Monday, October 5, 2015

Predicting the 2015 National League Playoffs


Earlier today I took my shot at predicting the American League Playoffs all the way to the World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays running the gauntlet. In the National League I will attempt to do the same this afternoon as we wait on the American League Wild Card Game to get kicked off tomorrow night on ESPN. Who will face off against David Price and the Toronto Blue Jays later on this month? Keep reading.

In the Wild Card Game you have the Pittsburgh Pirates playing host to the Chicago Cubs inside PNC Park. The Pirates are in the postseason for the third consecutive season while most of the Cubs are in their first season in the Major Leagues and have zero postseason experience. The experience usually wins and so does home field advantage but the past experiences didn't have Jake Arrieta pitching and Joe Maddon managing. Cubs win and face off with the Sr. Louis Cardinals while the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers face off head-to-head.

With the Cubs and the Cardinals series looming one would have to think that the Cardinals are almost a lock to win it, right? They are the best team in Major League Baseball this season with an even 100 victories and led the way for much of the 2015 season. So what? This is the second season and the team faded a bit the final two or three weeks barely holding off the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs beat the Pirates and the Cubs will beat the Cardinals too. Meanwhile in Los Angeles the Dodgers will finally get a decent playoff start or two out of Clayton Kershaw while Zack Greinke adds to his free agency cause in a series win setting up an epic NLCS.

In the NLCS the Los Angeles Dodgers would surprisingly have home-field advantage despite a record that is five games worse than Chicago. In the NLCS, and maybe this is the Back to the Future II fan in me speaking, I can't see anyone stopping the Cubs. Arrieta will pitch his butt off like he has all season long, Jon Lester always comes up big in the postseason and this young offense will be just too hungry for Los Angeles to stop. It may go seven games but I think this is the year for the Chicago Cubs. Maddon wants to end the curse and so does Theo Epstein.. and they will. World Series here the Cubs come!


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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)