Current State of the Union

ALCS (American League Championship Series):
Texas Rangers lead the series with 2 wins, and the New York Yankees have only 1 win.

NLCS (National League Championship Series):
Series tied with the Philadelphia Phillies with 1 win, and the San Francisco Giants with 1 win.

My predictions:
I predict that the San Francisco Giants win today's game, on October 19th, because of their recent success with their offensive leader Cody Ross. Ross stands in the series comfortably with 3 homeruns, proving himself to be worthy of his relatively new team, the Giants. In the ALCS, I believe the New York Yankees will take a win because they are looking for revenge after last night's humiliating loss at home to the Rangers. With a newfound positive outlook, the Yankees should be able to come back, playing in their home stadium again, and win the next game of the ALCS.

Phillies becoming superstitious?

Players of the Philadelphia Phillies are approaching the remaining games of the NCLS (National League Championship Series) as they had in the first game. More specifically, the Phillies are looking at the same offensive lineup in order to produce winning results like they had on Sunday.

"The key is taking batting practice the same here as we do at home," said Phillies' hitting coach Greg Gross. "Theoretically, we're trying to hit low line drives in the gaps and get carry. In our ballpark, when you do that, a lot of balls are going to go in the seats. Here, hopefully they'll equate into balls in the gaps and extra-base hits."

AT&T Park, where the Phillies face the San Francisco Giants for the series title, measures 339 feet down the left-field line and 309 down the line to right, which makes outfielders play deeper for left-handed pull hitters. Right-handed hitters can reach the seats to a 382-foot power alley in left-center field, but lefties will have a more difficult time pulling the ball out to right. The deepest part of the park is in right-center field, 421 feet from home plate under a wall that rises at least 18 feet.

Offensively, the Phillies will play Game 3 of the series the same as they had previously, and hope for the best. Click here for a link to the Philadelphia Phillies current rankings and standings in the NLCS.

                                        AT&T Park

Linecum vs. Phillies

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants is entirely focused on opening the National League Championship Series on Saturday, October 16th. As he prepares to meet the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay in a widely anticipated matchup in Game 1 of the NLCS in Philadelphia, Lincecum knows what kind of series is at hand. "This is the Year of the Pitcher, and it's still continuing," Lincecum said Wednesday as he left the field following the Giants' workout at AT&T Park. While the battle of Cy Young Award winners demands headlines, Lincecum won't be facing Halladay, but the number 9 hitter in a dangerous Phillies lineup that presents a challenge to this starting pitcher. "You've just got to make your pitches," Lincecum said of facing the daunting Phillies lineup. "I know they've got a lot of guys that can hurt you with the long ball, but we play great defense and we pitch to it as well as anybody has, so if we just continue that, we should be fine." I believe that with Tim Linecum starting for the San Francisco Giants for the first game of the series, the Giants most definitely have a fighting chance to take this title.

While the Season is Winding Down...

The American League and National League Championships are both arriving relatively soon, starting October 15th and 16th. The ALCS (American League Championship Series) is set to be October 15th between the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers have been doing surprisingly well the last couple of weeks, and with making it all the way to the ALCS they have come a very long way. The NLCS (National League Championship Series) begins the day after, October 16th, between the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies. Overall, the Phillies have a strong offense and defense that will be difficult to defeat in the NLCS, so the Giants are up for a challenge. The two winners out of these series will be set to play in the World Series starting October 27th. All of the teams participating in both of the series are overwhelmingly talented and it will be a rough couple of games.

Rangers Future Looks Promising

The Texas Rangers are one win away from going to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time in franchise history. The Rangers hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series as they fly back to Texas for the next two games on their home turf. Game 3 is scheduled on Saturday at the ballpark in Arlington with Colby Lewis pitching for the Rangers against Matt Garza. Tommy Hunter, if necessary, will pitch in Game 4 on Sunday. The Rangers need to win only one of those two games to advance to the ALCS against the Yankees-Twins winner. If the Yankees win that series, the Rangers will have home-field advantage for the ALCS, which is truly beneficial for them. So far, the ALCS title is looking good for the Texas Rangers, and soon enough, it could very well be the World Series title next. Click here for a link to the Texas Rangers website hosting their current standings and rankings in the MLB.

PLAYOFFS!

Division Series:

                          

               

Tampa Bay Rays        vs.        Texas Rangers

                                

Philadelphia Phillies           vs.       Cincinnati Reds  

Minnesota Twins              vs.                New York Yankees

          

San Francisco Giants                vs.                    Atlanta Braves

Personal Prediction: I believe the Tampa Bay Rays are going to win the World Series this year. Offensively and defensively, they have been a very strong team, and are definitely going to make it far in the playoffs. Other teams that have a chance of making it to the championship consist of the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Both teams have a few all-star players such as Albert Pujols and Jason Heyward, providing them with a decent chance in possibly making it to the World Series along with the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite the fact that the New York Yankees made it in the playoffs with a Wild Card, they have a pretty good chance of advancing far into the playoffs as well.