2020 MLB Playoffs

[cato]

My Padres are back in the playoffs again after 14 years. Unfortunately we lost our 1 and 2 starters for at least the Wild Card round. And the Cardinals have sent us packing in the first round the last two times the Friars made the post-season. And things are off to a rocky start, with the Card putting up 4 runs in the top of the first.

Still! It’s warm, sunny and they are playing baseball in October at Petco. I’m excited.

[pfrduke]

Poor, poor Minnesota Twins. Since taking a 1-0 lead in the 2004 ALDS on October 5, 2004, they have proceeded to lose their next 18 straight playoff games. Oof.

[cato]

Poor, poor Minnesota Twins. Since taking a 1-0 lead in the 2004 ALDS on October 5, 2004, they have proceeded to lose their next 18 straight playoff games. Oof.

Very ouch. Tough to be a small market team in baseball.

[Tripping William]

Depending on how you look at it, everything in Cleveland was a feces-fest last night. But I’m a Yankees fan, so I take solace that *something* good went down in that town.

[Blue in the Face]

Poor, poor Minnesota Twins. Since taking a 1-0 lead in the 2004 ALDS on October 5, 2004, they have proceeded to lose their next 18 straight playoff games. Oof.

The CBA says the season is 162 games. And the Twins take that very seriously.

[pfrduke]

And then there’s the separate futility of the Cleveland Indians, who after tonight have lost every elimination game they’ve played in since beating the Yankees in game 5 of the 1997 ALDS, good for 10 in a row (while they’ve won 4 postseason series in that span, they did not face elimination in any of those).

[CrazyNotCrazie]

And then there’s the separate futility of the Cleveland Indians, who after tonight have lost every elimination game they’ve played in since beating the Yankees in game 5 of the 1997 ALDS, good for 10 in a row (while they’ve won 4 postseason series in that span, they did not face elimination in any of those).

Given that it is 2020 and anything can happen, I was waiting for the Indians to unleash the bugs like in the Joba Chamberlain game.

[pfrduke]

Meanwhile, reversing a long string of futility, the Braves just won their first postseason series since 2001, ending a string of 9 straight losses (the Braves also had one wild-card game win, and one loss, in that span).

[acdevil]

Given that it is 2020 and anything can happen, I was waiting for the Indians to unleash the bugs like in the Joba Chamberlain game.

Don’t remind me of that one. After that performance, I was on board with letting Joe Torre go.

[jimsumner]

22 innings for the Cincinnati bats, zero runs. Was Atlanta's pitching that good? Or Cincy's offense that bad? Or both? They aren't mutually exclusive. But they absolutely wasted 20 innings of truly outstanding pitching.

[ClemmonsDevil]

22 innings for the Cincinnati bats, zero runs. Was Atlanta's pitching that good? Or Cincy's offense that bad? Or both? They aren't mutually exclusive. But they absolutely wasted 20 innings of truly outstanding pitching.

Exactly. Braves got 2 homers and 4 runs in their last offensive inning of the series, but otherwise the hard hitting Braves were stymied by the Reds.

[cato]

Fernando Tatis Jr. is exactly what we need to make it through these crazy times.

[cato]

F42E46A5-8676-4357-B08B-848569424E51.jpg

[camion]

Exactly. Braves got 2 homers and 4 runs in their last offensive inning of the series, but otherwise the hard hitting Braves were stymied by the Reds.

The sun was in their eyes. They were distracted. It was the glare off of the fake fans.


Or maybe pitching matters a lot in the playoffs.

[pfrduke]

Closing the loop on long strings of futility, the A's won a winner-take-all game for the first time since their World Series game 7 win in 1973. Coming into this postseason, they had lost their last three wild card play-in games (2014, 2018, 2019) and six straight ALDS game 5's (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, although they did win the 2006 ALDS 3-0 in the midst of that).

[DU82]

Closing the loop on long strings of futility, the A's won a winner-take-all game for the first time since their umpire-aided World Series game 7 win in 1973. Coming into this postseason, they had lost their last three wild card play-in games (2014, 2018, 2019) and six straight ALDS game 5's (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, although they did win the 2006 ALDS 3-0 in the midst of that).

FIFY. (Still too soon for this Mets fan. )

[Jim3k]

FIFY. (Still too soon for this Mets fan. )

I hadn't yet moved to the East Bay in 1973 and never was (until now) aware of the Mets fans' anguish over losing that series to the A's. When I went to look, I found that it arose in the second game from Augie Donatelli's call at the plate where catcher Ray Fosse made (or missed) a tag at the plate which would have been the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth. The replays (not terrible, but not today's quality) aren't definitive and Donatelli was on the ground awaiting the expected slide, in good position. Had the runner, Ken Harrelson, slid, he might have clearly ducked the tag. He did not slide and Donatelli swears he saw Fosse's brush tag. [Much later, the A's would commit the same blunder in a 2001 playoff game, when Jeremy Giambi, wouldn't slide and was tagged out, giving the game to the Yankees.]

Donatelli may have missed it. But the play occurred in a twelve inning game which the Mets won 10-7. They also had the rest of the series remaining, including a 3-2 advantage when they headed to Oakland for the final two games.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for any claim that Donatelli cost the Mets that WS.

[DU82]

I hadn't yet moved to the East Bay in 1973 and never was (until now) aware of the Mets fans' anguish over losing that series to the A's. When I went to look, I found that it arose in the second game from Augie Donatelli's call at the plate where catcher Ray Fosse made (or missed) a tag at the plate which would have been the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth. The replays (not terrible, but not today's quality) aren't definitive and Donatelli was on the ground awaiting the expected slide, in good position. Had the runner, Ken Harrelson, slid, he might have clearly ducked the tag. He did not slide and Donatelli swears he saw Fosse's brush tag. [Much later, the A's would commit the same blunder in a 2001 playoff game, when Jeremy Giambi, wouldn't slide and was tagged out, giving the game to the Yankees.]

Donatelli may have missed it. But the play occurred in a twelve inning game which the Mets won 10-7. They also had the rest of the series remaining, including a 3-2 advantage when they headed to Oakland for the final two games.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for any claim that Donatelli cost the Mets that WS.

It was somewhat facetious, but when you have somebody who might be the best player ever laying flat on the ground with a better view arguing that BUD was safe, how can a 13 year old think anything but “We were robbed!” (Ken’s a different player, and long-time broadcaster, a much better hitter but much worse fielder.)

(And I’ll admit I had forgotten that it was game 2, and the Mets won that game. Stop interrupting my rant with the facts!)

[Jim3k]

Heh! Such is Ken's fame, that I'd forgotten there ever was a Bud.

The main issue now, though, is whether the A's can continue their way muddling through through the Div. Series. They are facing the cheating, despised and undeserving Astros. [*Beating on trashcan drum*] The A's know them well and managed to take the season series 7-3. But it means nothing, now. It will be tough, particularly with the A's anemic offense. Even when Chapman was healthy, the team's best hitters were doing very little. The starting staff is pretty good, while the bullpen may be the best in the majors. Their chance of succeeding depends an an improved offense. It's there. It just needs to wake up.

[JasonEvans]

Ummm...

Braves!!!

-Jason "BRING ON THE DODGERS!! he said knowing full well that the Dodgers will probably sweep the Bravos" Evans