Opinion

Yasmany Tomas remains quite a mystery, or at least an unproven commodity, to many in and around Major League Baseball, but that could work in the Cuban defector-turned-free agent's favor this offseason.

So much of the focus over the winter will be on the pitching market, headed by aces Jon Lester and Max Scherzer, as well as the consistent, durable James Shields and possibly Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda if he is posted.

The Cubs' cold-blooded sacking of Rick Renteria for the new-school/old-school wisdom of Joe Maddon is not unprecedented in the hardball world, not even close.

In fact, if this works anything like the Tigers' cold-blooded sacking of a man named Les Moss for the instant gratification of Sparky Anderson, the untidiness of this soon will be forgotten, and the Cubs will be completely vindicated.

If there were any lingering doubt that defense wins championships, it died in the gloves of the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants this October.

Much was made of the two teams' defensive prowess—particularly Kansas City's—entering the Fall Classic, and they didn't disappoint. From the speedy, sliding heroics of the Royals outfield to Giants second baseman Joe Panik's incredible Game 7 double play, the 2014 World Series featured a glittering array of web gems. 

The Chicago Cubs got their man and their manager.

The Kansas City Royals are coming off of their most successful season in almost 30 years. Now, with an American League Championship in hand, the team faces a new set of challenges. Possibly the largest challenge of all is sustainability.

If there is one thing the 2014 MLB playoffs have accomplished, it is reinforcing the idea that anything can happen. The fact that the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals are meeting in the World Series is proof of that.

The Kansas City Royals have captured the imagination of every sports fan who's spent years cheering for a team that's often struggled to compete. The San Francisco Giants have a core group of battle-tested playoff veterans looking to win their third title in five years.

The San Francisco Giants will ride the momentum from a pennant-winning, walk-off home run into the 2014 World Series against the scrappy Kansas City Royals, a matchup of Wild Card teams that few would have predicted at the beginning of this year's MLB playoffs.

It may not be the World Series matchup any of us predicted, but the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals have proven throughout the postseason that they are the two best teams in Major League Baseball right now. 

When the playoffs began, if you predicted the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants to face off in the World Series, it's time to start playing the lottery. This may be an unlikely matchup for the MLB championship game, but it's poised to be a good one.