We Can Be Royals

The baseball playoffs are starting tomorrow and I'm kind of excited. It helps that my team, the Detroit Tigers, are in, but it's also nice that there are a few new teams in the mix, and it's the first time in I don't know how long that neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox are in the post-season.

We still have some usual suspects. For those who don't like the Tigers, they've now been in four years in a row, and the Cardinals, Dodgers, A's, Giants, and Angels are not exactly newbies. But the Orioles are back again after a long drought, the Nationals are back after a dip last year, and the Pirates, after many years of futility, have made the post-season now in back to back years.

But I think most people are talking about the Kansas City Royals. They had the biggest monkey on their back--not since they won the World Series in 1985 had they been to the post-season, and were pretty much a joke for much of that time (the Blue Jays, who haven't been since they won it all in 1993, are next in line). They are a young, hungry team with no big stars, and if it weren't for the Tigers I'd have loved to see them win the division. As it is, I'm glad they won the wild card instead of the Yankees.

The Royas will play the A's, at home, tomorrow night in the Wild Card game. The As, who dominated the AL West through the early going, barely survived to get the last playoff spot, even after adding Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzia to the starting staff. The Royals finished strong, and I'll pick them to win with the home crowd at their back.

The other Wild Card game features the Pirates and the Giants. The Giants have lately been good only in even years, taking the last two World Series in years ending in even numbers. I think they have the stuff to move on, if not to win it all.

In the next round, I like the Angels over the Royals, ending the dream. I'll be foolish and pick my own team over the Orioles, since the O's are young and untested, and missing some key players due to injuries and suspension. If they can keep Nelson Cruz in the ball yard (he burned them for six home runs as a Ranger four years ago) the Tigers starting staff should be strong enough.

In the NL, I like the Dodgers over the Cardinals, even if Clayton Kershaw can't start every game. I'll take the Giants over the Nationals, even though the Nats have the best record in the league. They have the air of another Washington team, the Capitals, who can never finish.

In the Championship series, I predict an all-Southern California series, with the Angels against the Dodgers. The Angels are too much for the Tigers, and the Dodgers will edge the Giants in a bitterly fought series. Then the Angels will take care of the Dodgers in five.

Check back here in about three weeks to see how badly I did.