MLB 2019 thread

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by low

If there's one thing I cannot stand in sports, it's professional athletes making millions of dollars who don't hustle.

Oh you just wait for the Generation Fortnite to enter the game. You ain't seen nothing yet in terms of posing.

I just watched the game from the archives and I think my reactions were "****ing punk" on the first one and on the second then "dumb ****", dinger be damned ...

[CBeisbol]

Seems like a lot of people think a hustle single is better than a lazy single that should have been a double.

I'll take 9 guys as talented as Acuña who don't hustle over 9 guys less talented than Acuña who do any day.

Also, Acuña should have hustled

[Cobra Mgr]

Look at that. Kershaw is getting beat again in the postseason.

[Cobra Mgr]

I just can't take all these calls to the bullpen.

[Hrycaj]

That almost turned into a Terry Collins/Matt Harvey situation. Andrew Miller came up huge. What a great pitching performance by Waino and Soroka.

[Bluenoser]

Cards score 10 runs in the 1st - post season record. Incredible.

[stl jason]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Cards score 10 runs in the 1st - post season record. Incredible.

on just 5 hits... crazy

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by stl jason

on just 5 hits... crazy

With the Dodgers sputtering, are the Cardinals NL favorites against the Dodgers or Nationals?

[Cobra Mgr]

My "nightmare" WS is NYY vs StL

[low]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

My "nightmare" WS is NYY vs StL

Same. I won't watch a single inning of that garbage.

It's a shame Atlanta blew it.

[Cobra Mgr]

The "magic" of Kershaw in the postseason.

[low]

How does a guy, who is going to walk into the HoF, blow so much in the postseason? I can't figure this one out.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by low

How does a guy, who is going to walk into the HoF, blow so much in the postseason? I can't figure this one out.

And it's not like he flat-out enters a game and chokes. He's had some brilliant post-season moments. Also had games where he was dominant for several innings and then boom. Or like tonight when he entered in the 7th and struck out Easton on three pitches. He clearly wasn't choking at that point in the game... It's like he's cursed. Very strange.

[thehef]

My post-mortem on the Dodgers...

Time to face facts. The Dodgers are the best organization in baseball, top to bottom. But they are built for regular-season success. They are extremely deep everywhere and can plug in 30-35 good players any time, anywhere, which nobody else can do, and which helps amass 100+ wins over a long season. Having the best 30-35 players in the regular season is great. But having the best five or six players is what translates to postseason success.

In a year or two or three, some of the Dodgers' youngsters may develop into unstoppable forces who can be counted on not just for solid production over the long-haul of a regular season, but for stepping up big in the postseason. It could be argued that Buhler is already there. But nobody else is, yet.

Another way of looking at it is that the Dodgers as constructed include about 12-15 of the best hitters in baseball for the 6th, 7th and 8th spot in your order. Sure, in another contender's lineup, Bellinger would hit higher up, and so might Turner... You can win a lot of games with that many better-than-average hitters. But 12-15 off those guys fitting into 6 or 7 lineup spots in a short series is whole different ballgame. Literally... Similarly, in Bueller they have a borderline (and certainly future) ace. And Ryu was very ace-like much of the season. But while Kershaw (at this stage of his career), Maeda (when in his usual starting role), rookie Gonsolin, and Hill (when healthy) can help you amass lots of regular season wins, they are a collection of #4 starters who make you hold your breath if starting a playoff game. And as good as they are, Bueller (not yet) and Ryu (not quite) are not at the level of "ace-ness" where you would say, "we can ride these two guys to the title" (ala Johnson & Schilling in 2001).

That all said, unlike the last few years when I would’ve fired Roberts because of his idiotic, over-analytics-based decisions, this year I don’t quibble as much with his decisions. I fire him for the Dodgers’ lack of playoff preparedness; lack of playoff fire. The Nationals played like they had nothing to lose and everything to win. The Dodgers of course had pressure on them to not just return to, but win, the World Series. It’s Roberts’ job to have his team in the right frame of mind for that journey. Clearly, he didn’t.

Bottom line: The team is not constructed for, nor is its manager equipped to lead it to, postseason success.

All of the above is why, as a Dodger fan, I'm disappointed with the loss to the Nationals, but not devastated. I was not expecting a World Series victory this season, because the team was simply not good enough. Coming up short - maybe not quite this short - was expected. Unlike 2017, when the World Series was theirs to take, and they (primarily Roberts) let it slip away. That was devastating.

[Hrycaj]

Originally Posted by thehef

My post-mortem on the Dodgers...

Time to face facts. The Dodgers are the best organization in baseball, top to bottom. But they are built for regular-season success. They are extremely deep everywhere and can plug in 30-35 good players any time, anywhere, which nobody else can do, and which helps amass 100+ wins over a long season. Having the best 30-35 players in the regular season is great. But having the best five or six players is what translates to postseason success.

In a year or two or three, some of the Dodgers' youngsters may develop into unstoppable forces who can be counted on not just for solid production over the long-haul of a regular season, but for stepping up big in the postseason. It could be argued that Buhler is already there. But nobody else is, yet.

Another way of looking at it is that the Dodgers as constructed include about 12-15 of the best hitters in baseball for the 6th, 7th and 8th spot in your order. Sure, in another contender's lineup, Bellinger would hit higher up, and so might Turner... You can win a lot of games with that many better-than-average hitters. But 12-15 off those guys fitting into 6 or 7 lineup spots in a short series is whole different ballgame. Literally... Similarly, in Bueller they have a borderline (and certainly future) ace. And Ryu was very ace-like much of the season. But while Kershaw (at this stage of his career), Maeda (when in his usual starting role), rookie Gonsolin, and Hill (when healthy) can help you amass lots of regular season wins, they are a collection of #4 starters who make you hold your breath if starting a playoff game. And as good as they are, Bueller (not yet) and Ryu (not quite) are not at the level of "ace-ness" where you would say, "we can ride these two guys to the title" (ala Johnson & Schilling in 2001).

That all said, unlike the last few years when I would’ve fired Roberts because of his idiotic, over-analytics-based decisions, this year I don’t quibble as much with his decisions. I fire him for the Dodgers’ lack of playoff preparedness; lack of playoff fire. The Nationals played like they had nothing to lose and everything to win. The Dodgers of course had pressure on them to not just return to, but win, the World Series. It’s Roberts’ job to have his team in the right frame of mind for that journey. Clearly, he didn’t.

Bottom line: The team is not constructed for, nor is its manager equipped to lead it to, postseason success.

All of the above is why, as a Dodger fan, I'm disappointed with the loss to the Nationals, but not devastated. I was not expecting a World Series victory this season, because the team was simply not good enough. Coming up short - maybe not quite this short - was expected. Unlike 2017, when the World Series was theirs to take, and they (primarily Roberts) let it slip away. That was devastating.

I understand where you are coming from as a fan of a particular team. In that passionate position I think we at times are super ctitical of our own teams. The Dodgers are really good. Not just regular season good, which I'm not even sure if I can get behind that term, but I'm not posting to bash you at all. Everything you have said could have been said about the Nats if they lost this series. Historically speaking, the Nats have been that snake bitten team in the postseason. To a lesser extent because they have won a title the same thing could be said about the Astros if Tampa pulls it out tonight. The Yankees are surely feeling that same pressure. With teams openly tanking to follow a blueprint of whatever team you want to credit with starting this trend (Houston, Chicago, someone else) you really have like 6 super teams, 4-5 pretty decent teams, and a lot of junk. So win totals get inflated, home run numbers go through the roof (with the help of juiced balls) but in the end you don't learn a ton until they go up against another super team. The Dodgers are one of those super teams. However, the Nats are a super team as well. The playoffs are a real small sample size as ootp people love to toss out to protect the integrity of this product we all love. Well same here, anything can and will happen. I feel for you brother, I went through it with the Tigers, how could they not win a title just once with their rosters during their window of opportunity? Worst thing LA could do is blow the whole thing up, because you could probably be right there again next season with a different outcome.

[Reed]

Small sample size. All these teams in the playoffs are obviously very close, except maybe the Yankees. When a series goes to the final game it just take 1 bad pitch or great hit or defensive play or a fan interference or a bad bounce, etc..
Who has done worse in post season, Atlanta or Dodgers?

[Cobra Mgr]

Career advice: Following the example of Antonio Brown is not a way to gain tenure.

[daves]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Cards score 10 runs in the 1st - post season record. Incredible.

Game was over before many fans sat down.

[daves]

Originally Posted by Reed

Small sample size. All these teams in the playoffs are obviously very close, except maybe the Yankees. When a series goes to the final game it just take 1 bad pitch or great hit or defensive play or a fan interference or a bad bounce, etc..
Who has done worse in post season, Atlanta or Dodgers?

Dodgers. They had much higher expectations after two World Series loses. Kershaw seems cursed in the post season.

Of course the top of the 1st in the Atlanta game was embarrassing.

[Rizon]

I can't say I didn't celebrate the annual choking of the Dodgers last night.