# MLB: 2025 Postseason **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [September 29, 2025, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478 "2025-09-29T12:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/641 "2025-10-21T04:52:34Z")
Well, balls. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/642 "2025-10-21T05:44:37Z")
We watched it tape delayed. A tense game, but the Jays pulled through. Vlad is something else. They have a (VERY!) tall order against the Dodgers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/643 "2025-10-21T10:48:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The LCS ended up being decided the way the two teams played all year; Seattle hit more home runs in the series (and in Game 7) but Toronto got more guys on base in the series, and in Game 7, and that’s what gave them the edge. “Small ball” still works. And works well. > [@Spoons](#): > > A more knowledgeable friend explained that it was better to get guys on base than it was to hit it out of the park. A home run was nice, but as long as you get guys on base, then even a base hit will often get a guy home. That’s what matters in the end. I liken it to bowling, where back to back spares, or better yet strikes, really rack up the points. Hits in streaks score a lot more than hits spread out. Six hits for the game but all in one inning: big score. Six hits all game but spread out across 6 innings: no score. Back to the present … I was sorta looking forward to a West coast series. Oh well. Good luck to the Blue Jays; they’ll probably need it. OTOH, any given team can go cold starting on any given day; Dodgers aren’t immune to that. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/644 "2025-10-21T10:57:35Z")
Talking with a fellow Jays fan today, I think we’re both glad that the Jays won the ALCS, At the same time, we’re realists. The Series, against the Dodgers, is going to be a tough slog. Glad that the Jays have the home field advantage. We hope that the Jays make the most of it. Fingers crossed! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/645 "2025-10-21T11:00:41Z")
The WS is basically going to be the Jays’ hot offense going up against the Dodgers’ strong pitching. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/646 "2025-10-21T11:45:41Z")
Could be. TOR scored 37 runs in 7 games = 5.28 runs/game. LAD scored 15 runs in 4 games = 3.75 runs/game. Clearly that’s more for TOR. But not IMO a commanding amount of more. The difference, ~1.5 runs, is smaller than the game-to-game variance of either team. Further, TOR’s runs came like this: 1, 3,13, 8, 2, 6, 4 LAD’s runs came like this: 2, 5, 3, 5 There’s always a danger to cherry picking, but had TOR’s two big blowouts been smaller blowouts, the averages would be a lot more even. Disregarding those two big games completely, TOR scored 16 runs over 5 games for an average of 3.20 runs/game which is less than LAD’s average. Which team shows up hot will be the big determiner. For sure on any given day that one side’s pitching collapses early, the other side is gonna beat them bloody. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/647 "2025-10-21T13:14:08Z")
So the Toronto Star ran an article today about fans celebrating the victory and it was OBVIOUSLY written, at least mostly, by AI. A major, big market newspaper just ran an AI written column. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/648 "2025-10-21T14:24:58Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A major, big market newspaper just ran an AI written column. The people over there were probably drunk after celebrating, it would have been worse if they tried writing something themselves. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/649 "2025-10-21T15:07:35Z")
They’ve just announced the WS game times- all games will be at 8 ET. What a shock. No matter who is in it, all games will be at 8 ET- just like clockwork (no pun intended) every single year. Every year, they announce the WS start times at the conclusion of the LCS as if it matters who is in it to determine start times and every year the times are the same. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/650 "2025-10-21T15:15:15Z")
God it’d be nice to have a day game this Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/651 "2025-10-21T15:40:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Small ball” still works. And works well. Kinda-sorta. The Brewers are, arguably, winning primarily via “small ball.” This past season, they ranked: - #2 in batting average - #2 in on-base percentage - #2 in stolen bases - #22 in home runs - #12 in slugging percentage …and they finished the season with the best win-loss record in baseball. The big knock against their offense is that they don’t hit many home runs, despite playing in a relatively homer-friendly park; they only had two guys (Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio) with 20+ home runs. They have had the longest run of sustained success in franchise history: they’ve made the playoffs in seven of the past 8 seasons. But, they just can’t get over the hump; they just got swept by the Dodgers, whose starting pitchers were simply able to shut them down. So, yeah, it’s possible to be successful playing small ball in this era, with the right players, but it’s not yet proven that you can win a championship with that style of play. Compared to 40-50 years ago, modern ballparks aren’t as amenable to small-ball; the stadiums of a generation ago, especially the multi-purpose stadiums, typically had big field dimensions and old-style Astroturf, both of which lent themselves better to base hits and stealing. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/652 "2025-10-21T15:40:37Z")
You’ll never see a day WS game again. I miss the days when I’d get home from school and catch the last half of a WS game. Day shift workers could watch the end of the game and never have to stay up till midnight to see the end of a game. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/653 "2025-10-21T16:15:44Z")
You wouldn’t want the TV executives to sacrifice their third Bentley, would you, you heartless bastard? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/654 "2025-10-21T16:33:14Z")
Maybe this has been discussed, but can anybody give me a good defense of using your third-best reliever against George Springer with two men on base in a two-run game in the bottom of the 7th? If ever there is a time to use your closer in a high-leverage spot that isn’t technically a “save opportunity”, that’s gotta be it right? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/655 "2025-10-21T16:41:10Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > If ever there is a time to use your closer in a high-leverage spot that isn’t technically a “save opportunity”, that’s gotta be it right? The explanation given at the time was that they wanted Munoz available for both the 8th and 9th innings. But as it turns out, they didn’t need him in the 9th. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/656 "2025-10-21T16:46:04Z")
That’s pretty lousy logic, right? Isn’t having Munoz against Springer, Lukes, and maybe Vlad Jr (followed by 4, 5, and 6 in the 8th) more useful than having him against the bottom of the lineup in the 9th? Especially since runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in a 2-run game is very likely to be the highest leverage spot in the game. I think other managers would have been far more aggressive there with using the best bullpen arms at the most important times. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/657 "2025-10-21T16:48:53Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I think other managers would have been far more aggressive there with using the best bullpen arms at the most important times. Perhaps. One effect of the prevalence of use of advanced stats in this era of baseball is that most managers now manage to the stats, and follow current conventional wisdom. It’s become uncommon for a manager to go against what the spreadsheet tells him is the optimal choice – and it seems like one of those is “don’t use your closer early.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/658 "2025-10-21T16:49:47Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > That’s pretty lousy logic, right? I suppose, but if Bazardo had managed to, say, manufacturer a double play (say a shallow fly ball got caught, then they tagged out the guy at 3rd who tried to run home) we probably wouldn’t even be talking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/659 "2025-10-21T16:52:16Z")
Oh, absolutely. Second-guessing the manager is easy after the fact (although to be fair I was yelling at my TV as a temporary Mariners fan to bring in the closer). I seem to recall a trend towards using best relievers in high-leverage spots among the more stats-oriented managers. I’ll have to see if I can dig up a cite. All I know is I would want my best arm against their best bats if at all possible, and then rely on my second- and third-best guys to get the bottom of the lineup if it comes to that. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478/660 "2025-10-21T17:46:40Z")
StubHub has game 1 tickets available from $2690 to $13047 ($CAN). The “official” prices are $495, $750, and up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2025-postseason/1023478.md?page=34)