NLDS Preview

Here we go. After 162 regular season games and a Wild Card Game, the National League Divisional Series is set to go. The final four in the National League is all set. Three of the four teams have played in at least one World Series, while the fourth, Washington, is trying to get to the series for the first time in franchise history (Montreal never made it to a World Series in its time in Canada). This marks the 12 trip to the Divisional Round for the Dodgers, the 8th for the Giants, 6th for the Cubs and 5th for the Nationals.There's a lot on the line in this round. Can the Nationals win a round for the first time since 1980? Can the Dodgers get past the Nats? Does the even year magic still have something left for the Giants? Is this really the year for the Cubs. So lets get right into it shall we.

First up we have the National League East Champions, the Washington Nationals, taking on the National League West Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles won the NL West for the 4th straight year, doing it this year with a 91-71 record. Los Angeles hasn't gotten out of the divisional round since beating the Braves in 2013. LA hasn't made it to a World Series since their last win in 1988. The Dodgers  have made the world series 18 times, winning the title six times. Los Angeles is 72-89 lifetime in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Nationals come in after winning the National League East for the 3rd time ever, all in Washington. The Nats finished with a 95-67 record, a nice bouncback from the collapse last year. This team is looking to make the NLCS for only the 2nd time ever, the last appearance coming when they were still in Montreal in 1981. This will be the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and the Nationals franchise. Their most recent meeting was in the 1981 National League Championship Series, in which the Dodgers won the National League pennant over the then-Montreal Expos in five games. Los Angeles won five of the six meetings between the teams during the regular season.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
October 7 Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals Nationals Park 5:38 EDT
October 8 Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals Nationals Park 4:08 EDT
October 10 Washington Nationals @ Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium TBD
October 11 Washington Nationals @ Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium TBD
October 13 Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals Nationals Park TBD

This could be a solid series. A lot of people talk about the Giants and their luck with even years, and with good reason. An interesting note here, though, is the Nationals have won their third-straight even-year NL East title while missing the playoffs in every odd year of their existence. So Washington has the same luck as the Giants do, but for them it doesn't always end the way the Nationals want. These Dodgers have won four division titles in a row, but they were bounced from the NLCS in 2013 in six games. In each of the last two years, they've lost in the NLDS round. This with Clayton Kershaw in his prime, too. Meantime, they've seen their biggest rival win three of the last six World Series. So both teams are really looking for something to prove in this series. As noted before, Los Angeles won five of the six meetings, with the only win for Washington coming in a lopsided 8-1 game. Los Angeles outscored the Nats 25-13 in the other five games. They won one on a walk-off, a few pitcher's duels and essentially a blowout (the score ended 8-4, but it was 7-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth). Being the home team in this series favors the Nationals. Besides the fact that the Nats finished with the better record, the Dodgers aren't as good away from Chavez Ravine. Los Angeles is 38-42 on the road this year and they've given up 2 more runs then they've scored on the road. Washington won 50 games at home this year and are balanced at both home and on the road.

Here's how we see this series going down!

Solly: Washington Nationals in 5!
Steve: Los Angeles Dodgers in 5!
3rd Mic Dan: Washington Nationals in 4!

Next up we have the National League Wild Card Winners, the San Francisco Giants, taking on the National League Central Champions, the Chicago Cubs. Chicago comes in having won the Central for the first time in 2008. Chicago finished the year with the best record in all of baseball, with a 103-58 mark. This was the first time since 1935 that the Cubs have won more than 100 games in a season. Chicago is looking to make it to the NLCS for the 2nd year in a row. Chicago hasn't won the Pennant since 1945. Chicago is 32-60 lifetime in the playoffs. As for the Giants, they made it as a wild card team, finishing the year with an 87-75 year. To get to this round, the Cubs had to beat the Mets in the NL Wild Card Game. Even years have been good to the Giants, winning three World Series since 2010. San Francisco is 96-87 lifetime in the playoffs. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs. Their last meeting was in the 1989 National League Championship Series, which the Giants won in five games. Chicago won four of the seven meetings between the teams during the regular season.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
October 7 San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field 9:15 EDT
October 8 San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field 8:08 EDT
October 10 Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants AT&T Park TBD
October 11 Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants AT&T Park TBD
October 13 San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field TBD

There's a lot on the line in this series. Can the magic of the even number year keep up for San Francisco? Can Chicago get the job done after running rough shot over the league all year?  This is going to be a very good, very even series, maybe the best matchup of this round.  If your Chicago, playing at home is a big help this year. The Cubs won more than 70 percent of their games played at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, resulting in the best home record in baseball. Of course, the Cubs also boasted the second-best record on the road. What that means is, this year at least, it didn't matter where the Cubs played, they won. San Francisco is an OK road team, they had a winning record at both home and on the road. But if you take run differential into account, then the Giants maybe a little more uncomfortable playing three of the possible five games in this series at Wrigley Field. If your the Cubs, its worth noting that, even though you dominated everybody during the regular season, nothing is set in stone come playoff time. An interesting stat to look at is that, from 1995 (the first postseason with a wild-card team) to 2015, 22 teams won 100 games, but only two of them won the World Series (the 1998 and 2009 Yankees), and just six won pennants (the '95 Indians, '99 Braves, '03 Yankees and '04 Cardinals were the others). What's more, the teams with the best record in baseball have won just four World Series in that span: the aforementioned Yankees plus the 2004 and '07 Red Sox. So you never know.

Here's how we see this series going down:

Solly: Chicago Cubs in 4!
Steve: San Francisco Giants in 4!
3rd Mic Dan: San Francisco Giants in 5!