Rates & Barrels - NL Wild Card series breakdowns and LCS, World Series predictions

Episode Date: September 29, 2020

Eno, Britt & DVR discuss their picks in the NL Wild Card Series matchups, and share their predictions for LCS and World Series winners as the 2020 Postseason gets underway. Series Breakdowns 1:51 Dodgers vs. Brewers 10:35 Padres vs. Cardinals 15:03 Braves vs. Reds 20:15 Cubs vs. Marlins Big Predictions 27:55 LCS & World Series Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow Britt on Twitter: @Britt_Ghiroli Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Subscribe to The Athletic for just $1/month: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Rates and Barrels, episode number 144, playoffs episode number 2. It is Tuesday, September 29th. Eric Van Ryper, Bridgeroli, Eno Saris here as we focus now on the NL wildcard matchups. If you missed our episode on Monday, be sure to check that out for our AL breakdowns and our conversation with Ken Rosenthal about this very unusual postseason. Britt, how's it going for you here on this Tuesday? It's going good. It was a little weird. We were talking off air, Derek, that there was no baseball on last night.

There was Monday Night Football, so there was a little something. But I don't know about you guys. I'm very excited to watch all these games. I hope it is absolute madness, chaos, everything. I hope we get a really, really good postseason. Yeah, I'm rooting pretty hard for chaos to reign throughout the next four weeks. How's your Tuesday going so far, you know? Oh, it's good.

You know, full of dog poop and potty talk. You know, normal morning. Typical day. It'd be weird if it didn't start that way for you. All right, well, we've got four games on the slate today, which we talked about yesterday. So we're going to talk about the NL series that are going to pick up tomorrow. Eight games on Wednesday.

I am so excited for an eight-playoff game day. I've never seen it before. Probably will never see it again. I need more screens. I've got one showing up in probably the next couple of hours. You bought a screen for this? Yeah, I got one more screen. I didn't go all out with an expensive one.

I was thinking about an extra monitor anyway, because I need a little more screen space, so the timing was actually perfect. There's a Lloyd Christmas, Mary Swanson scenario here, maybe. So you're saying there's a chance. I mean, this is a Brewers team that limped into the playoffs. This is a Brewers team that is without Corbin Burns for this series. And Burns is a guy that's probably a down-ballot NL Cy Young voter, a vote for some people. And this is a Brewers team that has not found its stride offensively for a prolonged stretch this year. Keston Hira leads the league in strikeouts. Christian Jelic has not played like an MVP. Omar Narvaez and Abisail Garcia have done very little to replace guys like Mike Moustakis and Yosemite Grandal.

So in a year in which pretty much everything has gone at least a little bit wrong for the Brewers, here they are with a chance to pull off maybe the upset of the year against the Dodgers team that should easily play in the World Series, right? I mean, in terms of the quality, like they're the best team in the National League. I don't think there's really even a strong argument against them. So as you guys look at this matchup, how does it go wrong for the Dodgers? Is it just the silly small sample variance things that can go wrong? Or is there some sort of weakness that we've potentially overlooked with this team? You put Clayton Kershaw in relief.

That's how. I saw it firsthand. My answer is going to be actually about Clayton Kershaw, too, which is just the back. You know, I think that there's a certain amount of veteran-ness on this Dodgers squad that could turn into old pretty quickly. You know, as an old person, I know that back injuries and things like these can crop up at any second. So, you know, Clayton Kershaw's back, Walker Buehler's blister. Maybe they can pitch through it for two, three innings, but if they can't make it to five, then maybe you get to some of the underbelly of that bullpen where you're talking about Dylan Floro instead of

Bruce Dargradarol. And maybe you can get to those guys before the real heavy hitters in that bullpen come in. So I think there might be some exploitable parts. And then on defense, for what's worth it, I looked at the effect of various parts of a team on postseason performance. I found that defense had a decent, um, a decent effect. Uh, the top 20% of postseason teams basically, uh, were one win better on defense. If you want to tell that wins about replacement. So, uh, I think the Dodgers defense is not amazing. And, um, you know, if they boot the ball around, if they start Max Muncy, um, base and Kike at third and Turner at DH or something you know there's all these different ways where like their guys do have versatility

but they don't they're not you know they're not like 21 year olds who are amazing at all the different positions they're kind of guys that have played the position before and are okay there. So boot the ball around a little bit. Someone comes up lame and the middle of the bullpen doesn't shine. It's a lot of ifs. It's a lot of things that have to go wrong, basically. Yeah. I mean, I like the Brewers and Ken Rosenthal mentioned this to us yesterday. Three straight years in the postseason, first time ever. They're a great team, a small market, haven't spent a day over 500.

They're a great story. I worry, though, if the Dodgers lose in the first round, a Dodgers team that went out, made a splash, got Mookie Betts, what message does that send to the rest of the baseball world? If you can't have a huge payroll full of superstars and win, are we continuing, and the Brewers win, are we continuing to kind of feed into that, make your team mediocre, hope to stumble in the postseason,

and then anything can happen? I want the Dodgers to win. Huge risk for baseball with the expanded playoffs in general, I think. It rewards mediocrity. It means that everybody will build an 81-win team and hope to make the playoffs and catch lightning in a bottle. And that means fewer deals for veterans in terms of the labor versus ownership battle. That means fewer deals for veterans, fewer free agent deals, more players on minimum salary deals. However, I think as a fan, it's also meaningful. If your teams don't try that hard to get better, the difference between watching a good team

and watching a bad team goes away. And isn't that part of the ups and downs of being a baseball fan? Oh, they're good now. They're starting to put players together. They're signing guys like we're good. Now the young guys are ready, you know, and then Oh, well, we're bad now. But we made some trades and got some prospects. That's, that's the ebb and flow of baseball. If you take away the you know, trying to actually build a really good team, a lot of that stuff goes out of the door and they're always going to be buying and selling at the same time. It's only going to be about prospects and it just won't be as much fun. You know, yesterday on the Keith Law Show, Nick Pecoro from the Arizona Republic was the guest and he kind of flipped the script on Keith.

He started asking Keith questions, which I thought was pretty funny, but he asked him if a champion in 2020 would be legitimate, right? Just thinking about this short season and the unusual playoffs. And one of the things that came up in that conversation was this idea that it's actually harder to win the World Series going through the playoffs this way. More can go wrong. There are more stumbling blocks. Yeah. And I hadn't really thought about it that way.

But I think what you guys mentioned before, if the Dodgers lose in the first round, this is very bad for baseball for all of those reasons. I think it does take something away. This is a team that should be there at least through the LCS, right? They deserve to be there. This is a team that you want to see playing for a shot to go to the World Series at a minimum just based on the way that they do spend. They do have star power. They won 40 games. They do have young talent. They won 40 games. They do have young talent.

They're amazing. 43 games. Yeah. This is one of the best teams we've ever seen, and we didn't get to see them for 162 games. It would be a shame if we only got to see them for 62 or 63. That would be a really disappointing outcome. At one point, I checked their run differential was like third best of all time. Of course, it's not a full season, so there might have been some ebb and flow that we didn't get but that's i mean still 60 games and they

still were amazing so i i agree with you on all fronts and you know for what it's worth the brewers are not also not good at the things that usually you need to be good at in the postseason which is not striking out they were third worst strikeout rate in baseball hitting a bunch of homers um you know they hit a few homers, but the home park helped, and their isolated slugging was below league average. And then on defense, they're not a standout team either. They're not really good at anything, having watched them throughout this season.

They're not really fun to watch either. They don't look like they've had a good time. Derek is so upset. But compared to the last two teams that made the postseason, it's the kind of thing that as a fan you should be really excited about. I do think, yes, enjoy the ride. Don't just be mad that they made it. It's a

clean slate. As bad as they've been at times this year, they're here with a chance to knock out a good team. Woodruff has the ability to throw a no-hitter. Woodruff homered off of Kershaw two years ago in the NLCS, which is one of my all-time favorite playoff moments. We won't get to see that.

We won't see that, though. I just don't want to deal with the whole woe is the Dodgers story again that I feel like becomes a yearly rite of passage, right? Oh, Clayton Kershaw can't get it done. Oh, the Dodgers can't win. They've been such a good team for so long now can't they just win one time i mean at least at least get them through this first round and you know the

run differential over a regular 162 game season would have been plus 360 that's just insane you know at some point in time doesn't the best team have to win? Again, I saw it last year. Front row seat covering the Nats. A Dodgers team that was supposed to win. And obviously, everything went wrong. So it is possible. I just hope personally that it doesn't happen. I think there are a lot more exciting teams than the Brewers.

And I really do not want this upset. Yeah. Picking with my head instead of my heart, it's the Dodgers. I think it's kind of the Dodgers. As convincingly as you can win a best of three series so i guess a sweep that has two games that aren't close is kind of what i've set my uh myself up for at this point uh let's talk about the padres cardinals match up look a wild season for the cardinals the outbreak they had the schedule they had to play to make up games. The fact that they're here is definitely a bit of a surprise, I think,

compared to what we were saying about this team back when that outbreak happened. They get the most fun team in the game. Probably our favorite team on this pod this season with the Padres. The Padres are banged up in the pitching staff right now. That's a concern for sure. Mike Clevenger and Nelson Lemaitre of day-to-day right now, a little bit of uncertainty about their availability, at least at the time of this recording. point where you still trust them to tap into that bullpen to use guys like Strom and Garrett Richards if they have limitations for one or both of Lumet and Clevenger and still have pitching be a strength for this club? I mean, I think they're blessed with a decent first round matchup. You know, the Cardinals offense has just been so bad that I think that it kind of puts the playing field at, like, can the Padres score three runs?

And I would say yes, the Padres can score three runs. And on the pitching side, can they put together a team that dominates one of the worst offenses in the league? Yeah, I think so. I mean, even if they threw out Davies and Richards and Paddock in a three-game series, I think they would win it. So that's how I feel. Yeah, Eno's right. I mean, this was an issue for the Cardinals, if you guys remember, last postseason.

They almost got no hit in their first two games in the NLCS after beating the Braves in that first round, and they've really done nothing to make significant strides there. And I think unfortunately it's going to be the same scenario for them again whether Clevenger can go or not I think the Padres are deep enough to get around that at least for this first round uh once you get into the second round I think you need Clevenger you need all your horses firing uh but to me the Cardinals pitching staff is very good. It's very deep.

But like Eno said, they can't hit. And that's going to come into play a lot in this postseason. And we saw the early exit with them last year. They're a great story, right? The lengthiest COVID shutdown in baseball, the king of the double headers, all that stuff. I just kind of see the road ending here for them. Yeah, not crazy about this lineup either. Dylan Carlson getting some run again down the stretch,

playing a little better this time around than he did when he was first up. He actually finished the season hitting 318, 400, 682 over his final week. Again, tiny sample, but just looked a lot better round two versus immediately upon debuting earlier this year. They need something like that they need Dylan Carlson to step up they need Goldschmidt to have a big series they need a couple other role guys to step up and exceed expectations because their pitching is just kind

of good I mean obviously everyone likes Jack Flaherty there's no real argument there but you don't fear Adam Wainwright in a playoff matchup Kwanghyun KimYoon Kim, I think, is a little over his skis, just to put it nicely. So I think that's going to be kind of interesting to see, too. Like, how does he hold up? He's actually going to go in game one for the cards on Wednesday. But this is a series where I think we're all on the Padres for similar reasons.

Last week is in the books. Now it's time to review the tape and prepare for this week. There's no better place to get in on all the action than with DraftKings, the leader in one-day fantasy sports. To add to this week's excitement, DraftKings has a free shot at millions of dollars in total prizes up for grabs. If you haven't tried DraftKings yet, head

to the App Store now because you don't want to miss this. Draft your lineup and feel the sweat like never before. Every run, pass, and catch means more with DraftKings. It's simple. Just pick your lineup, stand with the salary cap, and see how your team stacks up against the competition. Nothing adds to the excitement of watching the game quite like having a shot at millions of dollars in prizes. Download the DraftKings app now and use code RUN. For a limited

time, new users can get a free shot at millions of dollars in prizes this week. Don't miss out on the week 4 action. Enter the code RUN to get a free shot at millions of dollars in prizes this week. Don't miss out on the week for action. Enter the code RUN to get a free shot at millions of dollars in prizes with your first deposit. That's code RUN, only at DraftKings. Make it rain. Minimum $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See DraftKings.com for details. So let's be clear. When it comes to shipping internationally, can I provide trade documents electronically? Mm-hmm. The answer is FedEx. Okay, but what about estimating duties and taxes on my shipments? How do I find all the...

Also FedEx. Impressive. Is there a regulatory specialist I can ask about? FedEx. Oh, but let's say that... FedEx. What a... FedEx.

Thanks. No more questions. Always your answer for international shipping. FedEx, where now meets next. Let's move over to the other part of the bracket. Let's talk about the 2-7 matchup where the Braves will take on the Reds. Britt, I think the Reds have been the most popular upset pick on the NL side. As I've listened to different people talk about the bracket, as I've read some different stories, everyone seems to think the Reds are very dangerous and a very bad matchup for the Braves.

Part of that's the Braves not being healthy as well. So I want to get your thoughts on this series as a whole. Is this as much of a lopsided matchup for the Braves? Maybe the worst possible draw they could have had other than having to face the Dodgers right away as you look at the way the teams match up in the NL? I think so. And, you know, Rosenthal

talked about this yesterday when I asked him about the concern with the Braves. He said he was very concerned and I don't think he's alone here. Their rotation has been a huge liability and what playoff team in a format like this is going to get away with having a weak rotation? I don't think anybody can. I think

when you look at the Reds, the way they finished the season, I believe 16 and three, they're a hot team. We've seen in baseball momentum. We've seen teams that are playing with a lot of confidence. And I think Joey Votto said it best. He said, like, no one wants to play us, right, or something like that. Guys are scared. I think they have Trevor Bauer. They have Castillo. They have the horses. And I said this yesterday.

I like both teams out of Ohio. I think Cleveland's poised for a deep run. I think the Reds are poised for a deep run. And it's unfortunate because if you're a Braves fan, every year this seems to happen, right? Every year they have this good team that just cannot get it done in the postseason. We saw what happened last year with the Cardinals in that first round, the way that Mike Fulton-Evitts kind of fell apart and the Braves ended up going home. I think, unfortunately, it's going to happen to them again.

That Mike Soroka injury was devastating. They've never been able to fill those holes in that rotation. Yes, the offense is very good, but you're not going to be able to score double-digit runs in the postseason and hide that terrible rotation. There's really nowhere to hide that come October. Yeah. As much as I think Ian Anderson's pretty good, Yeah, as much as I think Ian Anderson's pretty good, and Max Freed is really good, Ian Anderson really hasn't had that period of time where he's regressed and the league has figured something out about him

and he's come back out on top of that. So if that happens in the postseason, it's not going to be good because then they have one starter. As much as I think Kyle Wright is interesting, I think I'd trust him for about two innings in the postseason start. If you throw Kyle Wright out there in game three and you need to win, then you pitch him for two innings and you start getting into the bullpen. Well, Chris Martin is day-to-day. Will Smith hasn't been in the same really this year. So you're going to have to get a lot of run from like tyler matzek aj mentor

darren o'day all good relievers i think so i could see them you know surviving but i don't know about thriving you know uh what happens when it becomes a five game series and now you have to throw kyle wright twice or you know what's going on with that? Is Bryce Wilson going to get in the games? Somebody like Will Smith that you're just not 100% sure of? Or like Josh Tomlin, is he going to get postseason innings? That doesn't bode well for the Braves. Another thing that's interesting is that the Braves and the Reds offense, the Braves pitching staff and the Reds offense particularly don't mix well

because the Braves pitching staff as a whole was 22nd in strikeout rate this year. And the reason that matters is that the Reds actually struck out a fair amount as an offense. But if you don't have a team that can strike them out, what's going to happen? Then they're just, the Reds are going to hit a bunch of bombs because that's what they do.

They hit homers. They had really good ISO this year, and it was just the strikeout rate that was a problem. So it's kind of the rock and immovable force situation here where it's like, what's going to give? I think this series is the AL al's version you know we've got the indians yankees series where it's like one of those teams is going to be out after a three game series that's kind of how i feel about braves reds these are both really good teams even with

the braves flaws and i think the one thing that people are kind of sleeping on a little bit somehow is the braves offense is almost as good as the Dodgers offense. And if you have an offense that's that good, if you could score runs like that, you do have a chance against anybody, even in longer series. But I do think this is a tough matchup because the Reds pitching is good enough to hold the Braves to three runs. And I don't know if the Braves pitching staff is good enough to keep Cincinnati off the board. I think that's exactly where that problem comes in. So definitely a series I'm looking forward to. I do think the Reds are going to win. I've been picking the Reds. I actually think the Reds are going to make a run into the NLCS. I think this is going to be a really good Cincinnati team at the absolute right time of the season. I think a lot of us like them going into the year

and they were finally starting to make good on those expectations as the regular season came to a close. Let's get to the Cubs- Marlins matchup. Probably the least discussed of the four matchups on the NL side, much like the Cardinals with the Marlins having a breakout earlier this season of COVID. There was no way any of us were going to say, oh yeah, the Marlins are going to be a playoff team when this is all over. But here they are with a shot against an old Cubs team. Kind of an old and boring Cubs team in some ways. But a team that has a lot of experience. And maybe that doesn't matter as much in this postseason as it ordinarily would. But this is one of those series that I'm actually kind of excited to see.

Because I want to see how the young Marlins fare on this stage. And Eno, I know you've been a Sandy Alcantara fan for a while now. So I just want to see how he looks. I want to see if the Marlins bullpen, which is the worst of the teams that qualified for the postseason, if they can step up and actually protect leads, should they be positioned to actually do that?

You know, they have some young, you know, in their prime, flame-throwing starters that could throw complete games, right? Like, if you want to imagine a weird world where the Marlins advance, that's what happens. They throw seven, eight innings and kind of nationals it in a different way. But Sixto Sanchez and Sandy Alcantara as a duo is pretty impressive and formidable. But not only do I worry about their bullpen, but also their bats. I mean, they have Starling Marte and Brian Anderson, and then I can name the rest of the team.

But I don't know that the average fan can name another player on that offense. Corey Dickerson? There you go. Nice. Corey Dickerson's in there. The other thing people need to keep in mind as they think about the Marlins-Cubs matchup, the Cubs offense is about as bad as the Brewers offense. They've got bigger names. They've got a little more depth.

They've got more people that you think should be playing at a high level. You look at the Brewers and go, okay, yeah, they're below average because they signed some below average players and expected average or better than average results. The Cubs have guys like Javi Baez who just haven't at all performed close to their typical levels. Couldn't they just turn it on at some point? That's the thought, right?

Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez have all all struggled that's why the offense has been bad and you kind of you wouldn't bet on that continuing if we had 162 game season i wouldn't bet on all three of them staying quiet yeah i i wonder i wonder if they at least get something from two of them but a 25.7 k rate they strike out a lot They've been below average in terms of WRC plus, and they're going up against the Marlins team that is clearly playing with house money, Brit. Like there's,

there's no pressure on the Marlins whatsoever. Yeah. I've, I'll be honest with you guys. Out of all the matchups, I have like no feel for this one. Like you could make a case, the Marlins are going to win.

And I'd be like, okay, I believe you. And you can make a case for the Cubs, which is largely that same group of veterans who, as you know, said they could turn it on, right?

This is the group that won the world series that has been woefully inconsistent this season, but they've been there. They have the track record. They could rise to the occasion. So I kind of, I have like no real feel for the series and it's kind of been bothering me because I want the Marlins to win. I think they're a cool story. Uh, the underdog story, again,

a team that was shut down for COVID, a team that most people cannot name more than three or four players. Uh, but they have some holes. Um, their pitching is terrific, but as Eno said, the lineup poses an issue. So does the Cubs lineup. I think of all the matchups, this one might be the most evenly matched series. And it's just going to depend on whatever team is a little bit hotter. I mean, you look at these two teams, do either of them jump out to you as like a,

this team should play in the world series. To me, they're both just kind of teams that are good teams, but have considerable holes. And again, I have absolutely no feel for this series at all. I'll take the loss either way. I don't know who wins this. I don't know. Am I alone here with the confusion? This is the only matchup that I really don't have an answer for i'm pulling for the marlins i think it's confusing i think the cubs are confusing is the problem because i think it would be easier to pick them if we knew better what the cubs were the cubs you know ran out to a lead and made the team and made the postseason comfortably and had a lot of wins so

you say okay they're a good team then you look at you say, okay, they're a good team. Then you look at the offense, you say, okay, they're a bad team. But then you look at the names on the back of the jerseys and you say, okay, they're a good team, you know? And then you think, oh, well, the Cubs, they've always had hitters. They don't have pitchers. Well, this year, you Darvish and Kyle Hendricks look like a pretty good one too. Like maybe they do have the pitching. So I'm still going to pick the Cubs

because I think Hugh Darvish and Kyle Hendricks can match zeros. I'm glad that Ian Happ broke out, but I think one of those trio of veterans is going to join him to provide the offense. As bad as Craig Kimbrell has been, I'll take the Cubs bullpen over the Marlins bullpen and Kimbrell after those early season meltdowns has turned things around and looked more like vintage Kimbrell which I think gives them one more really important piece in the back of that bullpen that they desperately needed bullpen depth not a strength for the Cubs in a very short series especially though you do have the two guys that you mentioned, you know, Darvish and Hendricks, who could just put the team on their back and get seven plus innings

and make the lack of bullpen depth, at least for this week, kind of a moot point. So I think this series is better than people are giving it credit for. I will take the Cubs. I think there are enough guys there who can bounce back. I think Hatt playing at the level he's played at this year offsets some of the disappointments we talked about,

you know, from Bryant, from Baez, and from Anthony Rizzo. Schwarber, that incident where he got benched by David Ross late in the year, too, that was kind of an under-discussed story probably outside of Chicago. I'm not worried about Schwarber. Schwarber's going to hit. I know he's had a down year, but he's one of those guys that you need one swing to change a game. He's still capable of bringing that to the table. And I think you can say that about three or four different guys in this lineup who've underperformed. So it is more about the name on the back of the jersey, I guess, for me. I think the Marlins hang, but I think the Cubs ultimately win this series. But hopefully it goes three,

because I do want to see as much of this series as possible. You know, one thing that's funny, you know, Britt, you were saying that you had the Reds advancing a little bit. So I think DVR, you just said that too. Like I'm looking at the bracket and you know, from a bracketology standpoint, this is the weak bracket, you know, Cubs, Cubs, Marlins, Braves, Reds. And so I felt pretty comfortable picking the Reds to come out of this part of the bracket, just because I think it's a weak bracket, you know, and I don't think that necessarily the winner of this quadrant is going, I would say they would be no matter what will be a large underdog in the NLCS. Right.

Especially if the Dodgers still win, right? I think even if it's the Padres. If the Dodgers or Padres come out of that, I would heavily favor them against any team that comes out of this bracket. Yeah, I think it hinges on the health of the Padres. The Padres are totally healthy as a rotation. They'd be favored against any of those teams from the bottom of the bracket. So, before we go, we should put it out there. as a rotation, they'd be favored against any of those teams from the bottom of the bracket. So before we go, we should put it out there.

ALCS winner, NLCS winner, and World Series winner from the start. Let's see if we can get it right. Eno, we'll go to you first. Well, I had the Reds and Padres in the NLCS. I guess I'm making a bet on Clevenger and LeMet being healthy enough. But as I said, I like some of those other arms as well. And out of the ALCS, I've raised twins with the Twins and Padres meeting in the World Series and the Padres winning. So I'm all in on the Padres.

All in on the Padres. How about you, Britt? All right. I'm going to go Rays. And, you know, I was in on the Twins, but the Josh Donaldson news just doesn't sit well with me, him not being on that roster. I think they may get bounced. I talked about this yesterday. I think Houston's not better, but they may get luckier.

I think the Rays come out of that first ALDS bracket. I like the A's to play them as well. I think the Rays advance. I really do. All the way to the World Series, I think they're the AL's to play them as well. I think the Rays advance. I really do. All the way to the World Series. I think they're the AL team to beat.

On the other side, I think I'm going to go, you know, God, I want to go Dodgers, you guys, but I just don't think they have it in them. I'm going to go Dodgers playing the Padres. The Padres winning. Yeah, I think, as we've said, it's bad for baseball. I just, I think the Dodgers have so much pressure on them that they're just not going to be able to get it done.

The Padres, nothing to lose, not supposed to be here. Really like the Padres. I think the Marlins are going to beat the Cubs. We already talked about the Reds out of that bracket. I think they're going to end up not only beating the Braves, I think they're going to beat the Mar only beating the Braves, I think they're going to beat the Marlins and end up playing the Padres. I think you're going to see a Padres-Rays

World Series. I think San Diego's going to win. All the major media markets are going to be upset because you have two of the smallest media markets in baseball in the World Series. That would be terrible for ratings i

guess nerds rejoice i'm gonna go indians over twins in the alcs i think the twins can get by without donaldson for a little while maybe he's back for the next series but i just like the way the bomb squad is built kenta maeda looks fantastic i'm gonna go dodgers against the reds in the nlcs with the Reds actually pulling off that upset. I'm going to go Indians-Reds with the Indians coming away with that World Series. They were close a couple years ago, of course, against the Cubs. An all-Ohio World Series. So ratings through the roof in Ohio.

Ratings not so good everywhere else. Even though that'd be a great matchup. Great pitching. MVP caliber talent on the position player side in Cleveland, even though that offense is a below average offense as a group. They've been there. They've got star power and they've got starting pitching. They've got

starting pitching and they've got a lot of it. And I think that's going to be the theme of this postseason. A lot of 3-2 games in that World Series. You guys, none of us picked the Dodgers again. Yeah. None of us. It's funny too because I picked the Dodgers again. Yeah. None of us. It's funny, too, because I think the Dodgers, there was a fair amount of chalk in the,

McCullough picked the Dodgers to win it all. Keith Law put the Dodgers in the World Series. Mark Carrigg picked the Dodgers against the A's in the World Series. And the A's won it all for Kerry. He's an A's fan. That's a fan thing. Jim Bowden picked the Dodgers to win it all.

Ken Rosenthal picked the Dodgers to win it all over the Twins. So we're a little bit counter our own culture here a little bit. If I gave you guys the choice of any two teams or the entire field to win the World Series, would you take the two or would you take the field? What was it? The field or who? You could choose any two teams you want, and then I would get the field as the other side, or you could choose the field less two teams of my choice.

Which side of that would you prefer? I'm taking the field. You'd take the field less two teams of my choice. What side of that would you prefer? You'd take the field. Yeah. The field is like a lot fewer teams normally. In this field, I get 14 to you two. You get 14 shots at it. It's Dodgers plus one or 14, and I think 14 is the correct answer. Maybe three versus the field is the way you have to do it this year.

But I still think I'd take the field because it's 2020. It's the year of chaos. And we expect chaos, but we expect it to be a lot of fun. So enjoy the first wave of games today. If you're enjoying this show on a platform that allows you to rate and review it, please take a moment to do that. We'd greatly appreciate it. If you don't already have a subscription to The Athletic,

for just $1 a month, you can sign up at theathletic.com slash ratesandbarrels. Get Eno's articles, Britt's articles, all of our playoff baseball coverage. Everything else we do across the board is included as well. And as always, you can reach us via email, ratesandbarrels at theathletic.com. If you'd like to contact us that way. On Twitter, he's at Eno Saris. She is at Britt underscore Droli. I am at Derekerek van riper

that is going to wrap things up this episode of rates and barrels we are back with you on wednesday thanks for listening