TBS Analysts Jimmy Rollins, Garry Sheffield and Pedro Martinez Talk Corey Seager and the NLDS

Three baseball greats walk into a bar…

Wrong joke. In this case, they walked into a TBS studio and will give us their insight and knowledge into America's pastime during the 2016 postseason.

Pedro Martinez, Gary Sheffield, and Jimmy Rollins will be the baseball analysts for TBS's coverage of the MLB Playoffs this year and NBC LA had an opportunity to talk with them during a conference call on Tuesday.

For fans in Los Angeles, Rollins spent most of last season as the shortstop for the Dodgers where he caught a glimpse of Corey Seager’s potential. Seager is a lock to win the NL Rookie of the Year award this season and leads the Dodgers in many offensive categories. He batted .308 with 26 home runs and 72 RBI this year and will get his second taste of the postseason starting on Friday.

“He falls into that Cal Ripken,” Rollins said, “an extremely large individual that can cover ground and make plays and he makes them look easy. I got to see it first hand. I got to see it in spring training and when he came up. It’s like he does things that you would normally tell a guy not to do but he does it so easily, it’s like, he can do it so you can’t tell him not to.”

Seager made his debut on Sept. 3, 2015, and hit .337 in 27 games since taking over for Rollins en route to a first round exit in the NLDS against the New York Mets. Therefore, there was a reason why he was dubbed the top prospect baseball going into his rookie season.

“He has lived up to the hype,” Rollins said. “He definitely has, and I’m happy for him because he’s a good kid, first and foremost. He respects the game, loves the game, he goes around the clubhouse like your typical rookie when I saw him. He’s quiet, you don’t see him until you’re in the dugout, and that’s just respect for those who come before you.

“He’s handled himself well,” Rollins said. “He’s handled his rise well. He’s handled the LA fans, the LA lights well and Sheff can attest to that, to what that’s like. So I’m happy for him and he’s had one hell of a season. He’s going to have a great career. Trust me.”

“Just pray to God that he’s healthy,” Martinez said, “and everything will be okay. If he’s healthy, don’t worry. You’ll see that kid do incredible things.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t been to the World Series since winning it all in 1988. That pales in comparison to the Chicago Cubs, who have gone more than a full century without winning a World Series. Martinez was the ace on the Red Sox team that ended their 86-year-old curse in 2004. One question that always persists is whether or not that is on the minds of the players.

“Don’t forget, the team we had in Boston was called “The Idiots,” Martinez said.

The Cubs will face the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS on Friday night, after Madison Bumgarner threw a complete game shutout in the winner-take-all Wild Card Game against the Mets on Wednesday. The Giants have won the World Series in each of the even years of this decade (2010, 2012 and 2014) and will look to make it fourth title in 2016.

What makes the Giants dangerous is that they have three solid starting pitchers behind Bumgarner. Johnny Cueto (18-5, 2.79 ERA, 198 SO), Jeff Samardzija (12-11, 3.81 ERA, 167 SO) and Matt Moore (13-12, 4.08 ERA, 178 SO) can hold their own against Chicago better than anyone in the National League.

But the Cubs are going in deep. They lead the National League in on-base percentage (.343) and are second in runs scored (808). They are led by baseball’s biggest bromance in Kris Bryant (.292, 39 HR, 102 RBI) and Anthony Rizzo (.292, 32 HR, 109 RBI). Their pitching staff leads the league in ERA (3.15). They’ll have the top two ERAs in the NL in Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44 ERA, 197 SO) and Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13 ERA, 170 SO) on the mound for Games 1 & 2, and Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10 ERA, 190 SO) starting Game 3. And then they finish it off by giving the ball to the best closer in baseball.

“Every team has vulnerability,” Rollins said. “The Cubs though, good luck.”