2024 Baseball Season

[Eizan 126]

Uhh, if the Blue Jays want to rebound might be a good time to do so vs the Mariners this weekend. Otherwise they might be dropping out of that 3rd Wild Card spot. 

 

 

[dr. b 492]

They've hit a rough patch for sure  The games they're playing in Oakland this week should be winnable, in spite of Toronto's pitching woes. Going to Seattle won't be any easier. The Jays really need a strong second half here.

[Eizan 126]

Oh man, the Jays might be in last place in the East by the end of the month. Actually the O's could get to 2nd place in the East, Red Sox and Rays aren't playing good either.

 

It's kind of like does it even matter? Any one outside the Yankees and Astro's good enough in the AL? 

[dr. b 492]

Right now, I don't think the Jays are good enough to do anything. They are killing me     

 

The O's have a legitimately pretty decent offense so I definitely won't be shocked if they find a way to finish the season around, or even slightly above, .500. Their pitching needs a lot of help to become an actually good team, but they're not the pushover they were last summer.

 

What do I need to do to get the M's to lose tonight and tomorrow!? Please find a way to get a couple wins, Toronto  

[Eizan 126]

Welp, they couldn't get a win. Now the Mariners and Blue Jays are tied for the 3rd Wild Card spot. 

 

Does it make you feel better the Rays got swept by the Reds? 

[dr. b 492]

Nothing makes that terrible road trip feel better  

[Eizan 126]

Well Blue Jays fired their manager. 

[Eizan 126]

12 in a Row for the Mariners. Although I'm worried the All-Star break can kill the momentum. I think they will benefit that the AL East play each other a lot going into the last month. 

[MT 917]

I think I should just stop following the Angels the rest of the season, it's just non stop disappointment.

[dr. b 492]

I find the Mariners’ winning ways to be far more disappointing

[Eizan 126]

14 in a row!

 

Won't mean a thing when they miss the Playoffs. 

[dr. b 492]

 This is when you're supposed to be feeling hopeful about the playoffs, not assuming they'll still miss out!

[Eizan 126]

We'll see, 13 of the first 20 games after the All-Star break are against the Astros and Yankees. Good thing though is a lot of games against the other AL West teams. Actually schedule is pretty soft in August and September. 

[Eizan 126]

Well that's a good way to start off the 2nd half. 28 runs against the Red Sox. 

 

Also Mariners streak is over, Astros are just too good. 

[dr. b 492]

[Eizan 126]

Padres got Juan Soto(and Josh Bell?). A line-up with Machado, Tatis Jr.(when he returns) and Soto. Not to forget getting Hader earlier. 

 

You ok with the Blue Jays staying quiet before the trade deadline? 

[dr. b 492]

I don’t think staying quiet was the plan. They were probably in on guys but didn’t want to meet the asking prices. There was a lot of competition between buying teams, I think. 
 

Toronto got a couple relievers from Miami, which will help, and it seems like they’re trying for Iglesias (and maybe Syndergaard too?) from LAA. That would also help. 
 

That Soto deal is nuts. Looks like they also got rid of Hosmer to Boston after they couldn’t include him in the Washington deal. 
 

edit: An added complication for Toronto is that, due to public health rules in both Canada and the U.S., they basically cannot sign or acquire any non-vaccinated players. They would only be part-time players. So depending who teams want to send in Toronto in trade negotiations, sometimes it just won’t work well for Toronto if they happen to not be vaxxed. 

[Eizan 126]

I forgot about non-vaccinated players being unable to play in Toronto. 

 

Going be disappointing for San Diego if they miss the playoffs or get eliminated early. 

[dr. b 492]

And for the final acquisition of the day, the Jays got Whit Merrifield. As recently as a few weeks ago, he missed a series in Toronto due to his vax status  Either the Jays’ front office knows something has changed there, or they’re taking a bit of a gamble here  
 

They didn’t get those starters from LAA…

[MT 917]

Probably won't matter to anyone who wasn't a Dodgers fan, but long time announcer for the Dodgers Vin Scully passed away today at age 94.

[dr. b 492]

Not just Dodger fans loved Vin!

[Eizan 126]

Yankees are struggling, time for the Blue Jays to put a nice win streak and put pressure for the division. Wait...does this make the Mets the best team in NY right now? 

 

Just play like the Dodgers and go 30-5 over the next month.

 

Dodgers are going to get Dustin May back soon as well...that's probably just as good as a blockbuster trade right? 

[Eizan 126]

Tatis Jr. Suspended 80 games for PED.

 

Well the Padres took a big step forward with that Soto trade only to take a big step back. 

[dr. b 492]

Yeah that was huge news last night. He’s saying it was in a medication he took for ringworm… I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe, but so many players before Tatis Jr. have come out with ridiculous excuses after positive tests, it’s hard to believe any of it. He’s been working all year to come back from injury. Honestly, I could understand if any player considered taking something to help speed up rehab from injury. Just be honest about it and admit the mistake. 

[Eizan 126]

Wouldn't it be glorious if the Yankees completely collapse and fall all the way out of the playoffs? 

 

 

[dr. b 492]

That would be great, but I doubt it. Four-gamer coming up against the Jays and they're probably going to come back to life all of a sudden and crush the Jays

 

It's killing me watch the Yankees slump like this and the Jays haven't been able to gain any ground. Imagine if they were going into this weekend series only 4 or 5 games back instead of 10! That would have been exciting, especially since it looked like NYY's division lead was going to be untouchable.

 

The Jays have been borderline unwatchable the last few weeks. August has been an effing nightmare for the most part. Thankfully, Stripling came back from the IL yesterday and gave them an incredible start, and then they strung together some hits and scored some runs, and FINALLY beat the O's. Getting swept by Baltimore at home before travelling to NY would have been soul crushing. If the Jays turn it around and get back on track, back to winning and looking like a good team, then that game yesterday, and Stripling's performance, will have been the turning point. It might have been a very important game for them.

 

The M's are looking like they could run away with the 1st WC spot. They have a fairly soft schedule to finish the season. Their record in July was very good, and they're keeping up the winning ways in August so far.

[dr. b 492]

Big win last night in New York! 

 

Berrios had a great start. One or two spots it looked like it could go off the rails, but he self-corrected and got back on track. Seems like he had some extra zip and movement on his fastballs last night. Kikuchi even pitched a clean(ish) inning out of the bullpen. You don't like to see him walk the first guy on four straight balls, but the positives were that he was hitting 97 mph and throwing more pitches in the zone (aside from against the first batter). If he's only throwing one or two innings out of the 'pen, he can pump that fastball, and who cares if he's a bit wild in the zone. 96-97 mph from the left side, with some nice natural movement, is not easy for hitters to handle, even if he misses his spot in the zone. He can shelve a couple of his secondary pitches and just use the fastball and one off-speed pitch. It's just one inning, but it's a good sign, and I hope he can show us more of that.

[Eizan 126]

Won again, down to 7 games back. 

 

 

[dr. b 492]

[Eizan 126]

The teams for the NL Playoffs are looking to be a lock at this point. I'm sure The Mets, Braves, Phillies, Cardinals and Dodgers are all going to get in and the Brewers and Padres will fight for that last playoff spot. Although seeing who wins the East could be interesting. 

 

The AL outside of New York and Houston, no one seems like a sure thing to get in because the entire group is so inconsistent.  Like the Rays have a 6 game winning streak, but could turn around and lose 6. 

 

Yankees getting the A's and Angels at a pretty good time...

[dr. b 492]

Those annoying Yankees even beat the Mets twice earlier this week after getting beat up all weekend by the Jays. Maybe they're finding their way out of their slump now...  

 

If I had to put money down on a World Series prediction right now, I'd bet on an NL team to take it. The Braves have come on strong again of late, the Mets have been quality all season (that feels so weird to say ), and of course the Dodgers are still the Dodgers. Anything can happen in a seven game series, but I would be tempted to take any of those squads over the Yankees or Astros.  edit: But I'm also hoping for a different AL team to come out of it this year, maybe a bit of a surprise team sort of like the Braves last season. Obviously I'm cheering for the Jays, but it would be cool to see the M's or Guardians take a run at the WS too. That Cleveland team is very pesky and has very good pitching. Just don't let it be the Rays, please.

[Eizan 126]

Yea, I could see that any of the NL Teams (not Padres or Brewers) winning it all. 

 

Looking close at the standings now, I think the wild Card will either be 3 AL East teams or 2 and Seattle. I don't think the Central teams are good enough to catch up to a spot. 

 

I expected the Orioles to drop off after the trade deadline, but nope they still playing great. I guess as a team with nothing to lose and exceeding expectations that makes them pretty dangerous. 

 

How many games you think the Dodges will end up winning? Over/Under 110? 

[dr. b 492]

re: the Dodgers: I suppose I would bet on the under. They will likely be resting guys later in September, so there could be some random losses mixed in the final games. But 110+ wins is totally on the table. I wouldn’t be shocked at all. 
 

The Jays picked a great time to get swept by the Angels this weekend…

[Eizan 126]

I guess pretty much at this point the 10 games left against the Orioles and 9 left against the Rays will determine if the Blue Jays make it or not. 

 

Also interesting the Rays only being 6 back of the Yankees and play them 6 of the next 9 games. 

 

This last month for the AL East is going to be super interesting, since everyone plays each other. 

[dr. b 492]

Yeah, these games coming up against Tampa and Baltimore are massive. All they have to do is win most of those games (easier said than done, of course) and they can: a) keep Baltimore out of the Wild Card; and b) maybe leapfrog Tampa in the WC standings. There is also a series left against NYY, and they've been slumping badly, so maybe the division is still in play even for Toronto if they can get really hot here. It seems doubtful, but you never know.

 

Mixed in there, Toronto also has games left against Pittsburgh and Texas, which in theory should be easier wins... but this team just got swept by LAA and then struggled to eke out a series win against the Cubs, so nothing is easy right now  These guys better fucking take care of business in Pittsburgh this weekend!!!

[Eizan 126]

You know to be honest I want the Orioles to win the Division. 

 

I mean worst to first...in the same season. 

[dr. b 492]

NO

[Eizan 126]

Well not a good time for the Mariners to play the Braves. I do think they will benefit from the AL East beating up on each other though...Also Yankees only 3.5 up on the Rays and 5 on Blue Jays. 

 

[dr. b 492]

Rays, M's, and Jays are all staying pretty hot. The M's went up on the Jays by a half game yesterday  I don't think the O's are going to play themselves back into this race, and the ALC teams probably don't have much of a hope either, unless one of Tampa, Seattle, or Toronto really collapses.

 

If they all keep winning they it's going to come down to wire to determine WC seeding. 7-3, 7-3, and 8-2 in their last 10 games for Tampa, Seattle, and Toronto respectively. The Jays' series this week against Tampa is massive.

 

[dr. b 492]

The Jays took 3 of 5 from the Rays this week. I wanted that last game so badly--to take 4 of 5--but the Jays went out there yesterday and got their butts kicked  Oh well, still a series win. Seattle has the thinnest of leads in the WC standings right now. Here's what's going down this weekend:

• The Jays host the O's for 3 games
• The Rays are back in Tampa and have the Rangers coming to town for 3 games
• The M's are headed to LA for 4 games against the Angels

Most importantly, the Jays need to take care of business in Baltimore. But if Texas and LAA could help a bit and hand the Rays and M's a few losses, that would be much appreciated too!

[Eizan 126]

Not going to lie taking the 6th spot seems better than the 4th or 5th playoff spot. I rather face the AL Central winner and then play the Yankees vs playing Rays or Blue Jays and then going to play Houston. 

[dr. b 492]

I'm not sure about that. The Guardians came into Toronto a few weeks ago and beat the Jays quite badly. They're a scrappy team that gets a lot of balls in play, and they have very solid pitching. They won't be a pushover, if they win the ALC. I don't have much hope for the White Sox or Twins.

 

For me, the nightmare scenario would be: Jays finish #5 and Tampa is #4. I want absolutely nothing to do with a 3-game series at the Trop  

 

If the season was finished today, the Jays would go to Seattle for a 3-gamer. That would be fun! West Coast Jays fans will try to take over the Seattle stadium as usual, but I have a feeling the M's fans will try to keep all the tickets for themselves to keep the Jays fans out.

[dr. b 492]

Friday night:

• Jays WIN
• Rays LOSE
• M's LOSE

 

 

Thank you, Texas and LAA!

 

edit: Jays win again on Saturday afternoon! Can Texas and/or LAA help me out again tonight???  

[Eizan 126]

It's not the best time to start collapsing Seattle. Hopefully games with the A's, Royals and Tigers go better than this series with the Angels. 

[dr. b 492]

In the end, Texas wasn't of more help, but he Angels took two games from Seattle! Toronto has a very thin lead at the front of the WC race. They get a much needed off-day tomorrow, and then they're off to Philly. That won't be an easy series, though the Phils are on a bit of a losing skid here...   

[Eizan 126]

 

 

The Mariners are going to blow it aren't they? 

 

Also 700 Club for Pujols.

[dr. b 492]

I'm not sure it's possible for the M's to blow it... who's going to catch them? Baltimore? I have my doubts about that...

 

The Jays finally won a game today..! I can't watch this team play at The Trop. Nothing good ever happens for the Jays there  

[Eizan 126]

Baltimore is only 4 games back. Seattle has lost the series to the Angels, A's and now Royals. So it's not like they are playing great baseball right now. 

[dr. b 492]

But... Seattle's remaining 10 games are against terrible teams, all at home in Seattle. This is a perfect opportunity to get going right again.

[Eizan 126]

True.

 

The Rays also have a much harder schedule with Cleveland and Houston (although both have clinched).

 

I also take back what I said about Cleveland, they have gone 18-3 since Seattle swept them. They were tied for first at that point as well...