By JOSH COOK
Fall Trends: Blue is in
The league championship series started on Friday, with the Brewers and Dodgers kicking off their series before the Astros and Red Sox get a shot at one another on Saturday.
Scheming
The Brewers, Dodgers, Astros and Red Sox are the four remaining teams in the hunt for the World Series title. What do they all have in common? A beautiful blue element to their uniforms. Blue being my favorite color, the aesthetic of the rest of these playoffs will be off the charts. You might be thinking; the Red Sox don’t have blue in their uniform? And you can think that. You’re color-blind, but you can think that.
It is funny though; baseball is pretty much the one sport where uniforms are entirely unneeded. Think about it: It’s incredibly clear which team any given player is on based on their position on the field, what they’re doing or, the most obvious, whether they have a hat and glove on or a helmet. Uniforms aren’t anywhere close to a necessity for executing the sport of baseball, but despite all that, merchandise sales are a huge opportunity so this is where we are; and I’m thankful for that because… Hats. Superfluous blue it is! Now to the baseball!
Dodgers v. Brewers
The divisional series not very contested. The Brewers made swept the the stone-cold Rockies, who produced just two runs in 28 innings of play during the three-game series. The Brewers, on the other hand, are smoldering like The Rock in the new Jumanji. Game 1 was close, with the Brewers capturing the win in the 10th inning – Mike Moustakas hit a walk-off single to end the game, 3-2. Games 2 and 3 were shutout victories for the Brewers, winning 4-0 and 6-0. They’ll have home field advantage in the NLCS against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers had to play a fourth game against the Braves, but it really wasn’t a much better series. Atlanta was similarly shut out twice, but did take game 3, winning 6-5 with a grand slam early in the ballgame. The Dodgers’ lineup looks really good right now. They scored a total of 20 runs in their four games, which sets up a hopeful slugfest with the Brewers.
Both teams are actually pitching very well right now, it will be fun to watch these two strong, well-rounded teams duke it out in what should be at least a six-game series. The Dodgers will have to come up with a way to counter Christian Yelich and slow down the Brewers’ momentum. I could see Yasiel Puig or Matt Kemp being the guy to step up and provide some excitement alongside Manny Machado.
Red Sox v. Astros
The Astros have been one of the most dominant teams this season and they were an early favorite to make a deep run into the playoffs. They outplayed the Indians in a quick three-game series. While scoring 21 runs in just three games, they also only gave up six. A +15 scoring-differential for a post-season series is telling of just how great they are, and right on par with their league-leading +263 mark for the season. The Red Sox are also shaping up to be a contender this post-season. Their series with the Yankees disappointed me quite a bit. I thought the Yankees would put up a better showing, but four innings into the first game at Yankee stadium (game 3), the Red Sox were up 10-0 and it was very clear they would take the series. I don’t know if the Yankees just couldn’t handle the moment or if their roster just isn’t “there yet.” The Red Sox, Astros series should be a really good one, and perhaps will decide who wins the World Series. I think the Astros have the edge, but both teams have been incredible this year. They played Saturday at 7 p.m. and the Red Sox will have home-field advantage for the series.