Did your team make it? Who will win, and who will lose?
Go Blue!
We finished last in the AL East, worst non-Texas team.
There are enough former Red Soxers on the A’s to make them worth rooting for.
I’m feeling 50/50 about the Giants chances Wednesday in Pittsburgh. I’m pretty much prepared for anything, from a laugher of a win, to a total blowout loss, to a 16 inning nail-biter…but I really have no idea what to expect.
If they can get past the Pirates, then I feel good.
The Orioles will win, probably against Los Angeles.
Rooting for the Royals!
I’m envisioning the same series, but I’m not sure Baltimore gets past seeing Kershaw and Greinke twice.
But I trust neither the Cardinals nor the Giants to go away when everything says they ought to. mutters about having to play the games
I would never, ever stake anything I didn’t want to lose on the outcome of a baseball playoff series, much less a one game playoff. Who the hell knows what’s going to happen? Nobody give the Tigers much change, but what happens if you can’t get Cabrera and Martinez out? Those guys could hit nine home runs between them in one playoff series and boom, you’re dead. That’s the beauty of baseball; you can play great otherwise but throw a meatball to the wrong guy and there goes the ballgame.
The absolute Exhibit A: the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, who were basically the poster child for a team that logically should not have won the World Series:
- They were not a very good team in general, going 83-78 in a poor division.
- They therefore did not have home field advantage in any playoff series.
- They backed into the playoffs, losing 9 of their last 12 games.
- They had none of the hallmarks of a team designed for playoff baseball; they did not have a strong starting rotation beyond Chris Carpenter, got a large portion of their value from their backups, and had no one or two particularly dominant relievers. The only thing the Cardinals had that is typical of an unusually successful playoff team was that they were a good fielding team, and even then they were good but not extraordinary.
All that, and the 2006 World Series flag flies over Busch Stadium.
If one goes by the things that best predict unexpected playoff success, you should pick… uh, Oakland, believe it or not. If they make it past the playoff game. Their W/L record was unlucky, they have an extremely dominant front end of their rotation, they’re a very good defensive team, and they have several dominant relievers. But who the hell knows what will happen in the wild card game?
Yeah, it’s a different game in October, and a team built to win that way is in better shape than a team built to finish atop the division and then hope for luck. It’s not the “postseason”, really, it’s the games that actually decide who gets a parade and who gets forgotten. The 5th, and often 4th, starters don’t matter, neither do any relievers other than the closer and the setup guy, or any of the bench (except in the NL, and then not much). If they do come in then you’ve already lost. It’s all the front of the rotation and the closer vs. the other guys’ starting lineup and vice versa, nothing else. Which of them thrives under pressure and who wilts? You may not know until the situation arises, and regular-season records aren’t a reliable predictor.
Ya gotta love the one game, wild card games. So much riding on the result.
Hoping to view many Giants games this post season!
I’ve been a Royals fan for as long as I can remember. Their amazing post-ASG run got me believing again, even though the odds look a little slim, with the As, then the Angels lined up behind them. Lester really worries me, and Shields has had a few struggles recently. Both teams’ light bats should continue to have problems - but the Royals are used to playing small ball all season long. But I can’t wait. It’s just a one-game playoff to start things rolling, but it might as well be the Super Bowl.
The Orioles won their division for the first time in 17 years, and won it comfortably.
I’m afraid, though, that i have an almost Pavlovian expectation of an early exit, conditioned by years of disappointing performances. I’d love it if they advanced, and would be over the moon if they won it all, but i’m keeping my expectations moderate.
Edit:
Apart from Baltimore, i’ll also be cheering for the Royals and the Pirates.
As a Cardinals fan, I’d love to see Albert Pujols’s old team beat Albert Pujols’s new team in the World Series.
But I might consider rooting for the Pirates if they would agree to Talk Like A Pirate in all their media interviews. Arrr!
As much as I’d like to see the Cards sweep the LA next week, I’m really kind hoping for a Giants-Dodgers NLCS. It would be the first postseason meeting for the teams since divisional play began back in 1969.
Interesting oddity in the final batting stats. Jose Altuve had the lowest number of pitches per PA, 3.11, but led MLB in Hits and BA. Mike Trout had the highest number of pitches per PA, 4.56, but led MLB in extra base hits… A few other Stat Leaaders:
Caught Stealing: Billy Hamilton, 23
Hit bypitch: J0n Jay. 20
Intentional walks: Victor Martinez, 23
Grounded into Double play: Casey McGehee, 31
Sac Bunts + Sac Flies: Brett Gardner, 19
I know a number of Dodger fans down here hoping for the same. And I’m sure only a small part of that is due to the fact that the Giants don’t scare us as much as the Nats do. 
But seriously, it would be a lot of fun for those two to match up when it really, REALLY matters. Especially in a season where the Yankees and Red Sox were also-rans.
Count me as one. For the same reason, too!
Royals Royals Royals Royals Royals!
Just wanted to enjoy the feeling of typing it in a Post-season thread, un-ironically.
As the #1 Josh Hamilton hater, I’m really hoping he’s left off the postseason roster
I’m a bit worried about tomorrow’s game. From what I gather, the national press is overwhelmingly favoring the Giants to win. Based upon recent Giants’ postseason experience, the national press generally has no idea what they’re talking about…