MLB general postseason 2020 thread

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.

to win the WS with a losing recoord,

xposts

oops thermo, meant to link to this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Major_League_Baseball_strike

Dusty's review of Camus: "One of the most negative philosophers around." https://t.co/z9YWQlNiua

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) October 12, 2020

oh, i don't think MLB *wants* the astros to win. but all the extra money from extra playoff games -- which iirc goes straight to ownership under the current scheme -- will ease the pain nicely

also lol that for all the pace-of-play innovations last night's 2-1, 8 1/2-inning game went 3:50

but i thought all the owners were losing tons of money by playing baseball and actually we should be thankful to the owners for allowing us to have some fun during difficult year?

a couple of fantastic defensive plays in this game so far - the adames leaping catch and margot going over the wall

maaaybe if you guys had started LCS threads i wd know they'd begun by now?

i was too busy not discussing evan longoria's career to start any new threads, sorry

man the rays really do live on the edge. the difference between this and them being down 2-0 is not a lot

I guess I’m watching this L a game?

this is your happening and it freaks you out

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