Joey's Soapbox: My 2019 Not-At-All Biased LCS Picks

Please read my picks while I make a pit stop at Walgreens.  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

What's good, kids?  This is Joey Beartran and we've reached baseball's final four.  And unfortunately, this year's pair of League Championship Series feature quite a few teams that I did not predict to advance this far.  In fact, the only team that did make it to the LCS as I foretold was the Houston Astros.

Batting .250 in the division series round means that I have some work to do to improve as a fearless forecaster.  But at least I can make myself feel better by saying I had a better chance of picking a winner in the last round than Hall of Famer and franchise legend Gary Carter had of collecting a base hit as a member of the New York Mets.  (He hit .249 while wearing the racing stripes and shooting Ivory Soap commercials.)

This year's National and American League Championship Series feature intriguing matchups.  In the Senior Circuit, we have the Washington Nationals, who are making their first NLCS appearance since moving to our nation's capital from Montreal and just the second final four appearance in the 51-year history of the Expos/Nationals franchise.  Their opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals, have appeared in 14 League Championship Series since the Expos/Nats last played in one.  The Redbirds are also making their 11th NLCS appearance in the last 24 seasons.

Moving over to the A.L., we have the New York Yankees, who are playing in their 1,000th League Championship Series in club history, according to what their fans say.  They'll be taking on the Houston Astros, a team which is appearing in its third consecutive ALCS.  This is also a rematch of the 2017 battle for the American League pennant, a series won by Houston in seven games.

Will the Cardinals win their 20th National League pennant or will the Nationals win their first?   Can Houston make its third World Series appearance of the 21st century and second in three seasons?  And how many times will Yankee fans remind us of their ringzzzzz?

You can either watch these four-plus hour contests that feature starters pitching in relief and 20,000 or so home runs (by coincidence, that's the same number of division titles the Yankees have, which must be true because I was assured of that fact by a long-time Yankee fan who said he knows everything about the team since he became a fan in 1996) or you can just read my predictions below while pondering just how many words I can fit in one sentence.  (Run-on sentence much?)

I'd take the "read my predictions" option if I were you.


National League Championship Series

Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Although the Cardinals have home field advantage because they were a division champion, the Nationals actually finished with the better record (93-69, while the Cards were 91-71).  However, it was St. Louis that won the season series in this matchup, taking five of seven against Washington.

Nationals ace Max Scherzer was defeated twice by the Cardinals by identical 5-1 scores, while Washington's bats hit the snooze button in their regular season meetings with St. Louis, scoring just 17 runs in the seven games.

But that was a different Nationals team.  This group of Nats come back from two-run, eighth-inning deficits in wild card games instead of choking postseason advancement away as per the usual Washington script.  This group of Nationals erase two-games-to-one deficits in a best-of-five series and take future Hall of Fame pitchers deep on back-to-back pitches in the late innings of do-or-die games.  For everything this group of Washingtonians does now, there's one thing the team no longer does.

They don't pay Bryce Harper's salary.

These Nats don't choke.  (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Harper's .211 lifetime postseason batting average in a Nationals uniform is long gone, as he is now helping the Philadelphia Phillies underachieve.  But you know who is in Washington?  Anthony Rendon and his .412 batting average and 1.219 OPS in the just-completed series against the Dodgers.  So is Juan Soto and his 1.020 OPS in the same series.

Basically, all the Nationals had to do was cut ties with the hair-flipping Papelbonian punching bag and they were destined to win a playoff series and perhaps two.

The Nationals won't win this series because the pitching firm of Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin will keep the Cardinals' already low .245 batting average in check.  They also won't win because their relievers won't get the chance to blow leads if they're hardly ever used.  Nope.  All they need is the knowledge that Bryce Harper is busy playing golf and getting another one of his managers fired (the 2020 season will see Harper playing under his sixth different skipper in nine seasons) and that'll be enough to advance to the franchise's first World Series.

Prediction: Nationals in 7.


American League Championship Series

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros

The Yankees can only win when they outslug you.  It's true.  When they scored five runs or fewer, their record was 31-53.  We're not talking about being 22 games under .500 when they score no more than two runs.  We're talking FIVE RUNS OR FEWER.  And even when they scored half a dozen runs or more, they still managed to lose six times.

Considering that New York will now be facing a dominant Houston pitching staff that held its opponents to four runs or fewer in 112 games (for all you kids out there, that's more than two-thirds of the games they played), it's going to be very difficult for the Yankees to keep up with the Astros.

Oh, and since we're on the topic of pitching, allow me to remind you that the Yankees allowed five runs or more in nearly half of their games (72 out of 162) and will now be facing an Astros lineup that averaged 5.7 runs per contest.

The Yankees have a great past.  But it's the Astros who have a great present and future.  And looking a week into the future, I see the Astros playing in the World Series.

Predictions: Astros in 6.

If S.I. says it, then it has to be true.  (courtesy Sports Illustrated)

Joey's Soapbox: My 2018 Completely Unbiased LCS Picks

Will the Dodgers' season be dead after their Weekend at Bernie's?  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

What's going on, everyone?  This is Joey Beartran, and we've reached the last hurdle for four teams in their quest to reach the World Series.  As always, the Washington Nationals are not one of the teams participating in the League Championship Series, but we knew that since late September when they were eliminated from postseason contention.  Or perhaps we just knew that because they're the Washington Nationals.

While most of the baseball world waits to see which team will overpay Bryce Harper to underachieve for them, fans of the Brewers, Dodgers, Red Sox and Astros will be focusing on their current squads in the hopes that their favorite players will be soon be dousing each other in champagne while wearing futuristic sting-proof goggles.

For Milwaukee, they're hoping to become the second team to win pennants in both leagues, as the Brew Crew advanced to their only World Series in 1982 as a member of the American League, losing the Fall Classic in seven games to Keith Hernandez and his Cardinals cohorts.  Who was the first team, you ask?  That would be Houston, who represented the Senior Circuit in the 2005 World Series and the Junior Circuit last year.  The Astros are also trying to become the first team since the Bronx Bummers nearly two decades ago to successfully defend their championship.

In Beantown, Red Sox fans who know baseball history are confident that their 108-win team will move on to the World Series, especially since no team with 108 regular season victories has ever failed to take home the crown.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers are trying to win back-to-back pennants for the first time in 40 years.

So who will be raising pennants in their home stadiums on Opening Day 2019?  And which teams will be watching footage of the 2017 and 2018 Yankees to learn the proper way to clean out their lockers at the end of a postseason series defeat?

You can either stay up to watch the four-hour games and then be late for school or work the following morning or you can read on to find out who will win the NLCS and ALCS.  Because, as you know, my predictions are more dependable than Giancarlo Stanton in a clutch situation and they're always completely unbiased.  (Especially now that the Yankees are no longer around.)


National League Championship Series


Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The Dodgers are playing in their third consecutive NLCS.  The Brewers are playing in their third League Championship Series.  Period.  There's no question that Los Angeles is the more experienced of the two teams.  But will that matter against a team that's won 11 straight games dating back to the regular season?

Los Angeles is the classic all-or-nothing team, as they scored 13 of their 19 runs in the NLDS via the long ball and struck out 35 times in 119 at-bats.  Basically, if you keep them in the park, they'll beat themselves, as evidenced by their .153 batting average in the Division Series when they didn't hit a home run (17 non-homer hits in 111 at-bats).

If you think that .153 average seems pretty low, then the Rockies say, "Hold my Coors Light."

Milwaukee's pitchers limited Colorado hitters to a .146 batting average in their three-game sweep over the Rockies.  Colorado, who hit 210 home runs during the regular season, failed to go deep in any of the three Division Series games against the Brewers.  In fact, the closest they came to hitting a dinger was probably when one of the Rockies' players hit a foul ball into the stands that fell inches away from their mascot.

Dinger has until April to rest up, thanks to Milwaukee's pitching staff.  (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The Brewers hit well (28 hits in the three games vs. Colorado), they're patient (16 walks in the NLDS) and their pitching has been dominant since late August, allowing an average of 2.56 runs per game over their last 32 games.  The Dodgers just hit home runs.  And the red hot Brewers' staff should prevent them from doing that in this series.

Prediction: Brewers in 6.


American League Championship Series

Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox

Houston set a franchise record by winning 103 games in 2018.  They also allowed just 534 runs during the regular season, which were the fewest runs allowed by the team in a non-strike shortened season.  Yet despite being arguably better than the team that won it all last year, the Astros will not have home-field advantage over the Red Sox because Boston won five more games during the regular season.  And you know what?

The Astros have the Red Sox right where they want them.

The defending World Series champions had an eye-popping 57-24 record on the road in 2018.  So packing their bags to play in another team's park is probably bad news for the home team, not the Astros.

Also, Boston's bullpen has had difficulty getting the ball to closer Craig Kimbrel, as no reliever who made at least 40 appearances for the Red Sox had an ERA under 3.18.  This is a problem on a team that did not have any starter pitch 200 innings, something the Astros wouldn't know a thing about, as three of their starters (Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Gerrit Cole) topped the 200-inning mark.

When the Astros aren't outpitching you, they're bludgeoning you with their bats, as they outscored their opponents by an incredible 263 runs.  No other team was within 34 runs of Houston's run differential.

Boston's 108 wins were impressive, but they fattened their victory total by dominating the bottom feeders of their division (31-7 record against Toronto and Baltimore) and their interleague opponents (16-4 vs. their N.L. victims).  For all you kids out there, that's a 47-11 record against the Blue Jays, Orioles and the Mets' good buddies in the N.L. East, which leaves them with a 61-43 record versus all other teams.  That's a .587 winning percentage against those other squads.  Not bad, but not dominant, either.

Houston was equally good against everyone, especially when they went up against a left-handed starting pitcher.  The Astros were 37-23 versus southpaw starters, winning more games against lefties than any other team in the American League.  On a related note, Boston's top two starters throw baseballs with their left hand.

So do you remember that factoid I mentioned earlier about all 108-win teams going on to win the World Series that year?  Do you also recall that saying, "All good things must come to an end"?  I think the latter applies here.  And I'm not just saying that because I want the 1986 Mets to remain the last 108-win team to win a title.

Prediction: Astros in 7.

Only one 108-win had the teamwork to make the dream work.  Sorry, Alex Cora.  (Jim Davis/Boston Globe)

Joey's Soapbox: My 2017 Not-At-All Biased LCS Picks

I feel like I've been here before.  I think the Cubs have been here before, too.

Hey, everyone!  It's just me, Joey Beartran.  And I'm back to tell you what will undoubtedly be the correct World Series matchup.  For about a nanosecond, I thought the Nationals were actually going to join the 1981 Expos as the only team in Montreal/Washington history to win a playoff series in the franchise's 49 seasons of existence, but then I remembered we're talking about the Nationals here.  To paraphrase an old saying, Washington is first in war, first in peace and first to make golf plans when the NLCS is being played.

In the Senior Circuit, we have a rematch of last year's semifinal series, but this time it's the Dodgers who finished the regular season with the best record and home field advantage, while the Cubs will be faced with playing a potential Game Seven on the road.  Over in the American League, the Houston Astros will attempt to become the first team to win pennants in both leagues, but to accomplish that feat, they'll have to defeat the team with the most pennants in history.

Will Los Angeles advance to the Fall Classic for the first time since they defeated the Mets in the 1988 NLCS?  Will Chicago become the first National League team to win consecutive pennants since the 2008-09 Phillies?  Will Houston stay strong all the way to baseball's greatest stage?  Or will that other New York team rise to the occasion?

There are only two ways to find out.  One is actually watching the games, but since they're all taking four-plus hours to play, you'll probably fall asleep before they end.  The easier way is to read my fearless predictions, because you know they're going to be correct.  And they certainly won't be biased.  At all.


American League Championship Series


New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros

In 1986, the Mets defeated Houston to advance to the World Series.  Nine years later, a certain Yankees employee named George Costanza told Astros executives that "no Yankee is ever coming to Houston."  Well, he was right for a little over 20 years.

                

Video courtesy of YouTube user thejog2k and his television set

The wild card Yankees have already knocked off the overachieving Twins and the underachieving Indians in the postseason to make it this far, while Houston coasted to a division title and made things look easy against the Red Sox in the division series.  The Yankees lost five of seven to the Astros during the regular season, but then again, they also lost five of seven to the Indians before taking three of five from Cleveland in the postseason.

Houston has two aces in its rotation in Dallas Kuechel and Justin Verlander.  Both pitchers have been successful against the Yankees in the postseason, as Kuechel and Verlander have combined to go 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA versus New York in five starts.  If they combine for four solid starts in this series, the Yankees won't be going to the World Series for the 41st time.

Even if the starters are ineffective, the Astros' bats can pick them up.  Jose Altuve, also known as the only player in baseball who's my height, will probably have as many hits in the series as Aaron Judge has strikeouts.  Marwin Gonzalez and Carlos Correa are both .300 hitters with power.  And you can bet former Yankees Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran are going to want to show their former team a thing or two about going far in the postseason.

I promise you I'm not being biased at all, but I'm convinced that not only will Houston defeat the Yankees in this series to advance to the World Series, they'll make it look easy.  As easy as Wally Backman was able to rattle Charlie Kerfeld over three decades ago when the Astros couldn't do to the Mets what they're about to do to the Yankees.

Prediction: Astros in 5.


National League Championship Series


Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

This is the Dodgers' fifth trip to the NLCS in the last ten seasons.  They've yet to win four games in any of their previous four appearances.  Meanwhile, the Cubs are making their third consecutive voyage to the NLCS, defeating L.A. last year after being pulverized by the Mets the year before.

Eventually, the Dodgers have to win a pennant, right?  After all, they've been to the World Series a total of 18 times in their proud history.  Well, eventually the Cubs had to win one as well.  And until last year, they went over 70 seasons without a World Series appearance.  The Dodgers can wait a little more before they consider themselves a long-suffering franchise.

Chicago just played a hard-fought series against Washington, eventually prevailing in five games.  Los Angeles made short work of the Arizona Diamondbacks and have been collecting dust waiting for the winner of the Cubs-Nationals series.  All that dust is going to make them cough a little through the early part of their series against the Cubs.

The North Siders pitched beautifully in the division series against the hard-hitting Nats, save for Game Five, when no one on either team could get anyone out.  They'll figure things out against the Dodgers and will take an early lead in the series.  But will they be able to close out the series and advance to defend their World Series title?  As long as they silence Justin Turner in the series (I can't believe I just said that), they shouldn't have a problem against the likes of Austin Barnes, Logan Forsythe and Yasiel Puig, who somehow combined to put a ridiculous .464/.531/.714 slash line in the Arizona series.

Clayton Kershaw isn't starting all seven games for the Dodgers, and even if he did, he'd probably give up another four homers like he did in his one start against the Diamondbacks.  Wait till next year, Dodgers.  Wait till next year.

Prediction: Cubs in 7.

After this NLCS, cubs like us might become Public Enemy No. 1 in Los Angeles.

The Mets Foreshadowed a Potential World Series Matchup

Back in June, the Mets played a four-game series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, losing three out of the four affairs.  But they did manage to win one game, taking the June 28 day game by the final score of 5-3.

The Mets failed to get swept by winning once in Pittsburgh, but they may have succeeded in something else.  They may have inadvertently predicted which teams were going to play each other in the World Series.

Let's go Royal Giants!  Let's go Royal Giants! (Getty Images)

Wearing throwback uniforms to commemorate Brooklyn's Negro League team from the 1920s, the Mets proudly displayed the team's name on their chests.  For one day, players like Eric Young, Jr., Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda were members of the Brooklyn Royal Giants, honoring their Negro League counterparts with a victory.

Four months later, the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants are leading their respective league championship series, with Kansas City two wins away from its first pennant in 29 years and San Francisco three victories shy of its third World Series appearance in five seasons.

The Mets will need some breakout seasons from their young players and a return to form for several of their veterans in order to reach a Fall Classic of their own.  Until they do, it appears as if last June's game against the Pirates will be as close as they will come to wearing a jersey that displays the team name of a potential World Series participant.

If only it were as easy to predict the Mets making it to the World Series next year as it was to foreshadow this year's possible World Series teams.
 

Joey's Soapbox: My 2014 Not-So-Biased LCS Picks

How's it going, everyone?  This is Joey Beartran, and I'm happy to say that I correctly predicted three of the four division series winners.  The only things that kept me from being a perfect four-for-four were Clayton Kershaw allowing the Cardinals to do a couple of seventh inning conga lines around the bases and this little Puig-gy going wee-wee-wee all the way back to the bench.

But hey, I batted .750 in the division series round, which would probably make me too expensive to sign a contract with the Mets.

Players who weren't too expensive for their teams were members of the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals - two small market teams who spent wisely and are now just four wins from their first World Series appearance since Twisted Sister couldn't take it anymore.  (That's 1983 and 1985, for all you kids out there.)

As rare as it's been for Baltimore and Kansas City to play deep into October, it's become commonplace for the National League pennant chasers in St. Louis and San Francisco.  The last time a team other than the Cardinals or Giants represented the Senior Circuit in the Fall Classic was 2009, when the Phillies appeared in their final World Series before becoming a bunch of overpaid curmudgeons.

Who will I pick to square off in this year's Fall Classic?  Let's find out!


American League Championship Series


Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles

As difficult as it may be to predict this series, there is one thing that I know for sure about it.  Neither team is going to escape with a sweep, as both the Royals and O's did in the division series.  That being said, both teams are going to win at least three games, just as they did against the Angels and Tigers.  So clearly, I'm saying this series will go the distance.  But who has the edge in Game 7?

The seventh game would be played at Camden Yards, where the Orioles won 50 games during the regular season.  But Kansas City's 47 road victories were the most of any team in the American League.  So let's toss that one aside.

What about those homers everyone keeps talking about?  Baltimore's 211 home runs led the major leagues, while Kansas City's total of 95 was the fewest.  Of course, the Royals hit some pretty big home runs in extra innings against the Angels, proving that what happened in the regular season didn't necessarily stay in the regular season.  So what are we going to use to determine who wins that seventh game?  The answer is something many talented prognosticators such as myself have used to determine the future.  We play checkers.

My Studious Metsimus colleague (who picked the Royals, by the way) cheated, trying to take advantage of the fact that I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair by moving his pieces twice while I was fidgeting in my seat.  Therefore, I'm saying that the Orioles are going to win a decisive Game 7.  It's not because I feel the Orioles' starting pitcher in the seventh game is going to pitch beautifully.  Nor is it because Nelson Cruz is going to continue to be as dominant as the Nationals were against the Mets.  (But just like the Mets, the Nats will be watching this series on TV - ha ha!)

The reason why I'm picking Baltimore is because no one takes advantage of Joey Beartran.  The Orioles will put the "O" in October and advance to the World Series.

Prediction:  Orioles in 7.


National League Championship Series


San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals

So tell me, baseball fans.  Aren't you tired of seeing the Giants and Cardinals play for a spot in the Fall Classic?  San Francisco and St. Louis have alternated World Series appearances since 2010, with the Giants playing for the title in the even-numbered years and the Cards representing the National League in odd-numbered years.  Two years ago, San Francisco defeated St. Louis in the NLCS to advance to the Fall Classic.  Revenge may be on the minds of the Redbirds, but that means nothing in this series.  In fact, St. Louis could have a tough time just winning one game.

For one thing, the Cards batted just .238 in the division series against the Dodgers and had a paltry .294 on-base percentage in the four games versus Los Angeles.  So how did they get by Don Mattingly's squad?  Seven of their 30 hits left the park, including three by Matt Carpenter - the same Matt Carpenter who has just 25 regular season home runs in 1,785 lifetime plate appearances.  The Cardinals got some once-in-a-lifetime performances in the division series.  That's going to be hard to replicate in the league championship series.

In the four games against the Dodgers, St. Louis had a 3.86 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.  Consider this.  In the other division series, Washington posted a 1.23 ERA and 1.04 WHIP versus the Giants.  San Francisco still won the series in four games.  Imagine what they could do against a team that's three times more likely to give up a run and allows nearly 50% more base runners.

St. Louis scored 18 runs in the four-game division series.  However, 15 of those runs scored in the seventh inning or later, with nine of the 15 late-inning tallies coming against Clayton Kershaw.  Meanwhile, San Francisco allowed eight runs to Washington in their four-game series, or one fewer run than Kershaw allowed in both of his seventh innings.  The Giants pitchers (all of them - starters and relievers) are ready for any hitter who dares to try to hit out of his mind in this series.

Finally, there's the Bruce Bochy factor.  The man is one of the most underrated managers of this or any other era.  Did you know that Bochy won four division titles as manager of the Padres?  He did that for a San Diego team has only won one other division title in its history.  And of course, Bochy was the manager for the only two Giants' World Series victories since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958.  In 20 seasons as a manager in the big leagues, Bochy has made the playoffs seven times, winning six division titles, three pennants and two championships.  With four wins over St. Louis, he will have guided his teams to four pennants.  To put that into perspective, there have been 22 managers who have won four pennants.  All of them are in the Hall of Fame.  Don't think the Giants players aren't aware of that.

Prediction:  Giants in 5.

Joey's Soapbox: My 2013 Unbiased LCS Picks

How's everybody doing?  This is Joey Beartran, your fearless and unbiased prognosticator and masticator.  (I'm having a delicious piece of cake right now, but typing with my mouth full is not as rude as talking with my mouth full.  After all, I wouldn't want to offend any of my readers.)

It's that time of year again - the League Championship Series is upon us!  Thirty teams began the season hoping to play for a pennant.  Four teams are left, including three teams I picked to lose in the division series.  (Why did you have to make me look bad, Tampa, Pittsburgh and Oakland?)

The Rays, Bucs and A's do not have a long tradition of advancing in the playoffs.  Tampa has won one division series in four attempts.  Pittsburgh hasn't won a postseason series since 1979.  And Oakland has been eliminated in the ALDS in six of their last seven playoff appearances.  The four remaining teams, however, have quite a history of being successful.

The Dodgers and Cardinals rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the National League in terms of postseason appearances.  Los Angeles (and Brooklyn before 1958) has made 27 trips to the playoffs, which includes 12 division titles, 18 pennants and six World Series championships.  St. Louis has appeared in the postseason 26 times.  The Cardinals have won 11 division titles, 18 pennants and have won it all 11 times.

Meanwhile, Detroit and Boston have both won 11 American League pennants.  The Tigers have qualified for the postseason 15 times, winning three straight division titles (six overall).  They have also won the World Series four times.  The Red Sox, on the other hand, have won 11 American League pennants and seven Fall Classics.  They have appeared in the playoffs 21 times and have won seven AL East titles.

For those of you who aren't mathematically inclined, that's 89 playoff appearances, 36 division titles, 58 pennants and 28 World Series championships between the four teams that are still standing.  And by the time I'm done eating my Halloween candy corn, those numbers will be up to 60 pennants and 29 Fall Classic winners.  As great as the Yankees have been over the last century, even they can't boast those numbers.  (Sadly, neither can the Mets, but they will ... someday).

But enough with the baseball history lesson and me fawning for late October confectioneries.  It's time for me to give you a lesson on how to properly pick LCS winners.  Are you ready?  Here we go!


National League Championship Series


Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

A smart person would never go against the Cardinals in October.  After all, St. Louis has been invited to ten of the last 14 postseasons, winning three pennants, two World Series and 13 playoff series.  But I'm not a person.  I'm a bear.  And I'm going against the Cardinals this October.

The Dodgers have the modern version of Koufax and Drysdale in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.  The current Dodger dynamic duo combined to allow three earned runs in three starts against the Braves in the division series, with only 14 Atlanta hitters reaching base in 19 innings.  Closer Kenley Jansen made a ninth inning appearance in each Dodger victory, retiring seven Braves hitters - all via the strikeout.

Meanwhile, St. Louis collected six hits in 11 at-bats versus A.J. Burnett in the first game of the NLDS.  After Burnett hit the showers, the Cardinals batted .184 (27-for-147) the rest of the series.  And that wasn't against the likes of Kershaw, Greinke and Jansen.

In the four games with Atlanta, the Dodgers batted .333 and had a .572 slugging percentage.  Los Angeles collected ten doubles, a triple and seven home runs against a formidable Braves pitching staff.  St. Louis has good pitching, but it's going to have a tough time keeping the Dodgers' bats under wraps.

Carlos Beltran has made four trips to the postseason in his career.  Each of his first three playoff appearances has ended with a loss in the seventh game of the League Championship Series.  Why mess with a good thing?

Prediction:  Dodgers in 7.


American League Championship Series


Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox

The Tigers have replaced the Yankees as the most consistent winner in the American League.  Detroit is making its third consecutive appearance in the ALCS - the first American League squad to accomplish the feat since the Yankees went to four straight from 1998 to 2001.  But they struggled at times to hit Oakland's young and inexperienced pitching staff.  Boston's staff has a little more experience.

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz match up quite favorably with the Tigers' top two starters (Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander).  But Verlander won't be available to pitch until Game 3 of the ALCS.  By then, Boston's lineup might have battered the Tigers into submission.

How balanced is Boston's lineup?  Consider this.  Eight players reached double digits in home runs, while two others ended the season with nine homers.  The two players who fell one homer short of reaching double digits combined to hit 73 doubles and 10 triples.  They also scored 183 runs, drove in 137 and stole 69 bases.  Those players were Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.  That's how good the Red Sox lineup is.  The Tigers are going to have their hands full in this series.

Detroit finished second in the league in runs scored during the regular season, but they only managed to score 17 runs in the five games versus Oakland.  Fortunately for them, the A's don't boast a Murderer's Row lineup.  Seventeen runs against Boston in the ALCS will just not get it done.

Prediction:  Red Sox in 5.