MLB AL Divisision Series #2 Preview

Oakland A's Vs.





Minnesota Twins






Starting Pitching:

The Twins received a serious blow to their playoff success hopes when Rookie phenom Francisco Lariano was lost to an elbow injury. Ace Johan Santana had another great year winning 19 (tied for the Major League lead), striking out an impressive 245, and a good ERA of 2.77. The Twins also have two starters with great potential, but a lack of experience in Matt Garza and Boof Bonsor. Brad Radke's health is the concern, as he has a stress fracture in his pitching shoulder. His curve and change are his bread and butter. Radke had 12 wins and 83 K's with a 4.83 ERA. These 4 pitchers wil have to pitch into the later innings for the Twins to win.

The A's have also got health concerns with their starters as Rich Harden was out for all of 9 starts with various injuries. Harden looked bad in his last start, going just 3.2 innings with 91 pitches. Ace Barry Zito could be playing his final games for Oakland. Zito won 16 games with 151 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA in the regular season. He's had playoff success winning 3 of his 5 starts with a 2.77 ERA. Dan Haren had a decent season winning 14 with a 4.12 ERA and 176 K's. He has a good fastball and a great splitter. He should get a lot of ground ball outs. Finally, rounging out the rotation is Joe Blanton. His flaw is that he doesn't have that dominating out pitch. He rarely leaves pitches out over the plate. Expect these pitchers to go 6-7 innings every start.

Relief Pitchers:

The Twins bullpen is anchored by closer Joe Nathan. Nathan notched 36 saves and 7 wins in his 64 appearances this season. He's quitely established himself as an elite closer. Premier set-up man Juan Rincon will be solid in the 7th or 8th innings in close games. Lefty Dennys Reyes will have to be good against the A's lefties. Long reliever Jesse Crain is a solid spot starter and will be there if a starter gets injured early or struggles early. Rookie sidewinder Paul Neshek has been solid and will provide middle relief. Carlos Silva can set up or do middle relief.

Young and solid closer Huson Street anchors this deep bullpen. Street had a solid 37 saves this season and 4 wins. He struck out 67 batters and had a 3.31 ERA. Setting up Street will be Justin Duchscherer and Kiko Calero. Lefty sidewinder Scott Sauerbeck has been solid against opposing hitters this year holding them to a .234 average. Fellow left-handed specialist Brad Halsey will also face the Twins lefties. Rounding out this deep 'pen are righties Jay Witasik and Chad Gaudin. Kirk Saarloss will provide long relief and will start should Harden or another starter be unable to go. I think you have to look at who was left off the playoff roster to judge the deepeness of this bullpen (Joe Kennedy and Estaben Loaiza)

Edge: A's

Catcher:

Joe Mauer is having an outstanding year at the plate. In fact, he won the AL batting title. What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that catchers are not generally considered to be good hitters because of the toll their position takes on their body, particularly the knees and catching hand. Mauer hit .347 with 13 HR and 84 RBI's. On top of his great offesnive numbers, he has established himself as an adequate defensive catcher

Oakland's Jason Kendall is a better defensive catcher. He doesn't hit for power, but runs well enough to bat leadoff. As a leadoff hitter, Kendall is expected to get on base quite a bit. Kendall hit .295 with 1 HR and 50 RBI's in the regular season.

1st Baseman

Justin Morneau had himself an MVP season, hitting .321 with 34 HR and 130 runs batted in. Morneauis good in the field at grabbing any ball thrown in the dirt. Look for him to be a major player in this series.

First base time was split between Nick Swisher and Dan Johnson this season. Swisher had himself a good power year with 35 HR, although he only had a .254 average. He also knocked in 95 runs. Johnson is a better defensive player than at the plate. He hit .234 with 9 HR and 37 RBI's. Look for Swisher to get the bulk of the work at 1st base with Johnson coming in as a defensive replacement at the end of the game.

edge: Twins.

2nd Baseman:

Luis Castillo is having himself a bit of a comeback year, as he's hitting .296 with 3 HR and 49 runs batted in. Castillo is great on defense, making the hard plays look easy. Castillo was a nice off-season signing by the Twins. He is also a great runner and a threat to steal, he will give Kendall fits on the base paths.

The A's counter with Mark Ellis who missed the month of June woth a broken finger, but has come back strong. He hits for average and has been on a hot streak as of late. His speed won't be a threat.

Edge: Twins

Shortstop

Playing in his first full season, third year player, Jason Bartlett has done an above average job in the field, making a nice DP combo with Castillo. He hit .309 with 2 HR and 32 RBI's this year. He will be a threat to steal and runs well on the base paths.

Marco Scutaro has done an adequate job in filling in for the injured Biobby Crosby. Scutaro hit .266 with 9 HR and 41 runs batted in. His bread and butter is his defense and he's a streaky hitter with little power.

Edge: even

3rd Baseman.

Nick Punto has had a decent year at the plate hitting .290 1 HR and 45 RBI's. He plays the game the way it's meant to be played: hard. However, he's just not as good as his counterpart Eric Chavez.

Chavez is having an off-year by his standards with an average of .241, 22 HR and 72 RBI's. He is one of the better defensive 3rd baseman in the game today and this year he has several clutch hits to help the A's. Look for him to make a major contribution in this series.

Edge: A's.

Left Fielder

Rondell White got off to a slow start this year, but he finished the year strong. His speed isn't as good in recent years, but he can still make a solid contribution, both in the field and at the plate.

Jay Payton is enjoying one of his better years at the plate, hitting .296 with 10 HR and 59 RBI's. His patience at the plate is paying off as he's waiting for his pitch. Payton is one of the better defensive left fielders in the game.

Edge: A's

Center Fielder

Tori Hunter is the best defensive Center fielder in the Majors. At the plate, he has the potential to be a game breaker. He hit .278 with 31 HR and 98 RBI's. Hunter will be dangerous at the plate and with his speed on the bases. Payton is also a threat to lay down a bunt and try to beat it out.

Mark Kotsay is also very good on defense, not quite as good as Hunter, but he can still make the key catch. Kotsay hit .275 with 7 HR and 59 runs batted in. He is expected to provide the key hit in this series.

Edge: Twins

Right Fielder:

Micheal Cuddyer had a very productive year at the plate with a .284 average and 24 HR and 104 RBI's. He can play multiple positions, as can several of the Twin players. Look for Cuddyer to come up with the key hit n the series.

Milton Bradley is a versitalle player who does many things well (plays defense, hits for average, power, runs fast), but his flaw is consistency. He goes on streaks where he's good and streaks where he's bad. Brdley can play all three outfield positions.

Edge: Twins

Designated Hitter:

The Twins have split the DH between two specialists, Paul Nevin against lefties and Jason Tyner against righties. Nevin has a .266 average with 22 HR and 68 RBI's. Tyner hit .312 with 18 runs batted in. Nevin has better power numbers, but Tyner has a better average.

Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas is a comeback Player of the Year award candidate and is having an MVP like season. He has blasted 39 HR, hit for a .270 average and driven in 114 runs. Thomas is not a fast runner. He has battled ankle injuries over the last few seasons, but he's healthy now and back with a vengeance.

Edge: A's

Bench:

The Twins have a reasonably good bench with Mike Redmond who's a great back-up to Mauer. They have Lew Ford who can be a good pinch-hitter. Redmond is a valuable Clubhouse presence.

The A's bench players are very flexible, as all three outfield backups can play anywhere in the outfield (Bobby Kielty (only on the corners, Hiram Bocachica, and Jay Payton and Bradley). Swisher can player either corner outfield and at 1st base. Finally, D'Angelo Jiminez and Antonia Perez can play shortstop, 2nd base and 3rd base. Joe Macha has five hitters that can hit from either side of the plate, giving him lots of options for match-ups.

Edge: A's

Manager:

Joe Macha is one of the better managers in the game. The Oakland A's are like the Edmonton Oilers of baseball as it seems every year they lose key players to free agency. Yet, Macha has a way to keep the A's in contention and making the playoffs on a fairly regular basis.

Ron Gardenhire is the face behind the scrappy, resillient play of the Twins every year. He manages his teams like there's no tomorrow. As a result, the Twins have made the post-season 4 out of the past 5 seasons. 'nuff said.

Intangibles:

The Twins have been on a roll for the past 3.5 months, and they love playing the role of the underdog. Any team that underestimates this team is in for a rude awakening.

The A's go into the post-season with just one player out with injury (Crosby) and for the first time we'll see what this team can do with everyone ready and able to play. It will be interesting to see how quickly Harden regains his form after the long injury layoff (Game 3 will be just his 4th start in 4 months.)

Series Prediction: Twins in 5