The MLB playoffs are in the Division Series, which leaves eight teams still alive. Games will be coming hot and heavy for the next week, including the American League matchups on FOX.
Deeshoa Thosar and Rowan Kavner answer four important questions for the next round of the MLB postseason below, including whether the teams that secured a bye to the Division Series are actually in any danger.
1. Do you believe in rust for teams that didn’t play in the Wild Card Series?
Deesha Thosar: Yes, but mostly for hitters. Pitchers love a good reset, and those five days off are more beneficial in the long run to stave off fatigue.
Rhythm and momentum are key in baseball, though. We see it at the beginning of the season and right after the All-Star break. A long stretch without game action could also impact potential injuries or lead to tighter muscles.
There’s a fine line between rest and rust, but I think a five-day layoff is just too many days that it ends up being the latter.
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Rowan Kavner: I think there’s something to it. Don’t get me wrong, you certainly don’t want to play in that series if you don’t have to, but baseball is such a rhythm-based game.
These guys have been used to a schedule in which they’re playing basically every day for six months, so five days off can feel like a lifetime. And while the Division Series does not invite the same level of randomness of a best-of-three wild-card series, you don’t exactly have time to ease your way back into form.
On the flip side, the ability for teams with a bye to line up their starters and rest players who might be dinged up — this time of year, that includes almost everyone — still makes that the bigger advantage.
2. Which team that won a Wild Card Series impressed you the most?
Deesha Thosar: The Tigers.
By exacting revenge on the Guardians, they got their swagger back. It was becoming easier to write Detroit off after the dismal way it finished the season. But the Tigers effectively erased all the work Cleveland did in the final two weeks to clinch the division by taking two out of three in the Wild Card series. Tarik Skubal set the tone with his 14-strikeout masterclass. Finally, the Tigers advanced to the ALDS, which they were favored to do all season long until the Guardians won five of their final six games against them. Detroit freed itself from the grasp of its tormentor.
(Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Rowan Kavner: Cam Schlittler had the most impressive individual performance — and what a huge development that is moving forward for the Yankees — but as a team I’ll take the Tigers here. They entered the playoffs in a tailspin, having lost 22 of their final 31 games. They had the best record in MLB at the break, led Cleveland by 15 ½ games in July, by 12.5 games on Aug. 25, by 11 games on Sept. 4 and by 6.5 games on Sept. 15 … and they blew it, unfathomably losing the division. Then they had to face the beneficiaries of their collapse. During that September free fall, the Tigers were swept at home by the Guardians and later dropped a series in Cleveland.
The Guardians entered the postseason with all the momentum, having won 19 of their last 23 games to end the year. Detroit could’ve easily gone back to Progressive Field and laid an egg. Instead, the Tigers rebounded from a Game 2 defeat and became the only lower seed to advance.
3. Which series is ripe for an upset?
Deesha Thosar: With some of these Division Series matchups, it’s tough to define an upset. Technically, the Dodgers are the lower seed against the Phillies, but they’re still the favorites to win the NLDS. It’s the same deal with the Yankees and Blue Jays.
So, I’ll go with the Cubs knocking out the Brewers, which would be a true upset in every definition of the word. Chicago’s offense is better, but its pitching staff is worse. The Cubs have more star power, though that largely depends on Kyle Tucker actually hitting like Kyle Tucker. In the Wild Card series, they even got to the Padres’ super bullpen. Pete Crow-Armstrong started to look more like the version we saw in the first half of the season. Seiya Suzuki is turning it on again at the perfect time.
The Brew Crew’s speed and timely hitting could still prevail, but there are reasons to believe the Cubs could pull this off.
Rowan Kavner: No one would be shocked if the Yankees beat the Blue Jays or the Dodgers beat the Phillies, but I’m going to take Cubs-Brewers.
As incredible of a year as it was in Milwaukee, the Brewers lost 20 of their last 38 games and dealt with some notable pitching injuries down the stretch that could bleed into October. the Brewers lineup’s ability to work counts, make contact and pressure defenses yielded incredible results, but the lack of power could be a problem in the postseason.
Each of the last five World Series champions ranked in the top four in MLB in home runs; the Brewers ranked 22nd in homers this year, while the Cubs ranked sixth and had six different 20-home run hitters this year. Even if one or two of Chicago’s best bats go cold, there are another three or four more who can carry an offense in any given game. The Brewers have the pitching edge, but the Cubs’ bullpen was sneaky good down the stretch (and in the wild-card series) and I’ll favor their lineup’s star power.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
4. Which remaining team would you least want to play?
Deesha Thosar: It’s between the Yankees and the Phillies, and right now, the Bronx Bombers look slightly more dangerous. They finished the season with the best record in baseball over their last 50 games (35-15), then Cam Schlittler, the Yankees’ best-kept secret weapon, punched their ticket into the ALDS with one of the biggest pitching performances in franchise history.
New York has a confident group with a chip on its shoulder after last year’s implosion in the World Series. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon form a formidable left-handed 1-2 punch. Devin Williams hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 relief appearances, and David Bednar has been a perfect fit in the Bronx. The offense, though streaky, is exceptional at hitting home runs. The lineup is much deeper when Anthony Volpe turns it on in October. And, have fun pitching to a locked-in Aaron Judge.
Rowan Kavner: The Phillies in the National League and the Mariners in the American League, and if I had to choose one overall, I’d take the former.
Not unlike last year’s Padres vs. Dodgers matchup in the Division Series, I have a feeling whichever team emerges victorious from the Dodgers vs. Phillies series will win the whole thing.
Philadelphia has the NL batting champ in Trea Turner, the NL home run champ in Kyle Schwarber and an October superstar in Bryce Harper. The additions of Jhoan Duran and Harrison Bader at the deadline were perfect fits. Even without Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Jesus Luzardo are a stellar top three.
This core wasn’t able to get over the hump in their last three trips to the postseason, but it feels like this might be the year.
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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