2015 World Series Preview

Two teams that haven’t won a World Series since the mid-1980s. The New York Mets in 1986 and the Kansas City Royals in 1985. Those are pretty long droughts. Kansas City could have ended it last year, but lost in 7 games to the San Francisco Giants. The Mets last saw a World Series in the year 2000, but were thumped by the crosstown New York Yankees. Both teams have great bullpens which are a staple of a championship caliber team this day and age in baseball. The Mets have the hottest hitter in the postseason and the Royals are coming off an amazing six game ALCS. Every game should be a pitchers duel, but don’t mistake the offenses’ being the x-factor. Continue reading →

2015 MLB Championship Series Preview

Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets

I’m not going to start thinking this could be the year that one of the worst losing streaks in sports history will be over. But those Chicago Cubs looked pretty damn good against the St. Louis Cardinals. Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber have each hit over .500 and combined for 5 HR and 9 RBI this postseason. Dexter Fowler has been excellent in the leadoff spot and Anthony Rizzo hit a couple clutch home runs in the division series. Jake Arrieta wasn’t at his best, but in his one start against St. Louis he struck out nine and got the win. The rest of the Cubs rotation was shaky, but their bullpen did rather well at some big moments of the series. Chicago’s offense is carrying them right now, but they need Arrieta and Lester especially to set the tone for the staff.

Be careful what you wish for. That should be the motto for the 2015 New York Mets who have been scrutinized as afterthoughts in the National League. Not only did they do just enough to beat the Dodgers, but they did so by beating Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in games 1 and 5 respectively. Curtis Granderson was on base constantly as the leadoff hitter and Daniel Murphy was the MVP on offense with his clutch hits throughout the division series. Yoenis Cespedes had a couple big home runs, but wasn’t as effective as Murphy. Jacob DeGrom won both of his starts and they happened to be against Kershaw and Greinke in games 1 and 5. Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard were solid in their starts and even Steven Matz had an effective outing in New York. If the Mets pull that off again, they’ll be hard to beat.

Mets in 6 games

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals

Aside from the insanity of the 7th inning in Game 5 against Texas, the Blue Jays made quite the comeback in that series. They were down 2-0 and yes they were expected to win at least one game in Texas, but the Rangers seemed to have folded long before Game 5 back in Toronto. The Blue Jays starting pitchers, Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey played a huge part in getting them back in the series. They kept the Rangers bats quiet and aside from the usual boppers in the lineup, it was actually Edwin Encarnacion, Chris Colabello and Kevin Pillar who propelled the offense. David Price and Marcus Stroman are Toronto’s best starting pitchers and they need to be on point in the ALCS. Manager John Gibbons needs to do a better job of utilizing Price because his strategy nearly doomed them in the Division Series. If the rest of their lineup wakes up with Jose Bautista after his go-ahead three run home run in Game 5, then they could be playing further in October.

Kansas City ran into a team that was similar to their run last year. The Houston Astros had the Royals dead to rights in Game 4, but couldn’t get out of their own jam that they brought upon themselves. Errors by Houston and timely hits by Kansas City brought the series back to Kauffman Stadium for a series clinching celebration. With that early test, the Royals seem poised to easily get back to the World Series, but it isn’t shaping up to be against Toronto who has had some history this season with them. Yordano Ventura, Edison Volquez and Johnny Cueto form a solid trio in this series. They’ll have to be on their best game to keep the Blue Jays lineup in check. Kendrys Morales almost single handedly defeated the Astros with his . 263 AVG 3 HR 6 RBI stat line. Ben Zobrist and Alcides Escobar were excellent spark plugs that kept Kansas City in most of the division series. This series will help either team against the best team the National League has to offer.

Blue Jays in 7 games

The Tejada Rule

I get it. We are a reactive society in which everyone can express their opinion in 140 characters or less. We immediately react and demand someone do something and that makes us feel good. I get it. Sports leagues are no different than any company, business or local shop. An outcry is heard and they will react. Continue reading →

2015 MLB Division Series Preview

National League Division Series

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

A pretty fitting matchup to have. If you thought the Cubs and Pirates had some fireworks in the Wild Card game, then you’ll love seeing these two go at it. Jake Arrieta was phenomenal against Pittsburgh. If the Cubs get him for two starts in this series they are almost guaranteed a win in each of them. Kyle Schwarber and Dexter Fowler provided enough offense against the Pirates, but if Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Starlin Castro get involved this is a very good Cubs team. Jon Lester certainly has the postseason pedigree and will be his usual self for the Cubs. If Chicago’s bullpen doesn’t disappoint they could have a chance at the Cardinals.

Yadier Molina will try to give it a go with a splint. It’s his glove hand so it will be interesting to see how it affects him, especially when he bats. The Cardinals boast one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. From start to finish they are tough to score runs on. Adding Adam Wainwright to the bullpen is just not fair. He’s done this before way back in 2006 as their closer for their eventual World Series title. Jason Heyward got hot at the end of the season and should continue that streak. If Matt Carpenter can be the solid table setter he has been for them it should be a pretty good advantage for the Cardinals to stifle the Cubs offense.

Cardinals in 4 games

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Mets are back and have an excellent starting rotation. They can matchup against the Dodgers best and I know that sounds hard to believe, but the Mets are that good in the rotation. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard will have a tough task, but they have had many in their young careers. Matt Harvey being on an innings limit doesn’t matter when he has his stuff working for him. If the Mets get at least one game in Los Angeles, Harvey will be waiting for Game 3. The one problem could be the Mets offense. They hope that Yoenis Cespedes can continue his magic in the middle of their order since being acquired at the trade deadline. New York gets a lead going into the 7th inning it has been almost lights out this season. Closer Jeurys Familia has electric stuff that is damn near impossible to hit.

Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have to be on point. They don’t have to pitch complete games for the Dodgers, but they can’t allow the Dodgers bullpen to bail them out. They have failed too many times this year trying to do that for the rotation. Only hope for the Dodgers is to get to the Mets starters before their hitters get to theirs. Eyes will be watching how Yasiel Puig returns and whether Carl Crawford and Jimmy Rollins can be on point with their postseason experience, but what really matters is their RBI machine in Adrian Gonzalez. If he can’t drive in runs or doesn’t get many opportunities then the Dodgers are sunk.

Dodgers in 5 games

American League Division Series

Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals

I am certainly happy that the Astros are in this position rather than the Yankees who put in a dreadful performance in the Wild Card game. Houston doesn’t get anything taken away from them and they showed they were the better team. Dallas Keuchel will get at least two starts if Houston forces a four or five game series. He was solid in the Wild Card game and didn’t get in any jams. Collin McHugh and Scott Kazmir will have a lot to do if they want to keep the Astros postseason run going. Jose Altuve was the spark plug against the Yankees and will do more of the same against the Royals.

Kansas City’s bullpen is still the best in the American League. Their rotation is without James Shields, but having Johnny Cueto isn’t a bad replacement. The one big difference is in the Royals lineup. They are still pretty much the same, but have a reliable RBI man in Kendrys Morales. With him and Ben Zobrist as the newest additions compared to last years lineup, they have many more options. Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer got hot at the right time last year and they’ll need them to recapture that magic once again.

Royals in 4 games

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Just like the state of Texas in the summer time, the Rangers were on fire offensively down the stretch. Adrian Beltre was the RBI leader for the month of September. Both Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo were exactly what Texas needed to keep pace ahead of the Astros and Angels in the division. Prince Fielder kind of fell flat in the same stretch, but he is still a dangerous bat in the middle of the order. Getting Cole Hamels was actually a smart move for the Rangers. Pair him with Yovani Gallardo and you have a pretty good one-two punch against Toronto. Now if by chance the Rangers bullpen gets involved in this series it could be a short stint for Texas.

It’s been a long 22 years since Toronto has made it to the postseason. In 1993 they were walking off to a second consecutive World Series title. Since then they have had some good teams, but no postseason action for them. This year is setting up to be different with new faces that have postseason experience. David Price is the big one who has brought new life to the Blue Jays rotation. With him at the top that put less pressure on R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle to be the guy. The lineup was stacked to begin with and having Troy Tulowitzki for this next stage is going to be interesting. With MVP candidate Josh Donaldson surrounded by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, this Blue Jays team will be hard pressed to score less than five runs in every game.

Blue Jays in 4 games

2015 MLB Trade Deadline Review

As with past deadline deals these will be highly scrutinized for many years. Instantly we see and decide who got the better end of the deal, but we really won’t know until at least two or three seasons down the road. The only way to know in real time is if the team getting the established major leaguer goes on to win a World Series. Time will tell if that happens this year with the flurry of names (a few marquee ones) being dealt this July. Continue reading →