ALDS: O’s, Royals look for more magic

Detroit Tigers (90-72) vs. Baltimore
Orioles (96-66)

This
is a tough one to pick, especially for me, a lifelong Orioles fan
riding the wave of emotion of the team’s first division title in 17
years. But alas, these are the Detroit Tigers, making a fourth
straight postseason trip on the heels of three consecutive ALCS
appearances, including one pennant. On paper, this looks like a
favorable matchup for Detroit, considering their 5-1 record vs.
Baltimore this year and a decided edge in both starting pitching and
offense.

The
Orioles are a team that sort of epitomizes “the whole being greater
than the sum of its parts,” with a solid if not spectacular
rotation, home run power in their lineup, and a top-notch bullpen.
One area where Baltimore can potentially exploit Detroit is in the
late innings, as the Tigers bullpen has been a major liability this
season. Perhaps Detroit’s best bullpen is tremendous starting
pitching. And it’s possible.

Edge
Factor

OFFENSE: Tigers

STARTING
PITCHING: Tigers

BULLPEN: Orioles

DEFENSE: Orioles

MANAGER: Orioles

INTANGIBLES: EVEN.

Final Word: I
almost always go against sentiment in favor of logic (or at least
conventional wisdom), but maybe it’s time to make an exception. The
Tigers may have more star power, but the Orioles are probably a more
complete team, and Buck Showalter could be the great equalizer
against his rookie counterpart, Brad Ausmus. Prediction: Orioles
in 5.

Kansas City
Royals (89-73) vs. Los Angeles Angels (98-64)

Speaking
of sentiment, is there any better Cinderella-type story than the
Royals, in the postseason for the first time in 29 years? It wasn’t
entirely a shock considering I picked them as a wild card before the
season, but Royal Nation must feel like its dreaming, especially
after KC’s epic 12-inning Wild Card game win against Oakland. But the
Angels have baseball’s best record, and it’s very possible the clock
could strike midnight on the Runnin’ Royals.

Los Angeles was
dealt a major blow in mid-August when its best starting pitcher,
Garrett Richards, was lost for the year with a gruesome knee injury,
and it’s a legitimate beef to say that Kansas City might have the
edge in starting pitching in this series, even with Matt Shoemaker
proclaimed healthy. The Angels beefed up their bullpen with several
trades, but the Royals have arguably the best one in baseball.

Where the real
disparity lies in this matchup is in the offense, as the potent
Angels will have no problem out-slugging the Royals, who were last in
the Majors this year with just 95 home runs. But they make up for
their lack of pop with a Major League-leading 153 stolen bases, which
doesn’t even include the seven they had against Oakland. Still, this
is a tall task for a Kansas City club that has overachieved all year.
As much as I want to stick with sentiment here, the fairytale likely
ends here.

Edge Factor

OFFENSE: Angels

STARTING
PITCHING: Royals

BULLPEN: Royals

DEFENSE: Royals

MANAGER: Angels

INTANGIBLES: Angels

Final Word: Kansas
City is certainly capable of pulling the upset, but it will need to
be able to control the tempo of the series and play its sort of game,
not the more up-tempo one the Angels prefer. Both teams are masters
of the comeback, but the pendulum swings with the star power of Mike
Trout, Albert Pujols, and possibly even the returning Josh Hamilton.
Prediction: Angels in 4.