- This topic has 214 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Corey Seager left off the NLCS roster due to a back injury he sustained against Arizona. Big blow for the Dodgers.
Does it seem like the stars just keep aligning for the Cubs the last couple of years???
Exciting 2-1 walkoff win for Houston as Yankees catcher cannot handle bounced throw. Verlander was dominant.
Dodgers storming back. Double by Puig and then a sac fly ties it 2-2.
Then Taylor homers and then Puig homers. 4-2 LA in the last of the 7th.
Anybody but the Cubs……
Love seeing the Cubs lose a lead, and Lackey in relief now. Hope the Dodgers put up a crooked number against him. Culberson scores after reversal on catcher blocking play and Maddon goes apoplectic then gets tossed. Take it up with the League, Joe. You know the rules.
Darling’s incessant criticism of the overrule was one-sided to say the least. He argued the rule was silly and on that particular play, it robbed Contreras of a great athletic play. He did admit by the letter of the rule it was a correct call. The problem with taking that position is that if the Posey incident never happened, then Culberson’s mentality would be to blast Contreras into next week on a plate collision. If he did that, then there would’ve been very little chance at getting him out.
In reality, the rule did what it was intended, it prevented a plate collision. If the rule does not get enforced when one side or the other violates it, then it will cease to be an effective deterrent for plate collisions.
I happen to dislike the plate collision rule, but you can’t argue against it on that particular play like Darling did without acknowledging the play might also have a different outcome if the runner was also allowed to play it old-school style.
EW, good points. Darling can’t have it both ways, he apparently wants the rule tossed, but also wants to avoid Posey-like collisions. He didn’t offer any alternatives either, as I recall. Poor commentary on his part. What he also failed to mention was the great athletic play Culberson made–playoff level base running for sure. The owners have brought this on themselves in an effort to protect their investment in players. If you complicate the game too much, this is what you get. has Joe Torre commented yet?
Turner hits a 3 run HR in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and 2 men on to win 4-1, the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the series…
Joe Maddon is being questioned for using John Lackey instead of his closer Wade Davis in the tie game in the ninth. The situation was two outs and the potential lead run was in scoring position. Maddon explained he was holding Davis back for the save (which never came).
Seems to me to be a fundamental debate over when to use your best relief option. In this case, the move failed as Lackey walked his first batter before serving up a three-run homer and the Cubs are down 2-0.
Factoid from Jayson Stark:
“Found this interesting. Wade Davis hasn’t entered a tie game in the 9th on the road in any appearance over the last 2 seasons. For KC or Chi”
So, should a manager manage differently in the post-season with a game on the line? Or should they remain consistent?
I heard them talk about how managers are more likely to bring the infield in early in a game in the playoffs. That would make sense only to the extent you could show that playoff games are significantly lower scoring which, this year not withstanding, I’m not sure that is the case.
How the Dodgers are winning is pretty amazing. Their lineup is very weak w/o Seager. It is basically Turner, Bellinger, and a bunch of scrubs. (Ok, Taylor and Puig are decent). Seriously, other than Seager, are there any Dodger position players that would be a starter for the Cubs w/o switching positions? I would argue no. You wouldn’t start Tuner and Bellinger over Bryant and Rizzo would you?
They are winning with dominant pitching and enough hitting to get by. Sounds like old school NL style baseball. If the Cub lineup comes to life they could still easily win this series though which worries me.
I’m with Rat. Anyone but the Cubs!
The regular season is long at 162. The postseason isn’t and each game if magnified greater. I don’t think you afford to manage the same way in the postseason as you in the regular season. TLR was smart enough to realize this in 2011 and won us a championship. I have a problem with a team leaving their best pitcher on the bench for a situation that may not arise.
The LI for Lackey was really high. Gotta use your best pitcher there. In 2016, our best reliever was Oh. I thought we started hurting right around the time he was moved to closer and had a defined role. Until Reyes came up, we were exposed in those crucial moments in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings.
Baseball America lays out how the playoffs might look if MLB adds two more teams overall, from 30 to 32.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/
I’m fine with going to 32 teams but I think going to the NFL division approach of eight divisions of four makes more sense. There would be a lot of pushback for doing away with the NL and AL.
If the goal is to put each division team in the same time zone here is how I would do it. Not perfect but not bad.
NL East: Mets, Phillies, Expos, Pirates
NL North: Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Brewers
NL South: Nationals, Braves, Marlins, Rays
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, Padres, DBacks
AL East: Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL North: Indians, White Sox, Tigers, Twins
AL South: Astros, Royals, Rangers, Rockies
AL West: Angels, A’s, Mariners, Portland32 teams is the tipping point for me. That gets to where MLB is over-saturated. 30 is even a bit too much, but what can you do? In the NFL today, I cannot follow it all as there are just too many teams.
I would go this way with 32, using the four-per-division approach and Montreal and Portland as the new clubs. Not perfect either, as you lose the Rangers-Astros in-division rivalry. But this way you pick up Pirates-Phillies, Nats-Orioles, White Sox-Royals, and Tigers-Blue Jays, all natural geographic rivals. You also return Washington to the AL, where they have a long history, and Houston to the NL, where they have a long history. Having one Chicago team in a “South” division is awkward, but that is sort of how sports is these days (thinking of the “Big 10” and “Big 12” in NCAA).
NL East: Mets, Expos, Phillies, Pirates
NL North: Cards, Cubs, Reds, Brewers
NL South: Braves, Marlins, Dbacks, Astros
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rockies
AL East: Yankees, Red Sox, Nats, Orioles
AL North: Indians, Tigers, Blue Jays, Twins
AL South: White Sox, Rangers, Rays, Royals
AL West: Angels, Athletics, Mariners, PortlandHouston lead 4-0. Yankees score 2 on the 7th 4 on the 8th and Chapman with the 1-2-3 save. Yankees win 6-4. Series tied 2-2.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.