LAST year’s playoffs came down to a can’t-believe-it World Series Game 6 and a winner-take-all Game 7. What happens in 2012? Heading into the postseason, here are the players, trends and issues to watch for the eight remaining teams:
BIGGEST PLAYOFF ADDITION
Bryce Harper. He’ll turn just 20 years old this month, and the phenom will now make his postseason debut. The NL Rookie of the Year candidate delivered an impressive campaign, hitting .270 with 22 homers, 18 steals and 98 runs scored while playing the entire season at age 19. What will the man Sports Illustrated once compared to LeBron James do in his playoff debut? In his first playoffs (albeit in his third season), LeBron averaged 30.8 points and led the Cavs to the second round.
BIGGEST PLAYOFF ABSENCE
The Phillies. This is the first time Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Co. aren’t playing in the postseason since 2006 (which is back when the Mets, of all teams, made it). The Phils won five straight NL East titles from 2007-2011, capturing one championship and heading to two World Series. But now they’ll be watching October on TV.
PERSON WITH THE MOST PRESSURE
Mike Rizzo. Who’s he? Well, Rizzo is the Nationals’ GM, and while Washington won an MLB-best 98 games, Rizzo also made a decision that’s about to deliver a short-term — but major — verdict. Wanting to protect Stephen Strasburg’s long-term health, Rizzo shut down the 24-year-old ace (15-6, 3.16 ERA) for the season last month, forcing the Nats to try to win a World Series without him. Rizzo may have absolutely made the proper call, and if the non-Strasburg Nats end up champs, Rizzo will look great. If they don’t, he’d better hope that they win soon. And that the righty stays healthy for a long, long time.
PLAYER WITH THE MOST PRESSURE
Rafael Soriano. He’s replacing the irreplaceable in Mariano Rivera, and Soriano will attempt to take his superb regular-season success as closer (42 saves, 2.26 ERA) and translate it to the playoffs. The postseason is a different animal, with higher stakes and greater pressure. And for Soriano, everything he does will be compared to his brilliant-in the-postseason Hall-of-Fame predecessor.
MOST WELCOME RETURN TO THE POSTSEASON
Carlos Beltran. The last postseason pitch Beltran saw came when he took a called strike three with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS with the Mets. Beltran, though, is one of the most brilliant playoff performers ever — in 22 career games with the Astros and Mets, he’s hit an absolutely ridiculous .366 with 11 homers, 19 RBIs and eight steals. Seven of the homers came in two series against the Cardinals — for whom he now plays.
MOST FASCINATING TEAM TENDENCY
The Giants’ power, or lack thereof. Incredibly, San Francisco managed to hit a measly 103 homers this season, the fewest in baseball, and boasted only one player to hit more than a dozen (Buster Posey, 24). Only two teams since 1924 have won the World Series after ranking last in MLB in homers, the 1965 Dodgers (78 homers) and the 1982 Cardinals (67), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
BEST CHANCE TO BE THIS YEAR’S DAVID FREESE
Last year, the relatively unknown Cardinals third baseman emerged to win World Series MVP. Any candidates to duplicate that unforeseen stardom this year? A few nominees: Detroit’s Andy Dirks (he hit .351 in the season’s final 20 games and batted .462 against ALDS foe Oakland this year), Oakland’s Brandon Moss (he batted .411 with three homers in the final 16 games), Baltimore’s Chris Davis (he blasted 33 homers this year, including seven in the season’s final seven games) and Washington’s Adam LaRoche (he slammed 18 post-All-Star-break homers, tied for second-most in the NL).
MOST INTRIGUING TREND TO WATCH (AL)
Tigers slugger Prince Fielder versus Oakland in the ALDS. This season the Detroit first baseman played seven games against the A’s and went a miserable 2-for-27 (.074) with one homer. What does he do in this best-of-5 series against them now?
MOST INTRIGUING TREND TO WATCH (NL)
Reds superstar Joey Votto and his vanished power. Amazingly, Votto did not hit a single home run in his final 40 games this season. Will his power return against San Francisco in the NLDS? Votto also will be trying to atone for his only other playoff showing — in 2010, he was the regular season NL MVP but went 1-for-10 in a three-game NLDS sweep by the Phillies.
MOST IMPORTANT INJURY SITUATION
Max Scherzer’s right shoulder. The Detroit starter is a strong No. 2 behind ace Justin Verlander but is dealing with a shoulder issue that bears watching. How good is Scherzer? He went 16-7 with a 3.74 ERA and 231strikeouts this season, posting a sparkling 1.65 ERA in his final 10 starts. You could call him arguably the best No. 2 starter in the AL postseason.
MOST CRUSHING PERSONAL PLAYOFF HISTORY
Orioles skipper Buck Showalter is managing his third career playoff series after one with the Yankees in 1995 and one with the Diamondbacks in 1999.
Two different opponents in two different leagues — but Showalter lost both series on season-ending walk-off hits, the first by Seattle’s Edgar Martinez and the second by the Mets’ Todd Pratt.
THE NON-HARPER ROOKIES TO WATCH
Oakland’s entire rotation. Incredibly, the A’s feature five rookie starters in Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin, Tommy Milone, Dan Straily and Travis Blackley. Every other playoff team combined features just three — Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez, Wei-Yin Chen and Steve Johnson.
TOUGHEST FIRST-ROUND QUESTION
How do you — or maybe just do you, period — pitch to Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano? Cabrera took home the Triple Crown and annihilated the Tigers’ ALDS opponent this season, hitting .483 (14-for-29) against Oakland with three homers and a staggering 14 RBIs in seven games. Cano enters the ALDS on an absurd streak, going 24-for-39 (.615) in his final nine games with three homers, seven doubles and 14 RBIs.