This should be another great postseason series, as I see both these teams almost evenly matched. Both teams depend a lot on the home-run for instant offense, and have the hitter-friendly ballpark to put up a lot of runs quickly. For example, the Tigers' Delmon Young and Rangers' Adrian Beltre each belted three home-runs in their respective Division Series wins, and they are not even the team's best hitter (Cabrera and Hamilton). In the end, however, it always comes down to pitching, and both team's have solid, above-average rotations and bullpens. The Tigers' front-line trio of Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, and Max Scherzer looked impressive in taking out the Bronx Bombers, and I like their consistency over that of the Rangers' starters of C.J. Wilson, Derek Holland, and Colby Lewis. And although Jose Valverde has his adventures in the 9th, he has not blown a save the whole season.
It's pretty much a toss-up in the end, but I just like the feeling around this Tigers' team. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have the Cy Young winner either.
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It's an NL Central showdown for the right to go to the World Series, after the Cards shocked the Phillies in five. Milwaukee finally got out of the first round thanks to clutch hitting and good pitching in its wins. Zach Grienke and Yovani Gallardo were really strong for the Brewers, but fellow starters Shawn Marcum and Randy Wolf need to bounce-back after getting lit up in the Arizona desert. And against an underrated St. Louis lineup that still has playoff veterans Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman, suspect pitching will doom Milwaukee. Luckily, the Brewers have bats of their own, in the form of Braun, Fielder, and Nyjer "Tony Clutch" Morgan. The Cards' pitching and Chris Carpenter was absolutely awesome in shutting down the Phillies, but can Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, and Edwin Jackson also contain Milwaukee's more consistent lineup? In the end, the Brewers just have more talent across the board (starting pitching, bullpen, lineup) and should win.
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