MLB Playoffs Preview/Predictions

Welcome to October. My name is Joe Smeltzer, and here's how I think the 2016 MLB Playoffs are going to go down.

AL

Wildcard Game

Orioles (89-73) at Blue Jays (89-73) 

Photo creds to www.sportingnews.com

Baseball is the hardest sport in which to predict a single game, but with two evenly matched teams, I'm compelled to go with the home side. Rogers Centre is a tough place to play, especially this time of year. Baltimore has struggled with Toronto all season, and Marcus Stroman will make sure that this continues tonight.

Bluejays 3, Orioles 1 

NL 

Wildcard Game

Giants (87-75) at Mets (87-75)

That's a bad man. Photo creds to sports.yahoo.com

Bumgarner vs. Syndergaard. That has the makings to be a classic pitchers duel. Unfourtanly for Mets fans, Madison Bumgarner, is one of the greatest postseason pitchers in history. I know that the Giants are on the road, but I don't think it's wise to bet against Mad Bum when the leaves change colors.

Giants 2, Mets 0

ALDS

Red Sox (AL East Champs) vs. Indians (AL Central Champs)

photo creds to www.upi.com

I can honestly say that 4 of the five teams in the American League playoff picture have a legitimate shot to get to the World Series. This matchup will be a classic battle of great pitching (Cleveland) vs. great hitting (Boston). I think that, ultimately, the losses of Carlos Carrasco and, possibly Danny Salazar, two of Cleveland's star pitchers, will be too much for The Tribe. I hope I am wrong, as I would love to see Cleveland go to the fall classic for the first time in my lifetime. But in a series that's evenly matched like this one is, not having your #2 and #3 starting pitchers (at least not at 100%) is a problem. No disrespect to Corey Kluber and the rest of the Cleveland rotation, but I feel that they will be too shorthanded to handle the loaded Red Sox lineup for the long hull. 

Red Sox in 4 

ALDS

Rangers (AL West Champs) vs. Blue Jays (AL Wildcard)  

Outside of the great state of Maryland, who doesn't want to see a rematch of the most memorable playoff series of 2015? It's hard for me to pick this one because both teams are very similar. In fact, if you look at the matchup, I think Toronto has a slight edge. But something tells me that Texas is going to be hot for this series. I don't believe they've forgotten about Joey Bats and Game 5 of last year's ALDS. Ever since David Freese wrecked their World Series dreams in 2011, not a whole lot has gone right for the Texas Rangers, and I think it's time that Adrian Beltre and the boys have some fun

 Rangers in 5

NLDS
Cubs (NL Central Champs) vs. Giants (NL Wildcard)

Photo creds to www.si.com

Will the Giants even year magic continue? Highly unlikley. To be blunt, San Fran is lucky to be in the playoffs at all, and they are running into a windy city buzzsaw. The Cubs are the best team in baseball, while the Giants kind of backed into the playoffs. I know who I'm taking.

Cubs in 3 

Nationals (NL East Champs) vs. Dodgers (NL West) 

Ahh, the Washington Nationals. A regular season powerhouse with a reputation for choking in the playoffs, a manager who parallels their franchise, and a M*A*S*H unit of injured players. If the Nationals still had Stephen Strasburg, Wilson Ramos, and Daniel Murphy at 100%, I'd still call for a choke here because it's what they do. With a plethora of injuries, and going up against a hot Dodgers team, I don't feel good about Dusty Baker improving his playoff reputation.

Dodgers in 4 (I'm being generous)

ALCS

Rangers vs. Red Sox 

The Boston Red Sox are known for their stable of young and hard hitters but don't look past their pitching rotation. Rick Porcello is a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award. Clay Bucholz is inconsistent but could be a huge asset if he is on, and although David Price has had arguably his worst season in the majors, he is still David Price, and that is a scary thought for the AL. The Rangers offense is every bit as dangerous as Boston's, but aside from Cole Hamels, I just don't trust their rotation in crunch time. Because Boston is more balanced, I expect them to win a hard fought series and move on to their 4th fall classic in the past 12 years.

Red Sox in 7

NLCS

Cubs vs. Dodgers

This is tricky. On paper, Chicago is the better team. But part of me believes that the Dodgers are going to do what they did back in 1988 and surprisingly win the World Series. There are some striking similarities. The 1988 Dodgers had the game's best pitcher (Orel Hershiser), as do the 2016 Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw). The 1988 Dodgers had one of the games best hitters (Kirk Gibson), as do the 2016 Dodgers (Corey Segar). The 1988 Dodgers featured scrubs like Jeff Hamilton, John Shelby and Mike Marshall, while the 2016 Dodgers are pretty well-rounded offensively, so that's not a good comparison. 

The 1988 Mets were a lot like the 2016 Cubs. They were young, they were dominant, and looked like they couldn't be stopped. LA faced them in the NLCS, and stunned the Mighty Mets in seven games. So the simalirites are there.

However, I do not see the Dodgers getting past the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are on the warpath, and while LA might make it interesting, the Cubs are too talented and well rounded for LA to handle.

Cubs in 6

World Seires 

Cubs vs. Red Sox

For most of this season, I thought that it would be in baseball's best interest to have a Cubs-Indians fall classic (1908 vs. 1948). But the more I think about it, the more I would love to see Cubs-Red Sox. The Cubs would be a big-time draw in the World Series regardless of who they played because of the whole ''100 years of misery'' thing. But Boston is arguably the most rabid baseball town in history, with one of the most historic franchises in history, and both the Cubs and Red Sox have the two oldest ballparks in history. It's perfect. A dream for the business of Major League Baseball. And I think there's a good chance it happens.

Also, this would be one hell of a series to watch. Both clubs are equally outstanding offensively, but the think that will make the Cubs world champions is their pitching staff. I mentioned earlier that the Red Sox pitching has the potential to make some noise, and they do. But does Boston's rotation have the power to match up with John Lester, Hake Arietta and Kyle Hendricks? I don't think so. 

As Pirates fans, we want to believe that Chicago will crash and burn. But I don't think that's going happen. Chicago is due. The are poised. They are confident. They are the best team in baseball. 

So, your 2016 World series champons willl be:

The Chicago Cubs in 6 games