If the MLB Wild Card Games were the appetizer—the amuse-bouche, if you're feeling fancy—then the main course is about to be served.
Beginning Thursday and spilling into Friday, the four division series will commence. And boy, what a meaty meal that promises to be.
The Houston Astros, upstart darlings of 2015, take on the Kansas City Royals, last season's upstarts-turned-defending American League champs. The powerful Toronto Blue Jays clash with the resurgent Texas Rangers. The pitching-rich New York Mets battle the Los Angeles Dodgers and their pair of Cy Young-caliber aces.
Oh, and the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are playing each other in the postseason for the first time ever, if that does anything for you.
And that's merely the first course. Loosen your belts, people.
So how will this October banquet unfold? Who will advance, and who will be tossed from the table? Watch the games, obviously, and find out.
In the meantime, here's a preview of each round, culminating with the Fall Classic, with picks and predictions for every series based on regular-season numbers, matchups and a dash of old-fashioned gut feeling.
We may not get every pick right. In fact, we almost assuredly won't. The playoffs invariably offer twists, which is half the fun. (The other half is debating and disagreeing, so do that in the comments.)
But that's enough preamble. Put your napkin in your lap, grab that knife and fork, and dig in.*
*Yes, we'll cut it out with the sloppy food metaphors starting...now.
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