The MLB Postseason, full of overmanaging, analytics, 4 hour games, and endless pitching changes. The status quo to anyone who follows the sport. Before we reveal the 2 finalists for the Commissioner’s Trophy, let’s see how the other 8 teams did?
New York Yankees (Property of the Boston Red Sox): TRADITION!!! TRADITION! Ever since 4 Days in October it has been groundhog day for Yankees fans whenever they play the Red Sox in the playoffs. This year was no different. This time Boston not only got payback for Bucky BLEEPING Dent in 1978 they knocked Gerrit Cole out in the 3rd inning. Let’s be honest no one was beating the Red Sox on this night. Not even Ron Guidry or Whitey Ford could beat this lineup of Red Sox hitters coming to destroy the base. Plus the Green Monster trolled with Giancarlo Stanton all night long. In any other park he would have had a 3 homer game. Yankees you have the choice of paying Judge, Gallo, or Rizzo this offseason or they are gone to a new destination. Back the drawing board boys! (David Ortiz: “THAAAAAA YANKEES LOSE!”)
St Louis Cardinals (Rotten Luck): You seriously expected the MLB to let you past the Dodgers in the Wild Card game. Even if the odds were heavily against the Cards they played an excellent game overall. Adam Wainwright was back in 2011 form, and they stuffed the Dodgers almost the whole night. Even if the bats were shut down by Max Scherzer St Louis still had plenty of hope of causing chaos to the Postseason Bracket. But with one swing, “Taylor hits it to left field, AND THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS ARE WALKING OFF INTO THE NLDS!” (It’s Anthony Davis in the 2020 WCF in DisneyWorld all over again) Too bad, even as a fan of a rival I kinda wanted them to pull off the upset. I think the Cardinals will be back but they can’t just play like trash for much of the year only to emerge in September. And then they fired Mike Schildt after the Wild Card game. I don’t think he was a bad manager but I kind of feel like he didn’t get along with the players though. The front office in St Louis is getting desperate by the minute and I don’t blame them. That strategy never works but that’s how baseball is nowadays.
Tampa Bay Rays (Montreal Karma): The run finally had to end for this city. For the 1st time since the Tom Brady signing the city of Tampa Bay has been eliminated from the playoffs in a major sport prior to the championship round. And not only that Boston finally got its revenge for the GOAT leaving Foxboro and the Lightning beating the Bruins in 2020. Even as the Rays dominated Game 1 and had a 5 run 1st Inning in Game 2, there was no stopping the bats of the Red Sox. Not only that just like last year in the World Series, Kevin Cash and his analytical approach finally bit them in key moments. They got walked-off by Christian Vazquez in Game 3 and walked-off again in Game 4 to lose the series even with overcoming a 5-0 deficit. I think the Rays will be back again, but they just need their pitchers to get healthy. Also, are you going to Montreal or not? I want an answer quickly because I’m anxious to see how that works.
Chicago White Sox (What’s behind the Mask everyone?): How right was I about this team? Most of their success was due to easy opponents. Just like their rivals from Cleveland they got exposed as soon as they had to play a real team. That real team just happened to be Tony LaRussa’s long time rival Dusty Baker and the Astros. Even if the offense exploded in Game 3, it was going to be an uphill climb especially against Houston. The Astros may not have the talent they had in years past but they are still an excellent team nonetheless. Just like last year the White Sox proved that they are a good team but they are still not ready for the big time. I can see them going big game hunting in the offseason for one of the bigger names on the market but at what cost? Just don’t let this happen again in the future just saying.
Milwaukee Brewers (Milt Mason LIVES!): This series was one of the reasons why I shouldn’t have picked the Brewers to go to the World Series. Even with the High End Talent of their pitchers in particular Corbin Burnes it was going to be an uphill climb against a playoff experienced team like the Braves. Even if Rowdy Tellez sent AmFam Field bonkers in Game 1, the BrewCrew couldn’t do anything against Atlanta pitching. They lacked a big bat throughout the series and it showed. Plus Josh Hader blew yet another series thanks to Freddie Freeman’s heroics. Not having Devin Williams available killed them and they never recovered. In other words I can only feel sad, Congratulations Brewers, you have successfully wasted the careers of Ryan Braun and Bob Uecker. (Uecker hasn’t decided to retire after 50 years as the voice of the Brewers yet but this could be it) 2 franchise icons who never got to witness a championship in Milwaukee. Plus the ATL gets its revenge for the Eastern Conference Finals. It sucks but what can you do?
San Francisco Giants (Midnight!): I know everyone is going to blame that awful check swing call in Game 5 as to why the Giants were eliminated by their LA compadres. I get it, that was a bad call and the MLB was doing everything they could for the Dodgers to win. But the reasons why San Fran lost to the Dodgers was because of a couple of things. The bats began to fade during the final 4 games of the series, they had issues with runners in scoring position all series, and not solving LA’s bullpen committee. Plus the normally reliable rotation got smacked in Games 2 and 4. I’d say you’ll be back as long as you sign Kris Bryant and Kevin Gausman. It may have been a rough ending but hey, you guys are back on the baseball map, keep it up.
Boston Red Sox (You gave it your best): There was hope for BeanTown. They finally got the monkey of #TompaBay off of their backs. It appeared as if the Red Sox were destined for another World Series, they had a 2-1 series lead and unleashed the Boston Slam Party on Astros pitching. BOOM! But like in the Disney Classic Cinderella the clock struck midnight and everything fell off the face of the earth. Once Houston scored 7 runs in the 9th inning of Game 4 the Sox flaws were exposed and they never recovered from it. To be honest they got out pitched by a few unsung heroes that were keys to the Astros winning the series. To be honest this season said a lot about their future. They had no expectations yet within 2 games of the World Series, Alex Cora has returned to being an excellent manager despite the potential scandal in 2017-18 plus they have a few more good years with their hitting core. It may have been a rough ending but the Red Sox will be back. As long as Devers and Bogaerts don’t have an issue about their positions on the diamond.
Los Angeles Dodgers (What ifs): Even with the stars aligning for a 2nd straight championship in LA someone had to end the insufferability from the West Coast. Or in this case claim that the memes of the Dodgers are back but not as funny as they once were. To me their postseason can be despite by What ifs. What if Clayton Kershaw wasn’t on the IR, What if Max Muncy was 100%, and what if Trevor Bauer hadn’t had that off field incident. We could be looking at another Dodger Title. Without those 3 stars plus Justin Turner and Trevor May, LA just ran out of gas because they lacked clutch hitting all series excluding Game 3. Getting walked off in back to back games to start the series was tough but I’ll give them credit for trying to come all the way back. However the series was decided by Dave Roberts starting Walker Buehler in Game 6 instead of Max Scherzer, to his credit he didn’t know that Buehler would get pounded by Eddie Rosario. The Dodgers have plenty of their stars hitting the FA market this offseason (Kershaw, Scherzer, Trea Turner, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Kenley Jansen, and Chris Taylor but knowing their market inefficiencies they should be able to bring most of them back. Anyways, do you remember how you overcame a 3-1 deficit to the Braves last year? Atlanta got their sweet revenge tonight. PAUSE.
And now we are down to 2 teams. Both with star power on offense and a manager destined for his 1st championship in his non playing career. 1st off lets get to the representative of the Junior Circuit.
Houston Astros: Wait a minute these guys are supposed to be dead. They were victims of one of the biggest cheating scandals that baseball has seen since the 1951 Giants, the pitching staff has taken a massive decline, Key players leaving in free agency, and the whole Baby Shark meme. We were so close to witnessing the fall of the Astro Machine. Even Houston people themselves thought they wouldn’t make it this far. The only way I can describe the Astros return to the World Series as BLACK MAGIC! A team that has been to 5 straight ALCS’ and 3 World Series’ in this current window has a chance at their 2nd championship even with all of the controversy. During the regular season they were on cruise control of their division by August even if the Mariners and A’s put up a good fight for most of the year. In the playoffs they literally broke the Chicago White Sox throughout the ALDS. Finally, they got their revenge on the Red Sox and Alex Cora for the 2018 playoffs which led to another Boston championship. This may be the weakest squad that Houston has had on paper but most of the key players on this team are still ones from 2017. They just happen to be Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and Yuli Gurriel. The hitting core rounds out with 3 players destined for a championship that weren’t there 4 years ago. Lets begin with Michael Brantley who is another legitimate bat. He is still one of the best hitting outfielders in the game and was a huge reason why they knocked off Boston in the ALCS. George Springer is gone but in his place in the lineup is Kyle Tucker who has emerged as one of the best young hitters in the game. Finally we have Yordan Alverez who has been a machine at DH but now with interleague play in the Fall Classic it should be interesting to see where they play him in the field. The thing that surprises me about this squad is that this is the weakest pitching staff that the Astros have had during the last 5 years on paper but they get the job done. Lance McCullers and Justin Verlander are out for the World Series which could come back to bite them but their moto has been next man up. Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia have been the unlikely heroes this postseason. They may not be big name pitchers but they have plenty of skill in terms of control and velocity. You can add Jose Urquidy to that list, he has been their unlikely ace during the regular season and even if has been unnoticed in the playoffs he is still a strong pitcher. The biggest name on the staff is future Hall of Famer Zach Grienke, now that he will be starting over McCullers he has a chance to close out his career with a ring after years of dominating in Kansas City, Milwaukee, LA, and Arizona as well as in Houston. The bullpen is lights out. Even if Roberto Osuna has not been seen this postseason they have been anchored by Kendall Graveman, Ryne Stanek, and Ryan Pressly. 3 pitchers with a fastball at over 100 MPH. A deadly 3 headed monster that can shut down almost any lineup. (Example: Boston and Chicago) Even if AJ Hinch is no longer there they now have a manager that is destined for his 1st ring since he was a member of the 1981 Dodgers. That happens to be Dusty Baker. He has been victimized by the Rally Monkey, Steve Bartman, Buster Posey, Clayton Kershaw, and the “CUETO” chants in Pittsburgh. A World Championship would cement his legacy plus it would prove that the Astros can win a championship without sign stealing. It happened with the Giants in the 1950s, and it can happen here. The only thing that can stop this story? A team trying to shed their city’s stereotype.
Atlanta Braves: This season has been a tale of 2 teams when it comes to the Atlanta Braves. In the 1st Half they were suffering mediocrity and agonizing pain as they fell way behind the Mets and Phillies in the NL East. Injuries and COVID had played a huge role for their early downfall. Atlanta was going to host the All Star Game until the government overruled it thanks to a new voting law in the state of Georgia. Mike Soroka the young ace of their rotation has been out since the beginning of the season with an achilles injury, Marcell Ozuna their highly prized outfielder decided to be an idiot and get fined $20,000 after spending much of the season in jail thus ending his season. Travis d’Arnaud went on the IL for 60 days thanks to a bad thumb. And worse, Ronald Ocuna, the best player on this roster, has been out since July with a torn ACL. You would have thought that this team wouldn’t recover from all of this. (Tomahawk Chop playing) OH HOW WRONG YOU WERE! Just like their neighbors in the Hawks, the Braves rose from the dead and took their division by storm. Many said that they made the playoffs because of LOLMETS and Vintage Philadelphia but what people forgot to realize was that this team, unlike the Hawks, had plenty of experience. In the NLDS they toyed with their former city for 3 straight games after losing Game 1 in crushing fashion. (Plus they wanted revenge on Milwaukee for the Bucks beating the Hawks in the NBA playoffs) In the NLCS they were considered heavy underdogs against the defending champion Dodgers despite having home field advantage. Led by 2 Walk Off wins to start the series the ATL didn’t look back. The thing I underestimated about the Braves was their mental toughness. They have guys who have been here before and know how to win. The 3 moves that brought this team back to life were trades for Joc Pederson, the return of Adam Duvall, and NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario. Those 3 have made the biggest differences on this ballclub since they were added in July. Even if Ocuna is out they still have a loaded offense. They have a switch hitting machine of Ozzie Albies, and a defensive wizard in Dansby Swanson roaming the infield. Austin Riley has broken out and turned himself into an underrated star at the plate. The one outfielder that they added that I forgot to mention was Jorge Soler, a power hitting outfielder that already has a ring from the 2016 Cubs is now back on a real team and proving why he is still a dangerous hitter. The main piece of their hitting core has been the face of the franchise for the last decade. Freddie Freeman, even if he is an FA at the end of the year his leadership and outstanding play should give him a nice extension this offseason. The impact he has on this team is enormous. The pitching staff even without Soroka has been solid. Leading the way are former Cy Young Candidates Max Fried and Charlie Morton. Both of them have been key reasons for their success. The bullpen like the Astros has a 3 headed monster that throws straight gas and K’s hitters. AJ Minter, Tyler Matzek, and Will Smith. (Luke Jackson is also part of that machine in the pen) Those 3 protected key games in the NLCS against the Dodgers and they are looking to do the same here. The attitude that Brian Snitker has had in terms of leadership towards this team is amazing. He has gotten them to treat every game like it’s a do or die situation. And that has what has carried them. He will be in the same class as Bobby Cox in Braves lore if he wins a World Series. This series means a lot for the city of Atlanta. The last time any of their teams has made it this far was the 2016 Falcons. That team made it to the Super Bowl and held a 28-3 lead against the Patriots only for Tom Brady to play the best 20 minutes of football in NFL History. The Braves job is simple: end the pain from 28-3, plus other collapses from teams in Georgia by winning it all. If they don’t win, the Definition of Insanity narrative continues. It’s either going to be an Atlanta team finally winning it all for the 1st time this century, or the ending of Dusty Baker’s Legacy of Failure as well as the redemption of the Astros. WHO WILL WIN IT ALL?
Prediction: This series features 2 teams with plenty of talent on offense, and in the bullpen. Whoever damages the other team’s rotation is going to be the ones who win it all in the end. In my opinion I see no way that the Astros are going to come up short after all that they have been through since 2019. That’s why I’m picking them to win in 6. Even if the Braves put up a good fight I think Houston’s determination will be too much for Atlanta to overcome. This better not be the last bunch of games before a lockout.
Bragging Rights Sports 