# MLB: 2013 Postseason
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [September 30, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978 "2013-09-30T04:26:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 36
### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/701 "2013-10-28T19:46:34Z")
To that point, the Red Sox really had no reason to be holding Wong at first last night - unless they had some scouting intel that he could be caught leaning the wrong way. đ Or maybe it was just to distract Beltran.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/702 "2013-10-28T19:54:03Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#):
>
> Ortiz legging out an infield single didnât warrant an âOh Shit?â When was the last time that happened. The Clinton administration?
No, that was a âddamn!â moment, not an âoh shit!â moment. đ
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/703 "2013-10-28T19:58:39Z")
Papi hit a few triples this season, too - his first in something like eight years. Maybe the PEDâs were actually holding him back all those years.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/704 "2013-10-28T20:28:20Z")
Sadly, Iâm convinced that I now have a pair of lucky boxer shorts - the last three Sox wins have come while Iâve been wearing them. I feel like Iâm living in a [Bud Lite commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oiHPEzCa08).
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### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/705 "2013-10-28T20:45:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> Papi hit a few triples this season, too - his first in something like eight years. Maybe the PEDâs were actually holding him back all those years.
Last year broke a string of 12 consecutive seasons with a triple.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/706 "2013-10-28T22:20:48Z")
> [@Quercus](#):
>
> In contrast, stealing second when down by a run definitely helps your team [/waves at Dave Roberts], enough that itsâ worth some level of risk-- statheads say trying to steal second is generally close to a break-even proposition; I suspect with two out and down by a run it gets to be winning oddsâŚat least there is some potential benefit, even if odds are low with Babe lumbering in; thereâs still zero benefit to having a lead off first with two out down two runs.
Babe Ruth to his career at that point was caught stealing in about half his attempts. I think Dave Roberts (with a stolen base percentage of 97.1% in 2004) was a better bet to steal safely.
Plus, Ruth was thrown out with Bob Meusel at the plate (second highest batting average for the Yankees that year at .315, and decent power), and with the rest of that lineup youâd want to give them a chance to drive you in. Ruth attempting to steal was not a smart play.
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/707 "2013-10-28T23:08:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> Then you donât understand the rule. You canât âexplain your reasoning,â since the âreasonâ you give has nothing whatever to do with whether obstruction should be called.
Sorry, asserting this with conviction doesnât make it so. Maybe you can actually read what I wrote. I asserted (correctly, I believe) that the rule permits the ump to make exceptions, but provides no guidance as to what an acceptable exception might be. I offered what I think a reasonable exception might be, consistent with the limits on this that the rules setâwhich is to say, there are none. Not sure why this is so difficult to understand. I get that people disagree with where I draw the line, but I donât get why people keep missing completely what Iâm saying.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/708 "2013-10-29T00:18:48Z")
So, when are the Cardinals going to stop pitching to Ortiz?
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### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/709 "2013-10-29T02:47:33Z")
> [@asterion](#):
>
> So, when are the Cardinals going to stop pitching to Ortiz?
Hopefully about the time the Sox stop pitching to Holliday
.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/710 "2013-10-29T03:03:16Z")
red sox win! in an ordinary game!
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/711 "2013-10-29T03:37:42Z")
Wanna scare a Cardinals fan on Halloween? Dress up as David Ortiz.
Actually, I hope they/we see the real David Ortiz on Halloweenâthatâll mean we have a Game 7.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/712 "2013-10-29T03:59:04Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#):
>
> I get that people disagree with where I draw the line, but I donât get why people keep missing completely what Iâm saying.
Itâs because there is no line for you to draw. But itâs clear at this point that youâre not going it understand this, no matter how many times and how many ways itâs explained to you.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/713 "2013-10-29T04:42:03Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#):
>
> red sox win! in an ordinary game!
hehe
ninjaâd by **rocking chair** ; g1
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### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/714 "2013-10-29T05:53:21Z")
Man I hate the AL and the DH.
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/715 "2013-10-29T08:54:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> Itâs because there is no line for you to draw. But itâs clear at this point that youâre not going it understand this, no matter how many times and how many ways itâs explained to you.
Yes, there is. I offer as evidence the words âvery likely,â which clearly means this circumstance is not always obstruction though it usually is. The rule allows for exceptions, though it offers no guidance on what constitutes one. This is the space of judgment and opinion, necessarily, unless one conveniently ignores those words and reads it as if they donât exist. Thatâs what youâre doing, and it appears to be creating some cognitive dissonance for you, since youâre certain youâre unambiguously right.
You counter with a strong assertion that is based on nothing but your certainty that you must be right. Put another wayâI canât be wrong on a matter of opinion. You, however, absolutely can be wrong in asserting there is not room for judgment in this rule, since the plain English of it shows otherwise.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/716 "2013-10-29T09:13:01Z")
MotherfuckFUCKsuckingGODDAMMITâŚ
Operation âSuck Lessâ continues. Itâs like watching an NBA Final that ends 82-80 and you sit there watching your team underperform and the other team underperform less while making [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vRVJN4kcBZs/SnK9rP-JjOI/AAAAAAAAI78/-6V_LSSdeAA/s400/Eek_Face.jpg) face.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/717 "2013-10-29T11:25:33Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> Man I hate the AL and the DH.
sometimes i wonder what they would have done with babe ruth if the dh had been around in his time. his pitching was a major part of red sox winning the world series in 1918, but his hitting pushed him off the pitcherâs mound to put him in the outfield.
would you keep him on the mound, and have him hit as a dh for other pitchers? who would hit for him on his pitching days?
the way this series is going, i donât think i want to see a halloween game.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/718 "2013-10-29T12:15:00Z")
> [@Telemarked for Death](#):
>
> Sadly, Iâm convinced that I now have a pair of lucky boxer shorts - the last three Sox wins have come while Iâve been wearing them. I feel like Iâm living in a [Bud Lite commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oiHPEzCa08).
OK, itâs confirmed now. I have to do laundry today.
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### Author:  [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/719 "2013-10-29T12:37:05Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#):
>
> sometimes i wonder what they would have done with babe ruth if the dh had been around in his time. his pitching was a major part of red sox winning the world series in 1918, but his hitting pushed him off the pitcherâs mound to put him in the outfield.
>
> would you keep him on the mound, and have him hit as a dh for other pitchers? who would hit for him on his pitching days?
Th DH is optional so it probably wouldnât have changed anything, heâd have hit for himself when he pitched. He may have been a DH instead of outfielder, especially in the second half of his career, but that shouldnât be a factor in the decision to have him stop pitching
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### Author:  [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2013-postseason/669978/720 "2013-10-29T13:32:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> Babe Ruth to his career at that point was caught stealing in about half his attempts. I think Dave Roberts (with a stolen base percentage of 97.1% in 2004) was a better bet to steal safely.
>
> Plus, Ruth was thrown out with Bob Meusel at the plate (second highest batting average for the Yankees that year at .315, and decent power), and with the rest of that lineup youâd want to give them a chance to drive you in. Ruth attempting to steal was not a smart play.
Itâs maybe not that bad a play. We can simplify just a tiny bit and assume that for Ruth to score, he needs either an extra-base hit when heâs on first, or any hit when heâs on second. (Iâm pretending walks are hits just to make things simpler; that results in too many extra-base hits so more scoring from first, but also too many hits from second so I think overall weâll be close enough).
Letâs assume an OBP of .400 for Meusel and also the next batter, with one-third of their hits being an extra base hit (thatâs about the average for the two current Series teams over the whole playoffs). So chance of him scoring by staying on first is (Meusel hits extra bases OR ( Meusel reaches first only AND next guy reaches first or better)), which is 1/3_0.400 + 2/3_0.400\*0.400 = .24.
If Ruth steals second, the chance of scoring is just (Meusel reaches) or 0.400. So if Ruth steals successfully half the time, his chance of scoring by attempting a steal is 1/2\* 0.400 = 0.200,
Itâs worse to steal (0.2 vs 0.24), but barely. Given how rough the numbers I used were, I canât say for sure that the odds were wrong for Ruth to try to steal. Certainly canât say it was a clearly horrible decision.
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