ALCS Preview

Game 1 of the ALCS is tonight and it will feature the Boston Red Sox vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays won the season series 10-8 and are 8-1 at the Trop versus the Sox's this season. The Rays will be sending Jaime Shields to the mound who went 14-8 with a 3.56 era. Shields is 2-4 in 8 career starts versus the Sox's with an era of 5.23. Shields has pitched well at home this season against the Sox's going 2-0 with a 1.17 era. At Fenwat though its a different story, he is 0-2 with a era of 21.21 which is just awful. The guy that Shields has struggled with the most is David Ortiz who is .500 with 2hrs and 6 rbi's. Shields did pitch well in is only playoff outing going 6 1/3 and allowing 3 runs versus the White Sox's. One thing that bods well for Shields is that he has been lights out at home this season, posting a record of 9-2 with a 2.59 era. On the other side the Sox's will be throwing Dice K out there who went 18-3 with a 2.90 era. Dice K on the road this season has also been lights out, and arguably the best road pitcher in baseball. Matsuzaka went 9-0 2.37 era. In his only postseason outing Matsuzaka struggled, going 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Dice K has not pitched great in his career versus Tampa Bay posting a record of 2-3 with a 3.75 era. On the season he is 1-0 with a 3.00 era. One thing that is a positive though for him is that he did dominate them in his last outing, going 5 innings allowing 1 run and striking out 7.

The Sox's have been a perennial playoff power since reeling off eight straight wins in the 2004 postseason, erasing a 3-0 deficit to the New York Yankees in the ALCS and eventually winning its first World Series since 1918. The Red Sox also entered this year as reigning champions, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to Cleveland in last season’s ALCS and winning seven straight, capped by a World Series sweep of Colorado. The fact that Boston is again on the cusp of representing the AL is no great surprise, but its opponent is more than a bit stunning. The Rays came into 2008 with nothing but a decade of losing to their credit. They’d never won more than 70 games in a season and compiled the worst cumulative record in baseball since 1998, their first year of existence. The Rays went 57-24 at the Trop this season, which was the best home record in baseball, and are currently 2-0 at home in the playoffs. If there was one thing the Rays were able to do against the Sox's it was that they knew how to win the close games. The Rays were 6-0 in one run games this season against Boston, the one run victory's led to the Rays winning the season series. Something to being looking for tonight is pitcher Jaime Shields. Shields if you remember was a big part of that mid season bench clearing brawl that led to him and Coco Crisp doing their best Rocky vs. the Russian impersonation.

In the end the match up favors the Sox's considerably, from pitching to lineup to managing its all in the Sox's favor. People try to make a big deal about Dice K and his control but honestly I'm sick of hearing that shit. OK he has struggled with his control we know but look closely at the numbers, opponents are hitting just .211 against him, which is the worst average against any starter in baseball. If the Rays are going to get to the World Series then their gonna need Eva Longoria to start hitting. Eva was the teams MVP in the regular season hitting .272 with 27hrs and 85 rbi's all while missing 40 games. In the playoffs though he hasn't been the same player, in his first game he had 2 hrs and 3 hits but then went 1-12 the rest of the series. When everything is said and done i don't think the Rays have a prayer to win this series. The Sox's have the experience the better pitching, and they have been there before. I say take expercience over youth. Soxs in 5