One of the most exciting times of the year in sports is here. Post season baseball is so exciting and dramatic and I can't wait for it to start. Today, I will be breaking down each team in the postseason and what they could do in this year's playoff. At the end I will predict each series until we eventually get to the World Series.
Let's start with the Milwaukee Brewers. After Christian Yelich went down, no one thought this team could compete. They have had an insane September though and sneaked into a wild card game. This team is so unpredictable and insane that they could sneak into the World Series. I don't see it happening, but with how surprising this team has been, I don't doubt it could happen. The only problem I see is, yes they've been good without Yelich. Once they get to a team like the Dodgers or the Astros though, I don't see how that lineup could compete with those teams. I am excited to see what this team does in the post season and it will be exciting to watch.
The Washington Nationals have scored in many interesting ways. They may not a lot of home runs, but they have done really well on offense. They will need Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto to play well and score a good amount if they want to make a deep run. The biggest problem I see with them is their relief pitching. That is one thing you really need to have in close playoff games. You don't want to have a 3-3 tie and a relief pitcher come in and allow a home run. If they can clean that up, they could make a run though. They're going to have a touch wild card game against the Brewers and Rendon will need to play extremely well, like he has in the regular season, for them to make a run.
The Tampa Bay Rays have pitched the ball extremely well. They don't allow a lot of home runs (and neither does their wild card opponent so that'll be a fun game). Going against teams like the Yankees and the Astros though, we all know that they will hit home runs. So the Rays are going to have to hit the ball well and keep those games close if they want a chance. They are one of the weakest offenses in this years playoffs though, so this could be a big problem for them. They might win the wild card (I don't think they will), but if they do, they won't go much farther than that.
The Oakland Athletics also have a great pitching team and staff. They allow a lot of fly balls at home and don't let the opponent score at their home a lot. They were an insane 52-29 at home and luckily they get to be home for their wild card game. That could come into huge affect when they play the Rays. They have a better offense than the Rays though with Marcus Semien and that will give them the edge over the Rays. They will need to continue to pitch well and score some runs if they want to get into the divisional series which I think they will.
The St. Louis Cardinals won in a very tough division. They barely beat Milwaukee to win that division and had to win in game 162 to do so. Nonetheless they are here, but have a very tough first series. They have played great defensively, but their offense concerned me. In the kind of baseball we live in today, you need to be able to score a lot of runs to get along in the world of baseball today. Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter have not looked like how they used to. We know though, that they could pick it up at any time. If they do, this team could be very dangerous and really compete in this years playoffs. I need to see it before I believe it though.
The Atlanta Braves look really good this year and are going to make it extremely tough for the Dodgers this year. The Dodgers won't get to just cruse into the world series. I could see that series going to 7 and going down to the last inning. In the regular season, the Braves played very well in close games and won a lot of them. In the playoffs, that could come into huge affect and really help them. They're very good at closing games out. The bullpen is a big question though. They've been good at times and bad at times. They've played pretty well in September though so let's see if that continues into October. Ronald Acuna Jr. can't just be a good regular season player and lose it in the playoffs. The bullpen and Acuna will need to play well, and if they do, they could be a serious world series contender.
The Dodgers are the Dodgers. What else is there to say about them? Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, and Max Muncy have been insane in the regular season. It will be very tough for defenses to stop them in the playoffs. The Dodgers also gave up the fewest runs this season. That makes this team almost unbeatable. Like I say though, the playoffs is a whole different ball game. Let's see if the regular season dominance continues into the playoffs. They don't have a lot of flaws though. The only problem I maybe see is some starting pitchers struggling. So teams will need to score early on the Dodgers to beat them. One thing if for sure, this team is going to be very hard to beat.
The Minnesota Twins are the best team away from home. That is huge for them considering their first two games are in a five game series at Yankee Stadium. It's always seemed this year that everything the Twins do, the Yankees do better. The Twins are insanely good at hitting home runs, but the first team they play is the only team that's better than them at hitting home runs. It will tough for them to compete this year just because of how good the offenses of the Yankees and the Astros are. The flaw for them is their pitching. They've had a lot of injuries to their pitchers and are struggling to find a solid starting rotation for them. Whatever game they are playing in, expect a lot of home runs and a lot of high scoring games.
The New York Yankees offense is going to have to carry them through the playoffs. They have D.J. LeMahieu, Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, maybe Giancarlo Stanton, Urshela, and even more. Those players alone are insane on offense. Even if one or to guys are struggling, they have plenty of other guys to pick them up. They are definitely going to bomb an insane amount of home runs to try to lift them through the playoffs. The bullpen is the most struggling part though. They can't seem to find a good starting rotation and I don't think it will get better at the playoffs. They will be in a lot of high scoring games and will need that offense to be great if they want to make a deep run. This offense is so crazily good though, that I believe that they could carry them to the World Series.
The Houston Astros just seem absolutely unbeatable. They have a really good starting rotation trio. They have the third best ERA in the majors. Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley have been really good on offense. I think George Springer and Jose Altuve will need to play a little better, which I know they can. But if they face a team like the Yankees, even though they're really good at pitching, they will still need a solid offense to beat a team like that. The one flaw to me is the bullpen. They have good starters but I think their flaw could be in the bullpen. Look for lot's of late runs against this team and close games in the 9th. Just like the Dodgers, this team will be extremely difficult to beat.
Now, it's time for going through the bracket. I'll just go through each game, who wins in how many games, and a brief description of why. I think the A's will beat the Rays in the AL wild card game. It will be a low scoring game because of how good their pitching is, but the Athletics have the smallest advantage on offense. The Brewers will beat the Nationals in the NL wild card. On paper, the Nationals should win, but the Brewer have surprised me so much that I'm not going to doubt them like that. The Twins and the Yankees will go to 5 games, but I think the Yankees will come out on top in the ALDS. I just think their offense is too dang good, and I can't bet against them. It will be an exciting series though. I think the Astro's will win the ALDS against the A's in 4 games. They're too dominant, but I think the A's could scratch off a win. The Cardinals and the Braves will only go to 4 games. The Braves look really good on offense and I just don't believe in the Cardinals ability to hit especially against such a good bullpen. After saying I shouldn't doubt the Brewers, I'm doubting them in the NLCS. The Dodgers are too dominant and will win in the only sweep of the the divisional round.
So the Yankees will take on the Astros in a rematch of last year's ALCS. This series will go to 7 games, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the Yankees will come out on top. The Astros starting trio is insane, but I think the Yankees offense is better, and will get them a ticket to the World Series. Man we will have a lot of great match ups in this years playoffs, because I also think the Braves and the Dodgers will go to 7 games. I think the Braves will put up a great fight, but ultimately the Dodgers are the better team and the Braves are just too inexperienced.
So I have the Yankees and the Dodgers in the World Series. I would like to see this series go to 7 games. I will have instant regret choosing this, but I just believe in the Yankees offense way too much. I think the Yankees will come out on top against the Dodgers in the World Series. Keep in mind, this is before all the series have started, and nobody knows what will happen. My pick will probably change a million times. All I know is that this years MLB post season will be one of the most exciting ever. Let's sit back and enjoy it now.
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