hot weather the pitchers were the masters. In the first race Ryu and in the second Kershaw have left the Braves attack at zero points, which in my opinion has suffered the impact and the tension of the postseason given the many young people present in the lineup. The two races in Atlanta unlike the first two were more fought and race three if they won the hosts thanks to a second inning by five points where Wood literally lost control of his fastball giving the game to his rivals. Race four was decided by his Machado Freese who combined scored all six points of Los Angeles confirming clutch hitters in key situations, especially the former Cardinals who brought home the two winning RBI games with a single pinch hit in the sixth inning. The Californians are one of the strongest and most complete teams of the last few years and if their key players like Kershaw, Turner and Machado continue to hold back at this level they will be tough rivals for anyone on the way to the World Series. The Braves have in my opinion made a good figure and this should be seen as the beginning of the journey that will bring up the franchise of Georgia given the high number of young talent who still lacks the maturity to be able to aim for the title.


giovedì 4 ottobre 2018

NLDS 2018 preview

After a series of tie breaker games to determine the winners of NL Central and NL West who saw the Dodgers beat the Rockies and Brewers prevail on the Cubs, last night was staged the National League Wild Card game that saw the Cubs host to Wrigley the Rockies with a ticket to Milwaukee up for grabs. The victory after 13 innings went to the guests thanks to a single pinch hit by Tony Wolters that allowed Trevor Story to score the victory point for the second time in two days Wrigley and the Cubs fans.

In the division series the Atlanta Braves will face the Los Angeles Dodgers who will have the advantage of the field factor while in the other series the advantage of the field factor will be of the Milwaukee Brewers who will see it with the Colorado Rockies.

Braves vs Dodgers will most likely be a series where the pitchers will have the upper hand, because despite both teams have high-level bats like Machado and Freeman all the games in the series will be played in "pitchers" ballpark and also the weather factor will have its impact especially in that of Atlanta where temperatures are in sharp decline. The expected part for the series on the Atlanta side are: Teheran, Foltynewicz, Newcomb and Sanchez with Gausman who will take the bullpen in the role of long reliever. Los Angeles will respond with: Kershaw, Ryu, Hill and Buehler with Stripling to help the bullpen. As for the lineup, the Dodgers have a fairly strong vain both in terms of power and the average in battuta but also with regard to the depth that affects the matchup especially in the last innings of the match against the opponent's bullpen. The Braves lineup is for many elements very young and inexperienced and at the postseason level it could represent an unknown factor that will surely make the fate of this series move from one side or the other. Speaking of bullpen is always the subject of the experience, that of Los Angeles led by closer Kenley Jansen is back from various postseason experiences including that of last year at the World Series while the Atlanta boasts only a couple of postseason presences and has a lower average age. Summing up Los Angeles is the most complete team perhaps of all the MLB despite the various injuries that have struck during this campaign but on the other side there are Braves that after several seasons in the lower part of the standings have been able to grow this generation of talents led by Acuna Jr. and Albies who will make their main weapon a competitive fury and charge.

The second of the two division series will see the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies opposite, probably two of the hottest teams of the moment. On paper this should not only be a series fought a series for lovers of attacks as the combination of explosive lineup and rotations of not very solid starting parties in two "hitters" park as the Coors field and Miller could give life in high-scoring races with constant upheavals in the face.

At the level of the rotation of the starters I see a substantial balance between the two contenders, the difference will be the bullpen and that of the Brewers so far has been formidable. Led by Josh Hader, Milwaukee's bullpen boasts players like Jeffress, Knebel and Albers. This is a bullpen where there is no fixed closer, but where the manager Craig Counsell decides the roles based on the shape of the pitcher and the matchup that presents him at the time. It is likely that the Wisconsin team's bullpen will be the key to these playoffs and will likely come into play even before the regular sixth and seventh inning matches. The lineups are both of the highest level and see on the one hand two candidates for the MVP as Story and Arenado along with the likes of Blackmon and Gonzalez, on the other the probable MVP Yelich in the company of Braun, Aguilar and Moustakas. Although I see a slight lead in favor of the Rockies both lineups will put the opposing pitchers to a very strong test by igniting what could be the most spectacular series of this playoff session on paper.



martedì 2 ottobre 2018