Baseball’s postseason, ex-A’s through Ks – SFGate

Random thoughts on the brink of the World Series:

•Home runs are eye-catching, but this Mets-Royals matchup is all about pitching. Specifically, power pitching.

New York’s staff has collected 91 strikeouts in 80 innings this postseason. Kansas City leads all playoff teams with 114 strikeouts in 96 innings.

This is pure, old-country hardball. Just picture Nolan Ryan getting comfortable on the couch, savoring the sight.

•A’s fans nearly had to endure the indignity of watching Yoenis Céspedes face Josh Donaldson in the Series. That would have been equal parts entertaining and exasperating.

The Mets feature three former A’s players in Céspedes, Tyler Clippard and Bartolo Colon (plus a onetime Oakland general manager in Sandy Alderson and bench coach Bob Geren, the former A’s manager). The Royals counter with second baseman Ben Zobrist.

It’s kind of like a parlor game — count the really good players who used to hang out at the Coliseum.

•Colon, by the way, is listed at 5-foot-11 and 285 pounds (at age 42). Yikes. And yet he’s remarkably athletic fielding his position.

•For all the debate about baseball’s postseason format, here’s the simple truth: It works.

Adding the second wild card in each league restored value to winning a division title. That should matter, a lot. If the Pirates and Yankees didn’t like vanishing after one game, well, then win the division next time.

And by keeping the Division Series at best-of-five, instead of expanding to best-of-seven, there’s more chance of compelling games in which both teams face elimination. That’s already happened five times this year, in the two wild-card games plus Mets-Dodgers, Royals-Astros and Blue Jays-Rangers.

Nothing in sports matches the theater of taut playoff baseball.

•On that topic, Game 6 of the ALCS illustrated the game’s wonderful subtlety.

Earlier in the series, Kansas City third-base coach Mike Jirschele noticed Toronto right fielder Jose Bautista turning his back to home plate as he spun and threw to second. Jirschele made a mental note.

Then, with Game 6 tied in the eighth inning, Bautista did it again — and Jirschele was ready, waving home fleet Lorenzo Cain. He scored from first on the single. Royals win.

The power of observation.

•Count on it: The Cubs will reach the 2016 World Series. See you at Wrigley.