There are many teams who think they are on the cusp of greatness, sitting proudly with their statistics on display, ready to drive forward in October. Yet all these teams have dents, defects and imperfections, with no perfect model who can claim the showroom floor.
Welcome to the 2015 Major League postseason, which shall feature most of the marquee franchises in the game, but they shall play with their blemishes exposed. Many call it postseason parity. But what it really means is that the postseason should shape up to be an exciting one.
The only certainty this October will be the uncertainty, with no clear-cut favorite, and no decisive underdog, it’s the perfect set up to make the usual experts look stupid after making their predictions.
The problem is that there are so many flaws, and so many glaring weaknesses in this playoff field. It’s very hard to separate the best teams to the ones who’ll just squeak in on the last day of the season.
We can make an argument for almost any team to win the World Series, but within a week it could turn around, and we can debate all of the reasons why a team won’t survive the first round.
For example, a team that was supposed to have a powerful rotation will now be sitting at home with everyone else when the playoffs start. Which team? The Washington Nationals. They were eliminated this past Saturday.
Up to now, six teams have already qualified for the postseason. And two more knocking on the door – the Dodgers and New York Yankees. We’ll take a look at a few teams that are in, at who makes the best (flawed) bet for World Series finalists; aches and all.
Top 5 Contenders:
The Toronto Blue Jays are most likely the most dangerous team in the tournament, since no one else has a more powerful offense. Yet they are relying on a 20-year-old closer, and an All-Star shortstop who hasn’t played a game in three weeks, so they are not inspiring total confidence as of yet.
The New York Mets are a team that can scare the life out of anyone. They have well vetted starting rotation, but their ace spends more time talking about inning limits and pitch counts than actually performaning, so they should not get too comfortable yet.
The St. Louis Cardinals are probably the baddest boys on the block. They have had baseball’s finest regular-season record. But how can they win a World Series when their best players can’t walk without a limp, or throw without pain? Not likely.
The Los Angeles Dodgers many say, have the modern-day versions of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale at the top of their rotation. Experts are asking how far can that line up carry them when someone else besides Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw has to start a playoff game? It could be thin.
The Kansas City Royals have show themselves to be a classy team, outshining other in the American League all season. The question is can they possibly reach the World Series again when their closer is headed for surgery? Especially since their newly acquired ace is pitching like a fifth starter? Looks dim.
Our Pick: The Toronto Blue Jays will go the distance
