# MLB Postseason prediction and playoff talk thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 30, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833 "2008-09-30T12:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/281 "2008-10-20T03:43:52Z")
Arg. I’m so rooting for Philly. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/282 "2008-10-20T03:44:24Z")
Excellent. Go Rays! ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/283 "2008-10-20T03:44:40Z")
Congrats Rays, Since it’s a tradition of mine to cheer for the team that beat my team, good luck in the world series. ---
**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 20, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/284 "2008-10-20T03:49:10Z")
Congratulations, Rays! continue giving Rays of hope to us downtrodden Royals fans - we want our team to be like you (who thought we’d be saying this a year ago?) Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of money someone could have made if, before the season had started, he bet the Rays to win the AL champiionship? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/285 "2008-10-20T03:49:33Z")
Well, thank Christ. No ESPN team in the World Series! It should be a terrific one. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/286 "2008-10-20T03:50:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > OK, now that baseball is over for the season…what are we going to talk about now? Well, the Raiders managed a win today. 😉 Good luck, Rays! No offense to anyone rooting for Philly, but quite the opposite of **drm** , I can’t bring myself to activiely root for the team that eliminated mine from the playoffs. I would have had a much tougher decision had the Red Sox gone on to face the Phillies, as I have started to dislike Boston quite a bit. But it will be fun to root for the Rays. A few former Dodgers on the team, underdogs all season – the Rays are an easy choice for me. Not that I’ll actually be _watching_ any of the games, mind you… ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/287 "2008-10-20T03:53:51Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of money someone could have made if, before the season had started, he bet the Rays to win the AL champiionship? Not a complete answer, but this is taken from an LA Times article on June 18th of this year: > [@LA Times article](#): > > Before the season, the Rays were listed at 75-1 to win the AL pennant at [VegasInsider.com](http://VegasInsider.com). > > With Tampa Bay currently in second place in the AL East behind the Red Sox, oddsmakers have responded. > > At [VegasInsider.com](http://VegasInsider.com), Tampa Bay is now listed with 10-1 odds to win the AL pennant. Boston is still the favorite at 7-4, followed by the Angels at 11-4, New York Yankees at 9-2, Chicago at 6-1 and Cleveland at 8-1. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f0a364/32.png) [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Quack_s_Echo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/288 "2008-10-20T04:01:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > No ESPN team in the World Series! For a curious Aussie baseball fan, what is an ESPN team? Congrats Phillies and Rays. I’ll follow the World series with interest. My heart goes with the Phillies. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/289 "2008-10-20T04:30:11Z")
> [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](#): > > For a curious Aussie baseball fan, what is an ESPN team? ESPN loves NY and Boston. They would show only games involving those two teams if they could. I wish my Sox had won, but I’ll root for the Rays. The AL East is the division to beat. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/290 "2008-10-20T05:00:14Z")
> [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](#): > > For a curious Aussie baseball fan, what is an ESPN team? > > Congrats Phillies and Rays. I’ll follow the World series with interest. My heart goes with the Phillies. Hey, we’ve got an Aussie pitcher, Grant Balfour (unfortunate name). You should consider cheering for the Rays! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/291 "2008-10-20T05:04:05Z")
In case you’re wondering, just got back a few minutes ago from the game. Excellent game, excellent series. Garza was a beast, and Price was quite poised in relief. This was the only game of the ALCS that actually felt like “Rays Baseball”. Props to Boston. They gave us almost everything we could handle. I admire Dustin Pedroia, hell of a player. Not wild about Youkilis, but the guy scares me every time he’s at the plate. Also, I thought the Sox played better defense than we did throughout the series. Papelbon is just scary when he pitches. He’s like a machine. Looking forward to Game 1 on Wednesday. Go RAYS! ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f0a364/32.png) [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Quack_s_Echo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/292 "2008-10-20T05:18:30Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > ESPN loves NY and Boston. They would show only games involving those two teams if they could. We don’t get ESPN except via cable TV which I don’t have. I do get Sports Centre twenty-four hours after it goes to air in the US through my ISP and that program seems pretty balanced with regard to baseball. I’m trying to get my ISP to register for ESPN360 but, so far, no luck. On the same note, ESPN appears to favour the east coast of the US in most sports. As well, the presenters on Sports Centre all sound like they have east coast accents. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/293 "2008-10-20T07:44:04Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Hey, we’ve got an Aussie pitcher, Grant Balfour (unfortunate name). As unfortunate as [Bob Walk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Walk). And I’d hate to be a batter facing a pitcher with a name like [Plunk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Plunk) 😛 On an unrelated note: I don’t remember the year but I once saw a brief story about a MLB game, probably Pirates vs. Mets, in which pitcher [Jim Gott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gott) faced batter/2nd baseman [Tim Teufel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Teufel). It was mentioned because “Gott” is German for “God” and “Teufel” is German for “Devil”. I’m glad that the Rays won tonight. Even if I did end up paying to listen to the game on [MLB.com](http://MLB.com) because the !@#$% local “sports” station, KKRT, was for some reason broadcasting the Seattle Seahawks (who ironically got beat by the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay). I don’t know what was up with that - the Seahawks games are usually broadcast on a different AM station, KPQ. (If they hadn’t rescheduled Saturday’s ALCS game from a day game to a night game, I would have gotten to listen to the WSU Cougars getting shellacked 69-0 instead of the Rays/Sox game). I’m getting so fed up with the local “sports radio” station (which is an ESPN affiliate) that I’m tempted to just boycott them next season and shell out to listen to all my baseball over the Internet. Which isn’t an option at work, unfortunately (not against the rules AFAIK - there’s just no Internet connection in the kitchen). As it is, I’m “looking forward” to trying to listen to the World Series while their signal keeps cutting out at key moments in the games, as has happened every year: “Ramirez chases it to the wall! He leaps - he _ssssssssssss_ …” I suppose the upside to listening to tonight’s game over the internet was that I got to listen to the WHNZ feed with the Ray’s own announcers instead of the ESPN buffoons. The downside of the Rays’ win is that now I’m not sure who to root for in the WS. I’m an AL guy and so traditionally root for the AL team, but in this case I also have to look at the fact that the Phillies have Jamie Moyer - one of my all-time favorite players and an all-around class act who is finally getting a well-deserved shot at a ring (I was actually _happy_ when the Mariners traded him to Philly, where he would at least have a shot. I knew the M’s weren’t going to be good any time soon). If Boston had won tonight the decision would be easy. I’ve still got my Phillies cap from 1993 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/294 "2008-10-20T09:10:38Z")
I was so looking forward to waking up early this morning to hear the news about last night’s game, which I turned off (tired) a few innings after Pedroia’s HR with the Sox leading 1-0. This is going to bother me for at least a day. I’ve got to re-focus here–I was anticipating being giddy all day long, and I’d begun thinking about travel plans to Fenway for next week’s games. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/295 "2008-10-20T11:02:20Z")
Congrats TB, it was a great and enjoyable series. Usually when Boston teams get eliminated it’s a tremendously depressing couple of days, but I’m happy for The Rays. They’re a great team to watch and I’m going to root for them in the World Series. When the Giants beat the Patriots in the Superbowl I was miserable. It was horrible. In 2003 I caught my first case of sport’s related depression from Aaron Boone’s HR. And the worse was in 2007 when Indy beat the Pats in the conference playoff game. I don’t think I answered my phone for three days. But this was sort of nice. Tampa Bay is a very likable team. And that was a great seven game series. The only thing I was disappointed with was the lack of clubhouse celebration coverage by TBS & ESPN. All they kept showing was highlights of the game afterwards as well as talking heads discussing in-game strategy. IT’S 1AM! The only people still watching are the fans who watched every play already! Show us a clubhouse letting loose. Anyways, a great game, and an exciting series. Congratulations. Please bring the trophy back to the AL again. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/296 "2008-10-20T11:16:52Z")
Congratulations to the Rays. I happy that Boston put up a good fight and made it a full series, but the Rays simply played better. Good luck in the World Series! ---
**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 20, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/297 "2008-10-20T12:23:54Z")
Congrats to the Rays and more importantly, thank you for sending Boston home. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/298 "2008-10-20T13:35:56Z")
How many people at Fox are kicking themselves right now. Tampa Bay may be a nice Cinderalla story, but not having the Red Sox in the World Series has knocked a few points of the ratings. From dreaming of a Cubs/Red Sox series to the Tampa Bay Rays…’ ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/299 "2008-10-20T13:37:52Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > How many people at Fox are kicking themselves right now. Because they had the choice? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833/300 "2008-10-20T13:40:56Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > The downside of the Rays’ win is that now I’m not sure who to root for in the WS. I’m an AL guy and so traditionally root for the AL team, but in this case I also have to look at the fact that the Phillies have Jamie Moyer - one of my all-time favorite players and an all-around class act who is finally getting a well-deserved shot at a ring (I was actually _happy_ when the Mariners traded him to Philly, where he would at least have a shot. I’m torn too. The Phillies were my childhood team. I loved Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose in his Phillie days, and Steve Carlton. I’m still very fond of them. However, the Rays are the AL team, they have done baseball a tremendous service by eliminating both the Yankees and Red Sox (think about it; if the Rays had not had a huge regular season, the next team in line for a playoff spot was New York) and they’re just a great story. Fun fact: Florida-based teams are now 8-for-8 in winning playoff series. In terms of my bet, I think you’ve got to bet on the Rays. A 97-win team in a strong league against a 92-win team in a weak league. Philly has lefthanded starters, though, which may be of some benefit to them; Tamps Bay does not play as well against lefties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-postseason-prediction-and-playoff-talk-thread/465833.md?page=16)