![]() The Cardinals lineup is one of the most explosive in baseball, with Pujols, Holliday and Berkman being very dangerous. Outside of Carpenter and Garcia, their pitching is a little thin. The Cardinals won the wildcard by winning 23 of their last 31 games. Chase Utley missed most of the year and is just now returning to 100%, but he can never be counted out either. Their offense is very streaky, but the addition of Huntr Pence really gives Ryan Howard some help at the top. Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Worley and Oswalt is as tough as you will find. The Phillies are setup for postseason glory, as their pitching staff is the best in the playoffs. LOUIS CARDINALS (90-72) vs PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (102-60) I like the Rangers to win a tight series, but -170 is too much juice to lay on the Rangers. The Rays pitch, pitch, and pitch some more, and their offense is capable of breaking out at anytime. The Rangers are playing too good of baseball right now, although I see this being one of the tighest series matchup in the playoffs. The Rays offense has been prone to long offensive struggles this season, but has some solid right handed hitters in Longoria and Upton to setup nicely against the lefties CJ Wilson and Holland of the Rangers. He has premium top-line stuff and is capable of shutting down any offense. Shields and Price and Hellickson are the headliners, but rookie Matt Moore is the X factor. The Rays have one of the best pitching staff in this entire postseason. To me, Texas has everything you need to make a run to the World Series and win the AL. They also play excellent baseball at home and have won 14 of their last 16 games. Texas has a deep starting rotation amd arguably the best offense in baseball. TAMPA BAY RAYS (91-71) vs TEXAS RANGERS (96-66) The Tigers will win this series, so the play is 2** Detroit Tigers (+120) to win this series. CC is a great pitcher but he isn't even in the same class as Justin Verlander. Verlander is the X factor, and I don't think he loses this entire series. The Tigers beat the Yankees in four games in the 2006 ALDS, and I believe the Tigers will win this series. Magglio Ordonez enters the playoffs riding an 18-game hitting streak. Their lineup lacked the punch of the Yankees, but Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez are as good a 1-2 combo as anybody in baseball. They also have a lockdown closer in Jose Valverde who has converted all 49 saves this year. Doug Fister has been on-fire down the stretch, and Scherzer has some premium stuff. ![]() The Tigers have the best pitcher in the entire playoffs, ace Justin Verlander. The Yankees obviously have their big bats that led the major leagues in home runs this year with 222, and Jeter seems to be heating up at the right time. They have the worst pitching staff of any team in the AL Playoffs, but they do have the constant lock down closer in Mariano Rivera. The Yankees have lost four in a row and will reply heavily on ace CC Sabathia and a three-man rotation this series. The Regular Season matchup was a close 4-3 in favor of the Tigers, and the Yankees are currently listed as a -160 favorite to win the series. ![]() DETROIT TIGERS (95-67) vs NEW YORK YANKEES (97-65)
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