My Pre-Playoff Rankings (predictions based on higher beats lower) based on regular-season stats:
1 AL Houston
2 NL LA Dodgers
3 AL NY Yankees
4 AL Minnesota
5 AL Oakland
6 NL Washington
7 AL Cleveland *
8 AL Tampa Bay
9 NL Atlanta
10 NL Chicago Cubs*
11 NL St. Louis
* Not in playoffs but statistically better than some that are (were).
So, since the Dodgers bombed, NYY vs. Houston is the World Series right now. Great match-up and really pretty exciting games so far.
Why did AJ Hinch put Verlander in Game 4 vs. Tampa Bay last Wednesday on short rest when he didn’t have to ? (I didn’t hear one commentator talk about it.) Because he knew if they won they would meet the rested NYY on Saturday and he wanted a rested Cole to start on Saturday.
Still, I favor Houston - and the rain delay helped Houston.
Houston wins the WS against a pretty tough Washington team.
BTW, NYY’s (#`1 hitting team in MLB) weakness is their pitching/defense - they were 11th in runs scored against them. Houston is in the top 3 in both hitting and pitching.
You heard it here first - most likely.
:)
The Nationals have the starting pitching to compete with either the Yankees or the Astros. I think Houston is deeper in their every day players though. The Nats have been getting a lot of production from the bottom of their line-up. Whether or not that continues we’ll see.
The Astros are definitely the best team but it’s a funny game and sometimes the best team doesn’t win in a short series.