Play Ball! The 2011 MLB Division Series Preview

After Wednesday’s exciting night of baseball, the 2011 MLB Postseason starts today. And there is not a better time to start the festivities. Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two days, you know that the Cardinals and Rays completed two monumental comebacks to win the wild cards. But now that all the celebration and mourning (you Sox fans still on suicide watch?) have subsided, let the real season begin!

Of course, some of the normal playoff fixtures are in the postseason mix, like the Phillies and the Yankees. But the Brewers and Diamondbacks offer up some serious Cinderella potential. And if this month has proven anything, it is that the MLB can be full of clutch performances and epic fails right up to the 27th out. In preparation for the upcoming NLDS and ALDS games, we bring you all the things that you need to know like game times, head-to-head advantages, and wacky predictions from the Complex Sports staff in this 2011 MLB Division Series Preview.

Game 1: Rays @ Rangers – Friday, September 30th (5:07 p.m. EST)
Head-to-Head in 2011: Texas 5 –Tampa Bay 4
What You Need To Know: Again, we must ask: Why not root for the Tampa Bay Rays? After one of the most dramatic regular season comebacks in MLB history, the Rays must now continue the momentum and face a difficult challenge in the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are an offensive powerhouse but have a weakness in their subpar starting pitching. While the Rays can combat that with a great 1-2 punch of David Price and James Shields, the factor that will determine the outcome of this series will be Tampa Bay’s bullpen.

It all starts (or ends) in the ninth inning when Kyle Farnsworth steps on the mound to close the game. In fact, a mere mention of the Tampa Bay closer’s name brings a collective groan out of every die-hard Yankee. The reason why Yankees fans started calling him Kyle Farnsworth-less is because after the team gave him a $17 million deal in '05, he posted a 4.57 ERA over two seasons. He's been solid (for the most part) in a Tampa Bay uniform but one blown save could prove to be detrimental for this team and their hopes of getting to the ALCS.

Staff Picks:
Ralph Warner: "Rays in 4. Riding high off their epic Wild Card comeback and “sweep” of the Yanks, Evan Longoria and Co. will bring the big guns out. Literally? Maybe."
Angel Diaz: "Rangers in 5. These aren't the '08 Rays. Sure they just snatched Boston's championship hopes from their dead, worthless hands, but they can't bang with that Rangers lineup. Tampa's ace, David Price will choke in a big spot, he always does."
Jose Martinez: "Rangers in 5. If you feel like you’re having déjà vu, you’re not. In the 2010 playoffs, the Rays faced the Rangers and lost in five games and they will do the same."
Jack Erwin: "Rays in 3. Big difference between this year and last—no Cliff Lee for the Rangers. These have been my two favorite clubs for the past few years (at least after May 1 once the Mets and A's are out of contention), so I hate to see them play each other. But the Rays take this one in a sweep. Angel's right, David Price does have a tendency to come up short in big spots in his young career, but that won't matter. He might only be their fourth best starter at this point (behind Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, and rookie Matt Moore, who starts tonight)."

Game 1: Tigers @ Yankees – Friday, September 30th (8:37 p.m. EST)
Head-to-Head in 2011: Detroit 4 – New York 3
What You Need To Know: The Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees have incredible offensive teams. Everybody knows that. Both squads have their Cy Young award candidates going on the mound for Game 1 (Justin Verlander for the Tigers; CC Sabathia for the Yankees), so we should expect to see a real solid pitching match-up. But if both clubs have one glaring weakness in their games, it’s the uncertainty of their starting pitching after their respective number one hurlers.

After Sabathia, the Yankees will throw out rookie phenom Ivan Nova. And while Nova has been a huge surprise this season (16–4, 3.70 ERA), can he handle the stress of the postseason and the pressure to perform in New York? Only time will tell. Also, the Yanks have two guys, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo "Stem cell treatment ain't cheating" Colon, who were never expected to make much of an impact this year. While these two pitchers have defied the odds all regular season, there is some wariness that the magic may eventually wear off and there would be no worst place for the joy ride to end than during the postseason.

As for the Tigers, their pitching rotation has many young arms with multiple question marks. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are very much the “feast or feminine” type of pitcher; you don’t know what to expect out of them on a given night. Detroit’s only other bright spot has been Doug Fister, who has looked like a huge addition to their pitching staff, but similar to the cases of Garcia and Colon, the end could be near. With all the talk about both teams’ offensive prowess, there will be no other Divisional Series that will prove just how valuable starting pitching is in the MLB than the Yankees versus the Tigers.

Staff Picks:
Ralph Warner: "Yankees in 5. Yeah, the Tigers have the 2011 Cy Young Award winner and MVP in Justin Verlander but he can only pitch two shutouts this series. #wishfulthinking #delusionalyankeesfan"
Angel Diaz: "The Bombers in 4. El Capitan and the GOAT have one more run in them. Don't stare directly at the pinstripes. #chasing28"
Jose Martinez: "Tigers in 5. Unfortunately, the Yankees were dealt a bad hand in facing the Tigers in the first round. Alex Rodriguez knows a thing or two about that. Now which one do we go with on this one: Choice A or Choice B?
Jack Erwin: "Yankees in 3. I'm picking two sweeps in the AL? Well I've been doubting them all year, so I'll swing back to the other side of the pendulum now. The Yankees lineup is just too ridiculous: when Mark Texiera is arguably your fourth best hitter (Cano, Granderson, A-Rod), you know you're stacked. C.C. matches Verlander tonight, and the Tigers' ace doesn't pitch again until February."

Game 1: Diamondbacks @ Brewers – Saturday, October 1st (2:07 p.m. EST)
Head-to-Head in 2011: Arizona 4 – Milwaukee 3
What You Need To Know: This year the D'Backs came out of nowhere to win the NL West and send the defending World Series champion Giants home without so much as a whiff of October. But the Diamondbacks weren't as lucky when they scored a first-round match-up against Ryan Braun and the Milwaukee Brewers. Out of all the Divisional Series, this may be the easiest to foresee the outcome. No offense to any Arizona fans, but let’s be honest here. The Brewers have a good offense led by the aforementioned Braun and Prince Fielder, great starting pitching in Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and Shaun Marcum, and a good bullpen which ends with closer John Axford. Still, Arizona has surprised us before this season, so don’t let an unfavorable match-up stop them from keeping the surprises coming.

Staff Picks:
Ralph Warner: "Brewers in 5. Nyjer Morgan will have the walk-off hit in the series finale followed by another epic postgame interview from T-Plush."
Angel Diaz: "The Brew Crew in 3. No one wants any parts of that Braun and Fielder tag-team and don't forget about Tony Plush dropping plushdamentals in center. Fear the Beer!"
Jose Martinez: "Brewers in 4. Milwaukee will win this series, but the Diamondbacks will most likely take the Brewers back to their place, score a couple times, and feel like they got something out of the time they hooked up. You know, a sympathy win."
Jack Erwin: Brewers in 5. This will be the least watched of the divisional series, but it'll be a good one. Gallardo, Greinke, and Marcum are the best playoff rotation this side of Philly, and the D'Backs Ian Kennedy had a better season than all of them. Braun and Fielder are great to watch, but they won't be the most exciting players in this series because Justin Upton has that title on lock. But the Brewers just have more talent.

Game 1: Cardinals @ Phillies – Saturday, October 1st (5:07 p.m. EST)
Head-to-Head in 2010-2011: St. Louis 6 – Philadelphia 4
What You Need To Know: What will get the Phillies to the World Series is the same thing that made them successful throughout the entire regular season: starting pitching. People will point to the fact that Philadelphia has a formidable offense with players like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins, but the reality is, the Phillies are a middle-of-the-road offensive team. When you’re ninth (out of sixteen teams) in the National League in team batting average and seventh in runs scored, you need your starting pitchers to perform well in order to win games. And when facing the St. Louis Cardinals, who happen to be number one in the National League in both team batting average and runs scored, the Phillies’ pitching rotation will need to be at the top of their game in order to advance to the NLCS.

St. Louis, on the other hand, has a starting pitching staff that is in the middle of National League rankings when it comes to ERA and runs allowed. Aside from Chris Carpenter, none of the other starters will be any overpowering threats to opposing hitters, but they are all solid pitchers who can still get the job done. Once again, we must reiterate that starting pitching wins chips and that is exactly what will determine the outcome of this series.

Staff Picks:
Ralph Warner: "Phillies in 4. The National League All-Star team will simply be too powerful for the Cardinals."
Angel Diaz: "Phillies in 5. The Cardinals are coming in hot, but it's tough to pick against Philly's starting rotation and monstrous line-up."
Jose Martinez: "Phillies in 4. The Miami Heat of baseball pitching rotations will rise to the occasion. And by that, I mean that Roy Halladay, the Phillies’ version of Dwyane Wade, will just have to do all the work while every other guy makes this series interesting."
Jack Erwin: "Phillies in 3. 'Miami Heat of pitching rotations'! You gotta trademark that Jose! But yeah, what they said. Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols are as good a 1-2 punch as their is in baseball, but you need to have your head examined if you're picking against the Phills and that pitching."