Tomorrow night, the American League Division Series begins in "bubbles" in Southern California, with the NLDS to follow with a Texas two-step on Tuesday.
American League:
Yankees vs. Tampa Bay: The stats have been quoted to death. The Rays went 8-2 in the regular season vs. the Bronx Bombers, who've since gotten healthy in sweeping Cleveland. Tampa Bay likewise dismissed Toronto, and some might think that Tampa has gotten a favorable draw facing division rivals in two consecutive series.
However, the Yankees have a certain hunger as it's been 11 years since their last title, and there are some scores to be settled. There is some bad blood from the last regular season series between the two teams, so Major League Baseball will be watching this one close. Remember, the Yankees abused Cy Young candidate Shane Bieber in the first round, so Blake Snell isn't exactly a safe bet in Tampa.
Prediction: Yanks in 5.
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Oakland vs. Houston: The A's haven't been to the World Series in 30 years, not since losing to Cincinnati in 1990. Houston would like to prove they can legitimately win a championship, after the cheating scandal tainted their 2017 title run. Problem is, outside of Zack Greinke, the Astros don't have the pitching they once did. Mike Fiers is now in the Oakland rotation, for example, and was very vocal about the team's antics three years ago.
Bottom line is, Houston's window of opportunity may start to close, and, if the reports are true, their minor league pipeline might not have an address in the 518 anymore, if the Astros don't renew with the Tri-City Valleycats for next year.
The changing of the guard in the AL West officially begins.
Prediction: A's in 4.
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National League:
Atlanta vs. Miami: Ok, so Max Fried & Ian Anderson had proven to be human and fallible in September. Miami, in fact, has seemingly had Anderson's number in 2 starts last month, but the Shen grad looked like a world beater again against Cincinnati on Thursday. He'll make the adjustments this time, and the Marlins might not be able to get the drop on him again. Fried will start on Monday, followed by Anderson and Kyle Wright. Miami answers with Sandy Alcantara & Sixto Sanchez in the first two games. Advantage: Atlanta.
Offensively, the Braves are healthy, and that spells trouble for Miami. This would be a good time to start thinking about retaining Marcell Ozuna beyond this season. Miami's no-name offense wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so cheap and kept Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees), & Christian Yelich (Milwaukee). And trust Ozuna to put the final nail in the Marlins' coffin.
Prediction: Atlanta in 5.
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Los Angeles vs. San Diego: The Padres have finally risen from the depths of the NL West. It just took longer than planned. They have one of the most exciting players in the bigs in 2nd generation star Fernando Tatis, Jr., who, unlike his father, is a shortstop (dad was an outfielder).
The current Dodger dynasty would be far more imposing if they'd won a title or two the last four years, but they've been snake-bitten. The Padres might be ready, but the Dodgers are saying, not just yet.
Prediction: Los Angeles in 5.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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