Friday, October 03, 2014

N.L. Divisoinal Series Predictions

Okay, so neither of my A.L. predictions is off to a good start. We all knew the Orioles had a much better bullpen than the Tigers and that the Royals relievers were better than the Angels, and being a Yankees fan and recalling their great bullpens of the championship years, maybe I should have known better...We will see how these series play out and Kansas City may have been a little lucky yesterday (and luck may be part of their thing), but at this point, in short five game series, KC and Baltimore have obviously moved into the drivers' seats. Of course, it didn't help that the Angels 2-4 hitters, including Trout and Pujols, went 0-for-13, and Josh Hamilton threw up an 0-for a little further down in the order. Obviously still sticking with my original picks (as not to show gutlessness) but my streak of correctness on prognostications is clearly in jeopardy.

As for the N.L. Championship Series - tonight's Wainwright vs. Kershaw match-up promises to be a classic. A bit of an odd start time, at 6:37 p.m. Eastern, but schedule makers are dealing with a full-day of baseball- four playoff games, which could also happen Monday if no one is yet eliminated. This is a potentially delicious occurence, and I have half a mind to plant myself in front of the TV at noon and enjoy it all in high-def and stereo, but that likely won't happen as I do have a day job I need to attend to.

Anyhow, I would at least like to be in front of a TV for the Dodgers-Cardinals game. My pick for that series is the Dodgers, because I think they have a better team. Also, this is the second year of their having basically the same group of guys together and I think they will turn the tables on the Cardinals who have had a bit more turnover since knocking the Dodgers out of last year's playoffs in the NLCS.

On the other side of the bracket, I like the Giants over the Nationals, well, because they are the Giants. The last two times the Giants have been in the playoffs, 2010 and 2012, they have won the World Series. Not sure that is going to happen this year, but I at least think they can get by the Nats, who have tons of talent and had a great regular season, but I'm not sure have the grit of the Giants.

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