Well, the MLB Postseason has sure gotten off to an interesting start, hasn't it? Buck Showalter is being crucified for not using Zach Britton in the AL Wild Card Game. Meanwhile, Terry Collins did bring his closer into a tie game, and Jeurys Familia gave up the game-winning three-run homer. I agreed with both moves. But it just goes to show that, as John Sterling would say, you just can't predict baseball. Although, I'd imagine most people probably predicted Madison Bumgarner would be Madison Bumgarner in the NL Wild Card Game.
Anyway, I'm going National League all the way this year. Not just because I don't like any of the remaining AL teams. It's because I think the NL teams are plain better. That's been the case most of the year. Whoever wins the National League pennant is going to earn it. Because those might be the four best remaining teams.
Cubs vs. Giants: Oh, how the Cubs wanted the Mets to win that game. Yes, the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS last season and have never lost a Division Series, but their pitching staff is so ravaged by injury. Their entire team is, in fact. Meanwhile, the Giants haven't lost a postseason round period since 2003. And it's an even year. Does anyone want to face the Giants in the postseason in an even year? Sure, that even year thing is going to end at some point, but San Francisco is the postseason is a daunting proposition for anybody.
Beyond all the superstitious stuff, though, the Giants have the pitching to match up with the Cubs. Bumgarner can't pitch until Game 3, but they'll have Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija throw the first two, which is about an even a match as you can have against Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Before you get Arrieta vs. Bumgarner in Game 3, with Lackey vs. Moore in Game 4. The pitching alone makes this series worth watching.
There's also that incredible pressure that will be on the Cubs. Yes, they're the best team in baseball. That alone brings pressure. Add in the fact that they're the Cubs, a team that hasn't won the World Series in 108 years or even won the pennant since 1945 and has a history of playoff collapses, and it magnifies tenfold. No. 1 seeds have had a tendency to get knocked out of the playoffs early, too. With that being said, however, the Cubs are the best No. 1 seed in quite a while. Probably since the 2009 champion Yankees. Something tells me that karma is finally on the Cubs' side. This one goes five, but they clinch it at Wrigley.
Nationals vs. Dodgers: One of them has to win! I say that somewhat facetiously, but it's true. Both of these teams have developed a reputation for postseason failure in recent years. Washington has never gotten out of the Division Series (the 1981 Expos don't count), while the Dodgers, despite winning the NL West four years in a row, haven't played in the NLCS since Joe Torre was their manager. Fortunately for them, Clayton Kershaw doesn't have to pitch against the Cardinals in the playoffs this year.
So, which team is finally going to have its postseason breakthrough? Game 1 really could go a long way in determining that. Kershaw vs. Scherzer. I almost want this series to go five so there will be a rematch between the two aces. If the Dodgers can steal Game 1, they've got a very good chance. They almost need to win Game 1, seeing as Kershaw is the only elite pitcher they have. Of course, the same thing could be said about the Nationals and Scherzer. But I think Washington is better equipped to handle a Game 1 loss.
Gio Gonzalez and all the lefties in the Washington bullpen may be the biggest keys to this series, though. The Dodgers can't hit lefties. They haven't been able to all year. Dusty Baker's got a lot of left-handers he can throw at them. For LA to finally advance beyond the Division Series, they're gonna have to get some hits off left-handers. I don't see them doing it, though. Nationals in four.
Over in the American League, we've got the rematch nobody will admit they secretly wanted, as well as Terry Francona going against the team he led to two titles and are currently managed by his former pitching coach. And like the National League, I can see both series going either way.
Rangers vs. Blue Jays: These two teams don't like each other. They haven't ever since the Bat Flip Heard Around Canada last year in Game 5. Tensions, of course, boiled over into this season, when Rougned Odor landed the Punch Heard Around the World right smack to Jose Bautista's face. You have a sense it isn't over between these two. Not by a long shot.
Which makes a Division Series rematch seem all the more appropriate. You have to think Odor won't get the best reception when the series shifts to Toronto (hopefully there are no beer cans around--talk about a despicable act!), but it's not like they'll be rolling out the red carpet for Bautista in Arlington. Will they be too busy throwing beanballs at each other to worry about the game though? They'd better not be. Because there's going to be a lot of hitting going on with these two lineups, especially since the games in Texas will be during the day.
Considering the amount of offense that figures to be in play, whichever team gets better pitching is going to be the one that emerges. Which gives Toronto a great chance if they can split Games 1 & 2 against Hamels and Darvish. Texas has a deeper lineup top to bottom, but the Blue Jays have a stronger bullpen. It's really a matter of who blinks first. For some reason, I think revenge-minded Texas will make sure they don't lose to the Blue Jays two years in a row. Cole Hamels channels his former World Series MVP self in Game 5 and the Rangers advance.
Indians vs. Red Sox: Terry Francona is all over this series. He helped build Boston into a winner, and he's done the same in Cleveland since making the move to the AL's version of the Cubs. (The Indians also have former Red Sox Mike Napoli and Coco Crisp on the roster.) Francona hasn't taken the Indians over the hump yet, though, and it'll be tough to do it this year. Because the Red Sox have been the scariest of the AL playoff teams for most of season. And you know they want David Ortiz to go out on top.
I'll admit that I haven't seen much of Cleveland this year and don't really know how the Indians are this good. But here they are, led by their amazing 1-2 tandem of Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber. The Red Sox have Rick Porcello and David Price, but are really driven by that lineup. They're about much more than home runs now, too. Sure, they'll still hit them. But Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Xander Bogaerts know how to win a game without going deep. In the playoffs, that's a necessity. Especially since Cleveland's likely going to look to manufacture runs.
Boston and Cleveland have met in three Division Series and an ALCS since 1995. Each team has won two of those series, including two where the Red Sox came back from a massive series hole to win in the maximum games. I see that happening again. Boston's just too strong. They win it in five.
As for my World Series pick, I think the best team in each league is really clear. Thirteen years ago, back when neither team had won a title in more than 85 years, we almost had a Red Sox-Cubs World Series. That would've been as amazing as it sounds. A lot has changed since then. The prospects of a Red Sox-Cubs World Series, despite the historic circumstances not being the same as they once were, at least for one of the participants, doesn't sound any less awesome today than it did in 2003, however. And this time, I think we get it.
Everyone would be a winner if it does end up being Red Sox-Cubs. Especially baseball. But one of the teams would have to defeat the other. And I've just got a feeling that this is finally the year for the Cubs. They're my pick to win it all, although I'm half (really it's more like 80 percent) expecting them to find a way to screw it up.
No comments:
Post a Comment