Orioles Proving Ground

Even though the Orioles (or Phillies) have not made the playoffs this year, the thought of postseason baseball fills me with warmth, even as the weather cools off (not the most poetic line, but whatever).  And despite the high probability of these looking really bad at the end of the month, I submit my 2013 playoff predictions.

NL Wild Card Game

-Pittsburgh defeats Cincinnati

I actually think Cincinnati has the better team, but the Pirates will be throwing Francisco Liriano, who has been VERY good this year (especially against left handers), while the Reds will counter with Johnny Cueto, who has pitched well this year also, but hasn’t pitched much (60.2 IP) due to injury.  But you know what?  Flip a coin, because anything can happen in one game.

AL Wild Card Game

-Cleveland defeats Tampa Bay

The Indians are playing good baseball right now after finishing the season on a 10 game winning streak.  However, that was against the basement of the AL Central, which includes 3 of the weakest teams in the league.  Still, they’ll be going against the Rays, who had to win a play in game last night just to play…a one game playoff.  Again, if analysis isn’t your thing, flip that coin one more time.

NLDS

-Los Angeles defeats Atlanta 3-2

LA is dealing with some injuries right now in their outfield, but I think their pitching may be too strong for the inconsistent offense of the Braves.

-St. Louis defeats Pittsburgh 3-1

I’d prefer to pick Pittsburgh here, especially since they won the season series against St. Louis, but I believe the Cardinals just have a better team overall.

ALDS

-Oakland defeats Detroit 3-2

Probably the series I’m looking forward to the most, as I like both teams a lot.  If Miguel Cabrera were healthy, I’d probably go with Detroit.  But he’s not, so I’m going with Oakland.

-Cleveland defeats Boston 3-2

I’ll be honest here, this is the outcome that I’ll be routing for, and despite the fact that Boston is the better team (best record in the AL), this is more of a gut pick.  The stats say I should pick Boston, but my heart is telling me to pick Cleveland.  Full disclosure, my wife’s family is from the Cleveland area, which may or may not have influenced this pick.

NLCS

-St. Louis defeats Los Angeles 4-2

Now that we’re at the championship series’, I’m hoping at least one team I’ve picked in each league will make it or else I’ll look totally stupid, which would be incredibly embarrassing in front of all 5 of my readers.  Again, St. Louis is a more complete team and they’re starting pitching is even better than LA’s.

ALCS

Oakland defeats Cleveland 4-3

If you were thinking of calling me a homer-in-law, you can now reconsider, as I don’t think Cleveland can ride their hot streak forever.  But hey, what do I know, I’m just a guy with a website, so feel free not too pay any attention to me*.

*That last sentence is to cover myself at Thanksgiving dinner in case the Indians go on the win the World Series.  To be honest, I’m not even sure anyone in my wife’s family even LIKES baseball all that much.

World Series

Oakland defeats St. Louis 4-3

Again, I actually think St. Louis has the better team, but I think this finally is the year that Billy Beane/Brad Pitt wins the crap-shoot that is the MLB playoffs.

Feel free to leave comments with your own predictions and/or to let me know how stupid my picks are.  When you’re done doing that, go ahead and enjoy some post season baseball!

This entry was posted on October 1, 2013 at 11:00 am and is filed under Playoffs with tags Playoff Predictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.