Hey everyone, and welcome back to Baseball Bash! The conference championships are complete and the World Series is set in what will be a classic favorite versus underdog matchup. My Yankees also never seem to be able to beat the Astros(we will break that down later).
The Houston Astros versus New York Yankees
Well, well, well. While I am not happy with this result, I don’t know if I expected anything else. The Houston Astros swept the Yankees to win the conference championship, winning four straight games. Since 2017, the Yankees have lost to the Astros in the playoffs more than once, and seem to have been cursed. They cant seem to get past the Astros. The other thing was that while the stars did not do well and struggled, some of the secondary pieces of the Yankees tried their best to carry their team. For example, recently acquired Harrison Bader hit five home runs in the postseason, including very important ones in the ALCS. Additionally, Anthony Rizzo has tacked on clutch hits throughout the postseason. Other impactful players included Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson.
However, the one glaring thing was that the stars of the offense(those that are talked about the most) did not perform. Aaron Judge batted in between .100 and .200 all postseason and only got on base a few times. Giancarlo Stanton rarely got hits. And the bullpen kept on blowing leads when it mattered. All around, there are a few things the Yankees definitely need improvement on and work on in the offseason to contend with the one team that they seemingly can not beat.
On the side of the Astros, they absolutely dominated when it came to creating runs and holding leads. In Game 1, Cy Young frontrunner Justin Verlander only allowed one earned run, Framber Valdez allowed no runs, Cristian Javier allowed no runs en route to a combined shutout, and while the Yankees scored 5 runs in Game 4, the Astros offense made up for it.
Speaking of offense, ALCS MVP Jeremy Pena seems like he filled the shoes of Carlos Correa, hitting clutch home runs including a 3-run shot in Game 4. His future is bright, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he delivers some impactful performances in the World Series.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres
The Cinderella story continues! The Phillies beat the Padres five games in what is showing MLB fans flashes of the 2021 Atlanta Braves or 2019 Washington Nationals. They just barely made the postseason and now make a case to win it all. When it came down to this series, so many things went right for the Phillies, especially in the form of clutch hits by Bryce Harper(NLCS MVP), Rhys Hoskins, and
JT Realmuto. The pitching was just also good enough to propel them past the Padres, who did not put up much of an effort.
My World Series Prediction
I’m very conflicted here. Both teams are very good, and the Phillies have already upset all of the teams that they have faced so far. That being said, I think that the Astros have a formidable team both in terms of batting and pitching and will be hard to match up against especially in the later games. I think that the Astros will win in six games.
Interesting. I like how you went in depth on both championship series, but maybe some context for people who don’t pay as much attention to baseball (who Carlos Correa is, the fact that Bryce Harper hit the series-winning home run, etc.) would make your already great blog better. I would have to disagree with your prediction, however. Both teams have been able to close out games this year, and I think the Phillies offense performs better than the Yankees and Mariners, giving them the series in 6. In addition, no team who has swept the LDS and LCS has ever won the World Series, and I don’t think the Astros will change this.
I love reading about how great the Phillies are! While I know absolutely nothing about baseball ill throw in my own prediction that the Phillies win the World Series. I think the fans, particularly the Philly ones need a Cinderella Story this year. The Phillies have so much momentum and I think that Philly momentum carries our teams towards the end of postseasons.
Hardcore disagree with your prediction on the World Series. As a fellow Baseball fanatic, I can’t help but to feel as if the majority of statisticians are ignoring Justin Verlander’s previous track record in the World Series – his ERA is horrid, and that has spanned over both his tenures with the Tigers and Astros. I recognize that my opinion is biased as a Phillies fan, but I think that we can win 2-3/4 of Nola / Wheeler starts, so it’s not unreasonable to see this series going in 6-7 games in the Fightin Phils’ favor.
All of America is rooting for the Fightins and you pick the Astros….. Besides your horrid prediction for the World Series, your analysis of both teams is very fair. Also, I don’t like the Astros, but everyone smiles when the pinstripes lose. Phils in 5. I mean we’re talking about the Fightins here.