Yes, 3 runs scored in a 2 game series, and they sweep the 2 games. Amazing.
Yes I know it was a 3 game series.
Just wait. Someone is going to take that video, slow it down, and put Unchained Melody playing in the background.
Tampa scores 1 run in 24 innings. Pretty impressive shutdown by the Cleveland pitchers. And some very close plays that went Cleveland’s way.
Next round I’m rooting for the Yankees because I’m a Yankee fan, Mariners because I hate Houston, Dodgers because of more tradition, and Phillies because I like Pennsylvania more than Georgia.
I’m with you for everything but the Yankees. I hope they lose in straight games.
It was fun to see the Mets go down with dignity. 
The Mets avoided the no hitter at least.
As in most years, I’m reduced to rooting against the teams that I don’t like.
So I’m cheering for the Mariners, Padres, Guardians, and Braves.
Cheering for the Yanks of course.
I hope Seattle knocks off Houston as Houston seems to have the Yankees number and Home Field advantage. Also hate Houston.
I would kind of like to see Yanks vs. Dodgers in the World Series, but no strong interest in the NL matchups.
I want the Yankees to completely destroy Houston in the ALCS. Like every game ending 10-0. If the Yanks don’t make it, I hope Seattle represents the AL in the WS.
I’m rooting sentimentally for the Astros, or the Guardians, or the Padres, or the Mariners.
I’d like to see Dusty Baker win one. He had one won in 2002 until the wheels came off at the end of game 6. After that the game 7 loss was pretty much a foregone conclusion.
After watching him all season I’m convinced his problem is all in his head. He came back this year and was throwing fire like he used to. The problem was if one thing went wrong the wheels would immediately come off.
If another team takes a chance on him next year I think he is one that can benefit from having the pitch clock. Every ball he threw meant a minute of walking around the mound. It didn’t help.
I’m just glad he gave them an excuse to keep him off the playoff roster. I don’t think he was going to be on it anyway.
If I bet on all the series I would have had a big goose egg.
Going to be a tough pull for the Mariners. Same division, so there’s plenty of familiarity. Houston is 7-3 at home against Seattle and 5-4 at Seattle, so they’ll need the series of their lives.
Houston against the Yankees could be interesting, depending on what version of the Yankees shows up. They’re 2-2 before the all star break but Houston swept 3-0 in the first series after the break.
NL has the same uphill climb for both series - Phillies and Padres facing off against their division winners.
Yes, but that’s not total domination. Houston is certainly the “better” team, but so was Toronto. The Mariners are underdogs to be sure, but I’m choosing to believe it can happen.
They also have momentum on their side. Often the “hot” team is the one that goes farther in the playoffs, the one that catches fire at the right time, rather than the team that is consistently better.
On paper though, I think the Astros are the favorites to win the whole thing so this will definitely be an uphill climb.
The Pads winning was great for LA just for the ease of travel alone but they also match up better. The Padres playoff ticket system was set up to only allow people in the general San Diego area to buy tickets to reduce the number of LA fans in the park.
Yanks host Cleveland at 7:37 EST on TBS tomorrow.
Yes that, and also LA doesn’t face a 100 win team in the Mets. Which I still don’t understand why MLB set it up that way.
Neither do I. It’s still more understandable than March Madness though.
It’s like trying to understand tax code.
The NFL has no problem with a six-team playoff. After the first round, the lowest-seeded team remaining plays the #1 seed. MLB evidently couldn’t figure out how to do that.
It just so happens this year that in the AL, the #1 seed, Houston, is playing the lowest-seeded team that’s still alive, which is Seattle. But in the NL, the Phillies should be playing the Dodgers.
Not that I agree with the rationale, but with this format (4/5 seed vs 1 and 3/6 seed vs 2), the 1 seed is guaranteed not to face a division winner until the CS and doesn’t require any reshuffle to guarantee it.
I don’t really see what the issue would have been with lowest remaining seed going to the 1, but MLB doesn’t ask my opinion on anything
had
They went to a 7 team playoff in each conference but the #1 seed still gets the lowest remaining seed after Wild Card weekend. This is not much of an issue for them.