October is wrapping up, but the Fall Classic is just getting started

Folks, the time has come. As the leaves start to change and the air becomes more and more brisk, the baseball world is winding down but heating up all at once. What sounds like chaos is beauty for those who enjoy America’s pastime. It is, the World Series. It’s the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves.

Game one is Tuesday night, October 26th as Framber Valdez toes the rubber against seasoned righty Charlie Morton. Morton in the 2020 World Series, but as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Him and his new squad will look for redemption here in this new year.

Will Austin Riley heat up

If the Braves want success, they will need their team-MVP to step it up. Riley barely squeaked above the Mendoza line during the NLCS as he was hitting exactly .200. With a scorching hot team like the Astros, the 88-win Braves will need everything they can get. Then some.

Do the Braves and Astros have enough arms

One big question will be pitching. Especially, for the Braves. The Braves have scheduled Charlie Morton and Max Fried to start their next two games, but that is all. You should expect to see Ian Anderson and Drew Smyly on the bump as well since they both appeared in the NLCS series against the Dodgers. The Braves definitely have a shut-down bullpen that will work to their advantage.

On the Astros side, they have lined up Framber Valdez for game one. Valdez had a solid regular season posting a 3.15 ERA. In his last start, he lasted eight strong innings while only allowing one run to cross the plate during a blowout victory in the Astros’ favor. For game two, Jose Uruquidy is lined up for the start. Uruquidy had a 4.28 ERA in the regular season but allowed three earned runs in an inning and a two-thirds so far this postseason. Luis Garcia, who is slated to start game three, has been in a similar situation this season with a stellar regular season and horrendous postseason. He will try and turn that around this Friday for game three.

Will the cheating come back to hurt the ‘Stros

Looking at some of the 2017 players, you’ll notice two of their main guys have been struggling so far. Despite have good regular seasons (one more than the other), Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman did not live up to their end of the bargain in the ALCS. Bregman hit .217 with a .656 OPS which is flat out horrendous. Altuve, hit a whopping .125 with an OPS almost .100 worse. Are they cheating right now? No, probably not. But, could this be a more like there true form? It’s quite possible.

Possibility for unrest

The Braves and Astros seem to be two of the most hated teams in all of sports right now, each for their own reasons.

The Astros were cheating during their World Series win. it was uncovered they were signaling the incoming pitch using cameras and trashcans to transport the information. The penalty was rather soft and many are still upset regarding this matter.

On the Braves side of things, they barely squeaked their way into the playoffs. But, 88 wins was enough to send them through with an NL East title. This might be a milestone, but not much of an accomplishment. Check the standings and you’ll get what is being said. Now, the Braves have cruised through the playoffs and are sitting in a spot where many still do not believe they deserve.

Could this cause some sort of unrest between teams? Could there be unrest between a team and the fans? Time will tell!