It seems like way too much has happened in baseball since the last SportsCast, but the guys do their best to recap the ALCS, what went wrong for the Yankees, and whether Joe Girardi will return. A lot of managers have been let go and replaced in the last week… and oh, there’s also this little thing called the WORLD SERIES that started.
College football sucks. Or at least PJ’s team does.
Finally, we recap Week 7 in the NFL which started with possibly the best game of the year (Raiders – Chiefs), how Marshawn Lynch is a lunatic, and everything else that’s transpired over the last week. Including what might be the official end of the Jay Cutler meter. We also once again tackle the question of who’s the best team in the NFL?
Keep an eye out for the Binge Sportscast on a weekly basis through the NFL season!
The guys waste no time and jump right in to the discussing the Yankees performance(s) after being down 2-0 to the Astros. TM continues to try to convince everyone that the Yankees aren’t the same old Yankees… yeah, ok TM. Dodgers continue to roll and only so much can be discussed.
What’s going on with Friday night college football and top 10 teams struggling? What can anyone really say except “It’s college football”.
Finally, the Jets/Pats game and controversy is discussed. Has instant replay made the NFL better? Or is it a crutch for the ever growing problem of NFL officiating. A-A-ron goes down and the Packers are screwed. Who’s the best team outside of Kansas City?
Keep an eye out for the Binge Sportscast on a weekly basis through the NFL season!
It’s all come down to this. Welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. Throughout the year, we’ve covered a lot of baseball here. We did some season-long votes on division winners, a vote on who you thought would make the playoffs, and once we got to the playoffs, we had votes for that too. All the while, it’s been great giving some analysis and breaking down the regular season and the playoffs, but the time has almost come to close up talk on this monumental season. But we’ve got one more series to go as the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals will battle for the right to be called World Series champions. Let’s take a look at how you voted in the championship series and my predictions for those two series (SPOILER ALERT: we were all horribly wrong) and look ahead to the 2015 Fall Classic.
ALCS Results
Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals: Royals win in 6
My prediction: Blue Jays in 6
Fan poll: 0% picked Kansas City
Well, there’s our first complete failure. I honestly thought that the Blue Jays firepower would be too much for Kansas City, but the Royals continue to show the determination to finish what they started last year. They’ve been the best team in the American League for most of the season, and they aren’t letting go of that title now. It will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays respond in 2016.
NLCS Results
Chicago Cubs vs New York Mets: Mets win in 4
My prediction: Cubs in 6
Fan poll: 0% picked New York
And there’s our second. I wasn’t kidding when I said that we were ALL horribly wrong. Not one person picked the Royals above, and not one person picked the Mets to do what they did to the Cubs, and that’s just completely dominate them in a four-game sweep. The Mets have been tearing through some of the best pitchers in baseball while showing off their young pitching to the rest of the baseball world. The Cubs’ youth really showed in this series, but they’re built to last for years to come. We’ll see how that plays out next season.
New York Mets vs Kansas City Royals
HOW THEY GOT HERE
New York: 90-72 (won NL East), NLDS: def. Los Angeles 3-2, NLCS: def. Chicago 4-0
Kansas City: 95-67 (won AL Central), ALDS: def. Houston 3-2, ALCS: def. Toronto 4-2
SCHEDULE
Game 1: @Kansas City-Tuesday, October 27-8E/7C-FOX
Game 2: @Kansas City-Wednesday, October 28-8E/7C-FOX
Game 3: @New York-Friday, October 30-8E/7C-FOX
Game 4: @New York-Saturday, October 31-8E/7C-FOX
Game 5 (if necessary): @New York-Sunday, November 1-8E/7C-FOX
Game 6 (if necessary): @Kansas City-Tuesday, November 3-8E/7C-FOX
Game 7 (if necessary): @Kansas City-Wednesday, November 4-8E/7C-FOX
PREVIEW
Sure, the Daniel Murphy home run streak is a nice story, but let’s give credit where credit is due. The Mets are here because of their pitching. In the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs, their four starters had a combined 2.16 ERA and gave up only 15 hits in 25 innings. They had 29 strikeouts against only six walks, and they’re all going to be fully rested for this series, and the Mets will need them to be. It may seem like they’re hitting on all cylinders, but outside of Murphy, the rest of the team hasn’t set the world on fire, yet they’re able to win games because they don’t have to score that much. The team average is only .235.
On the other side, the Kansas City Royals are coming into this series having played arguably the most consistent baseball of any team in these playoffs, but the problem with the Royals is getting behind early. And we saw the Mets jump all over the Cubs pitching in the first inning throughout the NLCS, so keeping the Mets at bay in the early innings will be crucial. It’s not that the Royals can’t overcome a lead, as it’s what they’ve been doing throughout these playoffs. The Royals can score a lot of runs in a hurry; they were seventh in the league in scoring this year. While the Mets have the edge in starting pitching, the Royals probably have the edge in the bullpen. Their big three of Davis, Herrera, and Hochevar have a combined 0.45 ERA in 20 1/3 innings this postseason. Late-inning matchups against the Mets’ power hitters could be interesting.
MY PREDICTION
Mets in 6
I think the Mets pitching has just been too good for them to stop now. Whether I’m right or wrong, a long championship drought will be broken. The Royals won in 1985 with the Mets winning the very next season in 1986. Neither team has won since. The ratings may not end up reflecting it, but this will be a very good series.
[yop_poll id=”323″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
There you have it. That’s just about everything you need to know for the 2015 World Series. For the latest updates from Binge Sports, follow me on Twitter @BingeSports and @THElukenorris. If you missed this week’s Binge SportsCast, you can check that out HERE and stay tuned for an all-new wrestling version coming your way for Hell in a Cell weekend. Binge Sports….we’ve got all the balls.
That’s what it’s all about right there. Welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the 2015 Major League Baseball Playoffs. After what can only be described as a wild divisional series round, we’re now down to the final four teams that still have a chance to be called World Series Champions. Let’s take a quick look at my predictions and the fan poll results from the ALDS and NLDS, and preview the upcoming ALCS and NLCS matchups.
ALDS Results
Texas Rangers vs Toronto Blue Jays: Blue Jays win in 5
My prediction: Blue Jays in 4
Fan poll: 100% picked Toronto
How crazy was that series? Texas takes the first two, but the Blue Jays fought back and fought back hard, especially in that wild Game 5. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game like that.
Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals: Royals win in 5
My prediction: Royals in 5
Fan poll: 50% picked Kansas City
Who’d have thought that the only team to be back in the LCS in either league from last year would be the Kansas City Royals, but they earned that spot this year. I must give credit to the Houston Astros for a great season, and that young team will be a force to be reckoned with for a while.
NLDS Results
Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals: Cubs win in 4
My prediction: Cubs in 5
Fan poll: 50% picked Chicago
The dream continues for the 2015 Chicago Cubs. After losing Game 1, the Cubs put on a power display over the next three games that the baseball world has never seen, including a record six home runs in Game 3 alone. This team is fun to watch and clinched a postseason series for the first time in history at home, and they did it by beating their long-time rival.
New York Mets vs Los Angeles Dodgers: Mets win in 5
My prediction: Dodgers in 4
Fan poll: 33% picked New York
Well, nobody’s perfect, but I was really close on those first three series, but it looks like most of us were wrong on the Dodgers/Mets series. I think I may have underestimated the real power of the Mets offense, and the grit of that young pitching staff. I honestly thought that with putting Kershaw and Greinke out there twice that the Dodgers had the clear advantage, but the Mets fought through and finished off LA late last night to earn a trip to the NLCS.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals
Game 1: @Kansas City-Friday, October 16
Game 2: @Kansas City-Saturday, October 17
Game 3: @Toronto-Monday, October 19
Game 4: @Toronto-Tuesday, October 20
*Game 5: @Toronto-Wednesday, October 21
*Game 6: @Kansas City-Friday, October 23
*Game 7: @Kansas City-Saturday, October 24
*-if necessary
These were the two best teams in the American League this year. The Royals pretty much had their division wrapped up in May, while the Blue Jays stayed in a battle with the New York Yankees up until the last few weeks of the regular season, doing most of their damage after going all in for the 2015 season with some key acquisitions at the trade deadline.
In seven games this season, the Blue Jays won four of them. The Royals took two out of three in Kansas City, but Toronto won three out of four at the Rogers Centre. A difference of one game in the regular season gives the Royals home-field advantage in this ALCS, which could be a big factor. Seriously, how loud was that Toronto crowd on Wednesday? The Blue Jays have a lot of pop on offense with Jose Bautista and MVP candidate Josh Donaldson, while the Royals will counter with Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer. However, there’s some good pitching on both staffs as well.
My prediction: Blue Jays in 6
[yop_poll id=”321″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
Chicago Cubs vs New York Mets
Game 1: @New York-Saturday, October 17
Game 2: @New York-Sunday, October 18
Game 3: @Chicago-Tuesday, October 20
Game 4: @Chicago-Wednesday, October 21
*Game 5: @Chicago-Thursday, October 22
*Game 6: @New York-Saturday, October 24
*Game 7: @New York-Sunday, October 25
*-if necessary
Somebody explain this to me. The Cubs had a better record than the Mets, by seven games to be exact. The Cubs won all seven games they played against the Mets this season. Yet, the Mets have the home-field advantage in this NLCS. Okay, I don’t make the rules (yet), but a change needs to be made in the playoff system in general. It was a shame that two of the three best teams in baseball had to play in the wild card game. Tough break Pittsburgh. Then the winner of that game had to play the team with the best record in baseball, they being the St. Louis Cardinals. The Chicago Cubs were able to get through both of those teams, and now have a date in New York on Saturday night. I suppose there’s something to be said for winning your division, but I don’t think I’m the only one that feels this way. Nonetheless, here we are.
As I mentioned, the Cubs won all seven games against New York this year, but Yoenis Cespedes hadn’t arrived yet, and he’s been a big difference maker for these Mets. This is going to be one fun series. The Cubs have a lot of youth, and are playing at an extremely high level on offense, but the Mets counter with one of the best young pitching staffs in all of baseball. This is going to be one fun series. Did I already say that? Well, then it must be true.
My prediction: Cubs in 6
[yop_poll id=”322″ tr_id=””” show_results=”-1″]
There you have it. Tune in next week for an all-new Binge SportsCast, where I’m sure I’ll be breaking down the first few games of these series. Hopefully, you’re having some fun following the inaugural season of the BFFL, and there’s still time to get in on the Binge Sports Pick ‘Em Contest, which you can take part in every Tuesday right here at Binge Media. For all the latest updates, make sure to follow me on Twitter @BingeSports and @THElukenorris. Until next time.
