By: Mike Carter
The field is set. Let the madness begin.
The regular season is now over. This year we saw over 40,000 strikeouts, twenty-two pitchers strike out over 200 batters, over 6600 home runs, better movement on pitches and higher velocity than ever.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” This line, written by the inimitable Shakespeare and uttered by Henry V, seems like a fitting, if not a little over-the-top, segue into this year’s baseball playoffs.
Every year we amateur followers of this game of baseball try and determine who is going to be the last team standing at the end of October. We pore over stats, look at every angle we can think of on a quiet Sunday morning with our coffee, and make our choices.
This year is no different, and chances are excellent that most of us, undone by some unforeseen incident, will be wrong. A hero may be lurking in the depths of a playoff roster, waiting for his chance to become this year’s new talk of the league. Remember Steve Pearce? Remember David Freese? Remember Pablo Sandoval? All heroes when it mattered the most, only to fade back into relative obscurity later.
The guys at 9 Inning Know It All have tasked me with picking the winner out of this field of ten. In the American League, we have the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and the Wild Cards are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics.
In the National League, we have the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and the Wild Cards are the Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers.
But stats don’t mean that either of these teams will win the World Series. At this point of the season, any of a number of things could happen…a pitcher gets hot, an average hitter goes on a streak…anything can happen, and likely, will. Who will it be? We just don’t know, and that is why we watch!
Who is a dark horse team?
I really like the Oakland Athletics and what they have quietly done this year. They won 97 games and few know about it. They boast a deep bullpen and one of the savviest managers around in Bob Melvin. Listen, I know this sounds crazy. But bear with me a moment. They have a fresh starter in Sean Manaea who has just returned from injury and has been nearly unhittable lately. They have an offense that can explode at any time, led by vastly underrated Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. Do not underestimate what this team has done; they have also added young power arms in Jesus Luzardo and AJ Puk to their bullpen. Do not be surprised if Melvin taps either guy for big outs, or uses Luzardo as a closer for the struggling Liam Hendriks. If this team can get past the Rays on Wednesday, they could go on a run.
Other will laugh at this, but don’t sleep on the Milwaukee Brewers either. Since losing one of the top five players in the game in Christian Yelich, all they have done is go 13-4 to pressure the St. Louis Cardinals and push the Chicago Cubs to the bench. How are they doing it? Good pitching, with the resurgent Jordan Lyles and the comeback of Brandon Woodruff. They also have a deep bullpen with Josh Hader and the emergence of Drew Pomeranz (did anyone see that one coming?) able to pitch multiple innings with high octane. Ryan Braun and Mike Moustakas, with young rookie Keston Hiura, lead the offense. Remember too that Eric Thames has been good in September and is capable of putting runs on the board quickly with one swing.
I just can’t pick the Nationals anymore after the last few years in the playoffs. I just can’t do it…can I? However…they are deep and strong too, and do you want to bet against their big three? Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin? Young hitters that could mature even more at any time like Juan Soto and Victor Robles? MVP candidate Anthony Rendon? Hmm…but I won’t go there again. Because of that, watch them win it.
So after more than 800 words, where are we? The Astros and the Dodgers are the best teams on paper. We highlighted a dark horse candidate in each league.
I think top to bottom that the Houston Astros are the team to beat. Does that mean that they will win? No. But the pieces are all there for a march to another title. Check out some of these statistics:
- Houston went an incomprehensible 60-21 at their home field, Minute Maid Park.
- Their top three starters, Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zach Greinke went a combined 57-16. Verlander had 21 wins, Cole 20 and Greinke 18. This is going to be a tough combination to beat in a series.
- Their offense is deep in talent and they can use multiple combinations of players to beat any team. Carlos Correa has a troublesome back? No problem. Shift MVP candidate Alex Bregman over to shortstop and plug in Yuli Gurriel or Aledmys Diaz. See what I mean? That depth is going to be difficult to overcome.
- They feature seven players who hit over 20 home runs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a formidable big three of their own in Walker Buehler, Hyun-Jin Ryu (who was the best pitcher in the NL this year) and warhorse Clayton Kershaw. They too boast an amazing offense laden with power, led by my MVP, Cody Bellinger. Bellinger has 47 home runs, 121 runs scored, 115 RBI and an OPS of 1.035. Staggering numbers. He could carry this team but he doesn’t need to; he is supported by the likes of Max Muncy, Justin Turner and a rotating cast of superior role players.
I pick the Houston Astros to win the World Series. Who do they beat? How many years can I pick the Nationals and be wrong? They are hot at the right time, they have excellent starting pitching and the kind of hitting that gives teams fits. I don’t think it matters who they play, though; I think the Astros are a juggernaut and will win going away.
Get yourselves ready this week, friends. It’s the best time of the year with baseball playoffs starting, the NFL season in full swing, and the NHL also kicking off this week. Enjoy it! Happy watching!