Hello Baseball Fans,
OK everyone, we have completed the most impressive sports league schedule of the year by playing 162 games. Plus, we’ve already gotten right into the two ‘Game 163’s’ over the last two nights. Yes, it’s that time of year folks. It’s October. It’s the playoffs. Baseball at its finest! The Baltimore Orioles have already been eliminated from this year’s tourney after an 11th inning three-run walk-off homer by Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion. And as this post is being written, the New York Mets are hosting the San Francisco Giants in the NL version of insta-Game 7 action. Summer is great, but this is what we’ve been waiting for! Without further delay, here are playoff predictions for the remainder of the post-season.
We’ll take the winner of the Mets and Giants to lose to the 103-win Chicago Cubs in a nice and clean four games (best of 5 remember). In the other N.L. Division Series, we’ll go with the gritty Los Angeles Dodgers over the Washington Nationals in a five game set. L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw will finally put up some impressive playoff numbers and the Nats’ Max Scherzer will also be dominant, but in the end Mad Max will be let down by his teams’ lack of firepower with the bats.
On the A.L. side, we like the Texas Rangers to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays in three games. This will serve as a reminder to all that we should be talking about the A.L. regular season wins leading Rangers a lot more. The Rangers will outhit, out-pitch, and outrun the Jays in this rematch of last year’s epic Division Series. On the other side of the bracket, we’ll take the Boston Red Sox over former BoSox skipper and legendary manager Terry Francona and his Cleveland Indians crew. This one should go the distance, but Boston will get it done at home in four games. Their lineup is too versatile for Cleveland’s staff and the bullpen is solid again in the setup department.
OK onto the League Championship Series. In the N.L., for the first time since 1945, the Chicago Cubs are going to the World Series!! WOW!! They will take care of business and the Dodgers will be ousted in five games. Nineteen game-winner Jon Lester will lead the way with two wins and shortstop Addison Russell will continue to hit the cover off the ball at home in Wrigley Field. In the A.L.C.S., the Texas Rangers will lose Game 7 at home to the BoSox. This series will be a back and forth dogfight between two of the most powerful teams on both O and D in all of baseball. In the end, the scorching hot sticks of Boston can not be held down for long and the likes of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Dustin Pedrioa make big things happen en route to another World Series appearance. These three smaller guys in stature will now be the Big Three.
Here’s our ultimate match-up kids. It’s the Chicago Cubs vs. the Boston Red Sox. Even Hollywood has yet to dare of dreaming of this clash. It will be a t.v., radio, and internet ratings buster. It will be a scalped-ticket price buster. It will be a whatever-else-there-is-to-bust buster! It’s ex-BoSox Theo Epstein and Jon Lester and David Ross vs. still-BoSox Pedroia and David Ortiz and Xander Bogaerts. Yes, there is something for everyone in this one! Both clubs are deep in talent in pitching and batting and defense. The bullpens are tough too. The Cubs have been dominant all year and even favored (they’re not used to that!). The Sox were tough all year, but especially down the stretch when they took control of the A.L. East by beating up on their division foes in September. So as you can see, it’s hard to call this one. The Cubs winning the Series would be magical and perhaps scary fun if you were out and about on the North Side of town when ‘it’ happens. The Sox winning another one would show consistent dominance over the last 13 years and that would make David Ortiz go out in style with one hand’s fingers full of rings (I know, he didn’t win 5 titles you’re thinking, but the thumb isn’t a finger. It’s a thumb.)
The heart says one thing. The gut says another. ‘Wait till next year’ is the theme of the prediction though. Sorry Cubs fans. You will have to wait just one more year. Enjoy this Fall Classic appearance though. There is much less shame in 2nd place than often times is depicted. And it will be sweeter next year when the Cubs return to the Fall Classic AND win it in 2017. This year though, Boston will survive a wild ride by beating three teams that won at least one more regular season game than them. And, perhaps both coincidentally and ironically, they will become a little more like their rival New York Yankees by adding a 4th title in 14 seasons with two apiece for managers Francona and John Farrell.
The prediction will remain Boston in 6 games. ‘Remain’ is the key word because that was also the pre-season prediction here at ViewFromTheDish (check out the link to the season preview post here: https://viewfromthedish.com/?m=201603). Boston over Chicago in 6 games. Kris Bryant plays great D while homering three times in the series. BoSox starter Rick Porcello wins two games and Series MVP.
Later Baseball Fans.