Braves Today roundtable: Who are we picking to win the World Series?

It's always tough to see the World Series get started.

It means you're very close to the end of the season, and (odds are) your team isn't one of the two teams playing for the Commissioner's Trophy.

The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks get started tonight in the best-of-seven World Series, and despite it not being two "large market" fan bases, there's plenty of intrigue and storylines to follow in this one.

For one, there's history. These two teams have combined for a grand total of one World Series championship, won by Arizona in 2001. The Texas Rangers organization has no titles in its 63 years of existence.

But thanks to the dominance of the Houston Astros (and the COVID "bubble" in Arlington for 2020), this will be the fifth straight year that World Series games have been played in Texas.

There's also a Braves connection here, too: Reliever Will Smith, who went a perfect 6-6 on save situations in his 11 postseason appearances for Atlanta en route to their 2021 title, is looking for his third consecutive World Series ring. He was a member of the Houston Astros postseason roster (but did not pitch) last season as Houston won the championship. He's now a reliever for the Rangers, and is just third player to be on three consecutive World Series rosters for three different teams, joining Don Baylor in the 1980s and former Brave Eric Hinske in the late 2000s.

How the Atlanta Braves did against the World Series teams

Atlanta was successful against both of these clubs in the regular season, going a combined 5-4 against the pair.

Against the Rangers, the Braves won their only series two games to one. In mid-May, the Braves trekked to Arlington, fresh off of a three game road sweep to the Blue Jays. They got rid of some frustrations in the series opener, hanging 12 runs on the Rangers (including six on lefty starter Cody Bradford, making his MLB debut) as Charlie Morton went 6.2 scoreless innings with ten strikeouts en route to an easy 12-0 victory. Smith picked up the save in a 6-3 Rangers victory in game two, while Atlanta mounted a late comeback to win game three, 6-5.

Atlanta split their two series with Arizona, winning two out of three in the desert in early June after Eddie Rosario decided he hated snakes - Rosario hit three home runs, including a grand slam, and had seven RBIs in the three road games - but dropped two out of three in Truist Park in the July rematch.

The Braves Today staff's predictions

As much as we all want Arizona to win, partly out of gratitude for them beating Philadelphia, the Braves Today staff is unanimous in their predictions that the Rangers are going to win it.

Will Moon: Rangers in five

Lindsay Crosby, Zac Blackerby, Daniel Locke, Kyle Richardson: Rangers in six

Ben Taylor: Rangers in seven

As fun as the World Series is to watch, and it's always entertaining baseball, the real fun begins once it's over: Free agency begins five days after the World Series concludes, and so we're just getting started over here at Braves Today. Stick with us all offseason!

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