Major League Baseball Thread - 2018 Season

[axlslash]

Cole-Arrieta is going to be the pitching match of the playoffs. I think there's a very strong chance that whichever team comes out on top of that Cubs-Bucs game takes the pennant. Cards will be a tough matchup, but I think they Cubs and Bucs could take anyone out there. As a Cub fan, I haven't been this excited for the playoffs in a very long time.

[classicrawker]

Yankees back in the playoffs after a 2 year hiatus. All they have to do is win one game against the Orioles to guarantee the wild card game will be played at the Stadium so it will be interesting to see who they end up playing. I give MLB credit for adding the extra wildcard spot as it has kept interest for several teams right down to the end.

I have to give props to Sabathia as he toughed it out and has actually been pitching very well lately. There might be some quality starts left in that left arm yet.

Good news for Eovaldi in that if the Yankees make it further into the playoffs he could be available at least in relief so could give them another valuable arm in the bullpen

Even if they don't go far in the playoffs I like the Yankees future with young bloods like Severino, Bird, Refsnyder, Murphy, Heathcott, WIlliams, Sanchez, Judge, Mateo and some of the young relief pitchers. It might have been tough to swallow for many Yankee fans, who want to win every year, but I applaud Cashman for sticking to his guns and not trading away our young talent for a short term fix. Hopefully we are building a nice core of young players for when the big money contracts start to expire.

[ronaldo9]

Liked Frank Thomas as a player, but just saw a three minute clip of him as an analyst talking about Votto and it may have been the most ridiculously bad thing that I have ever seen. He was trying to argue that Votto wasn't a top ten hitter and that with 29 home runs and 79 RBIs (because he says he ranks hitters based on RBIs first, home runs, then batting average...) Votto should be looking over his shoulder for someone trying to take his job. Nevermind that he just tied his own Reds record for number of times reaching base in a season, or tied Pete Rose's club record of 48 consecutive games reaching base, or that he'll probably just miss joining Bonds, Ruth, and Williams as the only players with a .300 average, 30 home runs, and 150 walks in a season (needs one more home run and eight walks). No...he's apparently just hoping that he'll have a starting job come next season.

[bran]

Yankees back in the playoffs after a 2 year hiatus. All they have to do is win one game against the Orioles to guarantee the wild card game will be played at the Stadium so it will be interesting to see who they end up playing. I give MLB credit for adding the extra wildcard spot as it has kept interest for several teams right down to the end.

I have to give props to Sabathia as he toughed it out and has actually been pitching very well lately. There might be some quality starts left in that left arm yet.

Good news for Eovaldi in that if the Yankees make it further into the playoffs he could be available at least in relief so could give them another valuable arm in the bullpen

Even if they don't go far in the playoffs I like the Yankees future with young bloods like Severino, Bird, Refsnyder, Murphy, Heathcott, WIlliams, Sanchez, Judge, Mateo and some of the young relief pitchers. It might have been tough to swallow for many Yankee fans, who want to win every year, but I applaud Cashman for sticking to his guns and not trading away our young talent for a short term fix. Hopefully we are building a nice core of young players for when the big money contracts start to expire.

i want to see judge next year.

[DirtyDeeds]

Mets currently on a 22-inning streak of runlessness on offense. Yes I invented a word. I'm choosing to view it as the Mets getting all the lousiness out of their systems while it doesn't matter that much. Of course, when David Wright struck out he threw his bat and helmet. The Captain usually keeps his cool a bit better. I don't like what that signals. I'm somewhat less than cautiously optimistic about the NLDS. Really not expecting to advance, but hopeful for a pleasant surprise.

[downzy]

With one day's rest, the Jays are starting Buehrle as he's two innings shy of pitching two hundred innings for the season. It would be his fifteenth consecutive 200+ inning season.

[downzy]

With one day's rest, the Jays are starting Buehrle as he's two innings shy of pitching two hundred innings for the season. It would be his fifteenth consecutive 200+ inning season.

Well, that worked out well for both the Jays and Buehrle. It's as though just getting to the playoffs is good enough or the Jays. Who gives a shit what happens in the playoffs.

[bt88]

admittedly I jumped the gun on predictions, let's try this again

AL

Wildcard: Astros over Yankees

ALDS: Royals over Astros 3-1, Jays over Texas 3-2

ALCS: Jays over Royals 4-1

NL

Wildcard: Cubs over Pirates (arrieta's continued dominance swayed me here)

NLDS: Mets over Dodgers 3-2, Cubs over Cards 3-1

NLCS: Mets over Cubs 4-3

World Series: Jays over Mets 4-2

World Series MVP: Edwin

[classicrawker]

WOW! just broke on ESPN Sabathia entering alcohol rehab and will miss playoffs.

Good luck C.C. get healthy

http://espn.go.com/newyork/mlb/story/_/id/13815560/cc-sabathia-newyork-yankees-checking-alcohol-rehabilitation-center

[bran]

WOW! just broke on ESPN Sabathia entering alcohol rehab and will miss playoffs.

Good luck C.C. get healthy

http://espn.go.com/newyork/mlb/story/_/id/13815560/cc-sabathia-newyork-yankees-checking-alcohol-rehabilitation-center

damn i hope he gets healthy and clean.

[classicrawker]

WOW! just broke on ESPN Sabathia entering alcohol rehab and will miss playoffs.

Good luck C.C. get healthy

http://espn.go.com/newyork/mlb/story/_/id/13815560/cc-sabathia-newyork-yankees-checking-alcohol-rehabilitation-center

damn i hope he gets healthy and clean.

Reminds me of the story of another talented lefty Sudden Sam McDowell became a full blown alcoholic by the end of his career.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0c9cecef

Must be tough to be one of the best in the game only to see it slipping away as you get older and start breaking down.

[downzy]

admittedly I jumped the gun on predictions, let's try this again

AL

Wildcard: Astros over Yankees

ALDS: Royals over Astros 3-1, Jays over Texas 3-2

ALCS: Jays over Royals 4-1

NL

Wildcard: Cubs over Pirates (arrieta's continued dominance swayed me here)

NLDS: Mets over Dodgers 3-2, Cubs over Cards 3-1

NLCS: Mets over Cubs 4-3

World Series: Jays over Mets 4-2

World Series MVP: Edwin

Yeah, who knew the Royals would win their last five while the Jays would mail it in to lose four of their last five.

Here are my predictions:

AL

Wildcard: Yankees over Astros

ALDS: Royals over Astros 3-2; Rangers over Jays 3-1

ALCS: Rangers over Royals 4-1

NL

Wildcard: Pirates over Cubs

NLDS: Dodgers over Mets 3-2; Pirates over Cards 3-1

NLCS: Pirates over Dodgers 4-3

WC: Pirates over Texas 4-1

MPV: McCutchen

I was all gun-ho on the Jays until a few days ago. Granted, they lost three of those four games sort of on purpose, with starting their triple-A team twice in Baltimore and giving Buehrle a shot at 200 innings the last game. But it's not great momentum losing four of your last five games of the season. Moreover, Osuna is starting to prove a liability. Even if the Jays get a lead up on Texas I see trouble come the ninth inning.

The Jays are acting like making the playoffs is good enough. A team that wants more doesn't get so drunk after winning a division title that their manager was forced to play the b-squad the following day. They need to act like they belong, and so far it appears all they really care about was winning the division. I guess after not making the playoffs as a franchise for 22 years it's a little understandable. It just doesn't bode well against a team like Texas or worse, Kansas City who seem to want another crack at the title after recently falling short.

[bran]

well that certainly sucked.

[Apollo]

Momentum is very overrated when applied to how teams finish a season.

Toronto should win the series. They have the most dangerous offense in the game. They have a great defense. And they have four legit starters right now, including an ace. Maybe two aces.

Cardinals always seem to get lost in the shuffle. They won 100 games this year! And wainwright could be dominate out of the bullpen.

If Kershaw overcomes his playoff woes from the last couple of years the Dodgers could be really hard to beat. They have the best 1-2 punch in baseball. But can Anderson or Wood win a playoff game?

Texas is also scary.

IMO those are the four teams that should be the final four.

The cubs are very exciting. But a lot of youth that could be effected by the pressure of their first playoff. If the nerves hold up, they could make a run.

I will be rooting for a Dodgers-Astros series.

[JONEZY]

Prediction tonight. Cubs 5 -3 over Pirates.

[bran]

since the yanks are done im throwing my support behind the cubs.

[classicrawker]

Well Yankees season ended as I expected. With all the injuries they simply ran out of gas the last month. That being said if you are a Yankee fan you have to be happy with the season they had and with a few conservative offseason moves, like last years DiDi and Eovaldi trades, to fill some holes I like the direction they are moving in.

It would be nice to grab a right handed outfielder with some pop like Justin Upton and maybe a top to middle of the rotation starter, like Tyson Ross, as they do have some chips to trade. I could see them trading Gardner, as he can play centerfield and has a manageable contract. Some of the lesser prospects like catching prospect Sanchez or CF prospects Heathcott and Williams might interest some teams. Maybe even top SS prospect Mateo could be available as I think DiDi and Refsnyder could be fixtures in the middle of the IF for years to come. Should be an interesting offseason.

That being said I would love to see a Cubs-Astros or Cubs-Royals WS but that could be ratings kryptonite to the TV networks I think unless fans want to see the Cubs finally win a WS.

Edited October 8, 2015 by classicrawker

[downzy]

You can bet your ass mlb is praying it's not a Jays-Cardinals WS. Jays fans (and I guess Rangers fans too) are getting screwed with the scheduling of the ALDS. Today's game is a 4:00pm (on a Thursday) and tomorrow's game is at 1:00pm. After 22 years of being shut-out from the playoffs, Jays fans will need to skip work to watch their team compete in the playoffs. That's ridiculous.

Got to feel for Pirates fans. Their team had the second best record in the league and yet they get bounced from a one-and-done playoff game for the third straight year. Something tells me the Pirates win that series if it were a best of five or seven.

The two wild-card games reinforce my position that the Jays likely won't win the World Series. Everyone talks about how prolific their offence is, but the reality is, most of those runs were scored off of terrible pitching. Put the Jays up against a true ace and they're as limp as every other team in the league. If a pitcher doesn't make mistakes he's going to handle the Jays offence. I like the Jays starting rotation, but I do think the bullpen will likely lose a game or two during the playoffs. Right now only Brett Cecil is the only arm in the Jays pen that inspires any kind of confidence. Sanchez and Osuna were flying high in August but have been lacklustre to terrible the past two or three weeks. Here's hoping the starters on the other team have off nights.

[Apollo]

What playoff team do you guys think has the best offense?

Toronto scored the most runs, hit the most home runs, most total bases (by 200), highest on-base % and is tied for the highest batting average.

Runs scored for the season. That's a pretty good gauge, since it compares what happened over 162 games, where every team faces pretty much every starter from ever other team in their league.

Toronto - 891

Texas - 751

Houston - 729

KC - 724

Cardinals - 647 runs

Toronto averaged 1.5 more runs PER game than the 100 win Cardinals did.

As for TV coverage, the networks have to make a choice. Neither one is ideal.

Have some teams play day games, which gives the viewing audience the opportunity to watch every single game.

Or, have all the games be at night, so there will always be multiple games playing at once. Making viewers have to choose which game to watch and which games to have to skip.

All the teams will play early games in the playoffs.

It's probably the most fair way to do things, to ensure that there aren't too many times where two games are going on at the same time.

(This post wasn't meant to offend or attack anybody. Just sharing my own personal views on the subject.)

[downzy]

Houston beating KC while the game is in a rain delay. If Houston wins, the first four games of the mlb playoffs will see the home team losing.

Jays losing today, in my opinion, makes it highly unlikely they win the series. With Hamels starting tomorrow, it's likely the Jays are heading to Texas down two games. Who knows, Jays could come back to win the next three games, but the chances aren't good.

[axlslash]

Houston beating KC while the game is in a rain delay. If Houston wins, the first four games of the mlb playoffs will see the home team losing.

Jays losing today, in my opinion, makes it highly unlikely they win the series. With Hamels starting tomorrow, it's likely the Jays are heading to Texas down two games. Who knows, Jays could come back to win the next three games, but the chances aren't good.

I wouldn't write em off just yet. Hammels is good, but remember that 4 Aces Philly team that he anchored and didn't make it out of the first round? Hammels collapsing was a big part of that. Let's play the games before we write the obits. If I were a Jays fan, though, I certainly wouldn't feel good about Price dropping a game at home. Should have been a gimme, but that is why you play the game.

Looking forward to an historic Cubs Cards series. Last time they played in the playoffs? 1885 World Series. Oldest rivalry in sports heading back to the post-season stage, and I cannot wait!

[LightningBolt]

Houston beating KC while the game is in a rain delay. If Houston wins, the first four games of the mlb playoffs will see the home team losing.

Jays losing today, in my opinion, makes it highly unlikely they win the series. With Hamels starting tomorrow, it's likely the Jays are heading to Texas down two games. Who knows, Jays could come back to win the next three games, but the chances aren't good.

I wouldn't write em off just yet. Hammels is good, but remember that 4 Aces Philly team that he anchored and didn't make it out of the first round? Hammels collapsing was a big part of that. Let's play the games before we write the obits. If I were a Jays fan, though, I certainly wouldn't feel good about Price dropping a game at home. Should have been a gimme, but that is why you play the game.

Looking forward to an historic Cubs Cards series. Last time they played in the playoffs? 1885 World Series. Oldest rivalry in sports heading back to the post-season stage, and I cannot wait!

Are you talking about 2011? Hamels allowed 0 runs in 6 innings against the Cardinals in that series.

[DirtyDeeds]

Looking forward to an historic Cubs Cards series. Last time they played in the playoffs? 1885 World Series. Oldest rivalry in sports heading back to the post-season stage, and I cannot wait!

That's even a little bit of a historical stretch/simplification, but looking up the outcome of that, even that ended in a tie Even before there were World Series, the Cubs weren't winning the World Series.

[axlslash]

Looking forward to an historic Cubs Cards series. Last time they played in the playoffs? 1885 World Series. Oldest rivalry in sports heading back to the post-season stage, and I cannot wait!

That's even a little bit of a historical stretch/simplification, but looking up the outcome of that, even that ended in a tie Even before there were World Series, the Cubs weren't winning the World Series.

Granted. It was as close as they got to a World Series before the turn of the century. In any event, I look forward to this news bulletin in a few weeks:

[JONEZY]

Looking forward to an historic Cubs Cards series. Last time they played in the playoffs? 1885 World Series. Oldest rivalry in sports heading back to the post-season stage, and I cannot wait!

That's even a little bit of a historical stretch/simplification, but looking up the outcome of that, even that ended in a tie Even before there were World Series, the Cubs weren't winning the World Series.

Granted. It was as close as they got to a World Series before the turn of the century. In any event, I look forward to this news bulletin in a few weeks:

Cubs might win the World Series in 2015. But we still don't have flying cars, dammit.