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Old 07-22-2018, 12:39 PM   #161
PilotMan
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Seven miles up
1988 Playoff Preview


NLCS


New York Mets (100-62) v. Houston Astros (105-57)


The Mets are hoping to repeat as World Series Champions, but in order to do so, they will need to knock off the best team in baseball. The Mets had a great year too though, and they are a great team in their own right. Hard to imagine them coming in as the underdog, but they may be.


The starting lineup is filled with 5 All Stars. The rotation has 2, and the 1 in the bullpen. The Mets have the top team in HR's and 3rd overall in runs scored. They are 2nd in the National League in pitching.


The Mets have a wealth of talent on this roster. Lead by OF Bobby Bonilla (.297/.364/.497, with 24 HR), OF Darryl Strawberry (.255/.341/.514 with 44 HR's and 23 SB's), 2B Robby Thompson (.289/.372/.442), 3B Kevin Mitchell (.296/.374/.496 and 18 HR's), OF Reuben Sierra (.307/.339/.527 and 27 HR's). Lenny Dykstra (.268/3/20 and 12 SB) backs them all up in the outfield. Make no mention of big, young, first baseman Glenn Davis (.288/13/54).


In the rotation, All-Star and 3-time Cy Young winner, Doc Gooden is in the mix for his 4th again this year. Gooden was 22-8 with a 2.26 ERA and a league leading 0.95 WHIP and 206K's. The other All Star in the rotation is Edward Lindsey. Lindsey went 9-5, with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. The rest of the rotation fills out with Ron Darling (14-13, 3.88) and possibly Bud Black (4-3, 3.43). They have on of the best closers in baseball in Randy Myers, who had 36 saves with a 2.01 ERA and 103k's in 89.2 innings. Setup man Gene Nelson (6-3, 3.35) and Rick Aguileria (5-1, 2.93) are no slouches either.


This is a complete team that could be expected to win it all if they can get past the Astros.


We saw a lot of the Astros this year in LA. Even if LA had pretty good success against them. Houston is #2 on batting and #1 in pitching in the National League. Despite playing in the Astrodome, where homers go to die, the Astros were 4th in the NL in HR's. While they don't have the number of All Stars the Mets do, they have plenty of weapons.


The Astros are lead by their lone All Star, short stop, Barry Larkin. Larkin (.335/.385/.480, with 29 steals and is possibly the best defensive short stop in the majors. Fred McGriff, 24, is the other part of the beast that is the Astros, played every game of the year. For some reason he was snubbed for the All Star game, but it doesn't matter now. He hit .302/.403/.526, with 35 HR's and 110 RBI's. Early in April the team shipped 2 prospects for the Blue Jays slamming RF'er George Bell. Bell didn't have the HR numbers with only 19 on the year, but he still hit .322/.353/.467. Bell knows a thing or 2 about titles, having won 2 with the Blue Jays. Catcher Benito Santiago (.314/.369/.493), 3B Carney Lansford (.277/.343/.336, with 24 steals ) round out the top players. Big names still linger in Dale Murphy, who only hit .224, but still had 25 HR's and Kirk Gibson who batted .237 with 7. Hard to sell either of guys short when push comes to shove.


The pitching staff is anchored by another youngster, 23yr old, Greg Swindell, lead the league in wins (22) and ERA (2.23). He expects to go head to head with Gooden. Dave Stewart, found himself last year, and kept right on rolling. Stewart went 20-9 with a 2.92 ERA. They also have Tom Candiotti (12-7, 3.16) and Dennis Martinez (14-12, 3.05). The team really shines in the bullpen though. Scott Garrelts closes, and lead the league with 38 saves. Set up men, Tim Burke (1.62) and Alejandro Pena (1.97) are hard to get past. Behind them are Terry Leach (2.97) and John Dopson (1.06)


In the regular season the Mets lead the matchup winning 9 out of 12 games. The Mets are the defending champs, but the Astros have the home field.


ALCS


New York Yankees (83-79) vs. Seattle Mariners (98-64)


The New York Yankees haven't made the playoffs since 1981, since then they've been stuck behind the Blue Jays. The Yankees would really like meet the Mets in a cross town rivalry series this fall. The Yankees are clearly the weakest team among the 4 in the playoffs. They are 8th in the AL in runs scored and 6th in the AL in runs allowed. They also have the advantage in the head to head with 7 wins in 12 games against the M's.


The Yankees are lead by DH Don Mattingly, who lead the team with 27 HR's, while batting .321/.357/.510. It's been no secret that the surge of the Yankees was helped by the strange waiver acquisition of Joe Carter. Carter hit 51 HR's last year, and signed a big contract, only to leave to the Yankees for free. It's one of the most head scratching moments this year. Carter hit .278/.322/.494 with 30 HR's and 98 RBI's between the 2 teams this year. OF Brett Butler (.291/.386/.380, with 23 SB), OF Dave Martinez (.286/.346/.387 with 30 SB) round out the impact players on offense.


The pitching staff lost expected contributers Joe Magrane, who won 19 last year, and Rick Rhoden, who won 17 and had to scramble for more help. The top of the rotation is lead by Bob Welch, who came over in a July deal with the Royals, for Otis Nixon and a top pitching prospect, Ken Hill. Welch (15-10, 3.74), a former Dodger pitcher, knows how to carry a team, was better for the Yankees than the Royals. Rick Sutcliffe (13-15, 3.12) is the #2, Shane Rawley (13-13, 3.85) and 43yr old Don Sutton (14-6, 2.85) round out the rotation. The bullpen features Dave Righetti, whose 1.51 ERA was one of the best all year. His set up men are 40yr old Bill Campbell (1.85) and 39yr old Doc Medich (3.68). The team also features 38yr old, Ron Guidry (10-5, 2.71) who can go either way to the pen or the rotation.


The Mariners are heavily favored in this series and are looking to get back to the World Series, where we could see a repeat of the '87 series, between the M's and Mets. This M's team was 4th in the AL in scoring and 3rd in pitching. Their numbers are better than they were last year. This team is better than they were last year.


The Mariners have the best hitting team in the AL, lead by the offseason trade acquisition of Andy Van Slyke. Van Slyke came to the M's for 2 top pitching prospects and 2 other minor leaguers. Van Slyke hit .270/.337/.457 with 20 HR's and 20 SB's. His defense alone in center saved 29 runs over the season. Second baseman Harold Reynolds, had 207 hits, batting .298 with 36 steals from the leadoff spot. Jim Presley (.301/17/56), Brian Downing (.255/18/68), Phil Bradley (.286/12/78) Dan Pasqua (.256/20/73) round out the offensive threat for the M's. Danger up and down, hard out all over.


The pitching staff is really rated as the advantage for Seattle. Mark Langston (16-13, 3.17) carried the team all year. He may not have been the top pitcher, but he didn't miss a start. He is underrated, and overshadowed here in Seattle. By whom? Nolan Ryan for starters. Ryan missed a few starts with bone spurs in his elbow, but he went 14-5, with a 2.34 ERA. He's only 3 away from number 300 and he's closing in on his 5000th K. Who else? How about Sid Fernandez? The Cy Young winner missed the playoffs last year with an elbow injury, but he's back this year, and in 10 starts, he's 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA. That 1-2-3 is going to be hard to overcome for any team. Oh, I almost forgot. Mike Boddicker went 18-6, with a 3.55 ERA. So they are stacked. The bullpen has closer Jeff Robinson (35 saves, 3.87) Juan Nieves (2.79), Mike Moore (3.72) and Tim Belcher (2.54).


The road to the '88 Playoffs are set to begin!
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