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With the MLB playoffs set to begin on Tuesday, this week’s Sports Illustrated cover features Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, pitcher David Price, catcher Russell Martin, rightfielder Jose Bautista, third baseman Josh Donaldson and manager John Gibbons.

In SI's MLB playoff preview issue, Tom Verducci writes about the end of Toronto’s 22-year playoff drought. The Blue Jays are playoff-bound for the first time since winning the 1993 World Series—when they also appeared on the cover of SI—after earning a postseason berth by overtaking the New York Yankees for this year's AL East crown.

So I polled 20 baseball executives and asked them which teams they thought would get to the World Series -- and which team they thought would win it. You should know that six of those execs work for teams currently in the playoffs. So I let them answer a slightly different set of questions. I asked them to pick the World Series rep from the other league. And I asked them which team they feared most in their league.

Here is how they voted:

American League favorite (or most feared team):

Blue Jays, 18*
Royals, 1
Yankees, 1 (Survey conducted before Yankees lost CC Sabathia)

National League favorite (or most feared team):

Dodgers, 6
Cardinals, 6
Cubs, 2
Mets, 2
Pirates, 2
"Winner of the wild-card game," 1
Abstained from making NL pick, 1

World Series winner:

Blue Jays, 11
Royals, 1
Cubs, 1
Pirates, 1

Shaazzam wrote:cursed

Rhettmatic wrote:

Shaazzam wrote:cursed

Well SI put the Jays on their cover in 1993, too.

LLJ wrote:

Rhettmatic wrote:

Shaazzam wrote:cursed

Well SI put the Jays on their cover in 1993, too.

Before or after we won? I've only seen the cover that was released the week after we won. The "Oh Happy Jays" one

Santoki wrote:Come on SI photographer/editors. You gotta have Donaldson in front of Bautista and then Edwin behind Jose just like the lineup. Then take Martin and put him beside Gibby, Tulo behind him, and then Price (the tallest) at the back.

Rhettmatic wrote:Typical anti-Canadian U.S. media.

The_Hater wrote:

Rhettmatic wrote:Typical anti-Canadian U.S. media.

I'm confused by this statement Rhett. What part of all this is anti-Canadian?

The_Hater wrote:

Rhettmatic wrote:Typical anti-Canadian U.S. media.

I'm confused by this statement Rhett. What part of all this is anti-Canadian?

Rhettmatic wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Rhettmatic wrote:Typical anti-Canadian U.S. media.

I'm confused by this statement Rhett. What part of all this is anti-Canadian?

I was trying to employ irony to poke fun at the frequent accusations of American media bias but failed.

joshgc wrote:All this hype of us having a chance of winning something is new to me as a sports fan in this city. This is going to be a fun ride even if we have the Taylor swift and SI curse.

cram wrote:Isn't getting the cover supposed to jinx our season now? Was that SI or ESPN Magazine?

While the list of "examples" of the jinx may be extensive, an individual record of 50 cover appearances[1] by Michael Jordan did not hinder his success. Similarly, Vince Young also overcame the Sports Illustrated jinx by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice during Texas' National Championship season;[2] Emmitt Smith appeared on the cover the same week the Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVIII. In the America's Game documentary, Smith recalled that he adamantly wanted off the cover for fear of the jinx. Regardless, the Cowboys went on to win their second consecutive title of the 1990s, and fourth in team history. Tony Dorsett appeared on the cover under the title of "Heading for the Heisman" in 1976 and indeed won the Heisman Trophy that year. Andrew McCutchen was featured on a September 2013 cover, during a season in which he later won the National League MVP Award and led the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first playoff berth in twenty years. The 2013 Seattle Seahawks appeared on a September 2013 cover in which the magazine predicted a Super Bowl XLVIII win for the team; indeed, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl the following February. Stephen Curry was featured on two consecutive May 2015 covers and led the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA title in forty years.

LLJ wrote:

joshgc wrote:All this hype of us having a chance of winning something is new to me as a sports fan in this city. This is going to be a fun ride even if we have the Taylor swift and SI curse.

Maybe the two curses will cancel each other out.