World Series predictions: We should stick to the White Sox

Now that the World Series is over, we get to wait a 100+ days before our beloved White Sox pitchers and catchers report.

But, before we look ahead to what the White Sox will do in 2019, let’s reflect on the World Series predictions from some of our Southside Showdown writers.

With our quick predictions last week, we clearly overestimated the Los Angeles Dodgers and underestimated the Boston Red Sox who won the series in five games.

Of the five writers who boldly attempted to predict the outcome of the World Series, only two thought the Red Sox would win. Brevin and Jeff picked Boston, and he was the only writer who thought the series would last five games. The rest of us thought the series would last six or seven games. We clearly underestimated the ability of the other Sox.

Of course, none of us even considered the idea that Steve Pearce would walk away with the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player trophy. Those three home runs in Game Four and Five certainly changed the course of the game. He was more than deserving of winning the MVP and the new car!

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But, our MVP predictions were not bad choices. Etheria picked Justin Turner; the perennial threat at the plate and batted .333/.385/.417 and scored two runs. Matt picked Clayton Kershaw, who is certainly headed for the Hall of Fame, but not for his post-season play. Kershaw pitched 11 innings exiting the World Series with a 7.36 ERA and a 1.545 WHIP. He gave up three home runs.

I picked Yasiel Puig, who actually was able to endear himself to the fans. Had things gone differently for the Dodgers, Puig might have been considered with his four RBI and his three-run home run in Game Four. Much to Puig’s chagrin, the team could not hold that 4-0 lead on Saturday night

The two Southside Showdown writers who picked the Red Sox had equally good MVP predictions. Jeff picked Mookie Betts, although he really wanted to pick Chris Sale. Betts was quiet offensively until Game Five, when he finally knocked one out of the park. His final slash was .217/.308/.391.

Brevin chose Chris Sale, who was the hero of the ninth inning on Sunday night. But, he was not better than David Price, who dominated two games. Sale pitched five innings and ended with an ERA of 5.40 with a WHIP of 1.400. However, his final pitch of the series will be one long remembered as he made the new MLB villain, Manny Machado, look absolutely foolish. That’s the way Sale rolls. He looked great, but it just wasn’t MVP great.

It’s always a good time to see what people predict and how it all turns out. The Red Sox proved to be a quality team. But remember, in 2018, the White Sox were one of four teams that had a winning record against them. The only others were the Indians, Astros, and A’s.