MLB general postseason 2020 thread

i appreciate that alcantara plunking acuña cost him runs

funny how travis d'arnaud got pretty good after escaping the mets

not that funny

I don't know where this postseason Astros team came from but I'm enjoying the ride

did i just hear that 16/18 runs in TB-NYY series have scored on homers? Small ball, right A-Rod?

my lord, stanton

frightening

eat shit, astros!

A's are alive... workin on TB

have to say i like this five-days-straight thing, even though it will never happen again under normal circumstances and is a bizarre shift from the previous best-of-3 round

less excited about the eight homers in every game that doesn't involve the braves

I honestly would love fewer days off in the playoffs. Force teams to use their 4th or even 5th starters!!

How can you not like the Rays?

^^^ seconded.

^^^ 3rded

i like the a's better, but ok

anyone saw that Bellinger catch?

Yes and it hurt.

That was a good game, shame the wrong team one though.

*won

A's-TB works for you guys? Bronxers excluded.

There is a very simple rule for winning playoff baseball in 2020: outhomer your opponent. Teams that hit the most home runs in a game are now 18-0 this postseason.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 7, 2020

well RIP, Oakland, yet again; let's hope someone else rips them apart

keep hoping

The Braves haven't played in the NLCS since 2001 ... I was sure they'd been at least once in the past decade.

always exciting to see former pirates go head-to-head in a decisive playoff game

probably not ideal that one of them is going on two days' rest

Can anyone here explain the oddly-angled UTZ logo on the mound? Is it spray painted? A digital superimposition? Why is it kind of...standing up...like that?

Whatever the case, as sponsors go it’s not making MLB or the playoffs look like much of a big deal.

Ok I got it. Somehow before tonight I have only noticed the Utz logo, not Evan Williams Bourbon. Or HBOMax. In the MIDDLE OF THE PICTURE.

Fuck you again Manfred.

looking forward to the radioshack WS

why didn't Snell start today?

They’ve had his number for a couple years now.

shoulda let cole keep going imo

Although another Astros vs Dodgers World Series would be hilarious, I've been wanting to see Astros vs Braves ever since the Astros got relegated to the American League.

hate to see it

So many people spared from having to root for either the Astros or Yankees.

I see you’ve been reading my livejournal!

I saw your FB post soon after I posted last night. "Thermo's been reading my FB feed!"

I've watched a bit of tonight's game. I think I actually want the Astros to win everything--a cheating, sub-.500 team hated by everyone outside of Houston winning would ensure the validity of this thing vanishes from history.

No. This is 2020. One bad thing will not cancel out another bad thing.
Would love to see the Rays win it all, and I could live with either either NL team (assuming I don’t ever have to see the tomahawk chop this year). But an Astros ws victory would be just another crushing blow to my psyche and victory for evil. No amount of wishful thinking could make me stomach the site of those cheating SOBs celebrating on the field.

Asshos

I've watched a bit of tonight's game. I think I actually want the Astros to win everything--a cheating, sub-.500 team hated by everyone outside of Houston winning would ensure the validity of this thing vanishes from history.

― clemenza, Sunday, October 11, 2020 7:08 PM (one hour ago)

garbage take

"Take"? Not really my thing. I express opinions--you can agree or disagree.

clem otm plus it'd be really funny

this isn't a real year! everything is imaginary

If one of the other three teams win, what will they have won? A season that probably never should have been played, a postseason that let in too many teams and was based on 60 games, and a postseason schedule that's freakish. I'm sure it would come with mixed feelings for any of the three. The Astros winning would, for me, be the perfect rebuke to the entire season.

agreed w/ Clemenza and I feel like I have more reason to hate on Houston than most of us here

anything—anything—to kill off stupid expanded playoffs

the astros winning would not be a rebuke, nor would it kill off stupid expanded playoffs

all it would do is reward the cheaters and validate their earlier title because they were good enough to win it again without (presumably) cheating

i know earlnash is still bitter about the 1981 reds getting jobbed, but there's no asterisk next to the dodgers' championship that year and ultimately the only asterisk the astros would get is in your minds #fff

I was 4 at the time... why would the dodgers have an asterisk that year?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Major_League_Baseball_season

i was -2

haha

The Dodgers '81 title has always felt a little tainted to me--not nearly to the degree of this year--because of the Reds' weird season.

I have mixed feelings on Houston's previous success, before they got caught. There's a lot of talent there, and Verlander then Cole were a big part of it. When the story broke, I didn't immediately write off their title. I wasn't sure.

I feel like the 06 Cards still have a bit of a stink on them simply because they were close to .500

I'm under no delusion that the Astros winning would stop Manfred from doing everything in his power to maintain the expanded postseason. He would probably claim in one breath that a sub-.500 team winning proves that his method allows for the cream to rise to the top and that the Astros are actually the great team they always claimed to be, so stop giving him shit about their lack of punishment. He's made it clear that he's a shameless worm who will happily abuse a crisis to get his agenda passed.

But it would still be broadly unpopular and cause an uproar and it might get the point across that the playoffs are too random to be this deep. (It would've been better if the Brewers won too.) And I'd rather it stay unpopular for as long as possible because it sucks. And I've already seen people on reddit and Twitter turning in its favor because they liked the chaos of an 8-game day.

Also it'd be really funny

the astros winning would not be a rebuke, nor would it kill off stupid expanded playoffs

I'm not so sure...the cheating and the whole way that organization handled it was a huge embarrassment for the league. There is *nobody* at MLB offices who isn't praying thet are eliminated in this series. If they were to wun the WS with a losing record to it, the blowback would be universal.

justin turner is going to end up signing like a pro-rated 1y/$5m deal in may because the system is broken. you'll hear boo about him then

i mean, assuming a normal year, which won't happen either

okay $5m is too low but still

Randy Arozarena can do literally anything. pic.twitter.com/xozIpt5XpQ

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 5, 2020

I wish I could pull pink clothing like he does.

if u can hit a curveball u can wear pink

can u hit a curveball?

okay bros

Major League Baseball has completed its investigation of the events following the Los Angeles Dodgers Victory in Game Six of the World Series. The following statements from MLB, Justin Turner, and the Dodgers were released today. pic.twitter.com/cVu1E6g7lT

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 6, 2020

the stinging slap to the wrist echoes across dodgersNation

Hilarious--Friday afternoon, with the election election playing out.

The Bruins fired Peter Chiarelli on the day Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder.

They fired Claude Julien during the Patriots' Super Bowl parade.

The Red Sox re-hired known cheater Alex Cora as the fate of the country hung in the balance.

Boston PR folks: *chef's kiss*

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) November 6, 2020

huh, forgot that the Red Sox had a new manager this season. Seems like they're going to be generally forgettable for a bit.

good news for the rest of baseball: the cardinals seem intent on sucking ass next year, saving money for the future? who knows. hopefully they get last place in 2021 and get a good draft pick for once