2017 World Series Preview

And then there were two. The Washington Nationals added another chapter to their ongoing narrative of postseason disappointments. The Cleveland Indians put their city through more anguish. The New York Yankees proved to be a gritty bunch that never quit and appear to have an extremely bright future. Both the Nationals and the Boston Red Sox opted for managerial changes after their seasons ended. The final two teams standing are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros in what appears to be a highly-intriguing World Series.

This October, the Dodgers have looked every bit the part of the team that was on pace to set the single season wins record back in August. They’re scoring plenty of runs, the back end of their bullpen is lights out and the starting pitching has been good enough to keep them in games. What’s not to like? The Dodgers are complete from top to bottom and it’s possible the only team that stops them from winning this series is the Dodgers. Toss in the fact that Los Angeles dispatched of the defending champion Chicago Cubs with relative ease in five games without star shortstop Corey Seager due to a back injury and it’s easy to see why LA enters as the favorite here.

Seager is likely to return for the World Series which only makes the Dodgers that much more formidable heading into tonight’s game one at Chavez Ravine. One thing we haven’t seen so far in the postseason that is probably the best chance for Houston is a starting pitcher for the Dodgers knocked out of the game in the first three innings. The biggest advantage for the Astros this series is the strength of their lineup and they’ll have to come out of the gate with an aggressive approach.  Knocking a Dodgers' pitcher out of the game early stretches things out for Dave Roberts and makes his bullpen decisions a lot tougher. The Los Angeles bullpen is deep enough to where even if its starter doesn’t pitch more than five innings, piecing things together for another four innings isn’t that difficult for Roberts. Therefore, eating into that bullpen as early as possible gives the Astros their best shot.

There’s no doubt Houston enters as an underdog, but this certainly isn’t David vs. Goliath. Few would argue with the claim that the Astros are the best offensive team in baseball. Dallas Keuchel is one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in the game. Justin Verlander has turned back the clock and deserved to be the ALCS MVP. The big questions for Houston will be can its rotation beyond Keuchel and Verlander hold up and if their bullpen can hold any leads it’s tasked with preserving. General Manager Jeff Luhnow was under lots of criticism for his lack of activity at the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July. While acquiring Verlander at the end of August added some stability to the rotation, the bullpen remains a question mark for the Astros. If Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers can pitch the way they did in game seven of the ALCS, that would go a long way in helping Houston pull the upset.

There will certainly be lots of emotions for Houston after the city was hit by Hurricane Harvey at the end of the summer. Both rosters are mixed with a young core of players that came through the minor leagues and older veterans that came aboard to supplement what was already in place. Some of those veterans, most notably Houston’s Carlos Beltran, are in search of their first World Series ring. How important is this World Series Clayton Kershaw's legacy? He'll likely make two starts and there continue to be doubts about his postseason performance. There’s no shortage of headlines as another Fall Classic is set to begin. I’ll take the Dodgers in six.