No rest for the weary: League Championship Series previews

 

Ah, the cruelty of no days off in the baseball post-season of 2020. At least in the American League.

Tampa Bay, fresh from eliminating the Yankees in an exhausting 5 game series, are right back at it tomorrow against Houston on the ALCS, with the Astros having just 2 days rest after eliminating AL West champion Oakland in four games. The idea, of course, is to ensure they finish the season on time, meaning right before Halloween, which is three weeks out.

However, the NLCS doesn't start until Monday, enabling the East & West champions, Atlanta & Los Angeles, respectively, to have enough time to rest and reset.

ALCS: Tampa Bay vs. Houston:

The Rays have momentum carrying over from Friday night, having slain the mighty Yankees. They're young, they're hungry, and they're looking for their 1st World Series berth since Joe Maddon took them to the Fall Classic 12 years ago, only to lose to Philadelphia. Current skipper Kevin Cash was left off the postseason roster with the Yankees the next year, when the Bombers unseated the Phillies, but he has a ring nonetheless.

With a limited number of fans in the bleachers for the LCS, Houston will experience what they've been expecting all season, universal resentment after it got out that they had cheated their way to the 2017 title. However, the offensive core (i.e. Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa) is still there, even if the pitching isn't what it used to be.

I have felt all along that the window was closing for Houston, and it finally gets slammed shut. Then again......!

The Pick: Tampa Bay in 6.

NLCS: Atlanta vs. Los Angeles:

Are the Dodgers prepared to break the hearts of their fan base yet again? 32 years after their last title, and Dave Roberts' club is still the class of the NL West. They made one really necessary move in the offseason, getting Mookie Betts & David Price, with the latter opting out of this season, from Boston for Alex Verdugo. The emergence of Dustin May as a starter made Hyun-Jin Ryu expendable, and he was shipped off to Toronto. Clayton Kershaw is the #2 starter for the postseason, which takes some pressure off him, given his track record of postseason flops.

Do I really have to say it? Atlanta's pitching is their strength once again. Mike Soroka went down with an injury in July against the Mets, but Max Fried and newbies Kyle Wright & Ian Anderson have picked up the slack. Now, however, they need a 4th and/or 5th starter, because they won't sweep away the Dodgers like they did Cincinnati & Miami, nuh-uh, and asking Fried & Anderson in particular to go on short rest is not going to work. Bear in mind, too, that ex-Brave John Smoltz will likely be in the booth for Fox calling the games, looking down approvingly at the new generation. To be fair, former Dodger ace Orel Hershiser is part of the team's broadcast unit, too, but, eh...! This will be fun to watch.

The Pick: Atlanta in 5.

Of course, I could be wrong.