2014 Division Series Predictions: What Do I Know?

Well, that didn't go so well. At least I specifically admitted that I wasn't "terribly optimistic" about how I'd do, and I'm no more optimistic this round than I was in those two Wild Card game.

Sure, there seems to be a couple favorites here, but strange things happen in the baseball postseason. I suppose that if nothing else, I should just sit back and take a moment to appreciate that we won't have to endure the possibility of another October featuring the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

However, we've still got the Cardinals. And the Dodgers. But at least those two clubs are playing one another in this round, so one will be gone by the next time I'm posting picks. It's going to be hard to top the thrill of that extra-inning Kansas City victory, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.


I'm posting these at work, so the hats will have to be added later:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over Kansas City Royals in four games

Oh, the Royals are certainly the feelgood story of these playoffs (especially now that Pittsburgh's out), but they've won in spite of Ned Yost, not because of him. Mike Scioscia is clearly the superior manager here and the Angels have the more formidable lineup. The Kansas City bullpen might pose some problems if the team had a manager capable of using it. Instead, I'm thinking Anaheim/Los Angeles wins the first two, KC gets a dead cat bounce in Game 3, and the Angels wrap it up at the K.

Los Angeles Dodgers over St. Louis Cardinals in five games

Again, trying to view this in the positive sense that at least one of these teams I loathe will be gone rather than one of them being a step closer to the World Series. Still, I picked the Dodgers at the beginning of this year to win it all, Clayton Kershaw should probably pitch twice here, and that's enough for me to stick with L.A.

Detroit Tigers over Baltimore Orioles in four games

I'm oh-so-tempted to believe that Baltimore keeps the magic going. The Orioles ran away with the East this year, and many of were left wondering how they did it. The likeliest explanation is the AL East simply wasn't that good. That said, I expect the O's to give the Tigers some problems, but the postseason experience wins out here, meaning that your Verlander concerns go right out the window as he puts in a dominating performance while Detroit hitters go to town. (LATE ADDITION: I completely forgot how awful Detroit's bullpen is in October, so now I'm wishing I had either picked five games or gone with Baltimore. Oh well.)

San Francisco Giants over Washington Nationals in five games

The Pablo Sandoval catch going over the railing and into the dugout in Pittsburgh, in which he landed on his feet afterward, pretty much solidified my newfound belief that people were right to believe that the magic comes every two years with San Fran. I will always be suspect of that Nationals bullpen, and I'm simply thinking that unlikely Giants heroes will continue to come through in delivering another early exit for heavily-favored Washington.