MLB Thread

[Ms Blue Jay]

22 minutes ago, DMK said:

No good for me, I don’t play video games. I settled for reruns of Friends on Nick at Nite.

There's also baseball movies to comfort us.  There's also baseball episodes of shows, like Frasier, Seinfeld, Curb your Enthusiasm.  Friends has one too SORT OF.  I remember a tiny bit of baseball discussion in "The One with the Thumb".

 

By the way, for the Blue Jays fans.  Every episode of "Friends" that featured a Blue Jays cap:

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/friends-tv-blue-jays-cap-background

[Lantern7]

Looking through my posts throughout the season.

I don't get any satisfaction out of me saying the Mets would tank. Apparently, they spent 103 days in first place . . . a record for teams that finished under .500. I'm thinking fans of at least half the teams in MLB have that feeling of dread, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I know the Mets had a better year than a lot of teams. I know that they'll probably contend next season. Hell, Steve Cohen isn't hinting about leaving Flushing. But there was so much promise, and now Mets fans are relegated to waiting until April . . . and maybe hoping the Yankees tank at their worst possible moment.

Also, I'm still hating myself for not staying at that game until the end. The few times I attend a game, I stick through to the end. All I wanted was not to deal with a massive crowd waiting for the 7 train. And then I have to remember the time that I couldn't bear to see the Mets' season end in the '86 World Series, and that I wound up missing everything short of Mookie Wilson's ground ball.

*sigh* Sorry if that was too much of a ramble.

ETA: I don't know if it makes a difference, but I was ten years old in 1986.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Lantern7

[DMK]

23 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

There's also baseball movies to comfort us.  There's also baseball episodes of shows, like Frasier, Seinfeld, Curb your Enthusiasm.  Friends has one too SORT OF.  I remember a tiny bit of baseball discussion in "The One with the Thumb".

Considering the AL wild card game locale, a baseball episode of a tv show that occurs to me I could watch is one of Wings where they go to Fenway (the plot is about Roy singing the national anthem at a game).

[Ms Blue Jay]

36 minutes ago, DMK said:

Considering the AL wild card game locale, a baseball episode of a tv show that occurs to me I could watch is one of Wings where they go to Fenway (the plot is about Roy singing the national anthem at a game).

That's awesome.  I'm going to look for that.

[janeyjay]

13 hours ago, xaxat said:

Joe West is retiring after the season.

Can't say I'll miss him.

Part of me is thrilled about this and part of me is sad because hating on him has become a bit of sport for me.

But then I was reminded that we'll always have Angel Hernandez.

[Lamb18]

I copied the wrong post, but I bet those Cleveland hats will be pricey collectors items in a few years.

15 hours ago, cleo said:

Yeah I'm sorry that really sucks. It seems like such a shame bc they're doing so well.

If it were up to me I would give Montreal the Marlins lol. Let them start from scratch. I was born in Toronto so Montreal can suck it heh.

Maybe the Nationals can go back to Montreal.

[Moose135]

40 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Maybe the Nationals can go back to Montreal.

And rename themselves the "Internationals"...

[cambridgeguy]

2 hours ago, janeyjay said:

Part of me is thrilled about this and part of me is sad because hating on him has become a bit of sport for me.

Hey, at least we know he was right at least once. 

[xaxat]

13 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

There's also baseball movies to comfort us.  There's also baseball episodes of shows, like Frasier, Seinfeld, Curb your Enthusiasm.

There's also the TV show Brockmire. It's a comedy starring Hank Azari as a self destructive, drunken, drug using broadcaster for a minor league team. (Warning, there is a lot of profanity.)

Azari is great in the role, but my favorite performance is probably Joe Buck who appears as a fantastic parody of himself.

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by xaxat

[mojoween]

So I’m the only one who watched Monday Night Football?

On an unrelated note, I’m nervous again.

[DMK]

Football? Bleh.

I love the baseball stuff in The Naked Gun. I think my favorite joke is the guys squatting in the queen’s seats. 

[mojoween]

Eddie Robinson passed away at 100 years old.  He was our oldest living major leaguer.

[Kawaiiko]

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

By the way, for the Blue Jays fans.  Every episode of "Friends" that featured a Blue Jays cap:

Le GASP. How did I not notice this Blue Jays cap??

[Ms Blue Jay]

9 minutes ago, Kawaiiko said:

Le GASP. How did I not notice this Blue Jays cap??

I didn't either until articles started pointing them out online.  After the show was done its original run, I'm sure.

[Carey]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

So I’m the only one who watched Monday Night Football?

On an unrelated note, I’m nervous again.

You and me both.  Probably only because I was up watching 1984 episodes of The Price is Right, on an unrelated note.

 

Say what you will about the Wild Card segment of the postseason.  However, I cannot wait for the Yankees to knock off the Red Sox AL Wild Card game.  After nearly a decade of it, definitely the biggest and most important game.  The game might still be going on (in regulation) when I'm up at 6 AM Eastern, but if there was a season to make the Wild card a best of 3, it probably will not be off of a Sox loss to New York or a NY loss to Boston

 

I'm not as nervous (probably more nervous with LA hosting St Louis), but I sorta hope Cole can fine some redemption from his fall six years ago and get it done.  IMO, I think either team can knock off Tampa and if so, it's a toss whether Boston or New York can clinch yet another pennant

[Moose135]

7 hours ago, xaxat said:

There's also the TV show Brockmire.

I loved Brockmire!

[mojoween]

Fuck.  Of all the times for Bad Cole to come back out.

[Fukui San]

I "love" that Alex Rodriguez is on commentary and they're talking to Bucky Dent about the game he won 43 years ago. The two franchises have only won a combined 9 World Series since then, so it's super relevant.

[mojoween]

If this holds, I hope the Rays play like they did last Friday and Saturday for the next four games.

Edited October 6, 2021 by mojoween

[Fukui San]

If the Sox beat the Yankees, the season is a success. The Rays could sweep and outscore them an aggregate 87-0 and I could care less. I was pretty sure they were going to miss the playoffs at many points this season, so this is all gravy.

[twoods]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

Fuck.  Of all the times for Bad Cole to come back out.

It didn’t help that he had zero run support. 3 runs isn’t too bad. 
 

I wouldn’t mind if the Rays win, as long as the Astros never win another WS. They are the one team I am actively rooting against, with the Giants and Red Sox coming in a tie for second with the I don’t want them to win but would rather see them than the cheaters.

[Ms Blue Jay]

My condolences to the Yankees fans.  Not how I wanted that game to go either.  

[emmawoodhouse]

27 minutes ago, twoods said:

It didn’t help that he had zero run support. 3 runs isn’t too bad. 
 

I wouldn’t mind if the Rays win, as long as the Astros never win another WS. They are the one team I am actively rooting against, with the Giants and Red Sox coming in a tie for second with the I don’t want them to win but would rather see them than the cheaters.

Yup. I'll be rooting for the Rays, Pale Hose, and NL WC winner. 

[mojoween]

I already miss Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Now that I have no one to root for, I’m all about rooting against.  Without specifying the teams (that’s bad juju), I’m hoping for an all northern Midwest World Series.  Even if broadcasters will weep in their Cheerios about the ratings.

[janeyjay]

10 hours ago, twoods said:

I wouldn’t mind if the Rays win, as long as the Astros never win another WS. They are the one team I am actively rooting against, with the Giants and Red Sox coming in a tie for second with the I don’t want them to win but would rather see them than the cheaters.

Hey, we here in Rays-ville will take it. I'm with you on the cheating cheater Astros and, natch, the Red Sox. 

Tonight I'm looking forward to a good NL wild card game and to heckling Joe West one last time. 

[mojoween]

Yuli Gurriel won the AL batting title and to that I have to say - EW.  Of all the shit the cheating Astros did, I still - and will forever - hold the most vitriol for what Gurriel did.  Also the phone autocorrected his first name to Yuck so even Siri knows.

[Harry24]

43 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Yuli Gurriel won the AL batting title and to that I have to say - EW.  Of all the shit the cheating Astros did, I still - and will forever - hold the most vitriol for what Gurriel did.  Also the phone autocorrected his first name to Yuck so even Siri knows.

Can you remind me of Yuck G’s particular “crimes?"

[cleo]

Well his racist mocking of Dave Roberts comes to mind....

[NUguy514]

21 minutes ago, cleo said:

Well his racist mocking of Dave Roberts comes to mind....

And Yu Darvish.

[emmawoodhouse]

5 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

And Yu Darvish.

You come for Darvish, you're dead to me. 

[cleo]

Yeah actually I think it was primarily directed at Darvish, my mistake. I can't believe 2017 was so long ago. 

[mojoween]

22 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

And Yu Darvish.

That’s the grossness I was referring to.  I can’t believe that was 2017 either, which was simultaneously not that long ago and also decades ago.

[morriss]

Mad Max is due for a disaster.  Go Cardinals !!!!

[Carey]

8 hours ago, janeyjay said:

I wouldn’t mind if the Rays win, as long as the Astros never win another WS. They are the one team I am actively rooting against, with the Giants and Red Sox coming in a tie for second with the I don’t want them to win but would rather see them than the cheaters.

I might have an ounce of rooting interest or half an ounce if Houston wins the fall classic.  In other words, either St. Louis or Milwaukee would have to win a pennant this year.  To be specific, no rooting interest for the Astros, but rather I'd wouldn't lose sleep over another title for the AL West champions.  BTW, I'm a bit bias.

TBH, I wouldn't lose any sleep over the Houston Astros winning the World Series because I might lose it if they knock off Tampa, at which point, I'd be too tired and simply pass out after it's over

[mojoween]

If anyone is watching the TBS pregame and you know who this is, would you be so kind as to let me know who the handsome fellow is sitting between Pedro and Ernie?

Edit - I think I heard Ernie call him JRoll so I’m going to guess Jimmy Rollins.  He’s very cute.

Edited October 7, 2021 by mojoween

[shoregirl]

It is indeed Jimmy Rollins who is both very cute and very good at commentary. He sometimes does play by play for Phillies broadcasts and he's my favorite. 

[mojoween]

I don’t have to work tomorrow so this game can just keep on going and going.  It’s fun when I have no skin in the game!

[Jane Tuesday]

6 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I don’t have to work tomorrow so this game can just keep on going and going.  It’s fun when I have no skin in the game!

Ha!  I'm about to explode.  Go Cards!!!!

 

And now Albert is batting.  Talk about crazy...

 

eta:  Whew!

Edited October 7, 2021 by Jane Tuesday

[Jane Tuesday]

Well, shit.

Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.  :D

[NUguy514]

Chris Taylor, baby:

I mean, you always could get it, but right now you can especially get it.

[twoods]

Man Dodgers fans are obnoxious. I hate the Giants but am hoping they sweep the Dodgers, even though I am living with one of those obnoxious fans. 
 

It’s interesting for two teams that rely on their power that the bats were pretty quiet tonight. It’s as if both were looking for that big home run, and it just worked out in the Dodgers favor. 

[mojoween]

The media can stop bellyaching about the poor downtrodden 106-win Dodgers having to deign to play in the wild card game.

If they didn’t want to play in the WC game, they should have won the division.  

[Carey]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

The media can stop bellyaching about the poor downtrodden 106-win Dodgers having to deign to play in the wild card game.

If they didn’t want to play in the WC game, they should have won the division.  

Exactly.  It wasn't too long ago (well it sorta is now, but not half a century ago yet) where you had to win your division just to get into the postseason

[mojoween]

I’m still not over it.  That damn green monster is a crime against humanity and should be outlawed.

[smittykins]

3 hours ago, Carey said:

Exactly.  It wasn't too long ago (well it sorta is now, but not half a century ago yet) where you had to win your division just to get into the postseason

And a long time ago, the postseason consisted of the World Series, period.

[DMK]

There weren’t as many teams back then.

[Carey]

18 minutes ago, DMK said:

There weren’t as many teams back then.

We’re aware.  Those facts were part of making a point on how no one feels sorry for teams that fall victim to such a wild card scenario (which may or may not lead to their demise).  Similar to the 2015 Buccos & Cubs, the Dodgers had 162 games over a half-year period to win as much as possible.  Now, no one’s going 162-0 or coming close to that, but the goal is to try and win every night you take the field.

As mentioned, it does suck that LA had to do more than other divisions in order to win another division crown, but as the season progressed, they knew what they needed to do in order to win it and avoid the wild card round.  Fortunately, it’s a moot point, but in past seasons, actually a decade ago, for the last time, a team like St. Louis would have been left out period.  Then there are the 97-win Cubs, who would’ve missed the playoffs completely four years prior.  

At the end of the day, the postseason is a privilege, not a right.  If you can’t win your division, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re left out of the playoffs or if you have a bad night at the worst possible time.  Of course, with more teams, playoff expansion is/was warranted.  It doesn’t mean the one-game playoff should be expanded from 1 game to 3.  Totally unnecessary.  

Now, I am bias since I’m not a fan of the recent NFL playoff expansion and the fact that not only do the NBA & NHL teams have more than half of their leagues qualifying for the postseason, the very first round is a best of 7 (best of 5 is fair enough).  I’m also a hypocrite since I wouldn’t mind College Football playoff expansion (but to 8 not to 12 or 16 or more)
 

[cleo]

I feel like NBA and NHL playoffs never end and are tedious the first rounds. 

Right now in baseball it's 10 teams right, 6 division leads and 4 wildcard teams. Going to 16 just seems like too much to me. Maybe 14?

Part of the issue is the divisions are unbalanced in terms of competitiveness.

But profit will drive the decisions more than the good of the game, of that I have no doubt.

[NUguy514]

Unlike some in LA (like a few of our longtime local NPR guys who were talking about this yesterday morning and in a low-key panic over the possibility our Boys in Blue might lose), I do not think a 106-win team having to play in the WC game is the death knell of the one-game WC round, nor should it be.  Win your division and avoid it; otherwise, you have to play it.

As a resident of LA and a Dodgers fan and a responsible fan of interesting baseball (basically, everything the Cardinals are not), I'm thrilled they won last night.  And I will be rooting for them against the Giants, whom I obviously detest for reasons that need no enumeration.  After that, though, it gets a bit tricky.  I've always, always hated the Braves (I grew up in North Carolina, but I was born in Cincinnati when the Reds and the Braves were in the same division, so my allegiance is with the Reds, and I just hated the Braves in the 90s so much), so that's a no for me.  I would normally root for the Brewers, but racist, homophobic Josh Hader single-handedly makes me want to see them lose; if he has actually done anything beyond giving one rote apology and having to attend sensitivity training – in other words, anything actually meaningful – to prove he's not a racist, homophobic piece of shit, I'm willing to hear it, but it doesn't look like that's the case.  I would obviously want the Dodgers to win, but...I DO NOT want Trevor Bauer to get a ring – none for rapist pieces of shit, bye. Castrate him, dump him from the team, and we can win next year.  And of course, fuck the Astros forever and ever and ever, everyone outside of Houston justifiably hates you, you should be banned permanently from baseball, and the Red Sox are cheating trash, too.

Soooooo, I guess that leaves me with the White Sox or the Rays; as far as I know, I have nothing against them as teams or against any of their individual players, so I'll probably root for either of those teams, should one of them make it to the WS.

Ugh, it's complicated being a sportsball fan.

[emmawoodhouse]

What did Hader say? I totally missed that!