Baseball season’s nearly at an end, or at least the regular season is. The postseason is coming up fast, and a few of the spots are still up for grabs as the season goes into its final two weeks.
The Dodgers have already clinched their eighth straight National League West title, the Yankees and Astros are almost there in the American League East and West, respectively, and the Braves are almost certain to win the NL East, which leaves the Central Divisions up for grabs. Cleveland’s chasing Minnesota down the stretch, and the North Siders are still within striking distance of the Redbirds. My bet’s on Minnesota and the Twins to win their first Central title since 2010, but I’m not sure about the other Central division.
Let me just lay it bare that I’m a Cubs fan, so I’m biased, but I don’t think we have the strength to win the division, let alone the Wild Card game. Biases aside, though, both the Cards and Cubs are still in on it with sixteen games left to play, and the Indians aren’t done yet either.
The postseason picture (at least right now) looks like this:
The postseason picture (at least right now) looks like this:
My prediction is this: Brewers come from behind to beat the Cubs for the second wild card slot, we’re skidding hard and they’ve been HOT lately- before losing one recently, they were on a seven-game win streak. We’re pretty cold right about now, I can’t really see it picking up enough to pace the Brew Crew. Home the Cubs go for the season, and Milwaukee goes on to face LA and the Dodgers… Kershaw’s still pretty much untouchable, sorry Brewers fans.
St. Louis will face off against Atlanta for the second division series if things keep going like they are, and the Braves have a 4-2 season series lead- I know the Braves have Keuchel, but the Cardinals have Flaherty… I think that the Cards can hold them off, the NL East isn’t much competition… the NL Central is the hardest in baseball (don’t start, Yankees and Red Sox fans, it’s hard to win a division where every team stinks). St. Louis versus Los Angeles for the pennant… is that even a question who would win? The Redbirds will be Deadbirds, seeing as they’re 0 and 3 as the road team against LA.
On the AL side, Oakland, I think, will lose to Tampa, and then Tampa will lose to the Yankees (their head-to-head this season is 12-5 New York). Houston versus Minnesota- I’m giving the Twins a slight edge here, given that their head-to-head against them is 4-3 in their favor.
The Yanks have proven that they can hold their own against the Twins, going 4-2 against them, and there’s your pennant winner for the forty-first time!
The Dodgers versus the Evil Empire, that’d be a series that would be… interesting, considering that it hasn’t happened since 1981 when the Yankees took the series in six games.
Being a Cubs fan means that I have to dislike the Dodgers as a matter of principle, and I have plenty of Red Sox fans in my family… I can’t say that I like either side of the match up I think we’re going to see in October, but I’m sure I’m not the only one. Mets fans, you with me?
Regardless of who makes it to October, though, someone’s coming home with a ring, and my money is on New York. I think they have the power, they’ve got the speed to be the best in the American League.