The last time a team ran the table the way the Kansas City Royals have run it en route to the World Series, it was the 2007 Colorado Rockies. Unlike those Rockies, who would have eight days off before getting flattened in four games by the Boston Red Sox, these Royals will have had all of five days off before Game 1 – just one day more than the San Francisco Giants, who eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals the day after the Royals laid waste to the Baltimore Orioles.
This is a tough series to call, because so much of what the Royals seem to do revolves around some type of managerial magic or hoodoo in comparison to the indefatigable essence of what the Giants are all about. But for those of us who have avoided hopping on the Royals’ bandwagon this post-season, it almost seems cowardly to do so at this late stage. So we’ll take Bruce Bochy and the Giants for the Cinderella block.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch the World Series on Sportsnet Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. EST.
Jeremy Affeldt, LHP, Giants
The Royals best bats are left-handed hitters: Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon. In a battle of deep bullpens, Affeldt and fellow lefty Javier Lopez will be key chess pieces for Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Affeldt is more than a LOOGY: right-handed batters hit just .228 off him this season, 37 percentage points below his career average. He has also averaged 1.79 strikeouts per walk against righties, compared to a career figure of 3.14.
Billy Butler, 1B/DH, Royals
When they were opponents in the American League, ‘Country Breakfast’ wore out Jake Peavy, the Giants’ scheduled Game 2 starter (14-for-33, three home runs.) Luckily, Peavy’s start will come at Kauffman Stadium, where the designated hitter will be in play. Unfortunately, Butler will be reduced to pinch-hitting in Games 3-5, at AT&T Park. If the games are close in San Francisco, his right-handed bat could be the most important for a team that lists heavily to the left. Bonus? He was 2-for-3 with a homer against the Giants’ Game 1 starter Madison Bumgarner when the teams met in inter-league play this season.
Greg Holland, RHP, Royals
Kansas City’s relievers have pitched just slightly less than one third of their team’s post-season innings this fall, and while Holland’s heat has been the exclamation point, he has also walked five batters in eight post-season innings after issuing just 20 bases on balls in 62.1 over the regular-season. The Giants love to swing at the first pitch and Holland might try to fool them by using the odd first-pitch slider. If Holland isn’t sharp, then the Series could turn into a battle of patience: Ned Yost against the Giants.
Jake Peavy, RHP, Giants
Speaking of which … 14-for-33; 9-for-22; 10-28. Those are the career numbers for Butler, Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon of the Royals against Peavy, with a total of six home runs. Yet Peavy has allowed two earned runs in 9.2 innings over two starts this post-season after going 6-4 (2.17 ERA) in 12 starts following his trade from the Boston Red Sox. Nobody can replace Matt Cain, but Peavy brings an edge to the Giants and seems to have found a second wind knowing he has a manager and a bullpen that can maximize whatever he gives the team over five innings. Win or lose in Game 1, the Giants can win the series based on how Peavy does in Game 2.
Buster Posey, C, Giants
They’re all gone. Every last one of them. Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez. So many of the hitters who were writ large across Major League Baseball this season have been found wanting in the playoffs – or, at least, their teams were found wanting.
All that’s left is the Jeter-esque Posey, who at the age of 27 is going after his third World Series ring in his first five seasons. Posey won the World Series, National League MVP and batting title in 2012, a trifecta accomplished by the likes of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. He’s coming off a quiet 4-for-20 NLCS and will be on the spot if the Royals’ running game gets going. The guess here is he’ll be up to it, since Posey’s never lost a post-season series in his eight trips.
James Shields, RHP, Royals
I know, I know: the Game 1 starter is a big deal. Gutsy call, right? Except that ‘Big Game James’ has given up 10 runs in 16 post-season innings this year and will be starting on 10 days’ rest. Shields will be the 36th pitcher to make a World Series start on 10-plus days and combined the previous 35 are 10-14 (4.09 ERA). Shields needs to avoid joining Jeff Francis and Justin Verlander as starters who opened World Series on extra rest and helped bury their teams.
Jeff Blair’s prediction
Giants def. Royals in six games.