by Matt Diogo ’14

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Well, it’s here; the end of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. Throughout the year, there have been ups and downs for almost every team. But today, we’re focusing on the playoffs. Starting with the September collapse of the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves, this year’s playoffs were already dubbed as eventful. Squeaking by said teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Saint Louis Cardinals got the opportunity to enter the playoffs, changing them drastically. The American League (AL) Division Series kicked off on September 30^th with the reigning AL pennant winners, the Texas Rangers, hosting the Tampa Bay Rays, and the New York Yankees hosting the Detroit Tigers. The Rays and Yankees struck first in their respective series’, each winning by at least 6 runs or more. However, the Ray’s series quickly turned around, as Texas would go on to win the next 3 games and ultimately win the 5 game series, moving on to the AL Championship Series. Now, for New York, their series lasted the full 5 games. After the Detroit loss in game one, the Tigers rebounded, and won the next two games, outscoring New York by a slim 10-7. New York won game four, extending to the fifth game, where Detroit finished the Yankee season. Now onto the National League (NL) Division Series, where the Saint Louis Cardinals needed their fan support more than they did when they came back to win the NL wild card, watching the Atlanta Braves collapse. The Cardinals went up against the top-seeded Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia struck first, jumping out to an 11-6 win, gaining a 1-0 lead in the series. St. Louis then won game two, but lost game three. Philly leads the series at this point, 2-1, one victory from advancing. But St. Louis won the next two games, advancing to the NL Championship Series; they had upset Philadelphia. In the other series, involving the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers, it also went the distance of all 5 games. With 3 games in Milwaukee and 2 games in Arizona, and with each team winning every game when they were the home team, it ended with Milwaukee moving on to meet the Cardinals. Back to the AL; the championship series. It started off as Texas outscoring Detroit a total of 10-5 in the first two games. The Tigers took game 3, but lost game 4. Texas went into game 5 needing only one victory for their second pennant in a row. The Rangers lost game 5, but they made up for their errors in game 6, winning 15-5, and sending Detroit packing. So the Texas Rangers are in the World Series for the second year in a row. In the NL Championship Series, the St. Louis Cardinals squared off against the Milwaukee Brewers. This series, like the ALCS, lasted 6 games. It started with the Cardinals losing game one, but winning the next two games only to lose game four. So with the series tied a 2-2, the Cardinals went into games five and six, to win both and move on to face the Rangers in the 2011 World Series. So the Rangers and the Cardinals will square off for the ultimate title in the MLB, and each know the feeling of being there. The Cardinal’s last appearance at a World Series was in 2006, when they beat the Detroit Tigers and won it all. As for the Rangers, they got to the ‘promised land’ in 2010, but lost to the San Francisco Giants. I believe that the Texas Rangers will emerge victorious this year. Throughout the playoffs, they have scored a total of 55 runs, and outscored opponents 55-43. The team had the intensity to win it all last year, but didn’t get the chance after losing to the Giants. The Cards got in only after a September collapse of another team, so it’s questionable if they actually deserve to be there. Anyway, we’ll see how this works out, and so long, 2011 MLB season.