Don't mess with Michael J. Fox. Or, shall I say, Nostradamus. Back to the Future is everywhere this postseason. The movie famously predicted (prophesized?) that the Cubs were going to win the World Series, but this whole playoff year has a nostalgic mid-80s feel to it. In 1985, when Back to the Future came out, what was the ALCS? Royals-Blue Jays.
It all comes back to 1985 in the NL, too. The 1985 NLCS combatants, the Cardinals and Dodgers lost their Division Series to teams that were in the NLCS the year before (the Cubs) and the year after (the Mets).
So, instead of the traditional powers, we're left with four teams that have been waiting a while for their last World Series title. The Blue Jays won most recently. In 1993. The last season of four divisions. The Mets and Royals, meanwhile, have been waiting 30 years. And for the Cubs, well, it's been a lot longer than that. Their last World Series appearance was the same year the war ended. World War II. In 1945. That was 70 years ago! As for their last title, as any Cubs fan could tell you, it's been 107 years.
In the National League, it's a refreshing change of pace to see the Giants-Cardinals cycle come to an end. In fact, this will be the first time since 2007 and just the second time since 2006 that a team other than the Giants, Cardinals or Phillies will represent the NL in the World Series. And the same four teams (the Phillies, Giants, Cardinals and Dodgers) made 13 of the 14 NLCS appearances between the Rockies-Diamondbacks series in 2007 and this year's Mets-Cubs showdown, with the 2011 Brewers the only outlier. So, yeah, it's nice to finally see something different.
But who wins? Well, this is all just a formality, seeing as Back to the Future Part II already told us. I was tempted to take the Cubs as my initial National League pick, but I stuck with my early September Dodgers prediction, mainly because of Kershaw and Greinke. Little did I know the best pitcher in that series would turn out to be Jacob de Grom. And Jake Arrieta proved he's human after all, giving up four runs on a night the wind was blowing out at Wrigley. But the Cubs hit six home runs themselves and won that game anyway before closing out the Cardinals in Game 4, clinching a playoff series at Wrigley for the first time ever. (In fairness, it was only their second playoff series win period since 1908.)
I thought the Mets' struggles down the stretch that gave home field to the Dodgers would be a difference in the Division Series, too. The Mets did win Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, but now they have to fly cross country again to start the NLCS. So, yes, they have home field for the NLCS, but will that travel take its toll?
Regardless of who won Game 5, I was thinking the Cubs would at least get a split of Games 1 & 2 with Lester and Arrieta. Had they won, the Dodgers wouldn't have been able to matchup Greinshaw, which would obviously have been a huge advantage to the Cubs. The Mets don't have that problem. Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard can go in the first two games at Citi Field, with Jacob de Grom lined up for Game 3 at Wrigley.
Pitching will once again be key. Will the Mets' fireballers be able to shut the Cubs' lineup down? They couldn't in the regular season. And the Cubs have an incredibly underrated bullpen that was on full display against the Cardinals. Plus, they've got that mad genius that is Joe Maddon.
Carlos Beltran is across town. He won't be staring at any Adam Wainwright curveballs in the ninth inning of Game 7 this time. But I think the result will be similar. Bartman and the Billy Goat get a reprieve. The Cubs are the better team. They win it in six and finally get that first pennant in 70 years.
As for the American League, pitching will also be key. More specifically, Royals pitching will be key. Will their starters be able to keep the Blue Jays' bats at bay long enough to hand a lead over to that outstanding bullpen? And will John Gibbons continue to make weird moves with his pitching staff?
Toronto didn't play for home field at the end of the season. Will that decision come back to bite them? Because the difference between an extra game in Kansas City and an extra game at SkyDome could be huge. That dome plays much differently with the roof closed, as the Rangers series showed. But regardless of that, 50,000 delirious Canadians creates an incredible atmosphere that you'd want as often as possible. And if this series goes the distance and they have that sellout crowd against them instead of an entire nation for them, that might be something the Blue Jays end up regretting for a long time.
We all saw how beneficial that home crowd is for the Royals. If not for Madison Bumgarner, they win Game 7 of the World Series last year...and they don't win Game 5 against the Astros if it's in Houston. The Royals are built for that ballpark, and if they can survive the Blue Jays onslaught, that extra home game might prove to be the difference in what should be a pretty evenly-matched series between the two best teams in the American League. I'm not sure Kansas City can shut down Toronto's offense for an entire seven-game series, though. Texas did it for two games, then look what happened after the Blue Jays' bats woke up. And, no offense to Johnny Cueto, but he's no Cole Hamels.
When these two met in 1985, it was the first year that the LCS was a best-of-seven, and the Royals came back from 3-1 down to win the series. This series will be very different than that one 30 years ago. Starting with the result. In 1985, the Royals won Games 6 and 7 in Toronto. This year, the script will be flipped. The Blue Jays will clinch the pennant in Kansas City. They split the first two, Toronto takes two out of three at home, and David Price throws a gem in the Game 6 clincher.
My pre-playoff World Series pick of Blue Jays-Dodgers obviously has to be amended. But I was thisclose to picking the Cubs right off the bat in the National League. So, despite the fun that could be had with any of the four potential matchups (the Mets play the Royals on Opening Day next year, a Mets pennant guarantees the first all-expansion World Series, it's possible to have the largest city in the U.S. vs. the largest city in Canada) the adjustment is slight. Blue Jays vs. Cubs in the 2015 World Series.
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