THERE'S ONLY ONE POSTSEASON (thread for 2019)

I forgot that Davey M is (justifiably) terrified of his bullpen

Well and maybe plus his guy is six outs away

I know it sounds crazy, but I sometimes wonder if, in that situation, it's worth walking Sanchez (intentionally unintentionally) and get him on the basepaths. There are precise measurements of the situational advantage of two outs/none on vs. one out/runner on first; I don't know if anyone's ever studied pitchers pitching after running the bases.

I know you've heard this from me before, but no one should care
xp

Holy cats

i was also at that mets gm 2 2006 nlcs loss btw

the thread/series ending photo is something else gdamn -2006 NLCS New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Good. Now win the fucking game.

Exactly

That was a nice ending all-around.

Cards should've been taking more this inning. DeJong put a particularly fruitless swing on the first pitch.

Dejong’s terrible secret is that his mediocre season line was propped up by a very good April. He’s been garbage (at the plate) since early May

Juan Soto hits in CS: 1

Bryce Harper career CS hits:0

Soto > Harper confirmed

— Callis NYY (103-59) (@CaIIiss) October 12, 2019

hope you see a good game tomorrow, KM

Me too! They’re due for a multi-hit game

the thread/series ending photo is something else gdamn -2006 NLCS New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Hot damn, yes that photo is really something.

Mike Shildt says #Cardinals analytics have told him the baseball is traveling 4 1/2 feet shorter in the postseason, so far. That’s not nothing. Kudos to @craigjedwards for the question. #stlcards #NLCS

— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) October 12, 2019

Cardinals really seem due for a multi-hit game, even more than yesterday

1-for-40 with two walks

Aw, Yadi.

I’m standing here with this “time to fly” dish towel sponsored by the electric utility, ready to fly in the event of a hit

I also have to leave at 6 to go to s wedding reception, so hopefully any heroes come before that point

Make that three walks, fuck yeah!

~time to fly~

Scherzer probably needs a 10-pitch 7th to even have a chance at being around in the 9th.

Rooting for Washington, but nice to see Wainwright pitching so well.

The 2019 cardinals are pioneers. Many teams have built themselves upon speed and defense at the expense of offense. But these cardinals dare to ask, “what if we had no offense at all? Would it still be possible to win, or even to score?” It is awful to watch but I applaud their scientific approach

Just zoned out on take me out to the ballgame while typing that.

#budweiser #ameren #noball

Aw fuck yeah! Should be an error but who cares when it’s the apocalypse?!?

I don't know, but I don't think Soto calculated the game situation at all there, it looked like pure instinct. He probably could have had it, but risking Goldschmidt on third was big--worked out fine.

matt adams really should be allowed to pinch hit for both teams

Maaaan

left him in too long : /

If this turns out to be his last start, I’m glad I was here to see it.

On a recent mlb.com piece he made some comment about going 16-0 on the road next year (made sense in the context of the piece, promise), so who knows.

He did ok, anyway. Not gonna win very often when you only get one hit, as I am the first to think

good job on that Judge fly, dejuiced ball

The Nationals remind me of the '85 Royals. No analogy's perfect, I know that--you can quickly identify many differences. But:

1) Good-not-great regular season: Nationals won 93 and a wild-card spot, Royals won 91.
2) History of postseason disappointment.
3) Veteran-heavy--the Nationals are the oldest NL team, the Royals had the second-oldest lineup among position players in the AL. (They did have a young pitching staff.)
4) At least one resident superstar/franchise player: Brett for the Royals (sure HOF'er and MVP candidate in '85), while the Nationals split that in two (sure HOF'er in Scherzer, Rendon the MVP candidate).
5) An emerging superstar: Soto and Cy-Young-winner-at-21 Saberhagen.
6) The Royals beat a team with 99 wins, the Blue Jays, and a team that won 101, the Cardinals. (James argued at the time that he couldn't understand why the Royals were underdogs vs. the Blue Jays. Pure homerism--there's no way the Royals were better than the Blue Jays on paper.) The Nationals, if they were to win, would get past the Dodgers and either the Astros or Yankees--even tougher.

Two key differences, one a minus for the Nationals, one possibly a plus:

1) The Royals had Quisenberry; the Nationals' bullpen, though pitching well right now, is a little iffy.
2) The Harper thing. Not out of personal vendetta--Harper always seemed to be liked by most of his teammates--but just as a motivating factor, I'm sure a bunch of Nationals would love to win so they could say "Hey, we've been here too."

And a third: I don't think the Royals had to contend with a Godzilla like Cole waiting out there.

We did not wave towels at baseball championship games in the '70s. That just would've been fucking embarrassing.

I did have one of those plastic space helmets tho

I do like these games clipping along...I'm going to send my theory to James's reader-questions section, see if he agrees. I think I'll, uh, soften the reference to him--he's got pretty thin skin.

Smoke and mirrors for Greinke so far.

What a pick by DJ

judge with the casual laser from right center

"Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there." - Yankees radio guy.

Gambatte Tanaka-san

Jesus. These fox guys were just attempting to explain WAR. Nearly lept out the window.

68 pitches...I think it's silly to take out Tanaka.

ffs i cannot have a nyc/dc world series

MLB just posted that Tanaka is currently third all time for lowest postseason ERA, minimum seven starts, behind Koufax and Matthewson.

"Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there." - Yankees radio guy.

― timellison, Saturday, October 12, 2019 9:46 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I assume you mean NYS broadcasters association hall of famer john sterling

Yes. They are an enjoyable listen.

It is kinda hilarious that the year after Harper moves on the Nats actually start going somewhere in the playoffs.

Did not get a chance to see the game tonight, but Tanaka is fun to watch pitch. That dude is just business on the mound. Tanaka seems like one of those rare players that does get the most out of his abilities, he really knows how to pitch.

timellison, fer chrissake

went into a semi-coma in the 2nd last night