ALCS

St. Louis Archies (1) vs. Durham Bulls (2)

At the end of the day we got exactly the ALCS we expected--St. Louis vs Durham. Both teams have been built by top shelf General Managers, and both teams have excellent coaching staffs. Regardless of the outcome, both teams expect to be challenging for the title of AL Champion for some time to come. Nonetheless with both team's rosters in their prime, this series marks a big opportunity missed for whatever club fails to capitalize.

St. Louis boasts two high end starters in Javier Benitez and Jacob Wilkerson. Curiously there are some rumors that Wilkerson will drop to third in the rotation behind Benitez and Branch Flores. Not pitching veteran Wilkerson early off in the series could prove to be costly.

On the offensive side of the diamond, the Archies are led by AL MVP frontrunner Darwin Floyd. Floyd has done everything this year but has also gotten help from a strong supporting cast, including Ismael Fernandez who drove in five runs versus the Mud Duckies in their previous playoff series. The question of the series seems to be David Acosta. Acosta has been rushed to the ML level, but produced during the regular season. The bright lights of the playoffs seemed to intimidate him however, and he looked horrid against the Mud Duckies, batting 2-12. Acosta needs to protect Floyd in the lineup in order for the Archies to score runs.

Durham is feast or famine--the hitting is the feast, and the pitching is famine. Sporting no starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.00, or a pitcher who tossed 200 innings, Durham is trying to reverse the old playoff wisdom that you "win with pitching and defense". The relief core was arguably worse, with closer Mendy Duncan posting a whopping 5.66 ERA, and nine blown saves. Somehow this patched together staff managed to stifle an impressive Colorado lineup, limiting them to seven runs in three games. Our view: Largely smoke and mirrors.

Can the fearsome Bull lineup makeup for the poor pitching? Zip Cook, Luis Villano, Will Nixon, Grant Sparks, and Frank Martin all slugged over 35 home runs and drove in 120+ during the regular season. All are in the prime of their career and show no signs of wear and tear after 165 games.

Clearly both teams have a shot, so let's look at the season series for answers, right? Wrong. Unfortunately this sheds no light on the situation--St. Louis and Durham split the season series 5-5. We see Durham's ability to manufacture runs on the basepaths and through bombs enough to offset St. Louis' pitching advantage. The surprise of the series: Rob Fitzgerald produces, creating a Durham postseason legend.


AC Prediction: Durham in 7