Sunday, April 3, 2016

Predicting the 2016 Playoffs & World Series


The 2016 MLB regular season is over and 162 games are now in the books. You did all that for this, the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series. Here we go using the predictions and records from my previous prediction posts! Bolded team denotes the victory in the series!

American League

Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees

I truly believe once everyone is healthy no team is better suited for a one-game playoff then the New York Yankees. With the big three in the bullpen and a young ace in Masahiro Tanaka (or Luis Severino) the team just has to get an early lead and hold it. The offense has shown an ability to be explosive and while Corey Kluber is great and a former Cy Young award winner he is no Dallas Keucehl. Maybe it’s the homer in me but I’m going with my Yankees.


Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Toronto Blue Jays monster offense should be better in 2016 with the help of a couple contract seasons for Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. The pitching won’t be as good probably without David Price but Price wasn’t great in the postseason anyway while the team will benefit from a full season from Marcus Stroman. Meanwhile the Yankees matchup decently against the Royals but talent wins out more times than not in a long series and it will again with the Royals taking the next step towards repeating as World Series champions.

Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays may finally be the team of destiny in 2016, they haven’t been for quite some time. It looked like they were headed home numerous times last season including that crazy game with the Texas Rangers, probably more commonly known as the “Jose Bautista Bat Flip” game and the team seemed to play not to lose rather than to win. That can happen sometimes with a young team or with a team that hasn’t been there before. They’ve all been there now and shouldn’t have much trouble locking up the extremely talented, but flawed, Kansas City Royals to reach the World Series for the first time since Joe Carter’s name was etched in the lineup card.


National League

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

So much for all the parity in major sports and specifically Major League Baseball huh? These two teams have been all over these predictions for the last few seasons and have seen each other more than once in the real games. Clayton Kershaw trembles at the thought of seeing the Cardinals in the postseason, St. Louis is his postseason monkey and will remain his postseason monkey at least through 2016. Carlos Martinez vs. Clayton Kershaw should be a good pitching matchup to watch though.

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets

Spoiler alert, no one in the National League is touching the Chicago Cubs this season. Not in the postseason either. No one. Cubs win, it may take six or seven but the Cubs still win. That team has too much talent to stay down for long. Meanwhile in the New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants series it’s going to come down to pitching like it always does in the postseason. Both teams have it but the Mets have a slight advantage in the offensive category while I’m not entirely sold on either bullpen, especially the Giants pen. Another series that may go six or maybe even seven games and another trip to the NLCS for the Metropolitans. I can hear Twitter now. Joy. Apparently San Francisco forgot this was an even year.

Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets

In the NLCS we have a repeat of the 2015 NLCS and much of the same factors play into this series like they do in the ALCS. The Toronto Blue Jays played not to lose at times last season and lost and the Cubs seemingly lost because of inexperience, youth and a few bad breaks against a good, red-hot team. The Cubs won’t let the bright lights and all the cameras and millions of eyes get to them this time though. The Cubs are a team of destiny this season in my eyes and they should make short work of the Mets who are without more than a few key pieces from their 2015 World Series run. Cubs in five.

World Series 2016: Chicago Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays

World Series 2016 between the Chicago Cubs and the Toronto Blue Jays. What year is it again? That joke really isn’t relevant though is it? It’s been how long since the Cubs won a World Series? While there will be talks of billy goat’s and curses the Cubs and their front office, led by a man who knows a thing or two about curses and their destruction, won’t hear a single one of them. Winning tends to do that to a team and winning the Cubs will do. The Blue Jays will put up a heck of a fight and those four games in this seven game series inside Chicago’s Wrigley Field should be fun to watch with these two offensive attacks but the Cubs and their deep pitching should win out in seven closing the door on a historic and one of the best World Series battles in the history of the game. I can’t wait to watch it. Cubs win!


3 comments:

  1. I must say you do have a homer mentality, Daniel...
    I see no reason to doubt your 1st round pick of New York coming up big in a one game playoff.
    I wonder about us playing KC in the 2nd round, we have had very mixed results over the years against them and even though they have a load of talent. The thing is, we don't really know what sort of talent we will have at the time of the playoffs, do we?
    We have a lot of IF's and injuries waiting to happen. WE don't know if Headley will come down with the Yeeps again, we don't know if Castro is going to be a very good player or just good. What about Hicks, can he finally play up to his great expectations. Can Beltran, Tex, and A-Rod have very good years and be even more productive than last year? What will we get from Sanchez? Will Brett and Ells wear out over the year and go into the dumpster in the last 1/4?
    Question being; Can we beat KC? Why not, we do have a team as do they, every team gets hot or cold in the playoffs...why can't it be us that gets hot?

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    Replies
    1. Of course we don't Mr. Reed, that's half of what makes these things fun. Especially when you look back at it in October and November.

      And to answer your question, sure we can beat KC. During the regular season we have had great success against KC all things considered. Anyone can beat anyone in the postseason, that's part of what makes baseball so good. At least that's my opinion.

      The best team doesn't always necessarily win, it's the hottest teams. All the teams in the playoffs are talented. It always comes down to who is hot, who wants it more and they sprinkle in a little luck just because.

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    2. Tell me about it...
      I remember the year 1960 just before I went overseas!
      Bill Mazeroski hit the game-winning HR in the bottom of the 9th to win the game.
      The thing was, the Yankees had much better numbers in that series than the Pirates...they were by far and away the better team and lost!
      I damn near killed the Pirate fan yelling about the best team won, he just happened to fall down...that's what all the Yankee fans said!

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