Who will win the World Series?
MC: Ok let’s talk playoffs. As I said above, I think the Orioles are winning the AL East and I bet the Yankees and Rays will get in as Wild Cards. I also think the Rangers will win the AL West and the Astros will make the field as a close second, and the Twins will win the AL Central. Think I’m on the right path?
GS: I agree, this is the Orioles’ division to lose, but I’m not so sure about those Wild Cards. The Rays are always pesky opponents, to say the least, but it feels like they’re about to have a weird year. A lot of AL West projections have the Rangers finishing second to the Astros, and I think that battle will be close, what with both teams losing important pitchers to free agency or injuries. I’d love to see the Mariners make a legit playoff run this year, too. Unlike last season, when the Twins easily won the AL Central with a record that would’ve been fourth-best in the AL East, I think their division is about to get somewhat competitive. The Tigers and Royals are both poised to finally emerge from their respective rebuilds, and even if they’re not contenders this season, I think one, if not both will be harder to shut down. What about the NL divisions? Maybe I’m just being a contrarian, but I feel like the ‘obvious’ outcomes could end up being totally wrong.
MC: That’s baseball, isn’t it? I think the NL is stacked and the NL West in particular is going to be a monster. The Dodgers, Giants, Padres and Diamondbacks all have reason for optimism and are going to beat each other
up all season long. The Braves and Phillies are both great as well and something tells me the Cubs are going to be the class of the NL Central. I’ll say the Dodgers, Braves and Cubs win their respective divisions and the Giants, Phillies and Diamondbacks take the Wild Cards.
GS: It doesn’t just feel like the AL East and NL West are always the most ferocious division battles, it’s basically been the case for most of the century thus far. The pressure is obviously on the Dodgers, because if they can’t figure it out with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, then lord only knows. Of course, I always remind people that spending zillions to build a so-called super-team is no guarantee of anything; we saw that with the Padres and Mets last year, and the Yankees on and off for most of the last 20. It takes talent, obviously, but also good health, strong team chemistry, and a bit of luck to get to the finish line. Regarding the rest of the West, I think the Giants or Padres get a Wild Card, but not both. The Diamondbacks are sneaky-good, but the Eduardo Rodriguez injury isn’t an ideal way to start the season. The Cubs feel like a great pick for the Central. I feel that division has been something of an afterthought recently. I’d love to see the Phillies topple the Braves for their first division title since 2011, but I think Atlanta is too strong and wellbalanced for that to happen. Honestly, I just want Bryce Harper to be in the postseason as long as possible, because he’s such an electric player. Speaking of, I just realized that neither of us even mentioned the Angels or Mike Trout.
MC: Yeah, and for good reason unfortunately. There should be a lot of great teams in MLB this season, but the Angels won’t be one of them. That being said, who do you have reaching the ALCS and NLCS, and who do you see reaching and winning the World Series?
GS: The Angels are a crying shame. Despite what I just said, it would be crazy not to pick the Dodgers. I’m not sold on them, but I could definitely see it happening. I think the pennant round comes down to them and either the Braves or Phillies. I think the American League comes down to whether the Orioles can topple either the Rangers or Astros. An Orioles-Dodgers World Series would be very interesting, a real ‘David and Goliath’ matchup. What do you see in your crystal (base)ball?
MC: I see the Orioles avenging their playoff loss to the Rangers to reach the World Series for the first time in 41 years, and I see the Dodgers overcoming the Braves in an epic NLCS showdown. As much as I’d love to say the Orioles will upset the Dodgers and win the World Series, Los Angeles is just a juggernaut. The 2024 World Series is the Dodgers’ to lose, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t expect them to get the job done.