League Division Series
Red Sox vs. Indians
I don't care if you have the best record in baseball - when you're playing a team that has won 11 games in a row (assuming Cleveland beats the Rays in the wild-card game), you get scared. That being said, the only team who could stop the Red Sox this year was the Baltimore Orioles. Cleveland's pitching is no match for the best offense in baseball, and the Red Sox move on.
Athletics vs. Tigers
In a rematch of the 2012 ALDS, Oakland enters the 2013 playoffs as that team-no-one-realized-was-good. Seriously though, their oldest everyday player is Coco Crisp (33), and the only player older than him who has done anything is Bartolo Colon. Detroit stumbles into the postseason but will prevail against the A's, relying on their strong pitching to get them to the ALCS.
Cardinals vs. Pirates
Pittsburgh makes it to the playoffs for the first time since I was ten months old, but only lasts a few games. I don't know what it is about the Cardinals, but they just win when it matters. I completely trust in everything that franchise does. One player gets hurt? Slide in his EXACT REPLACEMENT who actually performs better. (See: Pujols, Albert.) Saint Louis moves on to a third-straight NLCS on the heels of being that team-everyone-knows-is-good-and-hates-as-a-result.
Braves vs. Dodgers
This series would probably last 15 games if the MLB let it. The Braves and Dodgers (respectively) are third and fourth in the NL in OPS, first and second in ERA, second and fourth in WHIP and saves, and third and second in opponents' OPS. My gut says Los Angeles, and that's what I initially wrote down. In by far the hardest series to predict, I stand by my decision to put the Dodgers in the NCLS.
League Championship Series
Red Sox vs. Tigers
Boston lost the season series to Detroit 4-3, but took home a 2-1 advantage in the more recent series, including a 20-4 victory, and handing Max Scherzer his second loss of the season. Detroit, however, is still good. So good that they were the favorites to come out of the American League in the preseason. So good that their lineup depth and pitching rotation make them an easy pick to move on. But this Red Sox team has what it takes to win a brutally tough series, and that's what this will be. No win will come easily as there are spectacular pitching matchups up and down this series. Home field will help Boston, who is in the playoffs for the first time since being swept by the Angels in 2009. After a week-long battle, Boston handles the righty-heavy rotation of the Tigers, and returns to the World Series.
Cardinals vs. Dodgers
The Dodgers are a flashy team, and have certainly drawn their fair share of media hype this summer. It's been deserving, but the Cardinals have stayed in front of an extremely competitive NL Central for the majority of the second half of the season. These teams are similar in that they will get production from the players they can expect it from. Adam Wainwright and Clayton Kershaw won't throw stinkers in this series. But the difference between these two teams is that one team can get production from a slew of players that one normally wouldn't ask for, and that team is the St. Louis Cardinals. When players such as Matt Adams and Joe Kelly perform as they have this season, you win games. The Cardinals win enough to move on to a rematch of the 2004 World Series.
World Series
Red Sox vs. Cardinals
It's happening.
No, seriously, that's all I'm "officially" putting for my explanation of my World Series pick. While this has certainly been an MLB playoff predictions post, it has also served as a "The Red Sox are winning the World Series" post. It's the Jonny Gomes factor. He epitomizes everything that the 2004 team stood for. The beard, the punting the helmet, that time where he ate ice during a postgame interview...the guy is a winner. He makes winning happen on any team he is on. This team has what it takes to win the World Series, and will go through any team it faces to do so. Boston takes home the World Series in one of the most exciting playoffs in recent memory.
Red Sox vs. Tigers
Boston lost the season series to Detroit 4-3, but took home a 2-1 advantage in the more recent series, including a 20-4 victory, and handing Max Scherzer his second loss of the season. Detroit, however, is still good. So good that they were the favorites to come out of the American League in the preseason. So good that their lineup depth and pitching rotation make them an easy pick to move on. But this Red Sox team has what it takes to win a brutally tough series, and that's what this will be. No win will come easily as there are spectacular pitching matchups up and down this series. Home field will help Boston, who is in the playoffs for the first time since being swept by the Angels in 2009. After a week-long battle, Boston handles the righty-heavy rotation of the Tigers, and returns to the World Series.
Cardinals vs. Dodgers
The Dodgers are a flashy team, and have certainly drawn their fair share of media hype this summer. It's been deserving, but the Cardinals have stayed in front of an extremely competitive NL Central for the majority of the second half of the season. These teams are similar in that they will get production from the players they can expect it from. Adam Wainwright and Clayton Kershaw won't throw stinkers in this series. But the difference between these two teams is that one team can get production from a slew of players that one normally wouldn't ask for, and that team is the St. Louis Cardinals. When players such as Matt Adams and Joe Kelly perform as they have this season, you win games. The Cardinals win enough to move on to a rematch of the 2004 World Series.
World Series
Red Sox vs. Cardinals
It's happening.
No, seriously, that's all I'm "officially" putting for my explanation of my World Series pick. While this has certainly been an MLB playoff predictions post, it has also served as a "The Red Sox are winning the World Series" post. It's the Jonny Gomes factor. He epitomizes everything that the 2004 team stood for. The beard, the punting the helmet, that time where he ate ice during a postgame interview...the guy is a winner. He makes winning happen on any team he is on. This team has what it takes to win the World Series, and will go through any team it faces to do so. Boston takes home the World Series in one of the most exciting playoffs in recent memory.
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