And so, after 17 days, we are left with the two best teams in each league: the Red Sox and the Cardinals. We have often complained that the short series in the MLB playoffs lead to random results, but the system has worked this year.
Detroit has now been to the ALCS three years in a row, and they have only won a single pennant (2012) -- after which the Tigers were swept in the World Series. The Tigers are far and away the best team in the AL Central, and Justin Verlander gives them devastating pitching in the five-game American League Divisional Series. But the Tigers have not shown enough hitting, or enough of a bullpen, to win a seven-game series against a talented, deeper team. (They were lucky last year to draw the Yankees in the ALCS, as the aged Bombers fell apart after Derek Jeter's injury in Game One.)
On the other hand, Boston has bounced back very well from last year, when the disastrous hiring of Bobby Valentine led to a record of 69-93. But that was never the true Bosox, and this year they have returned with a vengeance.
The Cardinals and Red Sox met in the 2004 World Series, and over the last 10 years they have combined for seven pennants and four world titles. For now, they are the two best franchises in baseball, and it is right and just that they are meeting for the title.
National League Championship Series (Best of Seven):
St. Louis beat Los Angeles 4-2
American League Championship Series (Best of Seven):
Boston beat Detroit 4-2
Next Game:
Wednesday, October 23: St. Louis at Boston (7:07 P.M. Central on FOX)
I was in a house with a bunch of Cardinals fans yesterday, and one of them told about meeting his dad in St. Louis for Game 4 of the 2004 World Series. Before the game outside the stadium, two of the many Red Sox fans who had flown in from Boston to see their team win its first championship in 86 years offered $1,000 for the two tickets. My friend and his dad declined. As the Red Sox finished off the sweep of the Cardinals, 3-0, my friend said his dad leaned over to him and said, "That thousand bucks looks pretty good right now."
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