Not-So Early Playoff Predictions

This is another guest post from our pal Edgar Alan

Well, it’s finally September and the race to the Postseason could not be tighter. I mean seriously, this race is tighter than *insert inappropriate joke here*. Major League Baseball has to be thrilled with all the contention going on between its clubs. Most of these races probably won’t be decided until the last week of the season either so strap in and get ready for all the celebrations, heartbreaks, and general madness about to ensue!

Thinking about playoffs in any sport gets me excited, but nothing can quite match the unpredictability of playoff baseball. That being said let’s try and predict the playoffs round by round, and for shits and gigs, I’ll even throw in by how many games each team will win by. That way, if for some fortuitous reason I should get this right, people can think I’m psychic and ask me to predict their future.

Image: GIPHY.com

Disclaimer: I am NOT a psychic, just a nerd who loves baseball way too much.

Now back to this prediction stuff. Let’s start with the easiest one, the Boston Red Sox will win the AL East. They may not tie the 116 wins in a season record, but it’s safe to say that the Red Sox will still finish with the best record in baseball.

But who will they play? Well, if you love rivalries, you’ll be happy to hear that I think we’ll be getting a Red Sox vs. Yankees ALDS match up. I have the Yankees edging out the Oakland Athletics in the wild card game in a tight affair. Reason being you ask? Starting pitching. The Yankees will have their young stud, Luis Severino, on the mound and although he was in a bit of a rough patch, he has started to show some positive signs of late (Ironically, as I wrote that line, Severino got smacked by the A’s for 4 runs in the first. HA!). I still have no idea who will start for Oakland. Will it be Fiers? Edwin Jackson?! I’m not sure I want to entrust the team’s season to either of those pitchers, regardless of how they are preforming during the regular season. Playoffs is its own monster and the Yankees have been there before so the edge has to go to New York. In the ALDS though, I’m taking the Red Sox to edge out the Yanks in 5 games (3-2).

Image: newsday.com

For the other AL playoff series, I have the Houston Astros vs the Cleveland Indians. This is going to be a great playoff series as both teams are electric and both teams made huge moves to improve their biggest flaws. The Astros made a controversial move to acquire Roberto Osuna at the trade deadline, but that cleared up what was a very murky picture of who will be the go to closer for the reigning champs. The Indians also made big moves to solidify their ‘pen as well with the addition of Brad Hand, but they also went out and acquired a former MVP in Josh Donaldson at the August 31st waiver deadline. However, Donaldson is currently on the DL and hasn’t been able to stay healthy all year. Keeping that in mind with the assumption that Donaldson won’t come back 100%, I’m giving the edge to the Astros in four games (3-1).

Image: crawfishboxes.com

The NL is where it gets really heated as not only is there a tight wild card race, but every divisional race is close as well. It really feels like a Battle Royale as there are plenty of teams that can continue to slip in and out of a playoff spot.

For the NL wild card game, I have the Rockies putting up a fight and ultimately falling short against the Brewers. St. Louis makes this an interesting race, but I can’t see this team keeping up this ridiculous hot stretch. Especially when they have some tough matchups coming up and end their season with a back-to-back series against the Brewers and Cubs. Sorry, St. Louis..

Image: GIPHY.com

After taking care of the Rockies, the Brewers will have their work cut out for them when they roll into town to face the Chicago Cubs. Now of course I want the Cubs to win, but I have to try and be fair with these. It just so happens though that I still have the Cubs barely edging the Brewers in 5 games (3-2), and it comes down to starting pitching which has been a problem for Milwaukee the last few years.

In the NLDS I have the Atlanta Braves giving the Los Angeles Dodgers as much as they can handle, but ultimately the experience and certified star power on the Dodgers will prevail in another 5 game series (3-2). Get ready folks! We’re going to get a third straight Cubs vs. Dodgers NLCS.

Image: GIPHY.com

So now we have the stage set for two of the most thrilling and star-studded series in recent memory. First off, we will have the Boston Red Sox vs the Houston Astros. Before the season started, Houston was discussed as the best team in baseball, but it was the Boston Red Sox that took the league by storm and established themselves as the best team in the game. I think that this run is going to continue well into October and result in the Red Sox barely edging the Astros in 7 games (4-3). At the same time, we will have the the Chicago Cubs taking on that other team in blue, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though we won the first of these NLCS matchups, third time is still the charm as I have The Chicago Cubs sending the Dodgers home packing in 6 games (4-2).

Oh boy, how I long to see the World Series that baseball needs. It looks like we might finally get that this year when the Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago Cubs in the Fall Classic. There are so many amazing storylines that will be going on if this series were to actually happen. Not only will we have two of the oldest teams with the oldest stadiums facing off, but we are going to have two franchises that had their respective curses broken by the same genius, Theo Epstein. In case you didn’t know, Theo Epstein also helped to build the team that broke the Curse of the Bambino for the Red Sox back in 2004. Baseball better get ready because we are getting a third straight 7 game World Series, this time with the Chicago Cubs coming back on top.

Image: dailyherald.com

Follow me on Twitter @eadiaz57 and share your thoughts on how you think the 2018 playoffs will play out. Follow my instagram @edgar.a.diaz.57 for some decent quality pictures that kind of make me look somewhat artistic.

#ForTheBrand

– Edgar Alan

Featured Image: insider.espn.com