# MLB: Post-season **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 29, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860 "2014-09-29T14:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/581 "2014-10-08T13:28:22Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Giants win. I aged about 32 years over the last week, but it was worth it. I almost\* feel guilty about accepting this victory. Three runs, on a walk, weak grounder and HBP. Popups with runner on 3rd and \< 2 outs. GAAaaaarghhhh…the Giants were saying “hey, we don’t really need all those extra runs. Nats…you want 'em?” \*But I’ll take it. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/582 "2014-10-08T13:37:22Z")
fachverwirrt: > [@](#): > > Well, we’re halfway to an I-70 series, which I’d love to see Technically, the ALCS is already an I-70 series. ---
**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 8, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/583 "2014-10-08T14:01:13Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > fachverwirrt: > > Technically, the ALCS is already an I-70 series. Kauffman Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards via I-70: only 1,052 miles, and roughly 17 hours. _ **ROAD TRIP!!!** _ 😃 ---
**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 8, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/584 "2014-10-08T14:05:41Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Well, that’s the fork stuck in my dodgers. No complaints. We were healthy, and the Cards just beat us. If only we’d had the middle relief this year we’d had last year. It’s amazing how the parts have to come together to get to the Series. > > Oh well. Go, um Nats?☹ I’m flabbergasted by Kershaw’s failed performances - he was unstoppable this year, lights out, a stud on the mound. Until he pitched against the Cardinals in the postseason: 0-2 record, and ERA over 7. Amazing. :smack: How did that happen? Surely it wasn’t the Cardinals stealing signs, or was it? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/585 "2014-10-08T14:07:02Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > fachverwirrt: > > Technically, the ALCS is already an I-70 series. True enough. Actually, 70 heads more or less straight toward San Francisco (before it just ends in the middle of Utah). But THE I-70 series stays entirely within Missouri. ---
**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 8, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/586 "2014-10-08T14:13:20Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > THE I-70 series stays entirely within Missouri. Two words: Don Denkinger. ETA: oh, I see [you already mentioned him last night](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17796963#post17796963). Rest assured, instant replay review is here to stay. ---
**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 8, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/587 "2014-10-08T14:18:14Z")
Would be cool if DD threw out the first pitch in the series. At KC, of course, not in STL. Game 1 would be in KC. I know that’d never happen though. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/588 "2014-10-08T14:29:54Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > True enough. Actually, 70 heads more or less straight toward San Francisco (before it just ends in the middle of Utah). If you want to talk ‘almosts’…US-50 runs from West Sacramento, 85 miles from San Francisco, to Annapolis, 30 miles from Baltimore (and then on to Ocean City, MD)…Orange and Black October, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/589 "2014-10-08T14:34:07Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The most annoying result of this game, for me, is that we are now going to get days and days of talk about how Clayton Kershaw might not be a big time playoff pitcher; about how he might just be a regular-season guy, who doesn’t have what it takes when the pressure’s on. Blah blah blah. It will all, of course, be idiotic bullshit, but we will be bombarded with it nonetheless. If I may add some totally irrelevant idiotic bullshit\*, someone named “Clayton Kershaw” really ought to be in country music. \*Not meant facetiously. My team’s postseason is over, and this is all I’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/590 "2014-10-08T14:35:50Z")
I might need to root for the AL team this year in the Series. I _hate_ when that happens. So, OK, which AL team should I borrow, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/591 "2014-10-08T14:38:10Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > That’s now 3 unearned runs for the Giants tonight. Runs which score on wild pitches are earned by scoring rule, although perhaps “unearned” in some kind of cosmic morality sense. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/592 "2014-10-08T14:44:44Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If I may add some totally irrelevant idiotic bullshit\*, someone named “Clayton Kershaw” really ought to be in country music. > > \*Not meant facetiously. My team’s postseason is over, and this is all I’ve got. This is when we need a “Like” button. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/593 "2014-10-08T14:49:41Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’m flabbergasted by Kershaw’s failed performances - he was unstoppable this year, lights out, a stud on the mound. > > Until he pitched against the Cardinals in the postseason: 0-2 record, and ERA over 7. Amazing. :smack: Okay, but it was ONE bad start, not two. He pitched only in Game 4. 3 earned runs isn’t a lot of runs, but his team’s bats were cold. Even Clayton Kershaw has a bad game now and then. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/594 "2014-10-08T14:50:26Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > But THE I-70 series stays entirely within Missouri. If it does happen, will there be a “very special World Series episode” of _Truck Stop USA_? > [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > If you want to talk ‘almosts’…US-50 runs from West Sacramento, 85 miles from San Francisco, to Annapolis, 30 miles from Baltimore (and then on to Ocean City, MD)…Orange and Black October, anyone? Back before they had the interstate highway system, US-50 ran all the way to San Francisco (but it took a rather strange route to Sacramento; it went along the current I-580 to State 99, then north; the “direct” route was US-40, and even that had a “detour” from the current I-80 route, heading east on I-780 then north on I-680 to go around the hills rather than over them). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/595 "2014-10-08T15:01:02Z")
Ooof. Nats pitching wasn’t that bad this series, 1.23, but the offense just didn’t show up, with the exception of Harper and Rendon. I think Matt Williams made some questionable moves: pulling Zimmermann in Game 2 and putting Barrett on the mound in Game 4 when he has Stras, Storen, Stammen and Clippard available. Anyway, now I’m pulling for KC, anyone but St. Louis, really. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/596 "2014-10-08T15:05:49Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Runs which score on wild pitches are earned by scoring rule, although perhaps “unearned” in some kind of cosmic morality sense. Right; I stand corrected. Having lived through quite a few years of ‘non-success’ as a Giants fan, I’m not used to being the team that everyone ‘loves to hate’, but I can see where they’re starting to get that reputation, along with the Cardinals…the ALCS features two teams who haven’t made it to a Championship Series since the mid-1980s, while the NLCS features the only two teams who have won the NL Championship in this decade. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/597 "2014-10-08T15:13:25Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > I might need to root for the AL team this year in the Series. I _hate_ when that happens. > So, OK, which AL team should I borrow, and why? cmkeller and I would be happy for you to join our merry little band of Royals fans here on the board. In addition to not having to support an AL East team, this team is just FUN. Yes, the manager is frustrating beyond belief on the field, but this team just keeps pulling it out. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen as much defensive effort from 1-9 before. There’s no major star that the media is going to fawn over - but there are plenty of great stories to tell. Gore and Dyson are the fastest guys in the league. Hosmer, Gordon and Moustakas were the core of the Royals rebuilding, and are finally finding their footing - Hosmer especially has found his leadership role on the team. All three play jaw-dropping defense. Speaking of which check out [these back-to-back catches by Lorenzo Cain](http://deadspin.com/lorenzo-cain-is-your-newest-playoff-star-1642840576) from Sunday night’s game. On the pitching side, we’ve got one veteran arm, and youth, youth, and more youth. James Shields has been a serviceable #1 that isn’t going to wow you. But wait until game 2 and keep your eye on Yordano Ventura’s radar readings. He consistently hits 100 - he’s the fastest starter in the game (_tips cap to Aroldis Chapman_). But the highlight on the mound is the bullpen. We have one of the best (the best?) 7-8-9 combos in the game - but it’s looking like the long season might have started to cause some chinks in the armor to appear. Wade Davis put up one of the best relief seasons in history, but he’s been giving up baserunners in the playoffs now. Greg Holland closes games out quietly and efficiently. Additionally, you’ll get a peek at the future of the Royals rotation as Danny Duffy and Brandon Finnegan take on the role of long relievers this series. Finnegan was our #1 draft pick - he started the year pitching in the College World Series for TCU, has all of 7 innings of MLB experience, and has been nails in the playoffs. Danny Duffy was a regular in the rotation all season, but hit the DL later in the year, and is now a long reliever for the playoffs. Both have lightning stuff, and will (hopefully) be around for years to come. Plus, BBQ. And jazz. And George Brett, Frank White, and Willie Wilson! And Buck O’Neil! ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/598 "2014-10-08T17:34:44Z")
Call a Baltimore-San Francisco series the John McGraw Legacy Championship. Did McGraw bring the orange and black colors from Baltimore or were the Giants already using those colors when he arrived? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/599 "2014-10-08T17:39:42Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Call a Baltimore-San Francisco series the John McGraw Legacy Championship. Did McGraw bring the orange and black colors from Baltimore or were the Giants already using those colors when he arrived? Darned good question, and I’d never heard of the connection before. Given that an oriole (the bird) is orange and black, I’d say it makes sense for Baltimore to have had the colors first. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860/600 "2014-10-08T18:02:59Z")
KC has BBQ, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll just pretend the DH is actually a decent-hitting pitcher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-post-season/699860.md?page=31)