Pandemic Baseball 2020

[Garlic Junior 136]

I put on a variety of free bets on many underdog teams over the last couple of months. Figured with 16 postseason slots, worth a chance....

 

I swear if the bloody Yankees win it all I will be livid.

[dr. b 492]

It would be great timing for the Yankees if some of their big names start getting healthy now and they go on a run in the postseason. It wouldn't shock me... but it's not what I want to see!

 

Maybe this will finally be the year for this Dodgers team that has consistently been one of the best teams in the MLB for a few years now? I'm not really cheering for them, but they have enough players that I like that I wouldn't mind if they take the World Series.

 

Once the Jays are out of the picture, I will be jumping on the San Diego bandwagon (I hope I didn't just put a hex on them)

[dr. b 492]

Interesting article re: the Yankees on The Athletic:

 

As Yankees fight release of MLB letter, Randy Levine to argue for team in court

 

As the Yankees continue to fight a court-ordered release of “the Yankees Letter,” they’re taking an uncommon step: The team’s president, Randy Levine, plans to argue the case himself.

 

“I’ve argued cases in the court of appeals before,” Levine said Monday. “I enjoy the experience, and I’m really looking forward to presenting our case. It should be a really interesting argument.”

 

In June, Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York said the Yankees and Major League Baseball must make public a 2017 letter sent by Commissioner Rob Manfred to the Yankees that detailed the findings of a league investigation into the team. During discovery, the letter grabbed the attention of plaintiffs who had brought a lawsuit against MLB, the Astros and the Red Sox following the sign-stealing scandals. The plaintiffs alleged that, although the Yankees are not a party to the case, the letter contained proof that the Yankees had engaged in a more serious sign-stealing scheme than what the league announced in 2017, thereby proving Manfred’s duplicity.

 

...

 

If the team's president is involved, there must be some damning evidence in this letter that suggests the Yanks were also stealing signs like the Astros and Red Sox. In 2017 they beat the Twins in the Wild Card game, and then the Clevelands in the ALDS before losing to the Astros in the ALCS. If the WC and ALDS wins were aided by sign stealing schemes then those other teams are going to be a little bit pissed off (assuming that the Twins and Clevelands were not also stealing signs... for all we know every team in the league was doing it in one way or another!)

[Garlic Junior 136]

Honestly, and crucify me for this, but who gives a shit? The whole "sign stealing" thing is overblown.

 

Need to take the game back to the basics. A guy throws a ball and the other guy tries to hit it.

 

If the catcher wants to try to communicate with the pitcher, and anybody else is able to work out what that communication is, they should be allowed to communicate that to the batter.

 

There is zero difference to me between a catcher speaking to a pitcher and being heard / a catcher using signs and the guy on 2nd using signs / a guy with a long lens camera banging a bin. Who gives a shit? It shouldn't be illegal imo.

[dr. b 492]

I'm OK with sign stealing in the traditional sense, it's just another way of trying to win the game. And I agree about going back to basics, but I guess I don't think "back to basics" includes cameras and other technology. If a baserunner can figure out the catcher's signs, or if players/coaches in the dugout can see a pitcher's tells, then I'm all for them trying to relay that info to the batter with their own signs. But I don't like people in the dugout/clubhouse using video, cameras, etc. to accomplish that.

[dr. b 492]

I think the Jays only need one more win to clinch their spot (or maybe for the teams behind them to lose a game). The decisive win over the Yankees last night was good to see. There's only been one close, low scoring games between the Jays and Yanks this summer:

 

W 12-7

W 2-1

L 2-7

L 6-20

L 2-13

L 7-10

W 11-5

L 1-12

W 14-1

 

Overall the Yanks have outscored the Jays 76-57 in these games. One game left tonight. If the Jays can win it then they'll split the season series 5 games each, but they'll need to score a tonne of runs to even out the run differential

[Garlic Junior 136]

It's really between the Jays, LAA and the Mariners for the last spot.*

 

Jays 29-27 with four to play

Angels 27-31 with three to play

Mariners 26-31 with four to play

 

So yeah, Jays would have to choke all four games (including 3 against Orioles) and Angels win all three (against the Dodgers!) and/or Mariners win all four (against Oakland! inc. a double-header). Yeah, I think they've got it.

 

 

* Houston technically haven't qualified yet, and Baltimore/KC technically haven't been eliminated yet, but... yeah)

 

 

Over in the NL, it's a bit more complicated. Always is. NL is the better league after all

 

NLE 2nd Place:

 

Miami 28-28

Phillies 28-29

Mets 25-31

 

Mets would need to win at least 3, ideally 4, against the Nationals. Do-able.

Marlins have Braves then 3 against the Yankees. Probably the only time I'll cheer the Yankees.

Phillies have a day off then 3 against the Rays.

 

So yeah, all to play for there.

 

NLC 2nd Place:

 

Cards 27-26 all 5 against the Brewers inc. a double-header

Reds 29-28 softest schedule on paper with the day off and three games, but those are against the Twins

Brewers 27-28 again all against the Cards, but with two more losses on their ledger they need to give the series them all

 

Can't really rule any of them out either.

 

 

Then of those six, two will go forward as 2nd place but four will remain in the fight for the two extra spots, fighting along with them are:

 

Giants 28-27; drawing 4-4 with Rockies right now, then a double-header against Padres tomorrow plus two more Padres games afterwards

 

and again, technically

 

Rockies 24-31; drawing 4-4 with Giants, they would NEED to win that plus double against Diamondbacks tomorrow and two more Arizona games afterwards - If they win ALL five games they'll be looking for everyone else to lose really

 

Exciting stuff.

[dr. b 492]

I haven't paid as much attention to the rest of the league this summer as I normally would. Most of my sports watching time has gone to basketball. But I still catch parts of Jays games and listen to Jays podcasts. I look forward to the postseason though, hopefully I will find the time to see more of the other (good) teams play. 

 

Toronto is up 4-0 now in the 6th, so they can clinch their spot as long the bullpen doesn't blow it. 

[dr. b 492]

CLINCHED

[dr. b 492]

Ryu last night: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO

[Garlic Junior 136]

Result! Genuinely excited hope they win it all.

[dr. b 492]

I am excited too! But also... the Jays struggle mightily at Tropicana Field, so if they play the Rays in a #1 vs. #8 match up then I'm a bit worried They're gonna have to play really well to beat anybody as a Wild Card team, but the Rays are just always a problem for Toronto.

[Garlic Junior 136]

So now in the AL it's Astros (29-28), Angels (26-31) and Mariners (25-31) left, but Astros will cinch with one win.

 

Mets won... but so did Marlins. As basically the same picture there.

 

Cards drew blood against the Brewers so that is looking more likely to be the Cards there, but interestingly the Rockies bested the Giants to keep their (slim) hopes alive.

[dr. b 492]

Hard to imagine the Angels catching the Astros for 2nd in the AL West, but I guess stranger things have happened. Seattle is already eliminated: https://www.mlb.com/standings/postseason

[Garlic Junior 136]

Brewers currently beating the Cards

[dr. b 492]

Pearson came back last night for the Jays. 1.2 IP and he was lighting up the radar gun. I hope this kid's arm doesn't explode. 

 

The NLC and NL WC are still a race. Could be an exciting finish over the weekend. I'm happy to see the Reds clinch a spot. 

[Garlic Junior 136]

AL Confirmed

 

Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Twins, Indians, White Sox, Athletics, Astros

 

NL Confirmed

 

Braves, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, Dodgers, Padres

 

NL Possible

 

Phillies (28-30), Mets (26-31), Cards (29-27), Brewers (28-30), Giants (29-29)

 

Mets are decidedly the underdogs from that group

[dr. b 492]

Your Mets are eliminated. They lost both games of a double-header today to the Nats. I'm so happy that the Jays went into this final weekend series vs. Baltimore not *needing* to win to make the postseason. (Of course I'm also happy that they have won both games against the O's so far :D)

[dr. b 492]

Big day of games today! Some are meaningless of course, but there are still some races to watch. 

 

Last night they said on the Jays broadcast that if they win today and the Yankees lose then they can jump up in the standings and be the ALE 2nd place team instead of a Wild Card team. If I'm reading the standings correctly, that would put the Jays in 5th place. A 4/5 matchup (likely against Chicago) might not be much better for them because the White Sox have a lot of talent... but avoiding the Rays in a 1/8 matchup would be pretty darn nice. 

[dr. b 492]

The game is about to start - the last game of the season - and I'm sitting here sort of in disbelief that we managed to get this far. I legit thought it was all going to fall apart after the Marlins' and then Cards' outbreaks. Sports have been a nice distraction while the world is in shambles all around us

 

OK, Blue Jays, let's play ball! 

 

 

[dr. b 492]

The Brewers are in, Giants lost. 4 NLC teams in the postseason (Cubs, Cards, Reds, Brewers). 

[Eizan 126]

Surprised with 16 teams only 2 teams under .500 are in. I'm actually surprised that Houston is one of them. 

[dr. b 492]

Altuve really dropped off in production this year and the Astros' pitching staff isn't what it used to be. It sucks for the White Sox and Jays that the Astros get to be seeded ahead of them just because they're in a weaker division. Oh well.

 

The Yankees held up their end of the bargain and lost to the Marlins today. The Jays couldn't beat the stupid O's though. I've come around a bit on my thinking re: the 1/8 matchup against the Rays though. The Trop is still a house of horrors for Toronto, so a 3-game series there is a worrisome... but they at least know the Rays pretty well having played them 10 times this summer. If they had jumped up to the #5 seed, it would have been a series against either Chicago or Cleveland. A bit harder to game plan against teams you haven't played even once this year. I think if they don't crack under the pressure (lots of young players) the Jays can give the Rays a really good challenge. Quite a few hot bats in the Toronto lineup right now. But those pesky Rays are always tricky.

[dr. b 492]

The bracket!

 

I hope all Wild Card Series go 3 games. I want to see some fun, exciting, crazy baseball. So many weird things can happen in a short series. There's definitely a chance for some upsets. All it takes is for one random dude to go off for a bunch of hits, or pitch a few scoreless innings, and next thing you know the underdog has won a game.

 

[Eizan 126]

Blue Jays the only team still facing a division opponent. 

 

So when do the Dodgers choke? 

[dr. b 492]

Probably not until the World Series. I hope we'll see a Dodgers/Dads matchup in the NLDS. That will be good. 

 

Nobody is picking the Jays to get past the Rays, which of course isn't surprising... but oh man that would be nice. If they could beat the Rays and then the Yankees to get to the ALCS, that would be incredible. Gotta love taking down division rivals. 

[dr. b 492]

Tough game 1 for the Jays. Making the first game of a playoff series a bullpen day was a pretty big gamble, but pitching wasn't the issue. They held the Rays to 3 runs. (That 2-run HR late really hurt though) They just couldn't get anything going at the plate and didn't capitalize on the few run scoring chances that they had According to the stats, the Jays are not a good fastball hitting team. Once the league figured that out in September, they've seen a steady diet of heaters and still haven't quite figured it out. The Rays have quite a few hard throwers. The Jays' hitters need to figure something out tonight - do or die! Here's hoping Ryu can pitch a gem. He was fantastic in his last outing.

[dr. b 492]

We got a full schedule of postseason baseball today - 8 games! If any of the ALWC series end today in 2-0 victories, then today will the only day with 8 games. Baseball all day and into the night starting at 1 pm Eastern. Enjoy it!

 

I wish the Jays' start time was a bit later. 4:07 pm first pitch isn't a good time for me. Just gonna have to follow on my phone.

[Garlic Junior 136]

On 9/28/2020 at 6:39 PM, Eizan said:

Blue Jays the only team still facing a division opponent. 

 

So when do the Dodgers choke? 

For real haha I'm hoping they go 1-0 up in the WC to choke it 1-2

 

Giolito nearly had a perfect game last night... until my friend pointed it out on Facebook. It literally died on the next pitch.

 

I'm feeling a lot of 7+ K pitching this WC series and low scoring games. Except the bastarding Yankees apparently.

[dr. b 492]

RIP Twins Boooooo Astros

 

The Rays jumped all over Ryu and the Jays are basically dead

[Eizan 126]

Twins with 18 straight playoff loses and it wasn't even the Yankees this time. 

[dr. b 492]

Baseball playoff series are so random. 

[dr. b 492]

Rough day on the field for Bo  Even without the errors though, Ryu was looking pretty hitable today. After that second inning they didn't even need to play the rest of the game...

[Eizan 126]

I'm just waiting for the Marlins to win it all, so they can be 3 for 3 in the post season. 

 

[dr. b 492]

The Marlins have won the World Series twice but have never won their division. They finished 2nd in the NLE this year, so I guess that cements it. Congrats Miami on your third World Series victory! Have fun trading away all your players immediately afterwards

 

Both of the teams in Florida are so poorly run and yet the Marlins have two WS under their belt even though it seems like they try to lose, and the Rays have had a lot of success lately (minus a WS) despite the fact that they won't pay anybody. It's just a constant churn. I can't stand these teams.

[dr. b 492]

RIP Reds Didn't even score a run.

[dr. b 492]

RIP Brewers, RIP White Sox

 

I'm not a big A's fan. Similar to the Rays, you kinda have to marvel at how they excel with a low budget mix of no-name guys, but at the same time I don't really like it. It's all smoke and mirrors. When guys leave those teams they usually turn back into pumpkins. The White Sox would have been way more fun to watch in the next round.

 

There isn't a likeable team left in the AL. If the Dads lose to St. Louis today then truly all hope is lost. I think I'm hoping for the Dodgers to win this World Series. That team really ought to win one before this group of amazing players gets too old or gets broken up.

 

edit: Also I am disappointed that they haven't scheduled a double-header for the Cubs/Marlins today. Just finish the WCS round today with two 7-inning games. They did it all season long. Everything is 2020 is different, why not let it spill into the postseason? The second game won't even be needed if Miami win the first one.

[Eizan 126]

This is the best time for the Dodgers to win it, hell even better for Kershaw. He benefits for having a short season and not being wore down by the time the post season rolls around. 

 

What would be the worse possible World Series at this point? Rays and Marlins? 

[Eizan 126]

Rip Cubs!

 

If the Cardinals lose tonight all 7 Central teams lost. 

 

Cub fans can't blame Bartman this time. 

[dr. b 492]

So glad to see the Cubs gone

 

Rays vs. Marlins would stink, but 100% for sure the worst, most cliche World Series matchup would be Yankees vs. Cards. If the Cards beat the Dads tonight then it's still on the table  Please don't do that to me, baseball Gods. I know it's 2020 and everything is terrible, but not that

[dr. b 492]

This Cards/Dads game has been pretty great so far. SD just took a 1-0 lead

[dr. b 492]

Hooray for the Dads

 

Updated bracket:

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

Hoping for Rays v A's and expecting Padres v Braves.

 

As ever, the NL is infinitely more exciting than the AL. Sorry to see the Blue Jays go

[dr. b 492]

I don't really find one league to be better or more exciting than the other. On both sides, the higher seed advanced in 3 out of 4 series. The lack of upsets kinda killed the excitement, because that's what that first round with the short series was all about

[dr. b 492]

9 hours ago, Garlic Junior said:

Hoping for Rays v A's and expecting Padres v Braves.

Yankees and Astros took early 1-0 leads yesterday You're expecting the Padres to beat LA? I'm hoping for it, but I don't know that I would expect it to happen.

 

Interesting how the NLDS/ALDS series all worked out to be divisional match-ups. They should all know each other well by now. It will be interesting to see if the teams on the losing end of the season series can make adjustments and find a way to win the DS. Ex. Oakland went 7-3 vs. Houston during the season, but now Houston is up 1-0. Have they figured something out, or is it just one game? We'll find out over the course of the week!

[Eizan 126]

If Houston is just figuring it out now, that's bad for everyone else. It's not like the team is bad, despite a losing record. I still think that line up they have is very dangerous. 

[dr. b 492]

If it turns out to be another Astros / Dodgers World Series then there are going to be some pretty juicy stories. Are they still cheating? Etc. Not really what I want to see though. 

[Garlic Junior 136]

Dodgers are postseason choke artists. I expected them to win the first game, but Clayton will throw it away tonight then the real fun and games begins....

[dr. b 492]

Kershaw may be a different story this postseason. As usual, he was very good in the regular season - but he only had to pitch around 60 innings, not the usual workload, so I think he's still got a lot left in the tank for the postseason run. He pitched brilliantly in the WC game against Milwaukee. 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 13 K, 93 pitches. I'm excited to see what he does tonight. He'll be facing a tougher lineup than Milwaukee's, so I don't expect another 8 inning gem, but it would be great to see a pitching duel. (Only problem is the Dads are a bit short on pitchers... kinda hard to have a one-man duel )

[Eizan 126]

Bellinger saved the Dodgers yesterday robbing Tatis Jr. of that home run. 

 

Marlins one game away from finally losing a series. Also Yankees losing is a plus.