Preview/Prediction

The New York Mets completed a surprising sweep of the Chicago Cubs Wednesday night and continue to wait for the American League to finish its championship series and send an opponent to the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals are certainly in a better position on Friday afternoon, as they'll take a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays at home into Game 6. If they win one of the final two games of the series, they will win their second consecutive American League pennant and play the Mets in the World Series.

We've spent a lot of time the past few weeks identifying areas of need for each MLB team this coming offseason and establishing potential targets to address those needs both in free agency and on the trade market.

However, as you're well-aware, things don't always go according to plan when it comes to a team's offseason approach.

If it did, Jon Lester probably would have wound up signing with the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants last winter.

One win separates the Kansas City Royals from a World Series showdown with the New York Mets, but a stiff Game 6 test awaits the reigning American League champions.

The New York Mets didn’t want to leave any doubt in the minds of the casual fans. An 8-3 thrashing in Game 4 on Wednesday and a sweep of the Chicago Cubs meant they secured their place as the best team in the National League and a spot in the World Series.

After missing their chance to clinch a World Series berth on Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals return to Kauffman Stadium, where they have won their last three postseason games, with a chance to eliminate the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday. 

Is it really supposed to be this easy?

The New York Mets came into the National League Championship Series as underdogs because the powerful Chicago Cubs had already beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the postseason's previous two rounds. It seemed they had the lineup, featuring outfielder Kyle Schwarber, third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and the big-time pitching, with Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, to earn a spot in their first World Series since 1945.

The New York Mets are waiting for their World Series opponent.  

Wasting no time on drama, the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in a one-sided National League Championship Series, jumping out to an early 6-0 lead to capture Game 4 on Wednesday night. Now they'll sit back and scout their two possible American League adversaries.

One league championship series down, one to go. The New York Mets completed their surprising sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley on Wednesday, as Lucas Duda drove in five runs and Daniel Murphy smashed a homer in the Amazins' 8-3 victory.

For the second consecutive season, the Kansas City Royals will have an opportunity to secure a spot in the World Series with one more victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. 

With their season on the line for the third time already this postseason, the Blue Jays got a tremendous start from Marco Estrada and a big sixth inning to force a sixth game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday. 

The end is near. A couple short weeks from now, the World Series will be over and Major League Baseball will hunker down for the winter.

But hey, it's not as bad as it sounds. There may not be any actual baseball, but the offseason features more than enough of the next best thing: baseball news! There will be all sorts of wheeling and dealing, and many players changing addresses. It'll be fun. I promise.

So, we might as well get a head start on getting ready.