MLB Playoffs 19

[TheCoolFan]

Dodgers are just chokers. They need to fire Roberts and probably make way more changes. Something's gotta be done

 

[Sarek]

As a Yankee fan, which team are you rooting for? Rays or Stros?

Before it all started i would have been hoping for the Rays to win, but now i am not sure if it actually matters who wins. Both teams look pretty good and if the Yankees want to beat either one of them they will have to bring their A game.

 

[bigdnlaca]

Dodgers are just chokers. They need to fire Roberts and probably make way more changes. Something's gotta be done

We can blame Roberts for bringing in Kershaw instead of Urias/Maeda combo but the game shouldn't have been that close. The Dodgers had many opportunities to blow the game open especially with Bellinger being at 2nd twice with 1 out or less and only one batter out of 5 put the ball in play. The 2nd time Bellinger was at 2nd base, it was nobody out and the next 3 Dodgers struck out. That is not a recipe for success.

The Dodgers for years have struggled to put the ball in play at crucial times. It is one thing to get an out but it is another to get a strikeout, because an out at least can advance runners. When the Dodgers make contact they are great but they miss a lot. Unfortunately, the only thing I miss from Mattingly as a coach compared the Roberts was that he wanted his players to make contact.

 

[Cowboys_22]

Before it all started i would have been hoping for the Rays to win, but now i am not sure if it actually matters who wins. Both teams look pretty good and if the Yankees want to beat either one of them they will have to bring their A game.

I believe the Yankees will have an advantage over either team since they have the rested arms. The Rays are team to be reckoned with. Their pitching has something to do with the Stros ‘cold’ bats.
I’m hoping the Stros have enough for a W today.

 

[kwcool619]

We can blame Roberts for bringing in Kershaw instead of Urias/Maeda combo but the game shouldn't have been that close. The Dodgers had many opportunities to blow the game open especially with Bellinger being at 2nd twice with 1 out or less and only one batter out of 5 put the ball in play. The 2nd time Bellinger was at 2nd base, it was nobody out and the next 3 Dodgers struck out. That is not a recipe for success.

The Dodgers for years have struggled to put the ball in play at crucial times. It is one thing to get an out but it is another to get a strikeout, because an out at least can advance runners. When the Dodgers make contact they are great but they miss a lot. Unfortunately, the only thing I miss from Mattingly as a coach compared the Roberts was that he wanted his players to make contact.

My neighborhood was eerily quiet when I arrived home from work. Usually when the Dodgers do something, one can hear lots of yelling, honking of the horn or firecrackers (or guns?). By nightfall, not a peep...

I am taking it a step further. I have told anyone who will listen that Andrew Friedman as a GM will never win a World Series. I said it when he took the Dodgers' job. At Tampa Bay, Friedman had players especially the team who lost to the Phillies in 2008 or 2009 (Price, Longoria, Kazmir, Garza, Gomes, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, etc). They made playoffs in the next three years. Nothing more. If he couldn't do it then, what makes him think that he can do it now? Did nothing at the trade deadline.

Making contact? A foreign concept in crunch time. I agree with you, too much swinging for the fences. Bellinger, Seager, and Taylor? The Whiff Brothers.

 

[Sarek]

Looks like the Astros came to play tonight. Only the bottom of the 1st still, but a tempo has been set.

 

[Tabascocat]

Told yas not to worry about the Stros. TB is a different team on the road.

 

[kskboys]

My neighborhood was eerily quiet when I arrived home from work. Usually when the Dodgers do something, one can hear lots of yelling, honking of the horn or firecrackers (or guns?). By nightfall, not a peep...

I am taking it a step further. I have told anyone who will listen that Andrew Friedman as a GM will never win a World Series. I said it when he took the Dodgers' job. At Tampa Bay, Friedman had players especially the team who lost to the Phillies in 2008 or 2009 (Price, Longoria, Kazmir, Garza, Gomes, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, etc). They made playoffs in the next three years. Nothing more. If he couldn't do it then, what makes him think that he can do it now? Did nothing at the trade deadline.

Making contact? A foreign concept in crunch time. I agree with you, too much swinging for the fences. Bellinger, Seager, and Taylor? The Whiff Brothers.

One of the things they never discuss when talking about hitting is the ability to hit good pitching.

 

[RodeoJake]

One of the things they never discuss when talking about hitting is the ability to hit good pitching.

The Stros' problem against the Rays in Tampa is the ballpark. Even with a juiced ball, it doesn't play well for the long ball. It takes patient hitters who make pitchers throw strikes, something we don't have.

Instead of swinging for the fences, hitters should be trying to drive the ball into the gaps and be able to play small ball. Again, that's not something we do well.

Yanks and Stros should be a great matchup. We have better SP, but the Yanks have the better BP. At the plate, we have the better 1 thru 9, but both are loaded with good hitters. I see an unexpected hero making the difference for one of these teams.

 

[Sarek]

Last night after the Astros win i started thinking about how this might play out.

I think game one is a must win for the Yankees and even with a win in game one the Yankees probably still lose the series. If the Yankees do win game one and the Astros come back to win games 2 and 3 that makes the series 2-1 Astros. I'm not sure what the Astros will do pitching wise games 4-7 but if the Astros save Verlander and Cole for games 6 and 7 and the Yankees win games 4 and 5 that would make the series 3-2 Yankees going back to Houston for games 6 and 7 with their two best pitchers ready to go, in this scenario i don't see the Yankees wining games 6 or 7. This is why i felt the Yankees choked by losing a few games at the end of the season and they lost the home field advantage. If on the other hand the Yankees lose game one this series might be over very quickly.

I think for the Yankees to beat the Astros 4 out of 7 they will have to do so before the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7. If the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7 but the Astros didn't save both Verlander and Cole then i think the Yankees will have a chance to win one of those two games.

Let's go Yankees!

 

[Sarek]

I see an unexpected hero making the difference for one of these teams.

I agree.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Last night after the Astros win i started thinking about how this might play out.

I think game one is a must win for the Yankees and even with a win in game one the Yankees probably still lose the series. If the Yankees do win game one and the Astros come back to win games 2 and 3 that makes the series 2-1 Astros. I'm not sure what the Astros will do pitching wise games 4-7 but if the Astros save Verlander and Cole for games 6 and 7 and the Yankees win games 4 and 5 that would make the series 3-2 Yankees going back to Houston for games 6 and 7 with their two best pitchers ready to go, in this scenario i don't see the Yankees wining games 6 or 7. This is why i felt the Yankees choked by losing a few games at the end of the season and they lost the home field advantage. If on the other hand the Yankees lose game one this series might be over very quickly.

I think for the Yankees to beat the Astros 4 out of 7 they will have to do so before the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7. If the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7 but the Astros didn't save both Verlander and Cole then i think the Yankees will have a chance to win one of those two games.

Let's go Yankees!

What the Yankees have going for them is their offense has been on fire, while Houston's offense has been meh.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The Yankees have to win game 1.

They lose game 1 and then have to face Verlander & Cole in games 2 & 3... That's not conducive to winning the series.

 

[kskboys]

Last night after the Astros win i started thinking about how this might play out.

I think game one is a must win for the Yankees and even with a win in game one the Yankees probably still lose the series. If the Yankees do win game one and the Astros come back to win games 2 and 3 that makes the series 2-1 Astros. I'm not sure what the Astros will do pitching wise games 4-7 but if the Astros save Verlander and Cole for games 6 and 7 and the Yankees win games 4 and 5 that would make the series 3-2 Yankees going back to Houston for games 6 and 7 with their two best pitchers ready to go, in this scenario i don't see the Yankees wining games 6 or 7. This is why i felt the Yankees choked by losing a few games at the end of the season and they lost the home field advantage. If on the other hand the Yankees lose game one this series might be over very quickly.

I think for the Yankees to beat the Astros 4 out of 7 they will have to do so before the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7. If the series goes back to Houston for games 6 and 7 but the Astros didn't save both Verlander and Cole then i think the Yankees will have a chance to win one of those two games.

Let's go Yankees!

Hinch has been notorious for not managing the pitching staff well. Not sure he's smart enough. He very stupidly pitched Verlander on short rest. This might affect his next several starts, esp since he's 36.

 

[kskboys]

The Stros' problem against the Rays in Tampa is the ballpark. Even with a juiced ball, it doesn't play well for the long ball. It takes patient hitters who make pitchers throw strikes, something we don't have.

Instead of swinging for the fences, hitters should be trying to drive the ball into the gaps and be able to play small ball. Again, that's not something we do well.

Yanks and Stros should be a great matchup. We have better SP, but the Yanks have the better BP. At the plate, we have the better 1 thru 9, but both are loaded with good hitters. I see an unexpected hero making the difference for one of these teams.

I simply do not see a clear favorite in this series.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Hinch has been notorious for not managing the pitching staff well. Not sure he's smart enough. He very stupidly pitched Verlander on short rest. This might affect his next several starts, esp since he's 36.

It was a crapshoot.

Hinch was trying to end the series and not have a game 5... I get that.

And really it wasn't like the Rays had an insurmountable lead in the game.

The Houston offense came up small.

 

[kskboys]

It was a crapshoot.

Hinch was trying to end the series and not have a game 5... I get that.

And really it wasn't like the Rays had an insurmountable lead in the game.

The Houston offense came up small.

I understand that way of thinking, and I see the huge flaws in it. As a coach, you absolutely must consider the present as well as the future. The foolishness of pitching a 36 year old pitcher on short rest is glaring. To focus on that one game as if it were the end of the world was just stupid.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I understand that way of thinking, and I see the huge flaws in it. As a coach, you absolutely must consider the present as well as the future. The foolishness of pitching a 36 year old pitcher on short rest is glaring. To focus on that one game as if it were the end of the world was just stupid.

I was meh on the decision. I could see the flaws and I could see the positives. It didn't work out, but it was more on the offense IMO. You score 1 one and you're going to lose.

 

[Johnny23]

What a horrific inning of baseball for my Braves. I have never seen Freddie boot a baseball like that. I feel like the Braves are going to need to make a splash in the offseason and bolster the bullpen and starting pitching and go after another bat.

It was a good season Soroka and Fried are studs and I would consider paying Garrett Cole. I think we need more run support for Dallas and we should bring him back. It was just headscratchin how bad Tehran was to close the season.

 

[CF74]

Who is the consensus favorite to go to The World Series? Been out of the loop.