After an exciting regular season that took all 162 games before it could be define the full postseason drawWe are already in October, the real October, when everything is at stake, the nerves are running high and every pitch of every inning counts.
That said, we present to you our first Power Rankings of the playoffs, where we rank the participating teams from 1 to 10, according to our best criteria. This exercise is much more difficult than during the regular season, mainly because all the clubs in the postseason are good enough to have come this far.
The 10 (and only) of the Power Rankings
1) Giants
Giants television analyst Mike Krukow put it in the best light when the team won the NL West on Sunday: “For a team that many predicted was going to win 72 games… well, they did it, but about three months ago ”. San Francisco played very well early on, in the middle and late in the season, finishing with a franchise record of 107 wins. What a year.
2) Dodgers
The Dodgers were 37-10 from Aug. 13 through Sunday, the best mark in the majors during that stretch. And they were able to discount just four games to the Giants in the NL West Anything can happen in the NL Wild Card Game, and the Cardinals should be taken seriously, but if the two teams are to meet in the Division Series It will be the Giants and the Dodgers.
3) Rays
As one of the teams to win their division first, the Rays have long known where they’ll play Thursday – at home, thanks to having the best record in the American League. What they don’t know is who, as they must wait for the winner of the Wild Card Game between Yankees and Red Sox on Tuesday night. The Rays have every reason to be optimistic. They won 100 games for the first time in franchise history, ranked second in the majors in runs scored (857) and finished with the best ERA in the LA (3.67).
4) Brewers
This final week of the Brewers could be seen in two ways. Either they won the NL Central and secured the 2nd seed so early that they could afford to slow down, prepare for the postseason and not worry about results, or they stumbled during a bad road tour against two great teams ( Cardinals and Dodgers) and need a shake-up before facing the Braves in the SDLN on Friday. For the sake of that Milwaukee fan who is still waiting to win the first World Series in franchise history, we are left with the first option. The pitching is fabulous and the Brewers have him lined up the way they wanted.
5) Astros
The Astros are 7-6 in the past two weeks but finished the regular season well, taking the series at home to the Athletics and scoring 23 runs in those three games. One of Houston’s best postseason players, Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, will be a free agent at the end of the World Series, so he has an extra incentive in what could be his last October with the Astros. That will add some additional intrigue to Houston’s fifth straight postseason.
6) White Sox
The White Sox helped change a narrative that had followed them through the second half by picking up the pace in the final week. After going 29-31 between July 21 and September 25, Chicago won six of its last seven games, scoring 41 runs for 21 of its opponents in that stretch. And their openers are also inspired. During their string of six wins, they posted a 1.41 ERA.
7) Yankees
The Yankees’ final two weeks were a microcosm of their entire season: the highest peak (they won eight of nine to close September) and the deepest pit (a 12-2 loss Saturday night to the Rays), plus several closed results that served to remind their fans that nothing is easy for these Yankees. Now, everything will be played in Boston in the Wild Card Game against their archrivals.
8) Braves
The Braves haven’t lost a series since falling two of three in San Francisco on Sept. 17-19. Since then, they have taken their caps against the D-backs, Padres, Phillies and Mets. And they have their great veteran set to face the Brewers in SDLN Game 1 on Friday, right-hander Charlie Morton, one of the most successful postseason pitchers in recent memory.
9) Cardinals
The Cardinals have done nothing but win these past few weeks, and despite losing the weekend’s series to the Cubs, St. Louis is probably the team no one wants to see right now. Do we review what they did in September? A record of 22-7 and a 17-game winning streak that turned what seemed like a strong fight for the second NL Wild Card into a simple formality that put the rest of the teams out of the race more than a week ago.
10) Red Sox
Somehow, the Red Sox survived, making it into the LA Wildcard Game despite losing series to the Yankees and Orioles before the final weekend of the season. They did their homework by sweeping the Nationals, and now they will be the home team in the life and death matchup count the Yankees. Let’s make the popcorn!
Voters: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Jesse Sánchez, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn.
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