2019 NLDS - Nationals vs Dodgers - Gamethread

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
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Meh. Last year, posters here had the Yankees beating the Sox and the Astros beating the Sox and the Dodgers beating the Sox even before the first game of each series had been played. Baseball is weird and less talented teams can take down more talented ones if the right guys are hot.
If the Astros lose the three other teams left are worse than the Twins. Anything can happen but the Yankees are a huge favorites.
 

E5 Yaz

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Never been a Nats fan, but they've had their share of bad luck along the way. Good for them
 

scottyno

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If the Astros lose the three other teams left are worse than the Twins. Anything can happen but the Yankees are a huge favorites.
no one is a huge favorite in the mlb playoffs, we just saw a borderline historically great team lose in the division round after being up 2-1
 

bosockboy

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It's not just Grady, its worse. Grady at least had the best pitcher of his generation on the mound saying he could pitch more. This is Joe fucking Kelly. There should have been anyone warming and ready to go in case your pitcher gets into trouble in the last potential inning of the last potential game of the year.
Yep. He had Jansen and May, and absolutely had to have Kolarek ready for Soto. Not sure I’ve ever seen anything like that.
 

LesterFan

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If the Astros lose the three other teams left are worse than the Twins. Anything can happen but the Yankees are a huge favorites.
In what world are the Nats worse than the Twins? They have three legitimate starters, an MVP player in Rendon, along with Soto and Turner. The Twins beat up on weak opposition all season. The Nats are legit. I don't know why some of you think NY will just run over them.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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In what world are the Nats worse than the Twins? They have three legitimate starters, an MVP player in Rendon, along with Soto and Turner. The Twins beat up on weak opposition all season. The Nats are legit. I don't know why some of you think NY will just run over them.
The Yankees would feast on this Washington bullpen.
 

sean1562

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id be surprised if the astros lose tomorrow. i know the dodgers just did but still dont see it happening
 

redsoxcentury

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Early of course but this Nationals team has some sort of gumption and spark. wouldn’t surprise me if they beat the Cardinals
 

jmcc5400

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no one is a huge favorite in the mlb playoffs, we just saw a borderline historically great team lose in the division round after being up 2-1
Makes me that much more grateful that we navigated the minefield of three great teams last year
 

LesterFan

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The Yankees would feast on this Washington bullpen.
Probably. Just like they'd feast on any other bullpen. Starters make a difference and the Nats have an advantage there. NY probably beats any NL team, including the Dodgers, but the Nats are no pushover. Astros are still the best bet to knock them out.
 

sean1562

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but really, talk about coming through in the clutch. Rendon and the 20 year old Soto saving this team's season
 

LogansDad

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Man, glad the Nats finally won a series, sad to see it be like that against Joe Kelly (who I really like) and Dave Roberts being dumb.

Hearing Roberts get booed like that makes me uneasy.
 

Murderer's Crow

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Roberts not handling the postgame very well. He's doing the best he can but none of it really makes sense. On Joe Kelly "I don't think anyone would be more effective. He looked great after 10 pitches." On Kershaw, he was asked whether analytics came into play and how he thought through Kershaw's issues in the postseason "honestly, that's a hard question for me to answer."
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Howie Kendrick.

Again, you rarely get this sort of hero in other sports. I know it drives some people nuts when regular players (Kendrick is clearly a good hitter but is no superstar) come up big but its one of my favorite parts of the sport.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Probably. Just like they'd feast on any other bullpen. Starters make a difference and the Nats have an advantage there. NY probably beats any NL team, including the Dodgers, but the Nats are no pushover. Astros are still the best bet to knock them out.
Starters matter for sure but the longer series means that you need to get more out of them. Yankees will see upwards of 180 pitches a game. Maybe a bit less in the NL park, but cobbling together 1250 or so pitches in a long series could be a challenge for the Nats. Yankees give you very little chance to rest.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Any details?
Pedro was just saying that Kershaw needs to paint rather than go directly at hitters now that his stuff has diminished.

As a side note, it was often tough watching post-peak Pedro but its clear that his brilliant mind allowed him to extend his career for a few more years. Because he was on fumes by then in terms of stuff.