Bill Ripken Recaps the AL Wild Card Game and Looks Ahead to the ALDS
Billy Ripken joins Scott and Jeremy to discuss the thrilling wildcard matchup Tuesday night, as well as the Orioles' chances against Detroit in the ALDS.
It wouldn't last night's Royals vs. Athletics wildcard matchup was one for the ages. Billy Ripken would agree."It was a great game, and I think we saw about everything in a baseball game that you could want. I think I was like everyone when I said 'this is over,' but they kept chipping away as the Royals do."
"The nature of this 'winner take all' game is probably going to be dissected more than it should be. However, when I heard Lester hasn't thrown over to first since April of 2013, I was shocked. It almost seemed like it was a situation where [the Royals] felt it was a 100 percent guarantee of getting the bag," Ripken added.
As for the ALDS series that was already set, both teams seem to be very balanced, making it a tough pick. "I picked the Orioles, and it's not a situation of being a homer—let's remember they fired me twice—but I think they can hit the baseball, they can catch the baseball, and they hit homeruns," said Ripken. "They're one of the more complete teams."
"Do the Orioles have the ability to shut the Tigers out for seven if the Tigers do the same? Yes, they do. So if everything gets rolling, I'll take the Orioles," Ripken added. Though Baltimore's pitching staff has gotten much better over the last couple of months, the rate at which the team committed defensive errors increased a bit. "When they started making some errors, it was from guys who probably won't be playing in the postseason. When Manny went down I just thought, 'this isn't going to go well,' but they got it together," said Ripken.