Friday, October 23, 2015

Back to Kansas City

The NLCS is over; the Mets dominated that series, never trailing for even an out. I predicted here that the Mets would win; I certainly didn't expect it to come that easily.

That leaves us with perhaps two games, beginning today, between the Blue Jays and Kansas City to determine which team gets to try to derail the Mets sudden juggernaut. The Jays need two wins, the Royals just one; the Jays have, presumably, their two best starters lined up in David Price and Marcus Stroman. The Royals have their two best arms, Yolando Ventura and Johnny Cueto, as well; I'll take the Toronto duo. (Each duo, let it be noted, consists of a hired gun headed to free agency and a homegrown hurler.)

But even though I think Toronto has the advantage of the pitching matchups, the home field reality remains. They are a team of right-handed sluggers, even more so now than in the regular season with Chris Colabello having pushed Justin Smoak aside at first base. The Kansas City stadium is not a place where sluggers thrive.

Pitching, defense and three-run homers -- the Earl Weaver formula -- is usually a formidable combination. But when the three-run homer isn't something you can rely on, the formula breaks down. Which is why I return to what I said before the series began: I am rooting for the Jays, and I think the Royals will win.

No comments:

Post a Comment