The Matchup of the MLB Playoffs: LA vs SD

I've been patiently awaiting what I consider to be the spiciest of the LCS matchups to begin and the day is finally here. The quintessential "Big Bro vs. Little Bro" duel. Does either city truly have a pulse for their sports teams? After spending 4 years in San Diego and the previous 2 in LA, I don't believe so. I think the general population of adults spend too much time either surfing, sniffing each other's asses and getting high off the smell, or side-eyeing every person in sight to truly be in touch with the teams in their cities. In this way I do feel bad for both teams since they'll likely never have the fanatic backbone that cities like Boston, Chicago or New York give their teams, but for what its worth I'll give them the time of day out of the kindness of my heart, and since my team got humiliated last week anyways.

First the favorite, the Los Angeles Title Dodgers. I get the hype, Mookie Betts with his little man physique exuding a deceiving amount of power that you wouldn't expect, Kershaw the best pitcher of this generation, the Hollywood aura that will for whatever reason always surround the team. The vast majority of this lineup has experience in the playoffs and World Series and has proven that they can carry that performance into the deepest parts of the postseason. Especially with Walker Buehler going Game 1 and Kershaw in Game 2, that's a tall order for anyone. Or is it? Buehler gave up a pair of runs in 4 innings against the lowly Brewers in the previous round and Kershaw is the lasting enigma of the league, always conveniently falling apart in October. The offense is known to put up big numbers and I do expect it to keep up, especially against a Padres pitching staff that I'm unsure of being able to carry a team into the promised land... but what if it doesn't? I'm probably overreacting and the Dodgers are almost a sure lock to win the series.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the Friars have a surging and promising squad. From the moment they became a center of controversy from the infamous 3-0 grand slam against Texas earlier this season, they've shown that they're relentless in their mission to drop dick on the ball. Tatis is a beast, Manny Machado does it all, and my boy Wil Myers is a perfect compliment to these free swingers. Plus we can't forget the presence of a guy like Hosmer. Another guy that's been there before, he came back to win a World Series with KC after losing a heartbreaker in 7 games to the San Francisco Baseball Giants. Plus the pitching staff has been reinforced with their in-season acquisition, Mike Clevinger being moved onto the active roster for the series.

I'll take the Dodgers in 7 just off the collective skill level and experience of the now accustomed MLB runner ups. But I hope I'm wrong. I'm for sure pulling for the Fathers.