Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

MLB Thread


smittykins
  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Freddie, I know you're married, and that's very sweet and all that, but after that perfectly timed home run, I will do anything you want.  Anything.  I love you.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)

Hubby is at the game and has probably lost his voice. Way to show up this postseason after dealing with your ankle, Freddie. 

Edited by twoods
  • Applause 1
  • Love 3
Link to comment

That was expected...to be honest.  Not scripted, but probably an outcome following (in-game) events that led to it.  Cole did all he could (Flaherty too) but while it's still one game, that seemed like a tank-emptying performance.  I'll know for sure on Saturday, I think

Link to comment

Damn. Let's see . . . Dodgers get a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series after ending the NLCS against the Mets days earlier. I guess it'll be Dodgers in 5, with Judge hitting his own walk-off in Game 3.

I was getting ready to post this when Freddie hit the slam. It's the Mets' postseason history. Turns out their record is rather respectable.

image.thumb.png.5b8389747a573e885d5ea87b5c412532.png

18 hours ago, mojoween said:

Les Miz is my favorite musical of all time.  It is playing this week in Syracuse and the hubby asked if I wanted to go.  Duh.  He said ok let’s get the best seats available.

Those seats are available tonight at 7:30.  And we are going.  😭

DAMN. I don't know if that was a bad thing or a blessing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

It's must win tomorrow for the Yankees, but I don't think they're worried. Just strategy, you got Otani on one pitch; just don't walk the bases loaded. You can get that next out. If not, it's only 3-3. I'm a casual baseball fan, and this postseason overall, pitching decisions has their head up their ass. 

I also don't think they needed to pull the starter in the 7th because he gave a lead off hit. He could have pitched out of it. 

 

  • Fire 1
Link to comment

I think that penultimate walk (or at-bat really) was not a big deal.  One swing + one base runner is all it takes (or took).  Preferably you don't want to load the bases (as one horrible throw will be enough to end the game), that I can respect [not HBP, but opting not to fill up the bases]. 

Not an easy call for Boone, but it's a painful loss in LA.  Can't say they had it even though they sort of did.  But the Yankees had more success than the Mets offensively.  Not much, but OTOH, LA didn't score a ton either.  Of course, if they win 20-0 then I probably might crown them immediately.  No, not really but some teams would quit following that outcome.  Probably not the Yanks.

Link to comment
6 hours ago, twoods said:

It’s only one game. Soto is probably going nuclear on everyone tomorrow. Good luck, Dodgers.

He'll have to because Judge isn't exactly earning a reputation as Mr. October for the 21st century.  If he doesn't wake up soon he's going to be the offensive equivalent of Kershaw.

  • Like 3
  • Sad 1
  • Fire 1
Link to comment

My mind is so overloaded, I could go on for three pages, but I'll try my best to be a bit more succinct.

If Judge doesn't start hitting, this series will be a short one. Anyone who's watched the team for 162 knows that when Judge hits, the whole team hits. It's like flipping the light switch on.

After two series where I agreed with most of his in-game decisions, IMO Aaron Boone shit the bed. I disagreed with every bullpen move he made last night, not so much who he brought in, but when. (This is where I'm really editing myself!)

They should have pitched to Mookie. Perhaps that wouldn't have worked either, but don't walk the bases loaded to get to one of the best contact hitters of the 21st century and put the extra pressure on Nestor Cortes. I knew the game was over when Freeman stepped up to the plate. I wasn't expecting a GS, but I knew he'd get a hit that would score two and that's all they needed.

What bothered me more than anything else is that Boone pulled Gleyber for pinch runner Jasson Dominguez, because the first words out of my mouth were, "Cabrera at second?" He's been playing first, third or outfield all season. Gleyber would have made that play.

The Yankees blew a Gerrit Cole game. That's going to come back to bite them. I really hope I'm wrong.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

I'm rooting for the Yankees, but Ice Cube is objectively the shit. 

Hey, let's just have Cube on the field and walk around and rap. Push all my chips in for that. He's 55, and his voice is a strong as ever. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

We'll see (directed at DoctorAtomic & ratings, not twoods as it relates to the fate of Ohtani).  If I had to guess, you'd be correct.  There is Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh, with the local team hosting a team near the New York area.  So no conflict being on the road when the Yankees play their first game.

Maybe they'll get one back home to get to 2-1, but they sorta needed to not crumble in LA.  They're not winning all of their 3 games on the East Coast.  At least they made it back to the end series, so there's something!

I think they'll still win the night, but not with the numbers this weekend.  It does help that the NFL teams that night are inferior to the 2 teams playing the night before.  One might end up taking the top pick from Carolina, Cleveland, or New England, and the other can't win big January games in October.  That team has to win in January.

Too bad for the Yankees.  Just my opinion, but things recently felt like that 2018 NBA Finals where the team that lost had a chance to at least win (the first game) and then they did nothing more afterwards.

Now my post/thoughts are subject to change given the developments that came to be as I was posting here.

Link to comment
23 minutes ago, Carey said:

They're not winning all of their 3 games on the East Coast.

I could see it 2-3 for the Yankees going back to LA for a game 6, but it's just hard for anyone to win 3 games in a row at this level. I never really understood why it's 2-3-2 for the World Series or even the NBA Finals. That just seems way more of a disadvantage to the away team to me. 

That being said, in 1981, the Yankees won the first 2 and then the Dodgers won the next 4.

Link to comment
30 minutes ago, Carey said:

They're not winning all of their 3 games on the East Coast.

Why not? They did in the 2001 WS. Then the D-backs won 6&7 in AZ. The home team never lost. Not the outcome I wanted for that series, but they were three of the greatest games I've ever seen.

In 1996, the Yanks lost the first two AT HOME! Then won four straight including 3 in Atlanta to take their first title in 17 years.

It's certainly not unheard of to win three straight, especially at home.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
14 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I could see it 2-3 for the Yankees going back to LA for a game 6, but it's just hard for anyone to win 3 games in a row at this level. I never really understood why it's 2-3-2 for the World Series or even the NBA Finals. That just seems way more of a disadvantage to the away team to me. 

In the NBA it was because of how much cross country travel you can have with the 2-2-1-1-1 format.  That being said, at least in the NBA the travel day is automatically there because they almost never play games on consecutive days.  Baseball is different - they're used to playing every day. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
17 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

In 1996, the Yanks lost the first two AT HOME! Then won four straight including 3 in Atlanta to take their first title in 17 years.

I'm crossing my fingers, but they from my limited view they got their best performance on the mound in game 1, with Ohtani doing nothing, and Boone just let it get away from him with over coaching. And it ain't 96. I know where I was when Leyritz hit the homerun like people know when JFK was shot. 

6 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

In the NBA it was because of how much cross country travel you can have with the 2-2-1-1-1 format.  That being said, at least in the NBA the travel day is automatically there because they almost never play games on consecutive days.  Baseball is different - they're used to playing every day. 

I take the point, but I don't really buy it. Dallas to Boston isn't that really cross country travel for the NBA last year. Texas and Arizona last year for the World Series either. Certainly, LA to NY is literally coast to coast, but they're flying charter, direct. It's 5 hours. 

I do like that baseball plays every day because it does bring something unique to the postseason. If I'm being honest, home field in baseball doesn't really carry the weight of the other sports. 

All that being said, if Judge doesn't show up the Bronx, forget about it. 

Link to comment
1 minute ago, DoctorAtomic said:

All that being said, if Judge doesn't show up the Bronx, forget about it. 

^^^This, without a doubt. It's the only way the offense shows up.

 

7 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

And it ain't 96. I know where I was when Leyritz hit the homerun like people know when JFK was shot. 

I hear ya. My son, who's now in his mid 30s, called me today and we were talking about last night's game. (He wanted to make sure I was OK. 😄) He said to me, "I miss MY Yankees." That run, from '96 to '01, was a gift. A generation of NY-area kids grew up thinking it would always be that way. But, that's not how it works.

Link to comment
35 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Please, I grew up on Mattingly, Winfield, and Righetti. I watched the pine tar live. 

Ha! The '80s were rough.

With Judge's postseason struggles, I've been thinking about Winfield. Can you imagine if George Steinbrenner were still alive? He'd be out of his mind, Mr. May-ing Judge. It'd be the back page of the Post every day!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
9 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Ha! The '80s were rough.

With Judge's postseason struggles, I've been thinking about Winfield. Can you imagine if George Steinbrenner were still alive? He'd be out of his mind, Mr. May-ing Judge. It'd be the back page of the Post every day!

Sitting her in Cleveland, a lifelong fan of my hometown team; it's hard to muster up a lot of sympathy.  All the lamentation about the interminable 15 year 'drought' between appearances in the WS when I waited 41 years, my entire lifetime and then some, to see my team there is not really moving me much, either.

I know what its like to love a team and live and die with every playoff game, though.  I'm sorry you guys are going through that, but, in perspective, you've had more highs than any other baseball team in existence.

BTW, George Steinbrenner was a native Clevelander.  You're welcome.  He actually wanted to buy the Indians years ago and MLB wouldn't allow it because he owned a racetrack.  How times have changed.

  • Like 11
Link to comment

While I actually admire both teams, it's not easy for me to be that sympathetic either.  No one here had a team from their area lose more games than they won 20 years in a row.  It might be a minute (minimum) more than Chicago's century+plus drought before the team I hinted at even wins a playoff series.  Maybe they'll win one but only because it takes more than one win to survive the WC round as of not too long ago.

As mentioned, New York has had a lot of highs compared to most other places.  Same with Los Angeles; even Boston because why not.  That isn't limited to Major League Baseball obviously.

Nevertheless, NYC has high standards, so I do respect that.  It doesn't matter what anyone else does.  I previously hinted at that.  That's why people would get booted at a level higher (of success) than someone else with the latter throwing a parade for their low-end achievement.

Link to comment
10 hours ago, ProudMary said:

With Judge's postseason struggles, I've been thinking about Winfield. Can you imagine if George Steinbrenner were still alive? He'd be out of his mind, Mr. May-ing Judge. It'd be the back page of the Post every day!

Makes you wonder how much slack the fans will give him.  I think he's very well liked as a homegrown star who isn't an asshole, but sooner or later that patience will run out.  Bad post season performances are forgivable (even Mariano Rivera wasn't perfect) but you need that record of success first.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Thinking about Los Angeles being way better than New York, my initial response (thinking, not publicly expressing) was, "How?!"

That being said, I can respect that.  Although both games in terms of the outcome could have gone either way (they didn't & that's what counts), LA is dominating without their entire starting rotation.  Imagine if everyone there was active.  Meanwhile, if it takes a team MVP to play like a winner in order for everyone to do the same or close to it, coupled with losing a game Cole pitches on a positive level, that's good for the Dodgers & not so much for NYC.

While I'll disagree with the West Coast team being that much better than the East Coast team, I still would give the edge toward the former.  Just not a hefty margin of course

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Notabug said:

Sitting her in Cleveland, a lifelong fan of my hometown team; it's hard to muster up a lot of sympathy.  All the lamentation about the interminable 15 year 'drought' between appearances in the WS when I waited 41 years, my entire lifetime and then some, to see my team there is not really moving me much, either.

I know what its like to love a team and live and die with every playoff game, though.  I'm sorry you guys are going through that, but, in perspective, you've had more highs than any other baseball team in existence.

You're right about all of this.

In my adult lifetime, I've been lucky enough to experience seven WS Championships and there were even more that the Yankees won during my lifetime that I was just too young to remember. We are absolutely a spoiled fan base, and a good number of Yankees' fans are obnoxious about it, which doesn't help matters. I try not to be one of those. (OTOH, if you're a fan of the Red Sox, or now the Astros, all bets are off. 😄)

I do have a ton of empathy for Cleveland fans. Three pennants in the last 30 years, but no WS wins is painful. It's beyond comprehension that those great late-'90s teams didn't win one. They were scary good. I was actively rooting for the (then) Indians against the Cubs in 2016, even when some said, "How can you NOT be rooting for the Cubs?" I'm an AL girl. When my team loses I want the AL to win! (Unless it's the Mets. In 2015, I was definitely pulling for the Mets.)

I actually have AL teams that I've always enjoyed watching from a distance. I don't know why specifically, but I like the As (😢), the Mariners, the White Sox, the Twins and the Indians/Guardians. I respect the Orioles, but they're in the AL East so I can't officially root for their success. I have several friends who are Orioles' fans, so while I'd like them to enjoy another championship, it would have to come at the expense of the Yankees, so that's way too much cognitive dissonance to handle. 😄

Do others here have secondary teams that you tend to pull for? Don't worry. I don't expect the Yankees to be on anyone's list!

  • Love 1
Link to comment

For me, I'm at the point where my secondary teams have been promoted/upgraded to primary.  For example: New York & Los Angeles.  Plus, Tampa Bay (which is actually my home now but forever Western Pennsylvania) and all the best with them going forward.  Being from PA where am at more than not I'll support local teams.  The Baseball Philly team is about it, probably not the hoops team, sometimes but rarely the NFL squad, and heck no to the hockey team.

The Yankees & Dodgers are on my list because of past players I've followed, as well as having family in those areas.  Been the case for about a half century more or less (at least).  To be honest, I like greatness.  I prefer winning; if you're losing, no thank you (unless you're trying).

ProudMary I do have to apologize for my doubts on NY winning at home.  Even though I said no chance (which I usually don't do), the games still have to be played.  I don't think this is the 90s Yankees, and I think this year's LA team is better than that Arizona team (though their pitching was tremendous).  It'll be tough unless Judge comes through.  Even if they don't win, they can still win both of the final 2 games in LA, if necessary

  • Like 1
Link to comment
58 minutes ago, Carey said:

ProudMary I do have to apologize for my doubts on NY winning at home.  Even though I said no chance (which I usually don't do), the games still have to be played.  I don't think this is the 90s Yankees, and I think this year's LA team is better than that Arizona team (though their pitching was tremendous).  It'll be tough unless Judge comes through.  Even if they don't win, they can still win both of the final 2 games in LA, if necessary

No need for an apology. I hate to say this out loud, but if Judge doesn't come through, there's a strong possibility the Yanks get swept. The Yankees starting pitching was supposed to be their strength and that hasn't been the case at all. (There's a whole lot of info out there about Cole's swing-and-miss ability being the worst of his entire career.) The bullpen hasn't lived up to its LDS/LCS standard. Man, does this team miss Jonathan Loáisiga!

I hope others will share a little more about how you came to be the fan you are. I like the people in this forum. I think we're all fans of baseball and not just of the team we root for.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I wouldn't say I'm living or dying on the Yankees. I'm a sports fan in general, but I only watched from the playoffs on. I just don't have that fire for sports like I used to. 

LA is the better team, but I wouldn't say demonstrably better. Ohtani hasn't done much at all, and Boone basically beat the Yanks in game 1. I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees will send the series back to LA, but I don't think they'd be able to win both games.  

If Judge doesn't have some pop in game 3, he's going to be hearing the boos. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
5 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I hope others will share a little more about how you came to be the fan you are. I like the people in this forum. I think we're all fans of baseball and not just of the team we root for.

Native Baltimoron, but grew up in the DC suburbs.  The family was all Os fans - my first memories of actually caring was watching the '66 Series at my cousins in Baltimore.  I'm a 40+ year season ticket holder now.  Started out the first year they did partial plans and got a 29 game plan.  Now down to 13 Sundays because I'm old and prefer day games 😉 Also, Mr. ebk swears people misbehave more at night games.  He's not exactly wrong.

We also went to some Senators games as kids, although since the tickets were more expensive, not too many.  When the Nats came to town, we got a partial plan there and had that for 6 years, but going to that stadium became kinda unpleasant.  They don't seem to have good customer-service training for the public-facing employees.  Ah well... I still root for them - sometimes.

As much as my dream would be to have all the money in the world so I could live at The Dakota, I'm not a fan of NY sports teams (in case that isn't clear 😄).  I blame that on incredibly obnoxious fans, none of which are here.

My feelings about other teams sometimes change mid-game - I go in thinking I want one team to win, but by the 3rd inning, I've changed my mind for unknown reasons.  

I will say that I've not "met" such nice Yankees fans as you all here.  I almost makes me sad when they don't win.  Almost. 

Thanks for asking so I can ramble.  🧡🧡

  • Like 3
  • LOL 1
  • Love 3
Link to comment
29 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Native Baltimoron

😄

I've actually never heard that before!

31 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

My feelings about other teams sometimes change mid-game - I go in thinking I want one team to win, but by the 3rd inning, I've changed my mind for unknown reasons.  

This sometimes happens to me, too. Or, I'll watch watch a game where I don't think I have a preference, yet I find myself pulling for one of the teams.

Thanks for sharing!

  • Like 1
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Just remember, Yankees fans . . . even if your team losses Game 3, at least they won't be as big a bed-shitting embarrassment like the New York Football Giants. They'll be playing MNF, and "Danny Dimes" has a bad record quarterbacking in prime time.

Link to comment
(edited)
4 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Just remember, Yankees fans . . . even if your team losses Game 3, at least they won't be as big a bed-shitting embarrassment like the New York Football Giants. They'll be playing MNF, and "Danny Dimes" has a bad record quarterbacking in prime time.

On the other hand, the Giants have won a ring more recently than the Yankees.  The Jets have to win the title for most embarrassing local team.  Say what you will about Danny Dimes, but I don't think he's an asshole.  Meanwhile Aaron Rodgers is talking like Bane from the Dark Knight Rises.

 

Edited by baldryanr
  • Like 3
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...