Steven Urena
By Steven Urena
NL and AL Division Series
I have no problem admitting when I’m wrong. In fact, as a gentleman, you should admit when you’re wrong. I picked the Rays to man handle the Red Sox and the Sox beat them 3-1. They literally had a lucky bounce go their way but at the end of the day the Rays did not take care of business.
I picked the Brewers to destroy the Braves. Once again, I am okay with being wrong. However, the Braves are not the better team. They just played better and rode the Joctober Express a little. Hats off to the Braves, they took care of business.
I predicted an Astros sweep over the White Sox. The Astros won the series 3-1 and demolished the ChiSox in their 3 wins. Glad I was right about something. The White Sox were on the decline and the Astros are playing their best ball.
Now, the series I will live and die with. The Dodgers and Giants. I predicted the Dodgers to win it in 5. I predicted it would be a good series. So far, I’m not far off. The Dodgers travel up the coast tomorrow for a winner-take-all dog fight. May the better team win.
Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
Red Sox and Rays
Wow!!! The 92 win team beat the 100 win team in a best-of-5 series. There’s something to be said about a team that can flip it on in October. I had the Red Sox dead in the water. Many experts did not think the Red Sox would make it this far. You gotta tip your cap, the Sox stepped up when they needed to step up. They won the close games, pitching kept them in it and they got the clutch hits.
How about the stroke of luck the Red Sox got in Game 3? The Rays had a runner on first with a full count. The runner takes off and Kevin Kiermaier hits a ball in the gap. The ball bounces off the wall, hits the Red Sox right fielder, and goes over the wall. Result? Ground rule double. The runner on first would have easily scored and Kiermaier was standing on third base. With the ball over the wall, now the Rays had runners on second and third with one last hope. Their next hitter popped up to end the inning. The next inning Christian Vazquez hit a walk-off home run. Oh the agony!!! That changed the series and sealed the Rays fate.
The Rays did not play horrible. The Red Sox just played a little better and caught a very lucky break. It looks to me like the Rays need some big boppers. One or two 30 and 40 homer guys that can change the game in a heartbeat. It’s tough to grind it out every game. The Rays also need a true number one. Tyler Glasnow was that guy but he was hurt this year. It will also be hard to go and buy a pricey free-agent. Make no mistake, the Rays will be back.
Now the Red Sox travel to Houston for the ALCS. Ummmm, Red Sox do MLB fans a favor and end their season!
Braves and Brewers
Well, I was wrong again. I thought the Brew Crew would win this thing in 4 games. Turns out the Braves did have what it takes to advance. Unlike the Red Sox, the Brewers don’t have the October mystique. They continue to come into the playoffs with good teams but can’t seem to get over the hump. The bats in Milwaukee are as cold as the weather. They scored 1 run, zero runs twice and then 4 runs but came up one run short. Was the Braves pitching that good or did the Brewers choke yet again? We’ll see how the Braves fair in the NLCS.
The Braves are another team that was less-than-stellar in the regular season but caught fire in the playoffs. Experience kills and the Braves have plenty. Say what you will but their staff got it done. The Cold Brew Crew scored 1 run in the first 3 games! That’s impressive. The Braves still got some good arms in Charlie Morton, Max Fried and Ian Anderson. Will Smith, the other one, can still close.
The Braves anxiously await the winner of the Dodgers and Giants. Will the clock strike midnight for Cinderella and the Tomahawk Chop?!
Astros and White Sox
I predicted a sweep. The ChiSox had other plans. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
The Astros are a different beast in the playoffs. Even without the help of technology, they still find ways to get the job done. Their offense did not score less than 6 runs in any of their 4 games. That’s taking some serious pressure off the offense. Especially when you see the pitcher’s duels taking place in the NL.
The White Sox just didn’t have it. Tony LaRussa must have run out of medication, their young players decided there was always next year and their starting pitchers had dead arms. I have no doubt that the White Sox will learn from this and move on but this season they will feel the sting all off-season.
It’s the Astros against the world!!!! They will host the Red Hot Red Sox this Friday. I’ll have to keep betting against the Red Sox. I’m still not convinced. Astros in 6.
Dodgers and Giants
If my calculations are correct, we are about to see some serious…stuff. The Dodgers and Giants have traded blows. It’s two games apiece in this epic showdown. The Giants won the two close games while the Dodgers pounded them for 9 and 7 runs in their wins. The Giants send the fiery redhead Logan Webb. The Dodgers send the pride of Culiacan, Mexico, Julio Urias. Both pitchers were great in their first start of the series. Webb pitched the game of his life while Julio was being Julio.
The Dodgers have shown that once they get rolling they will not stop. The Giants have shown that they can shut the Blue Crew out. The Giants have been better in close games. The Dodgers have been relentless in their wins. Which team shows up tomorrow? Can Webb duplicate his dominance? Can Julio continue his great playoff legacy? Which offense will contribute the most? Time will tell.
Tune in tomorrow. Same bat time. Same bat channel. You know who I’m going with. Viva Los Doyers!
Contact Steve Urena at:
Email: theurenaexpress@gmail.com
Twitter/IG: @theurenaexpress
