The Buffalo Blues pulled off the most dramatic comeback in history (and/or the St. Louis Cardinals completed the most comprehensive collapse in history) with a resounding 17-1 win at Sportsman's Park. The post-mortem will have to wait, however, because our attention now turns to a Blues-Yankees World Series.
On paper this is absolutely no contest. The Blues went went 20-9 (.690) in September to catch the Cards, an excellent month and probably the best month in their history. The Yankees were better than .690 in every month save April (.565) and August (.679). In September they went 26-1 (.963). The Yankees are 1st in every important batting category and in the top 3 in every pitching and defense category. Buffalo is 2nd in batting bases on balls and in base running, 3rd in runs scored and home runs, and 4th in OPS, and no better than 4th in other batting categories, and while they are 2nd in ERA, runs allowed, and pitching WAR and 1st in bullpen ERA, they are 9th in hits allowed and opponents AVG and dead last in defensive efficiency and zone rating. The Blues won 98 games but outplayed their Pythagorean record by 5 games. The Yankees also outplayed their Pythagorean record by 5 games, leaving them "only" a 119-win team by runs scored/allowed. New York had no real L/R or Home/Road split, while Buffalo is better at home than the road and much better vs. lefty pitchers than righties.
Turning to the players, again the Yankees dominate on paper. I was expecting to be writing a Yankees-Cardinals preview and hitting a lot of the same points as usual, that Hornsby was still probably the best player in the Series, but now I think there's no question it's Babe Ruth. Ruth had 9.0 WAR, easily the best of anybody. Charleston came in a hair ahead of Gehrig for 2nd place for position players with Cobb and Sewell tied for 4th and then three more Yankees in 6th-8th place. Even this underplays things a little since Cobb got his tie for 4th in only 79 games and Peckinpaugh and Heilmann in 7th and 8th also missed significant time. The Blues also have two regulars with negative WAR (Tierney and Yuna), while the worst Yankee regular was Bill Terry with 0.8.
The story on the pitching side is a bit better for the Blues, at least as far as WAR, but not a lot better. Luque leads the pack with 7.0, then Pennock, Bush, and Nehf strung out 2-4. Yankee and Blue players alternate further down the list. Looking at other metrics seems to put the Yankees on top: For ERA+, the Yankees take 5 of the top 6 spots (Luque on top, Fitzsimmons and Pennock, the other two Series starters for the Yankees at 5 & 6, with reliever David Watson at 2 for Buffalo), and the Yankees also hold 6 of 8 of the top spots in FIP.
If this were a Watsonian narrative, this is where I'd put in some quote from Art Nehf about the 1921 World Series, and something from Peckinpaugh about how the Yankees take everybody seriously and really respect what the Blues did this year, and Gehrig saying the Blues have answered the bell every time and weren't afraid of New York... However, this is a Doylist narrative, and so instead I'll say that anything can happen in a 7-game series, and the game can be very frustrating, and sometimes teams just seem to get hot or cold or unlucky or something. But I don't see the kinds of things that lead to the upsets in other years. The Yankees are hot, and they're healthy.
OK, time for the prediction I guess. I feel like it's the same thing I say most years--the Yankees seem like they should sweep or maybe win in 5. If Buffalo wins I think it'll take 7. I'll go Yankees in 5.
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