Strike Zone podcast: Cliff Corcoran on playoff races, MLB awards debates
There's just one weekend left in the 2015 regular season, but what should you be keeping an eye on as the year draws to a close and the playoffs get set to begin?
On this week's edition of The Strike Zone podcast, SI.com baseball writer Cliff Corcoran joins host Ted Keith to talk about the race for the postseason, including whether the Astros can stop their late-season slide and hold onto a wild-card spot, as well as which division winners should be World Series favorites and which could be disappointments. Cliff and Ted also discuss which teams that missed the playoffs this year could be contenders in 2016, focusing on the Diamondbacks and Red Sox, before turning their attention to the Nationals and what moves they need to make to turn things around for next season.
Finally, Ted puts Cliff under the microscope for the major awards races, as the two debate whether Mike Trout can repeat as AL MVP or if he'll fall to Josh Donaldson, which of the trio of Jake Arrieta, Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw most deserves the NL Cy Young, and which of the AL's two brilliant freshman shortstops, Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor, will walk away with the league's Rookie of the Year honors.
Want more top-notch baseball talk delivered straight to you every week? Then subscribe to The Strike Zone podcast on iTunes right here.
• CORCORAN: End-of-season picks for AL, NL MVP, Cy Young and ROY
