ALDS Preview - Kansas City Shuffle vs. Louisville Freezer Monkeys

After scoring 30 runs in 4 games against New York, The #4 seeded Freezer Monkeys are forced to face one of the greatest offenses in recent memory. Number 1 seeded Kansas City comes into the ALDS after scoring 1102 runs in the regular season and posting an impressive 122-40 record. Kansas City suffered a disappointing loss last year in the World Series and looks to punish their opponents this year.

Team Stats:

Kansas City
3.72 ERA (4th in ML)
.299 BA (1st in ML)

Louisville
4.89 ERA (22nd in ML)
.272 BA (8th in ML)

Key Bats:

Kansas City
With so many potent hitters in the lineup, it is hard to pick just two. Roger Mottola continues to shine in a Kansas City uniform. Often overshadowed by the prolific Nicolas Bryant, Mottola posted a .393 BA with 29 HRs and 152 RBIs at the age of 33.

The above mentioned Nicolas Bryant once again is the catalyst of the leagues best offense. With 168 stolen bases with 193 runs scored, it is amazing he has ever been thrown out on the base paths. Combined with that speed, Bryant still found a way to knock in 90 RBIs.

Louisville
Benito Jose can be considered the best hitter in a lineup that produced 8 players with double digit homers and 7 players with 70 plus runs batted in. He has a career batting average over .300 and has averaged 25 HRs and 115 RBIs in his 4 years in Louisville.

At the top of the lineup sits Norman Swann. At the age of 30, Swann seems to have resurrected his career in Louisville. He hit .297, stole 95 bases and scored 96 runs. Not bad for a player who was struggling the last two years and was thought to be looking for a job.

Key Pitching:

Kansas City
One of the few pitching staffs in the Major Leagues that may be able to stop the Kansas City offense also resides in Kansas City. Dennys Shin, last year's Cy Young AWard winner, leads this group of talented pitchers. In Season 5, he posted a 3.08 ERA with a 26-4 record. Shins averaged over 7 K per 9 IP with a 1.13 WHIP.

Anchoring the bullpen is the tandem of Ricardo Gongoria and Pedro Izquierdo. Gongoria pitched 171 inings while only starting 6 games. His 2.72 ERA was the lowest on the team. Gongoria also converted 14 saves in 17 chances. Izquierdo is a 4 time all-star closer who is rarley given the opportunity to show his value. Although he posted a career worst 6.26 ERA, he is still a valueable member of the bullpen.

Lousiville
25 year old Jayson Owen proved he was worth the 5 year, $45.5 million contract he signed to start the year. He posted as 16-10 record with 194 Ks. His 3.63 ERA and .242 OAV was tops among starters on Louisville.

Setup man Jung-Lee Vanguri showed his ability to continue to pitch at a ML level. Unexplicably, he was removed from the closers role for highly touted prospect Dick Morris after posting 143 saves the last 4 years. Morris ended up posting a 6.66 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP while Vanguri shut down opponents witha 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. No word on whether the job will return to the free-agent Vanguri at the end of the season.

Prediction:

Last year hurt Kansas City too much and they are looking for blood. An impressive pitching matchup in game 1 goes to Louisville, but Kansas City cruises from there.