# Major League Baseball: The 2010 Playoffs **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197 "2010-10-06T00:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/381 "2010-10-21T23:22:21Z")
Not to put too fine a point on it, the Phillies were rightly favored going into the series because (1) they won more games than the Giants and (2) there was reason to believe they were better than their regular-season record, which only reflected about a third of a season of Roy Oswalt as the #2 pitcher. The Giants obviously won most of the actual games thus far, and good for them for doing so. But it wasn’t some kind of pro-Philadelphia Media Bias that led people to call them underdogs. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/382 "2010-10-21T23:26:18Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Not to put too fine a point on it, the Phillies were rightly favored going into the series because (1) they won more games than the Giants and (2) there was reason to believe they were better than their regular-season record, which only reflected about a third of a season of Roy Oswalt as the #2 pitcher. > > The Giants obviously won most of the actual games thus far, and good for them for doing so. But it wasn’t some kind of pro-Philadelphia Media Bias that led people to call them underdogs. This. Many of their hitters are performing below career norms. I am not sure whether single-season performance is predictive in the playoffs (is there an injury suppressing performance, or is it just random variance?), but given a blank slate you would expect the Philadelphia hitters to be much better than they have been this year. This is coming from a Giants fan. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/383 "2010-10-21T23:36:19Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > See, this is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. who told you this? > > _The Phillies have an objectively superior offense._ > > It’s not all that superior: > > .260 Batting Average for the Phillies vs. .257 for the Giants > 1064 Strikeouts vs. 1099 > 166 Home Runs vs. 162 > 1451 Hits vs. 1411 > 772 Runs Scored vs. 697 > > Philadelphia leads all of those statistics, but they’re all pretty damn close, with the exception of Runs Scored. Runs Scores is the only offensive statistic that matters. If you want to analyze why teams score as many runs as they do, you succeeded in leaving out the single most important one of all; on base percentage. Philadelphia beats SF by 11 points, a reasonably large gap. The Phillies are, by a reasonably analysis, a better team. However, they’re not so much better that the Giants couldn’t beat them, and so it has been. (For that matter, the Yankees are undoubtedly a better team than Texas, but Texas has played better this week. Shit happens.) That’s the way baseball is. There are very, very few times that one team is so clearly a favourite that it’s really more than a 2-to-1 thing. The fact is that ANY team in the major leagues could beat the Philles, if they had a good week. The Pirates could. I wouldn’t bet a lot on it but it could happen. In baseball we can assess favourites, but the differences are damned slim. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/384 "2010-10-22T00:09:07Z")
Looks like a good start for the Giants. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/385 "2010-10-22T00:13:02Z")
So far, so good 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/386 "2010-10-22T00:16:56Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Well yeah, but that was a discussion of best team offenses. You’re absolutely right, as it pertains to my argument. My point was that scoring more runs was not by itself enough, because you also need to not give up runs. But since I was supposed to be talking about offense there, that was a meaningless comment. And I tend to agree with you that in the end, “runs scored” is really the only offensive stat that matters. But if you’re going to say that runs scored is the only important hitting stat, you need to also accept the reverse: that runs allowed is the only pitching stat that matters. And by that token the Giants pitching is demonstratively better than the Phillies. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/387 "2010-10-22T00:37:28Z")
I was born in San Francisco and am a lifelong Giants fan. I can’t get over the fact that they are now a team with good _pitching_ and lousy _hitting_. It’s weird and I don’t know how to deal with it. /pointless ramble Good start, though! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/388 "2010-10-22T00:43:45Z")
Uhoh. Lincecum losing it right here? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/389 "2010-10-22T00:44:29Z")
You are kidding me. The 3rd basemen could not tag the bag in 2 attempts. what an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/390 "2010-10-22T00:45:15Z")
Ugh, the Giants have forgotten how to field. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/391 "2010-10-22T00:51:35Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Ugh, the Giants have forgotten how to field. :smack: And pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/392 "2010-10-22T01:03:04Z")
Based on the pitch counts, I think this one is going to be decided by the bullpens. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/393 "2010-10-22T01:18:15Z")
Arrrgggghhhhhh. eta: screw you, sdmb, for taking away my all-caps. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/394 "2010-10-22T01:33:01Z")
This is a really sloppy game all around. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/395 "2010-10-22T01:35:36Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > This is a really sloppy game all around. It is raining. I think it’ll pass soon, though. It was raining here a little earlier, but it has passed. (I’m about 40 miles north of SF.) ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/396 "2010-10-22T01:38:08Z")
Hey! A first baseman managed to make a clean play! ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/397 "2010-10-22T02:52:25Z")
I’m getting sick and tired of the Fox guys talking about the “foul ball” that Halliday hit. If it had been called correctly, he likely would have lain down a sacrifice bunt on the next pitch, and the Phillies would have would up with men at 2nd and 3rd with one out. Which is exactly what happened. It was a bad call which in the end probably had no effect on the game whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/398 "2010-10-22T03:09:15Z")
[rally cap on] ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/399 "2010-10-22T03:14:39Z")
Ah well… Your superstar pitcher pitched less badly than our superstar pitcher. We’ll see you on Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197/400 "2010-10-22T03:55:08Z")
Back to Philly. That’s a great way to put it, Plankton. “Less badly.” I guess not the pitcher’s duel we all expected. But, it’ll work for the Phillies. Man, Madson can be so awesome. I had flashbacks of the chair breaking when I realized he came in. When he is on. He is awesome. This has been quite a championship series for both leagues. I hope we get to watch two game 7s. Yeah, I can’t stand when Buck and McCarver harp on bad calls like that. I don’t mind them pointing out the ump’s mistakes. But, I hate when they play the “What could have happened” game. It’s irritating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-league-baseball-the-2010-playoffs/556197.md?page=21)