Don't listen to that starry-eyed American dreamer, Jim Caple. The San Francisco Giants are going to win this World Series.
Of course they will. That's what they do. That's all they do this time of year.
I've covered every postseason game they've played since 2010. I haven't seen them lose a series. Not one.
They've won eight October series in a row now, plus the wild-card game, all under the best manager in baseball, Bruce Bochy. Did you know the only other manager in history to win this many consecutive postseason series with one team is Joe Torre, with a Yankees club that spent like 98.5 billion Steinbrenners to help him do that? True story.
I've seen these Giants go 8-2 in this postseason. They've won 15 of their last 17 postseason games dating back to 2012. They've won 12 of their last 14 postseason road games.
And 13 of the players who were around for the last parade are back to try to ride those floats again. Plus they'll have eight players on this roster who have played for all three of their World Series teams. So the point is, they have as innate a feel for October baseball as any team in modern times. And I think that's a big advantage in a matchup in which almost no one on the other side has played in a World Series.
It's easy to fall in love with the Royals right now. I get that. It's been cool watching baseball fever erupt in Kansas City. I'm hooked, too.
But as good as the Royals' bullpen has been in this postseason (1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), the Giants' bullpen has been better (1.78 ERA, 0.88 WHIP). And I'll give extra credit for the manager's feel for putting the right arm in the right October match-up night after night.
Also, remember that while the Giants may not be some sort of rolling thunder company, they were a much better offensive team than the Royals, piling up more runs, homers and extra-base hits, even with no DH. And in Michael Morse, the Giants are set up to have the perfect DH for the games in Kansas City, unlike some NL World Series teams would be.
One more thing: We should recognize that the Royals of October are just one-half of what the Royals of April-September looked like. This is a team prone to streaks, all right -- both kinds of streaks.
After their big 10-game winning streak in June, they lost six of their next seven. After their amazing 31-12 blitz from late July into early September, they turned around and lost four of five and nine of 14.
So seeing them run off one exhilarating October win after another was an amazing sight on one hand. But on the other, said an executive of one club who watched it with fascination, it felt "like they're trying to beat the baseball gods to the finish line."
Well, maybe the Royals have transformed their franchise and their whole M.O. overnight. That would be a fantastic finish to a beautiful October story. But if they're going to win this World Series, they'll need to.
The Giants do everything right -- the little things and the big things. And that's why my pal Caple will be as wrong about this World Series as he's been about pretty much all of them.
So we have the World Series matchup that everyone expected back in spring training: Kansas City versus San Francisco.
Well, some people like the National League-dazzled Jayson Stark might have expected the Giants, given that 2014 is an even-numbered year and the Giants won the series in 2010 and 2012. But the Royals? They hadn't even played a postseason game in 29 years and were two games below .500 in late July. Yet here they are in the World Series -- and now they haven't lost a postseason game in 29 years. Kansas City rolled through the American League playoffs 8-0, the first team to ever do so.
Only three players on the playoff roster had postseason experience, but it didn't matter. The amazing comeback against Oakland in the wild card game gave the Royals a confidence and spirit that carried them through the rest of the playoffs. As Billy Butler said, the Royals are steam-rolling. And next to be flattened, unfortunately, is my boyhood team, San Francisco.
Begin with the pitching. The Royals' rotation of James Shields, Yordano Ventura, Jason Vargas and Jeremy Guthrie isn't the best you've ever seen in the postseason, but it's good enough. That's because of Kansas City's dominant bullpen that shortens the games to six innings. Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland all had ERAs under 1.50 during the regular season and have a combined 1.05 ERA this postseason. If the Giants don't have a lead by the sixth inning, they're not going to get one.
Kansas City's offense wasn't a great strength during the regular season, but the hitters are at the top of their game now. The team that hit the fewest home runs in the majors (95) is averaging a home run per game this postseason -- and they have been timely homers, with four in extra innings. There probably will be a power drop in the pitcher-friendly parks this series, but that won't matter because the Royals can manufacture runs. An infield single, a stolen base, a sacrifice bunt -- whatever it takes, the Royals can pull it off to get that bullpen the lead.
That's because the Royals also have speed. They led the majors in stolen bases and are demonstrating that small ball can win.
And finally, there is the defense. The Royals fielding is outstanding and it has finally gotten the deserved attention this postseason, particularly in the outfield with Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. Cain covers so much area that the kayakers in McCovey Cove would have to fight him off if any Giant manages a splash hit.
Which they won't. No one expected the Royals to be here. But they are. Sorry, Jayson. Just as I correctly predicted the Giants winning the World Series in 2010, the Royals will win this year.
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