Cal Ripken Believes A-Rod Will Have Solid Postseason This Time Around

Tuesday, FanHouse had the opportunity to discuss the MLB Playoffs with Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, who currently serves as a studio analyst for TBS. TBS will be broadcasting all four Division Series and also the NLCS again this season. Ernie Johnson is the studio host while Dennis Eckersley and David Wells join Ripken as studio analysts for these playoff games.

Of all the things Ripken discussed Tuesday, the most intriguing subject, not surprisingly, was one Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is an oft-maligned regular season superstar, in that he's put up extremely gaudy regular season numbers throughout his career, yet has never played in a World Series and has pretty sub-par numbers in the playoffs overall -- especially of late.

Starting with Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS, A-Rod is 8-for-56 (.143) with just two extra-base hits (.214 slugging percentage) and a single RBI. Considering he's been one of the best hitters in baseball history in the regular season, he's gotten the brunt of intense fan and media scrutiny. Not only does Ripken believe there's good reason for that, but he also is expecting things to be different in 2009.

"Alex is the type of guy who draws so much attention in the middle of the order, teams have extra strategy in the postseason specifically for him," the former World Series champion said. "They pitch him differently than everyone else and make sure he doesn't beat them. Also, he then puts additional pressure on himself."

"I do think this year is going to be different," Ripken continued. "Their lineup is so good top to bottom, and they have so much power, there will be less specific emphasis on getting Alex out. I'm hopeful he has a solid offensive postseason."

More nuggets from Ripken:

- He believes the Twins will win the one-game playoff over the Tigers, due to having a pretty solid home field advantage and the fact that the Tigers haven't been playing as well recently. The X-factor? "Rick Porcello has the ability and the poise to be a huge difference-maker and could lead the Tigers to victory if he steps up."

- From there, Ripken said if he was on the Yankees, he'd rather see the Twins. "Justin Verlander is the type of pitcher who can completely turn a short series around. He's one of those guys, Billy [Ripken, Cal's brother] and I call it the 'nasty factor,' where a power pitcher can take control of the whole game by himself. And Verlander can even do it through the eighth and into the ninth."

- On what possible matchup most intrigues him: "I'd love a St. Louis-Philadelphia NLCS -- especially the games in Philly. You look at the strength of the Cardinals' right-handed starting pitching and the power the Phillies pack from the left-side of the plate in a hitter's ballpark. One of the things I always like to see in the playoffs is strength against strength, and this would be exactly that."

- On the most hotly contested series in the first round: "Hmmm ... I tell you, the Rockies-Phillies series is going to be a good one. The Phillies are so good offensively but have issues in the back end of the bullpen. I do think Charlie Manuel goes with Brad Lidge to close. The Rockies have been so hot for so long. Ubaldo Jimenez is really good and he'll be going twice. Also, if he's healthy enough to go, Jorge De La Rosa is the type of power lefty who could take down the Phillies." (Note: We've since learned De La Rosa is out for the NLDS)

"I also think the Angels-Red Sox series can be a great one. A lot's gonna depend on what kinda [Josh] Beckett we get. Is his back totally healthy? If so, he and Jon Lester form that 1-2 punch you can win with. The Angels have put a lot of things together down the stretch, too. Scott Kazmir has the ability to be a difference-maker in their playoff rotation.

- I told Ripken I was sad to not see the Giants in the postseason, due to the fact that they are built better for the playoffs than the regular season with that stellar front-end pitching. Anyone in the playoffs remind him of that? "I would not want to face the Cardinals in the first round. With Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, either of them should win the Cy Young, the Dodgers are really going to need to flip a switch and bring the power on offense. Manny [Ramirez], especially, will need to step up and lead that lineup. Those two (Carpenter and Wainwright) definitely have the 'nasty factor.'"

- The playoffs are a time when young players can break out and show themselves to the casual sports fans are budding stars. I asked Ripken to throw out a few names who could possibly do so this October: "Well, Porcello if he goes out and wins tonight. He's shown such great poise for someone his age who entered the rotation from the beginning of the season. If he wins tonight and the Tigers give the Yankees a run, he won't be a secret for long."

"Clayton Kershaw has that kind of stuff to make a name for himself. He's a nasty guy. The Dodgers definitely need him to step up while they are going against Carpenter and Wainwright. Jimenez is another one like [Porcello and Kershaw]."

"Also, keep an eye on Erick Aybar at shortstop. The Angels have such a strong defensive infield. He has made some terrific plays for them throughout the course of the summer. I've been more and more impressed with him as the season progressed. His defensive skills up the middle could make a huge difference in the opening series."

- Finally, on their studio chemistry for TBS. "We all like each other, so the chemistry was great from the start. Eck's the most polished with experience and at using all the data. He knows pitching so well. Boomer's got such a great personality, we actually do a lot of our best stuff in the green room -- we were teammates when he first came up and knew each other well for years -- and then we have to find a way to get it going on the air. I fill in any gaps I can. We have a really good mix and great chemistry. The best thing about the postseason is we all get to watch every pitch of every game together. During the year, it's impossible to watch everything, so each guy has a different niche. Now, we'll all be watching everything and can concentrate more on the details. It's going to be fun."