Is anyone else ready for MLB playoff predictions??
keets
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I'm not certain how the brackets are set-up so I will proceed with how I believe it is, if I have it wrong please tell me and I will edit. With that in mind and as the regular season winds down here is how I see things.
American League.
Wild Card:
Minnesota vs. New York.
winner --- New York. The Yankees just have too much pitching for the Twins and should win easily.
Boston vs. Houston.
winner --- Houston. Injuries have hurt the Red Sox and the Astros are just the better Team.
New York vs. Cleveland.
winner --- Cleveland. The Indians have too much depth and Terry Francona will out-manage Joe Girardi.
Houston vs. Cleveland.
winner --- Cleveland. This one will be good, probably a DogFight between two really good Teams. I give the edge to the Indians because experience and destiny really matter. Cleveland has both in their favor.
National League.
Wild Card.
Colorado vs. Arizona.
winner --- Arizona. The Diamondbacks are in the same boat as the Indians, they are reaching their peak at seasons end.
Chicago vs. Washington.
winner --- Washington. The Nationals have the pitching edge and that's all that will matter.
Arizona vs. Los Angeles.
winner --- Arizona. Think about it, the Dodgers had a 50 game run where they went 43-7!!!!! That is remarkable. I assumed they would challenge the Chicago Cub/Seattle Mariner record of 116 wins, but they now will struggle to even win 100!!!!! Again, remarkable.
Arizona vs. Washington.
winner --- Arizona. This will be another good series, but I think the offensive edge will go to the Diamondbacks.
World Series.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Clevelad Indians.
winner --- pick 'em, since I think this will be another 7-game Series. The advantage the Indians have is that when they play in Arizona they'll have access to their Spring Training facility.
Al H.
Comments
The Indians will most likely lose game 7 in extra innings.
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Ralph
Somebody will play somebody in the WS and Somebody will win 4 games and thus win the WS.
I won't go any farther out on the limb than that.
If you could put a little broom emoji next to the red sox other than that no complaints
Maybe when the regular season ends. This would allow for possible injuries to key players etc. to consider as a factor. Or other incidentals that may occur prior to the playoffs.
It would hard to pick against the Indians right now. Pitching, timely hitting and hotter then hell. Plus they have the chip on their shoulder that you want .Hopefully they didn't peak to early and Miller is at least 90%
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
**Hopefully they didn't peak to early **
this has been mentioned before, it suggests that in MLB a Team "peaks" on a certain date or in a certain game and then slides back. I don't perceive it that way. don't get me wrong, it would be great if the post season was starting this week or began last week. my perception of a "peak" is gradual, taking place over weeks and continuing. in the case of the Indians, they have had to do things while key players are out, the danger I see is players like Brantley/Kipnis/Miller returning to play without enough time to get into full swing. that could actually hurt he Team.
they have benefitted from the roster increase, it shows the depth and quality of their farm system. what will happen when they only have 25 players?? Francona is a shrewd judge of talent and strategist so I think things will be OK. that's a hurdle for each Team that'll be in the playoffs and how each approaches it might dictate their fate. choosing the right players is the key.
think about last year when the Cubs brought up Schwarber and he affected things. that was a really good move by Maddon.
Twins in 4 over Rockies
Erik
American League.
Wild Card:
Minnesota vs. New York.
Boston vs. Houston. Houston is in.
New York vs. Cleveland. Cleveland is in.
National League.
Wild Card.
Colorado vs. Arizona.
Chicago vs. Washington. Washington is in.
Arizona vs. Los Angeles. LA is in.
those picks were pretty easy, the Teams all seemed to have things well in-hand. right now it looks like Arizona and the Yankees will also make it in as the top-seed WildCard Teams. I also think the Cubbies will hold on to win their division.
as usual, the MLB schedulers have given us two interesting series' to end the season on --- Boston vs. Houston in the AL and Colorado vs. LA in the NL. if Houston is battling the Indians for the #1 seed they could influence where Boston/NYY finish. if things are tight in the NL WildCard finish it could also get interesting, but I don't think the Diamondbacks will slip. they're playing good and have a five game lead.
the last two weeks of a good season is enough to keep me from even watching and NFL. the fact that I root for the Browns helps.
Having seen the Yanks get swept by Cleveland, beat up on Boston, and sweep the Twins by wide margins, it is clear to me that Cleveland is the team to beat. The second wild card in the AL doesn't deserve it no matter who it is. They will barely be a 500 team.
db, that seems logical but having seen the Yankees beat-up on the Indians for several decades they worry me. I do, however, think that Cleveland has the edge. this next few weeks will be an leading into the Division Series' in each League will be exciting for MLB fans. there are still some contenders to be set and the Teams that are already in will fine tune their line-ups and get their rotations set.
for their part, Francona seems to be adjusting Cleveland's rotation by starting Danny Salazar today, adding him to the other five-man rotation. he had been relegated to the bull-pen where he had a few good appearances. Kluber would be the anticipated 1st game starter and he'll make his next start Sunday after six days rest. I suppose that means he'd start again the following Fri/Sat to be set up for Game 1.
with the Yankees as the anticipated WildCard winner we wouldn't have to face Severino until maybe Game 3 or 4. who knows how Teams will tinker with stuff......................................
Cant get ahead of yourselves anything can happen in a one game playoff. It's almost a coin flip
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mark, you are of course right. all this speculation is based on what it would be like right now and I figure it will probably change a little. and with playoff baseball sometimes a star is born, and unlikely stars, also. some guys rise to occasion and get neat nick-names like Mr. October and others shrink away.
it looks like the Yankees and Twins have set their staffs up for the WildCard Game, Sonny Gray vs. Ervin Santana. that should be a good one.
after that the Yankees have Sabathia set for the Division Series if they win but I'm not familiar enough with the Twins to see who they'd start if they win, probably Berrios. I think the advantage is to the Yankees and the Twins are just hoping for a WildCard win after which they'll figure things out for the Division.
if everything stays as it is, the probable opponent would be Cleveland with Corey Kluber starting on four days rest.
in a really strange scheduling twist, Boston(Chris Sale) closes the Season at home against Houston(Dallas Keuchel) and then will most likely travel to Houston for the Division Series opener four days later!! talk about two Teams that should know each other well, that'll be a potential 8-game series where the winner is a best-of-the-last-5.
would anyone care to post the likely starters for the NL??
I thought the Yanks would go with Severino. On his best days he is way better then Gray. Then Gray, Tanaka, Sabathia for division.
I think it depends on how he pitches tomorrow.
To be honest, I think the Yanks should pitch Sabathia. The Twins aren't that good. Sabathia has been there before, many times. He is good enough to beat the Twins especially if the Yankee offense is scoring runs. Then you have Severino, Gray, Tanaka to go against Cleveland.
No real interesting races heading to the wire.
Really only Cleveland- Houston for best record in the AL. The Indians have the tie breaker
I guess the NL second wild card race is mildlly interesting as well
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I would disagree, Mark.
the series to watch this weekend is Houston vs. Boston. as you say, Houston will be trying for the AL home-field and Boston is in serious danger of losing the Division lead, the Yankees have been playing really well lately, only three games back now.
in the NL, Milwaukee has a shot at Colorado while the Dodgers need to keep the pedal down to hold home field if they get to the WS.
the way I look at things there are really only two Teams that can afford to relax now, Washington and the Cubs. Minnesota still needs a win or Angels loss to get in.
And I respectfully disagree. No real division drama and really only one spot let open with 5 games to go. Boston is up by 3 with 4 games to go. There is a chance the Boston- Astro's series will mean absolutely nothing to Houston if Cleveland sweeps the Twins and Houston loses once. It might mean nothing to Boston either if they clinch tomorrow. Because Cleveland owns the tie breaker over the Astros they really have a 2 game lead.
Most years there are several races that come down to last game of the season. I don't see that happening this year
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
we will know better on Friday.
We might know tomorrow is Bostons wins and the Yankees lose and if Cleveland wins and Houston loses. They Twins clinch tonight if the Angels lose
M
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Twins clinch. Good for them
M
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Happy for Molitor. And nice to see Joe Mauer having a really good season.
Mauer has a surprisingly high number of RBI's for a guy with only seven HR's, but he hits a lot to left field. in an age when moderate players have no loyalty Joe Mauer has stayed in Minnesota, unlike Justin Morneau who took the money and ran. whenever I think of the Twins those two playing together come to mind. they were both solid from 2004-5 and on.
the Twins are in and maybe have the advantage in the AL WildCard Game of being able to relax until that game. despite the outcome of last weeks series with the Yankees I believe the Twins could be a spoiler in that game. their biggest problem is simple: after the one-game winner take all their pitching staff isn't very deep, so they aren't really a Team that could go far in the playoffs.
they are a Team that could beat the Yankees or Boston in one game, though.
I see Minnesota rolled out their AAA team for today's Indians game. I'm sure the Astro's are thrilled
Mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
red sox vs clevland
Mark, Molitor has been using about nine pitchers in each of the last two games!! Santana vs. Carrasco should have been good but the Twins were over-matched.
an interesting stat about Joe Mauer --- his lifetime BA after 14 seasons is .308 and he's currently batting right around .305. talk about consistent.............................
I just wish i would have taken advantage of this monetarily.
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I know the Dodgers have rightfully taken a beating from fans for their late August-mid September slump. They seem to have righted the ship, which is super encouraging. The magic number to clinch home field throughout the playoffs is now 1 - that could happen as early as tonight if the Astros and Indians both lose. Dodgers are off until tomorrow.
And yes, I know home field throughout assumes they'll make it that far. And yes, I know the history of the Dodgers in general and Kershaw specifically chocking in October. With Hill and Darvish pitching really well as of late, and Wood being available for a spot start or long relief out of the pen, I'm thinking Kershaw will have a lot less pressure on him, plus he won't have to to on 2-3 days rest.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
Doesn't the American League have home field in the WS via their win in the All-Star game? Or did that change this year?
M
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
That's not a thing anymore, Mark.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
that was changed and took effect this year, the Team with the best record has home-field which is as it should be.
to the Dodgers, I think they are a little more steady now. the difference from two months ago is that MLB now realizes they can be beaten. the way they played up till that point was incredible and the single season win record seemed to be in their sights. then they won their 90th game and the Earth shifted or something. even as an Indians fan and what they did I was held in awe at the Dodgers earlier in the year, I think they were 43-7 during a 50 game stretch which is just hard to wrap my head around.
LA v Cleveland would be awesome. But even as a Dodger fan, the NL lineup is tough. Division rival first and they're not afraid, then Cubs/Nats. Damn. I hope we make it through. Cleveland is firing on all cylinders right now. Even Salazar was dealing last night. Tough staff. Tough pen. Tough lineup....and their freaking manager...just wow, plus the confidence that the run provides. They seem the team to beat.
Agreed. Of course the Dodgers need to get past (most likely) the Diamondbacks, who should feel very confident against "us". I think they swept LA twice within the last few weeks. I'm most worried about that Nationals lineup, though - assuming we get that far. That's really, really potent lineup, although I'm always confident that Dusty will do something to eff something up.
The Indians, though - wow. Great team, great pitching, great manager. I think I'd be very confident if I was an Indians fan.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
Totally. And the Cubs are no picnic either.
I'm actually less scared of the Cubs than I am of the Nats or DBacks. Quite a bit less, in fact.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
Thanks! I don't tune into games until right right about now.
I know that I'm in the minority but I liked that winning the All- Star meant home field. It was the only All-Star game in pro sports I watched because something meaningful was on the line. I can quit watching baseball AS games now
mark
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/twins-trot-ultimate-hangover-lineup-152433617.html
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
the Yankees missed a golden opportunity to close within two games of the Red Sox who were walloped by Houston, but their BullPen had a mid-game collapse. now with only three on the schedule it seems unlikely that the Yanks will win the Division.
this all is a bad looking end of the season for Boston. they are a little banged up and playing sub-par at exactly the wrong time. now they're facing a potential eight games with Houston. OUCH!!!
The bullpen didn't collapse, Girardi used the "B" team in the bullpen once the starter got in trouble. Girardi's questionable bullpen use this season has cost the Yanks the division.
on the other hand if it weren't for John Farrell's questionable use of everything this year , would the yanks even be close? It's not just Farrell we also signed a bunch of losers to huge contracts
David Price will save us
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
200 million dollar starter , who can not start , but he can pitch 3 innings , not back to back games and the inning should be clean , with a lead of course
If our starter gets shelled and hooked theres no way they put snowflake in , so maybe he goes in just before our 3rd starter implodes , then we lose anyway and he cant pitch game 4.
Plus he can't pitch against Houston ... because he has a dog named Astro ..... too much inner turmoil . Maybe if he renames the dog Tralfaz for the duration and he can do it.
I sense... sarcasm, is it? Yes, that’s it - sarcasm mixed with a dash of disgust and two teaspoons of contempt.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
a little tighter in the AL East as the only true race left is at two games. I would expect Houston to keep the pedal down at least through Saturday. if Cleveland wins tomorrow the Astros will probably rest some guys on Sunday.
No one is talking about Washington. They are good. Real good
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
the Nat's seem to have two top-tier starters, a solid backend to their BullPen and solid offense. the series with them and Arizona will be a good one!!
Weighing in on my WS pick. I'll go with Houston.
so far things have run true to script, not that it was really hard choices. now, the fun begins!!!
Sale vs Verlander in Game 1. I will watch
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......