October 14th, 2016
After an exciting opening round of the playoffs in the Divisional Series, we are down to four remaining teams: the National League's Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers along with the American League's Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. Here's a breakdown of what we can expect in these best-of-seven series...
American League Championship Series
Blue Jays - Indians
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays in 6 Games
Why I like the Blue Jays: Power and lots of power. The Blue Jays line-up is filled with home run threats from 2015 MVP Josh Donaldson to Jose Bautista, from Edwin Encarnacion to Troy Tulowitzki, the Blue Jays can score quickly and often. Their pitching can keep them in close games but after sweeping the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays are for real.
Why I like the Indians: The Indians are a sound baseball team with strengths all over the baseball diamond. They have a talented young shortstop, Francisco Lindor, and a strong bullpen with Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. The Indians are capable of running the table as they are proving that their 94 are nothing to forget about. If they can keep games close, limit the home runs, and continue to drive in runs, they can give the Blue Jays havoc.
National League Championship Series
Cubs - Dodgers
Prediction: Chicago Cubs in 5 Games
Why I like the Cubs: Of the remaining four, the Chicago Cubs have, in my opinion, the strongest overall roster. They have a great starting rotation led by Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks who posted an impressive 2.55 Earned-Run-Average during the 2016 season. They have power in the form of first baseman, Anthony Rizzo and third baseman, Kris Bryant. They have a strong bullpen with flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. This team seems strong to compete and can take over the series if the Dodgers aren't careful. Manager Joe Maddon has his team's full support and the Cubs look to be the team to beat.
Why I like the Dodgers: Veteran leadership. The Dodgers finished off the Washington Nationals in an exciting Game Five that saw closer Kenley Jansen pitch the seventh, eight and part of the ninth before handing the ball over to Clayton Kershaw to finish off the Nats. The Dodgers are a team of veterans: Chase Utley, Andre Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez, and Howie Kendrick, and young talent, Julio Urias, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson, that continue proving people wrong and showing that they have a mission to win their first Title since 1988.
