Thanks to one of the most entertaining games of the 2009 Division Series, we now have our Championship Series matchups. Philadelphia and Los Angeles will meet to decide the National League Champion. The Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees will decide the American League Champion. Before moving on to those series, it should be acknowledged that the 2009 Division Series were historical.
2009 marked the first time in the Wild Card era that all four teams clinched their spot in the Championship series on the road. All four winners had home-field advantage and all four clinched at the opponent’s stadium. Before this postseason, six seasons featured three series winners closing out the first round away from home (1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2007). 2001 was the only season in which all four Division Series were clinched at home. 2009 also tied 2007 for the fewest Division Series games played with only 13. Philadelphia prevented a stand alone record by letting the Rockies make their NLDS interesting for one more game.
Now for that look ahead. The Phillies travel to Los Angeles in rematch of last season’s NLCS. The difference this season is that LA has home field advantage. They also have Andre Ethier, who is 6-for-12 with a .571 OBP, 1.333 SLG, 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 2 doubles, a triple, and 5 runs in 3 games. Last season, it took Ethier two playoff series to collect 6 total hits. Ethier has come into his own this season and it will be interesting to see if he can keep his hot streak going against Philadelphia’s left-hander dominant rotation. He hit only .194/.283/.345 against lefties during the regular season. If he doesn’t step up, Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp will have to.
The Phillies showed their mettle in Game 4 of the NLCS against Colorado. Don’t expect their lineup to slow down against the Dodgers. Jayson Werth broke out for the Phillies this season, giving them yet another weapon for the lineup. The Dodgers easily dispatched the Cardinals lineup, but Philadelphia’s is stronger and presents more of a challenge. The Phillies lineup is more than just Ryan Howard.
In the American League, the teams with the best records in the League will meet to decide the champion. It figures that Game 1 will lead with each team’s ace. John Lackey for the Angels and CC Sabathia for New York. The Yankees record was 6 games better, but it seems they must go through the Angels to get to the World Series. The Angels defeated the Yankees, 3-1, in a 2002 Division Series on their way to a World Series championship. In 2005, the Angels beat the Yankees, 3-2, in another ALDS. The Angels don’t have the same postseason problems with the Yankees that they have with the Red Sox. The Yankees are 3-6 all-time against the Angels in postseason play. The Angels have also not had a losing regular season record against the Yankees since 2003.
This season, they finished the regular season 5-5. The Yankees are hungry to win. They’re built for it. Both teams are. Both teams are different than what they were in 2002 and 2005. The Yankees have more consistent pitching now and are getting postseason contributions from Alex Rodriguez. The Angels didn’t hit with as much power in the Division Series, but hit well enough to win. This series should be very evenly matched and will come down to which team takes advantage of the breaks that go their way.
No matter what, each Championship Series will be entertaining.
