League Championship Series Previews with Staff Predictions

Well, that didn’t go so well. The Cubs Insider staff tried their hands at picking the LDS series and, well, we failed. Miserably. Only WilcoMeThat had an even record. Flipping a coin did better than most of us, and my 3-year-old daughter picked better than Evan. Okay, so that last part isn’t all that surprising.

Current records:

Ryan- 1-3
Tom- 1-3
Tommy- 1-3
Evan- 0-4
Bryan- 1-3
Justin- 1-3
Dabs- 1-3
Wilco- 2-2
Gracie- 1-3
Coin- 2-2

Anyway, we’re trying again in our ALCS and NLCS playoff preview.

Kansas City Royals (89-73)  vs. Baltimore Orioles (96-66)

-Royals won the season series 4-3
-In 30 PA’s against the Orioles this season, Alex Gordon hit .345/.367/.586 with 2 homers
-The Royals won both games that James Shields started against the Orioles this season
-Including the playoffs, the Orioles are 24-10 going back to late August
-Game 1 starter Chris Tillman had a 2.54 ERA at home this season

The Royals have been the darlings of the playoffs so far, coming back twice to win the epic Wild Card game and then taking down three former Cy Young winners (Scherzer, Verlander, and Price) in sweeping Detroit. The Orioles are riding high as well, having swept the Angels after playing extremely well down the stretch. Nelson Cruz has somewhat quietly been a beast in the playoffs for his career, hitting 16 home runs in only 149 PA’s.

Game 1 (@BAL)- Shields vs. Tillman
Game 2 (@BAL)- Ventura vs. TBA
Game 3 (@KC)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 4 (@KC)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 5 (@KC)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 6 (@BAL)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 7 (@BAL)-TBA vs. TBA

Ryan-  in 6
Tom- in 6
Tommy- in 7
Evan- in 5
Bryan- in 7
Justin- in 7
Dabs- in 7
WilcoMeThat- in 6
Gracie- in 4
Coin-

San Francisco Giants (88-74)  vs. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)

-The Giants won the season series 4-3
-Including the playoffs, the Cardinals are 22-10 going back to late August
-Since 2002, the Cardinals have lost both NLCS they’ve played with the Giants (4-1 in 2002 and 4-3 2012)
-In 10 career starts, Game 1 starter Adam Wainwright has a 3.11 ERA against the Giants
-Pablo Sandoval hit .310/.355/.586 with 2 home runs in 31 PA’s in the 2012 NLCS against the Cardinals

The Giants have played well, even winning an impressive 18-inning game against the Nats en route to the NLCS, as they attempt to make it to the World Series for the fourth time this century. The Cardinals stand in their way, playing equally well and having beaten Clayton Kershaw twice in the NLDS as they bid to play in their fifth World Series since 2000. This one is a good match-up, but one team has devil magic.

Game 1 (@STL)- Bumgarner vs. Wainwright
Game 2 (@STL)- TBA vs. Lynn
Game 3 (@SF)- Lackey vs. TBA
Game 4 (@SF)- Miller vs. TBA
Game 5 (@SF)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 6 (@STL)- TBA vs. TBA
Game 7 (@STL)-TBA vs. TBA

Ryan- in 6
Tom- in 6
Tommy- in 6
Evan- in 6
Bryan- in 5
Justin- in 5
Dabs- in 5
WilcoMeThat-  in 6
Gracie- in 5
Coin-