There is no easy match up for the Cleveland Guardians in the playoffs

The Cleveland Guardians are going to have to earn every playoff win.

The Cleveland Guardians are going to the playoffs after a year apart. Terry Francona continues to develop and produce amazing results with this ball club and the fact that the team was powered by a youth movement should not only give fans hope for this year but years to come as well.

No matter what happens next, the 2022 Cleveland Guardians are already champions, having won the AL Central Division Championship, and have achieved a successful season due to it. That doesn’t mean the team is done. Two more titles await them, the 2022 American League title and of course, the World Series, and all they have to do to get there is face some of the best teams in baseball.

Yippie.

There are now 12 teams in the playoffs because the MLB hates us. Three wild card teams and three divisional winners for each league. The NL’s divisional winners are the Dodgers (West), Mets (East), and Cardinals (Central), while the Braves, Padres, and Phillies make up the wild cards.

The AL is represented by the Astros (West), Yankees (East), and the Guardians (The Good Guys), while the wild card is made up of the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Rays. Entering Saturday, the Guardians currently have the Rays on deck for the first round of the playoffs, which will be a three-game series. The League Championship Series will now be five games, and the World Series will remain at seven.

The Guards will face whoever the sixth seed is, and right now that’s Tampa Bay. As they’re only one game back from Seattle, and two games back from the Toronto Blue Jays, it remains to be seen who the Guards get first.

The Cleveland Guardians do not have an easy road ahead

Each team the Guards may face could be a tough out, regardless of regular season records. Each team has solid pitching and a strong offense and that makes them formidable on that premise alone.

That’s not to say there isn’t a better option for the Guardians to face, however. The Mariners went 6-1 against the Guardians in seven games. This was during a point where the team was slumping, but the record is the record.

The Guardians feared much better against the Blue Jays and Rays, going 5-2 against both squads. I like the Guardians against any team in a three or five-game playoff regardless, however, even if the Mariners do fall to us, I have faith this team can make it work.