Welcome back to Prediction Season here on The Greedy
Pinstripes. With the standings, division winners and Wild Card winners now
predicted here on the blog by yours truly it is time to move on to the
postseason. Just as a reminder, not that I have to remind any of you reading
because you are all dedicated and hardcore Yankees and MLB fans, the first Wild
Card winner will host the second Wild Card winner in a one-game playoff. The
winner of that game heads out on the road to face off with the team with the best
record from their respective league, who has a “bye” in the first round of the
postseason. ALDS and NLDS series are best-of-five while the ALCS, NLCS and the
World Series are of course best-of-seven. Let’s get to it!
American League Wild Card Round
Seattle Mariners
@ Boston Red Sox
The first time in what feels like forever that the Seattle
Mariners make the postseason. Is this 1995 all over again? Honestly, I don’t
think so, but I went with it anyway… because to hell with the Red Sox. Anything
can happen in a one-game playoff. Anything. Even the Mariners taking down the
might, mighty Red Sox. Dave Dombrowski should be fired at the end of the game,
but he won’t be which is great news for Yankees fans.
National League Wild Card Round
San Francisco Giants
@ Chicago Cubs
These two foes have matched up time-and-time again it feels
like in the postseason, so what is one more time for old times sake, right? The
Chicago Cubs will, in my opinion, take a step back in 2018 in terms of
production from their previous two seasons, which will suit the Giants just
fine. The Giants have potentially a strong starting staff and enough veteran
leadership to get them over the hump in Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen and
I truly think they will find a way in the later innings to take down the Cubs.
Chicago goes home, San Francisco moves on in an even-numbered year. Both road
teams winning the Wild Card Round? That has to be unheard of, oh well.
American League Division Series
Seattle Mariners @ New
York Yankees (Yankees win series 3-1)
I am going to give the tie-breaker for home field advantage
to the New York Yankees (a) because I am a homer that owns a Yankees blog, and
(b) because of some head-to-head matchups or something like that. With the
Mariners high off their “1995 all over again” victory of the Boston Red Sox in
the AL Wild Card Round the New York Yankees are here to remind the Mariners of
another playoff series they were both a part of, the 2001 American League
Championship series where the 116-win Mariners came into the series the heavy
favorites over the Dynasty Yankees. The Mariners lost, and sometimes history
repeats itself. Sometimes it just takes 17 years to do so. Yankees win.
Cleveland Indians @ Houston
Astros (Astros win series 3-2)
In a matchup of two titans, two powerhouse offenses and two
dynamic pitching staffs this series has all the makings of being an instant
classic that will undoubtedly go all five games. These kinds of series remind
me of those games that come down to the last second with the winner being the
last team who has the ball, the last team to take an at-bat, whatever the case
may be. I truly think both teams will be amazing once again in 2018, but the
pitching staff and the depth that the Astros have will prevail in the five-game
series. Plus, I wanted a rematch of the 2017 ALCS between the Yankees and the
Astros, I mean who doesn’t? Right? It is time for Justin Verlander to eat his
preseason words regarding the Yankees.
National League Division Series
San Francisco Giants @ Washington
Nationals (Nationals win series 3-1)
The window for the Washington Nationals to win is just about
closed, hell it will be all but closed once the calendar turns to October of
2018, and the Nationals will play like it this postseason. The Giants are a
great team but having to presumably burn Madison Bumgarner in the Wild Card
Round will come back to bite them as the Nationals dominate the series on all
sides of the game. The Nats will pitch better, they will hit better, they will
defend better and they will do the little things they have to do when it counts
in order to win. Nats in 4.
St. Louis Cardinals @ Los
Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers win series 3-2)
Here is a series we haven’t seen before in recent memory, a
playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals are younger than ever, and subsequently hungrier than ever, in
the ever-changing aspect that is Major League Baseball. This is truly a David
v. Goliath type situation, but in this one I think the Cardinals, like the
Yankees from 2017, have one more year to wait before they can knock off the big
boys. The Cardinals will be back in 2019 with another year under the wings and
a chip on their shoulder, but this year it will be the Dodgers once again
moving on after a hard-fought five-game series.
American League Championship Series
Houston Astros @ New
York Yankees (Yankees win series 4-2)
Here we go again, so much for parity in Major League
Baseball, huh Commissioner Manfred? In a rematch of the 2017 American League
Championship Series the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees will once again
square off head-to-head. This time around the Yankees will have homefield
advantage, and this time New York will have Giancarlo Stanton and a slew of
others at their disposal that they did not have last time around. The young,
inexperienced Yankees took the Astros to an eventual Game 7 before falling to
the reigning World Series Champions, but that was last season. This is 2018 and
the New York Yankees are on a collision course with a certain team from the
National League, and not even Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander or some dude with a
long beard could stop them. Call me a homer, call me an optimist, just don’t
call me late to the Canyon of Heroes. Yankees in six.
National League Championship Series
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington
Nationals (Nationals win series 4-3)
Remember how I said the Cardinals and Dodgers series was a
David v. Goliath type series? Well if that is the case then this series is a
Goliath vs. Goliath type series as both teams here matched or exceeded the
95-win plateau during the 2018 regular season. This will be a hard-fought
battle that will go all seven games, but one man in particular will be the
difference maker in my opinion. Bryce Harper knows what he is playing for.
Bryce is playing for a chance at a World Series ring, his legacy as a part of
the Washington Nationals and his next free agent contract after the season
ends, and for that reason I think we will see a version of Harper that we have
never seen before. We will see a focused, yet unruly, and disciplined, yet
unyielding, version of himself both at the plate and in the field that will go
unmatched by anyone wearing a Dodgers uniform this series. It won’t be easy,
but it will be fun to watch as the Washington Nationals shock the World and
head to the World Series to face off with the New York Yankees.
BOLDED teams are predicted as the winner in
each respective series.
The 2018 World Series, folks. The New York Yankees and the Washington.
Let us keep in mind that the last two seasons I didn’t have the Yankees making
the World Series, but I did have them winning a second Wild Card in both, so my
predictions, albeit biased, are usually pretty spot on with them. “Haters gonna
hate” though, am I right?
Two million strong and counting folks! I can’t say it
enough. Leave your thoughts, comments and predictions down below in the
comments section, or drop us a line on Twitter @GreedyStripes. Another day
closer to Opening Day, can you smell the fresh cut grass yet? Because I can…
...and the winner of the World Series?
ReplyDeleteTomorrow :)
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