# MLB Playoffs **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [October 2, 2024, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374 "2024-10-02T10:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/322 "2024-10-21T08:14:50Z")
Agreed. He’s our Bobby Bonilla. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/323 "2024-10-21T08:26:24Z")
I have a hard time watching baseball for the same reason I have a hard time watching college football. Teams aren’t working with the same resources. It seems like half of college football games are some multi billion dollar program with their pick from 3 million recruits vs a small school for destitute nuns and in baseball the #1 payroll is playing the #2 payroll in the world series. Next up? Prime Mike Tyson fights some middle schoolers. Actually, nevermind, I’d watch that one. But it wouldn’t be a sporting competition. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/324 "2024-10-21T11:00:31Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > in baseball the #1 payroll is playing the #2 payroll in the world series. But when was the last time that happened? It hasn’t happened for at least ten years, and only three times this century has the #1 payroll won the series. Last year, the top three spending teams all failed to make the playoffs. Granted, the lower-spending clubs rarely win the series, but spending gobs of money does not guarantee success. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/325 "2024-10-21T12:18:37Z")
That’s a lot like saying money doesn’t buy happiness. It true that it doesn’t, but it’s awfully hard to find happiness if you can’t even afford groceries. Both the Yanks and the Dodgers have never been shy about buying the players they want/need. They may not ever be “the” top spenders in any given year but they’re never far from it, either. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/326 "2024-10-21T13:52:47Z")
I gotta say, as a Yankees fan, the Dodgers are freaking scary. They’ve scored 70 runs this postseason. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/327 "2024-10-21T14:57:28Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > in baseball the #1 payroll is playing the #2 payroll in the world series. Well, no, the #1 payroll - the Mets - just got eliminated. It’s number 2 versus number 5. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/328 "2024-10-21T14:59:45Z")
The Dodgers are very slight favorites right now, but, really, most World Series are a coin flip. As boring as another Yankees/Dodgers series is, it’s nice that Shohei Ohtani wasn’t so infected by the Angels that he got to a World Series. I wonder, incidentally, if Ohtani is going to get Babe Ruthed. I think there’s a 50-50 chance the Dodgers will, at some point in the next few years, start to ease him out of pitching. Of course that has a lot to do with how badly the Dodgers need a pitcher - if the starting rotation is looking scarily empty, they may not have a choice - but it’s hard to not look at his 2024, easily his best hitting year and soon to be the first DH season to win an MVP Award, and say “just ensuring we get more of this for many years is a great idea.” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/329 "2024-10-21T15:09:21Z")
They could use him as a reliever. It wouldn’t be as taxing as starting every fifth day. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/330 "2024-10-21T15:14:50Z")
That is true, but I’m not sure how that will fit in with his hitting. If he was due up in say the bottom of the 8th he couldn’t be in the bullpen warming up for the 9th. He might have to eschew the traditional closer role and do more of what Andrew Miller was doing last decade, being more in the mold of the old firemen of the 70’s and capable of coming in whenever most needed and not just in the 9th. ---
**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, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/331 "2024-10-21T15:40:51Z")
I think the Dodgers will still let Ohtani do some pitching just for the novelty of it. It’s half of the PR/fan/marketing appeal of him as a player, a uniqueness that there wouldn’t be if he were pure hitting. And IIRC, one reason Ohtani had chosen the Angels over the Dodgers in the first place seven years ago was because the Angels had been willing to let him play 2-way when the Dodgers weren’t. But they will probably gradually lessen and lessen it more, yes. Depending on how Ohtani performs, they might just scale up or down accordingly. If he starts to bat poorly, they may extract their value out of him as a pitcher more. And if he pitches poorly, then he may start to be Babe-Ruth’d. Alternatively, if they really don’t want him to ruin his arm by pitching but he doesn’t want to be a pure hitter alone, they could make him play baseman or some position. I’ve seen footage of Ohtani playing outfielder before. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/332 "2024-10-21T15:47:55Z")
Time for my rant that we now have to wait until Friday just to start the World Series. I know it’s about television and the NBA opens Wednesday and they don’t want to go up against the NFL on Thursday, but it’s still a ridiculous long wait. ---
**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 21, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/333 "2024-10-21T15:49:11Z")
Agreed, I thought it would be a Wednesday start. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/334 "2024-10-21T16:15:25Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Time for my rant that we now have to wait until Friday just to start the World Series. I know it’s about television and the NBA opens Wednesday and they don’t want to go up against the NFL on Thursday, but it’s still a ridiculous long wait. Esp. since the CS’s began the day after the final games in the other league. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/335 "2024-10-21T16:34:34Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > they don’t want to go up against the NFL on Thursday, It’s more about competing against the NFL on Sunday than Thursday. If they start Wednesday, that puts games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday, with a potential game 5 Monday. MNF is not quite the draw it used to be but competing with the NFL on Sunday is lunacy. The Sunday night game has been the #1 primetime show across all of TV for the last several years. Next week’s Sunday game is Giants/Steelers, which shouldn’t be a huge draw by NFL standards, but if it wasn’t NYY/LAD, it would probably draw higher ratings than any other WS game. By starting Friday, they have Game 1 on a night mostly to themselves and avoid a Sunday game entirely. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/336 "2024-10-21T19:17:11Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’ve seen footage of Ohtani playing outfielder before. That’s the funny thing about Ohtani phenomenon: he’s not a two way player, he’s a 1.5 way player. When he originally came over from Japan, I thought he was going to be an outfielder. Of course, it makes sense not to have a pitcher heaving high-stress throws from the the outfield. Ohtani as a pitcher/1st Baseman would be pretty cool, though. ---
**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, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/337 "2024-10-21T22:20:45Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Ohtani as a pitcher/1st Baseman would be pretty cool, though. He throws right-handed, which is seen as [a bit of a disadvantage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_baseman#Left-handed_throwing_first_basemen) for a first baseman. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/338 "2024-10-21T23:09:44Z")
True, but if guys like Goldschmidt and Olson can do it, I’m pretty sure Ohtani could make it work. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/339 "2024-10-21T23:16:28Z")
He played outfield for years in Japan. Why mess with that now? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/340 "2024-10-22T00:22:04Z")
If he was still a pitcher, they wouldn’t want him risking his arm making throws from the outfield. First base would be less strenuous overall. Also, Ohtani was strictly a pitcher/DH his final three seasons in Japan. He has very little professional experience in the outfield, although I feel sure he’d be competent, given the opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374/341 "2024-10-22T00:51:23Z")
Maybe he was used exclusively as a pitcher in his final seasons in Japan but outfield is where he’s got the most experience and comfort off the mound. If you’re going to field him at all (and that’s the most questionable part of the whole thing), put him where you don’t have to teach him much rather than teaching him a new position. The injury risk is only significant if he’s playing out there regularly, and if he’s on the field at all for more than a few games a season rather than in a regular pitching rotation/DH, something is already terribly, terribly wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-playoffs/1008374.md?page=18)