Monday, October 1, 2018

2018 Season Review and Playoff Review


Now that the regular season has ended and playoffs starting tomorrow, it’s time for a quick look back at my predictions for this year, how I did, and some predictions for the playoffs.  I’ll list it as the actual standings and my prediction in brackets.

American League
East


Boston Red Sox (2)
New York Yankees (1)
Tampa Bay Rays (5)
Toronto Blue Jays (3)
Baltimore Orioles (4)

Although I was way off with the Rays, like most “experts,” overall this isn’t bad.  I did have both the Sox and Yankees in the playoffs, I just got their positions swapped.

Central


Cleveland Indians (1)
Minnesota Twins (2)
Detroit Tigers (5)
Chicago White Sox (4)
Kansas City Royals (3)

Again not bad, though I did have the Twins in the Wild Card.  What a dreadful division, with only the Indians above .500.

West


Houston Astros (1)
Oakland Athletics (5)
Seattle Mariners (3)
Los Angeles Angels (2)
Texas Rangers (4)

Boy was I wrong about the A’s, though I don’t think many had them competing for the division to the end and ending up in the Wild Card.

National League
East


Atlanta Braves (4)
Washington Nationals (1)
Philadelphia Phillies (2)
New York Mets (3)
Miami Marlins (5)

Ouch, I did not see the Braves getting that good that fast.  This was kind of like the Astros in 2015.  It’s especially bad since I called this “the easiest division to pick.”  One of these years I will learn not to expect anything from the Nationals

Central


Milwaukee Brewers (1)
Chicago Cubs (2)
St. Louis Cardinals (3)
Pittsburgh Pirates (5)
Cincinnati Reds (4)

Well, how about that, it took an extra game but my upset was accurate.  I’m pretty proud of my homerism here.

West


Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
Colorado Rockies (3)
Arizona Diamondbacks (2)
San Francisco Giants (4)
San Diego Padres (5)

If the Diamondbacks hadn’t choked down the stretch, I could have been even more accurate here.  Still, not bad.

Overall: 7 of 12 playoff teams ain’t bad

Awards: Let’s not discuss this, though I do feel pretty good about my call of Ronald Acuna as NL ROY.

Now for my predictions:

Playoffs: (Original prediction was repeat of last year: Astros over Dodgers)

AL Wild Card: Athletics over Yankees (there’s something scrappy about this team)
NL Wild Card: Rockies over Cubs (Rocktober is hot, despite their showing in game 163)

ALDS: Astros over Indians in 4 (getting hot at the right time)
            Red Sox over Athletics in 5 (too much hitting but it’s close)

NLDS: Brewers over Rockies in 4 (bullpen + Yelich)
            Braves over Dodgers in 4 (Atlanta is a fun young team to watch)

ALCS: Astros over Red Sox in 5 (looking better at this time of the year)
            Brewers over Braves in 7 (Cain’s experience helps push them over the top)

World Series: Astros over Brewers in 4 (sorry but no NL team can hang with the top AL teams this year)

So yes, my World Series pick is a bit of a best case scenario for me, but it’s not implausible (at risk of a massive jinx).  Gotta love October!

1 comment:

  1. I told you for years the Brewers are awesome! Welcome to the club. Anyhow, our picks are very close. Although I had the Cubs beating the Rockies (glad that didn't happen), the Brewers will win either way. The only other difference I have is the Dodgers beating the Braves-too much experience and pitching for the Braves to win. AL my picks are the same, and I agree that no NL team will beat the best of the AL unless two things happen; Brewers can beat the Indians in 6 and the A's in 7. Astros and Red Sox are too strong this year. IF the Brewers had another front line starter, I'd say they had a chance for a WS crown. Astros repeat.

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