September MLB Thread

Petagine in a Bottle

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Cardinals lead the Mets 3-0 in the 8th. 6 shutout innings from Wainwright.

Giants lead the Padres 5-0 in the 2nd. If these scores hold, the Cardinals will pull even with the Padres and 1/2 game behind the Reds with the Reds having played 1 more game than the Cardinals and Padres.
I was confused when the Cardinals made some deals at the deadline as it seemed like they were plodding along with little chance of making the playoffs, yet, here they are.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Tampa doesn't look like a team that would blow an 8 game lead but AL East teams are very streaky. It's going to be an interesting last 3 weeks.
Jays and Rays have six games left with each other, including tonight. Jays have been a sleeping giant all year…what the heck woke them up?
 

shawnrbu

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Before tonight, the Padres and Giants last played each other on May 9th. They will play each other 10 times over the final 3 weeks of the regular season. Seems absurd to have divisional rivals go 4 months without playing each other.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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I was confused when the Cardinals made some deals at the deadline as it seemed like they were plodding along with little chance of making the playoffs, yet, here they are.
I recall laughing on deadline day at their half-assed attempt to go for it by acquiring Lester and Happ… and I was right, those guys aren't really pitching well, but every team in front of them just started falling apart and playing 5 games over .500 since then is all they've needed to do.
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
Yeah, it seems like the Giants and Dodgers have played every other week.
And they're done with each other for the season. With them fighting it out for the division title, I can't believe they don't play at all after September 5th.
 

edoug

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And they're done with each other for the season. With them fighting it out for the division title, I can't believe they don't play at all after September 5th.
Yep, it is odd. They should've at least respected the rivalry.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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Sticks McKenzie with his 5th consecutive start of 6+ innings, 3 or fewer hits, 0-1 runs allowed, 1 bb, 6+ K. He and Quantrill really stepped up after the Indians lost 4 of their starters earlier this year. Once everyone is healthy, Civale might be their #4 starter and Plesac is #5.
 

VORP Speed

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Dominant pitching for Rays tonight. Rasmussen stepped up like an ace. That Adames trade really worked out very well for both sides.

Big win against the red-hot Jays. Now 9 up with 17 to play.
 

DeadlySplitter

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I don't understand how the Giants are on a 105+ win pace. Everything has gone right for them but this is insane.
 

jon abbey

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Reds have lost 3 in a row, Padres have lost 5 in a row and Cards have won 4 in a row, so somehow STL is the NL WC #2 currently. They are 17 games behind the Dodgers, ridiculous STL (or whoever) only has to beat them once to knock them out.
 

VORP Speed

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Reds have lost 3 in a row, Padres have lost 5 in a row and Cards have won 4 in a row, so somehow STL is the NL WC #2 currently. They are 17 games behind the Dodgers, ridiculous STL (or whoever) only has to beat them once to knock them out.
WC series should be 2 out of 3, with a doubleheader on the first day
 

sean1562

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In the discussion on the main board about a 1B, John Olerud and his .400 OBP was brought up. In response, a poster mentioned only three players have an OBP over .400 this season. Vlad Jr. at .404, Bryce Harper at .421, and Juan Soto at .457. The man has a 20.9% walk rate and a 14.5% K rate. He turns 23 at the end of October. He has a 1.180 OPS since the all star break. He is going to hit FA at 26, I think? I kind of hope the Nationals sign him long term but man would it be amazing to have a 2025 lineup with Soto, Devers, Casas, and Mayer.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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In the discussion on the main board about a 1B, John Olerud and his .400 OBP was brought up. In response, a poster mentioned only three players have an OBP over .400 this season. Vlad Jr. at .404, Bryce Harper at .421, and Juan Soto at .457. The man has a 20.9% walk rate and a 14.5% K rate. He turns 23 at the end of October. He has a 1.180 OPS since the all star break. He is going to hit FA at 26, I think? I kind of hope the Nationals sign him long term but man would it be amazing to have a 2025 lineup with Soto, Devers, Casas, and Mayer.
If I remember right, some questioned Soto's inclusion in the Home Run Derby because he only had 11 at the break. Soto said he was doing because he thought it might "fix" his swing as opposed to the belief that it can screw a hitter up. 14 HR and the aforementioned 1.180 OPS says he was right. The kid is unreal, and he's kinda flying under the radar because of the way the Nats' season has gone.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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I really can't say enough about how annoyed I am that the g-d Cardinals are going to be the other wild card team, especially since every time they sneak into the playoffs with a mediocre team they win the World Series.
 

Max Power

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O's no! Hayes took Green deep to put the Orioles ahead. There's a 50/50 chance their pen blows it, but it was nice to see for now.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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I really can't say enough about how annoyed I am that the g-d Cardinals are going to be the other wild card team, especially since every time they sneak into the playoffs with a mediocre team they win the World Series.
The 2nd wild card spot was served to the Reds on a platter with half of their final 18 games against the Pirates, but instead they've lost the first two of those. Everyone rooting for "anyone but the Cardinals" needs to hope the Brewers take these last two weeks seriously.
 

jon abbey

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The Tigers are making a late run at .500, 70-76 after taking 4 of 5 from TB and MIL. They have a very tough schedule and likely won’t get there but they’ve been playing well for 4+ months now, 61-52 since May 7.
 

Kliq

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The Tigers are making a late run at .500, 70-76 after taking 4 of 5 from TB and MIL. They have a very tough schedule and likely won’t get there but they’ve been playing well for 4+ months now, 61-52 since May 7.
The AL Central is awful, but the big thing for the Tigers this season is that they are starting to see those young arms come into form. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have been good this year and will conceivably to improve, and they have more on the way. Their offense really doesn't have anyone I have a ton of faith in being on the team in a few years (maybe Akil Badoo but the jury is still out on him imo) and I think they will have to get lucky on some guys in order to compete next year.
 

Kliq

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The Giants are having a truly unbelievable season. Their offense is crazy; they have so many of their old core players having renaissance years; you would think the wheels would come off but here they sit at 95-51, with a chance to threaten the franchise win record (106 wins in 1904).

Buster Posey (34) is padding his HoF case with a great season (OPS+ of 141) and he is supported by Brandon Belt (33) who is having a career year (OPS+ of 152) and Brandon Crawford(34), who had seven hits in one game last week, and should finish high in the MVP balloting (OPS+ of 138, 5.0 WAR). Even Evan Longoria (35), who I thought was maybe retired heading into the season, has an OPS+ of 149, although he has missed time due to injury. Their bench is also outstanding, with Lamonte Wade Jr, Wilmer Flores and Darrin Ruf all being very good this season.

Their pitching has also been excellent, which you kind of expect in that ballpark. Kevin Gausman is worth the money and then some as he is a legit Cy Young guy this year, Anthony DeScalafani must think he has died and gone to heaven trading in pitching in Cincinnati for San Francisco, and youngster Logan Webb has had a huge breakout season (ERA+ of 146) and has given them a third above-average starter. The bullpen with Jake McGee, Tyler Rogers and Dominic Leone has also been strong. They are the best team in baseball right now.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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The Reds just narrowly escaped a sweep in Pittsburgh with a 1-0 win and the tying and winning runs in scoring position. With the Padres and Cardinals both off, they move into a tie with San Diego one game out. Now they have to deal with a weekend series against the Dodgers, but then play their remaining games against last place teams except for 2 against the White Sox (who likely will have nothing to accomplish but rest for the playoffs by then).
 

jon abbey

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The AL Central is awful, but the big thing for the Tigers this season is that they are starting to see those young arms come into form. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have been good this year and will conceivably to improve, and they have more on the way. Their offense really doesn't have anyone I have a ton of faith in being on the team in a few years (maybe Akil Badoo but the jury is still out on him imo) and I think they will have to get lucky on some guys in order to compete next year.
Torkelson and Greene are both top 10 MLB prospects who should be ready next year, they are way ahead of BAL in terms of rebuilding.
 

Kliq

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Torkelson and Greene are both top 10 MLB prospects who should be ready next year, they are way ahead of BAL in terms of rebuilding.
Matt Manning also came up this year and has been kind of bad, but will presumably be good one day. I see it with their pitching but the offense needs to come a long way. At least it's fun that Miggy isn't a complete embarrassment (OPS+ of 104) and gives the fans something to cheer about.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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Torkelson and Greene are both top 10 MLB prospects who should be ready next year, they are way ahead of BAL in terms of rebuilding.
They’re well-positioned to grab one of the big FA shortstops should they decide 2022 is The Year To Return To Contention, so maybe something like:
C - Haase
1B - Tork
2B - Schoop
SS - Correa/Seager/Story?
3B - Candelario (who is good!)
LF - Baddoo
CF - Greene
RF - Grossman

That’s not bad.