The best month of the baseball season has come and gone, and the World Series is beginning to come into view. Before we go over the World Series matchup, let’s recap how everyone else did.  

Toronto Blue Jays 

This year was supposed to be the movie to last year’s trailer, according to Vlad Guererro. It was, in a way. It was a horror film of choking and failure that diverted attention away from the Leafs for a few days. Toronto’s trip to the playoffs couldn’t have gone worse than it did. They got dominated by Seattle in game 1, but the real magic took place in the elimination game. A 7-run lead in the 6th inning should have been game over. They chose to imitate most of Toronto’s sports over the past decade by blowing that lead too. Aren’t you guys so proud, Jays fans? Way to waste the best season you’ve had in 6 years. Now Toronto can go back to crying over the Leafs and Raptors as they continue to underachieve.  

Tampa Bay Rays 

This year was more of the same for the Rays. A great regular season, followed up by an embarrassing playoff collapse. Even on the road against a division winner, the Rays were favored to advance into the playoffs. Instead, they got ground into dust by a far inferior opponent. Tampa chose to execute death-by-bullpen in game 2 and it backfired horrifically. Time for the organization to cut more payroll this winter. It’s honestly deserved.  

St. Louis Cardinals 

The voodoo magic didn’t carry over into the playoffs. Despite home field and a huge advantage in pitching, the clock once again struck midnight on the Cinderella Cardinals. The Phillies pummeled them into submission with the long ball and St. Louis’s bats couldn’t keep up, leading to an embarrassing sweep. So long to Albert Pujols’s swan song.  

New York Mets 

I thought these guys had turned the corner. That was until they executed what was quite possibly the most heartbreaking skid in recent Mets history. With a 10.5-game lead over the Braves at the beginning of September, what did they do? Collapse and fizzle out just like every other year. The highlight of which was getting swept by that Braves team in the final week to complete the choke. All hope wasn’t lost, though. They were facing a Padres team that they dominated in the regular season. However, this is the Mets we are dealing with. What do you think happened? That’s right, their power bats suffered deathly silence as Hader and Musgrove pitched circles around them. A 101-win season and they still find agonizing ways to let their fans down. Steve Cohen is now the most frustrated owner in professional sports. Jacob DeGrom will be catching the first bus out of town, too. I smell a purge. 

Seattle Mariners 

They came; they saw; they got their butts kicked. Going into Houston is a tall task on its own, but the Mariners chose to find new and creative ways to give their fans their annual metaphorical junk shot. In game 1, with a 7-5 lead and the Astros down to their final strike, they decided to pitch to the best slugger in the league with an inconsistent reliever. Guess what happened. That’s right, he hit a walk-off bomb to win game 1. You thought that was it for the pain, you’re wrong. How about an 18-inning loss at home to lose the series? The games were close, and they have hope for next year, but this is still a crushing loss. Now all attention in that city focuses on the Seahawks as they haven’t been completely terrible this year.  

Los Angeles Dodgers 

Dave Roberts needs to be fired. There, I said it. The main reason why the Dodgers lost this series was the guy behind the bench. Roberts is one of the most overrated managers in the game, and his antiquated game planning and strategizing came back to bite the Dodgers in the rear end when it mattered. The last few years you could excuse, what with the mickey mouse title and losing to the eventual champs every other year, oh, but this year against the Padres? They took LA’s big market pain to a whole new level. A 111-win season, Roberts declaring a championship before they even started playing, and a matchup against a team that they all but filed property to in the regular season, and they still fell apart when it mattered due to poor game planning and scheming. Here’s the thing, with all the talent and resources they have, the Dodgers should be making it at least to the World Series every single year. The fact that they haven’t is a damning testament to Roberts’s tenure in LA. Your move, Friedman. Do the right thing this offseason.  

Atlanta Braves 

And with that, each NL Division winner has been eliminated in the first round for the first time in the luxury tax era. What killed the Braves in this series was their inability to respond to the Phillies’ bats, and their pitching owning them once they made their way up to the Bell. Losing all those pieces in the offseason wound up coming back to bite them. Do you think they regret being cheap and letting them walk yet? If so, it’s about time.  

Cleveland Guardians 

I will now list the only positive of the Guardians’ postseason: They showed effort. That’s all. Against the Yankees, it was an uphill battle from the start, but they still put up a fight and forced a game 5. Once that game got underway, though, it turned into a death march for Cleveland. Home run after home run hit into the seats as the Guardians’ optimism slowly died in front of them. If there’s one thing to take from this year, it’s this: They’re back. I’m looking forward to next year.  

San Diego Padres 

The clock struck midnight. There’s nothing else I can say on this front, they just had no answers to Philly’s power bats. The Padres’ biggest issue this year was their bullpen and it showed. Whenever they yanked their starter, it allowed the Phils to run hog wild on them for the rest of the game. Their entire lineup feasted on endless stats and home runs all series. They have hope for next year, especially with Tatis coming back, but this year will be one of the what-ifs. I’m interested to see what they do this off-season.  

New York Yankees 

What did I tell you: the Yankees pull this garbage every single year. They had trouble taking out a mediocre team in Cleveland, but against a true juggernaut like Houston, they had no chance. Aaron Judge couldn’t get anything going and the Yankees were swept into the pits of hell by a far superior Houston order. I will say this, Harrison Bader is a transcendent talent and should be treasured. Talent like this would be great if they weren’t the Yankees. They find a way to waste it every year. My point still stands, we need a new manager. The Bronx Bombers won’t stand a chance otherwise.  

With the failures who didn’t make it properly eulogized, it’s time to unveil this year’s World Series matchup and preview the fight for the Commissioner’s trophy.  

World Series preview and prediction 

I see this matchup being closer than everyone anticipates. Remember, the Braves and Nationals, both thought of as inferior to Houston, beat these guys in the fall classic to win titles against largely the same roster. The Phillies have some of the best power bats in the league, their deep playoff run this year proves it. However, the real question is if they can hit the Astros’ ace pitching. Signs point to probably. I would show some optimism and hope, but screw you and screw your ambitions, I’m taking the Astros in six. To the chagrin of Yankees fans such as me, the cheating narrative is vanquished and every baseball fan outside of the Houston metro area falls into a bottomless sinkhole. Reverse jinxing, don’t fail me now!  

When you passed out on your couch after watching football for 8 hours last Sunday, you may have forgotten about another important event coming up. That’s right, with all the buzz about football in the air, the MLB playoffs have quietly crept up on us once again. This year, 12 teams are competing for the commissioner’s trophy thanks to the expanded format. Let’s meet the contestants.

(Illustration: Major League Baseball)

Tampa Bay Rays

While this team isn’t the juggernaut they were last year during the regular season, they still boast a lot of front-line talent that can carry the team deep into the playoffs. Arozarena is smacking the cover off the ball as of late, and the rest of the team is surging to get them back into the playoffs. They have a lot of question marks, but they probably have the easiest road to the World Series out of any of the wild card teams, as they will not be running into Houston until the ALCS should they make it there.

Seattle Mariners

I wouldn’t call about 20 years too long of a wait. With the Seahawks mired in mediocrity, the Emerald City needs a new team to step forth and take the mantle as the city’s perennial contender. Enter the Mariners, a team that was infused with young talent this offseason and has taken the league by storm. They’re on a torrid hot streak, but let’s see how they do when they aren’t playing Oakland every five days.

Toronto Blue Jays

The rebuild is over. The Blue Jays are back in the playoffs and ready to make noise. Their old core is gone but has been rebuilt with the likes of Vlad Guererro, Bo Bichette, and legendary Astros trashcan banger George Springer. Toronto finally seems to care about them again and the Rogers center is rocking even on weeknights. This might be the year they pull another deep playoff run out and capture the eyes of more than just the immediate city. Might help draw attention away from the Maple Leafs and their choking for a couple of months.

Cleveland Guardians

Normally, in normal circumstances, I would be chastizing the AL Central for being as weak as ever and scoffing at the winner’s World Series ambitions. However, this year is different. The Guardians are a legit contender for the first time in five years. Their bats are godlike, their pitching hasn’t betrayed them, and Terry Francona has done an excellent job so far. They may have won their division to clinch home field for the wild card round, but they face a tough challenge in the Rays. Remember the last time they played in the wild card? Cleveland certainly does. Further this Cinderella story by going out and getting some revenge. But only against Tampa, their divisional round opponent is unfortunately invincible and will sweep Cleveland should they win. Speaking of which…

New York Yankees

Imagine a hypothetical house fire that burns everything on the inside but leaves no damage to the naked eye. That is the Yankees this season. They have once again won their division, but it hasn’t come without a slump rivaling Buffalo’s in the hockey realm. Their talent is undeniable, but my main concern is in Aaron Judge. Not that he’s going to fall off skill-wise, but that opposing teams will start pitching around him. Judge is the only consistent guy on this roster, the other 8 guys and the manager are trash. Hopefully, Gerrit Cole will keep his supply of illegal substances intact for the playoffs so that he keeps pitching like a god. Kyle Schwarber is not in the playoffs this year. Hopefully, that should make him play better. Unfortunately, though, these are the Yankees, and what do they do better than disappointing their fans with a collapse against the Astros in the ALCS? It’s par for the course. The only variable with this team is how they’re going to break my heart and make me rage this time around.

Houston Astros

Do you smell it in the air? The fragrance permeated throughout Minute Maid Park? HIGH. END. TALENT. All of that talent is dragging the city of Houston and Dusty Baker to another World Series come hell or high water. The unfortunate thing is that they will get exactly zero sympathy no matter what happens. If they win, then everyone will accuse them of cheating again and they will get no respect. If they somehow lose, 31 other fanbases will be justifiably dancing on their graves.

Philadelphia Phillies

Hooray, yet another Philly team in the playoffs, said no one ever. With the Eagles back to being good, we certainly don’t need another Philadelphia team increasing the city’s level of obnoxiousness. The good news for the rest of us is that the Phils are still very fragile. Harper has been carrying the squad these past few months, and he ain’t gonna carry them much longer. They will face a tough test in the Cardinals. But never say never.

San Diego Padres

Slam Diego is back in the playoffs. They may be down Tatis due to his use of PEDs, but Juan Soto has been raking so far throughout his tenure in San Diego. The road to the World Series is long and arduous, and the odds are stacked against them as they face the Mets on the road. Let’s see if they can get it done.

New York Mets

BEHOLD, YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL MET–ING OF A SEASON! You may ask why this is. The Mets have had a 100 win season, you say. Well, that season couldn’t even get them to win the division. A group that led the NL East for 98% of the season collapsed so hard in September that they got overtaken by the Braves, the highlight of the collapse being getting swept by them when one win in the series would all but win Queens the division. Now, instead of getting a first-round bye and some needed rest, they get a 3-game set against the Padres for all the playoff marbles. And if they win, they get the glorious reward of having the Dodgers waiting for them. For the sake of my well-being and the sanity of Yankee fans everywhere, I hope to god this team collapses into a sinkhole and doesn’t come out again. Their misery is good for business.

St. Louis Cardinals

Every year seems like it plays out the same for these guys. They are mediocre to start the year, they make next to no deadline moves, fans start calling for management to be fired, and then some random minor-leaguers get called up and start playing like all-stars. This year was no different, except that their torrid pace started before the deadline this year. True, it had a lot to do with the Brew Crew and Chicago imploding, but these guys have once again earned their spot with a combination of good structure and development and Albert Pujols’s willpower. Whether or not they go anywhere remains to be seen, but they will at least get a few home playoff games for fans to show up to. That’s at least a positive.

Atlanta Braves

For a while, it looked like all the off-season losses were taking their toll. The Braves were mediocre deep into May and June and showed no signs of change. Jorge Soler and Freddie Freeman? Gone. Then, they managed to turn it around. Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies are hitting at paces rivaled by few. They’ve been on a torrid hot streak to end the year, going on such a widespread rampage that they managed to usurp the Mets to claim their fifth straight division crown. They’re on the hottest streak out of anyone in the league, but they’ll have to contend with a mainstay in the NL hierarchy, a power that just got even stronger.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are once again ravaging the west coast with their power bats and ace pitching. We are all screwed as the big-market stereotype lives on. This year’s Dodgers team boasts some of the best talent they’ve seen in years. Bringing in Freddie Freeman bolstered their hitting core to the point that it launched them to the best record in baseball. The pitching hasn’t skipped a beat either. A punitive suspension on Trevor Bauer? No problem. Buehler and Kershaw can take the mantle with some of the best pitching of their careers. They’re going to have a tougher time than usual as they won’t get a cupcake opponent in the first round like every other year they’ve made it. For the sake of the rest of the NL’s sanity, I hope these guys get bounced in the first round. Even if they play the Mets.

World Series prediction

For a World Series prediction, I’d like to be unorthodox and pick an upstart team, but that’s not how the MLB works, the big market is king, Yankees vs Dodgers, we’re all screwed. Every baseball fan not in these two cities will melt down and rage about the top-heavy nature of the MLB. Sounds like a healthy and competitive league to me.