Wild Card Game Thread -- Non Pro-MFY Version
- Thread starter E5 Yaz
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The rivalry is heating up again nicely. I think it would be awesome, and I'd be sick to my stomach.
Only if we sweep, and every game is a double digit rout.
Otherwise, I hope Cleveland sweeps their asses.
Only the Twins would lose a much needed baserunner BY RUNNING OVER THE BASE. New ways to bend over for the Yankees.
It wouldn’t shock me. Yanks pulling the upset over Indians would be surprising, but I mean it’s at least as likely as the Sox beating the Astros.
Would be a fun, and nauseating time.
Oh c'mon, no one expected the Twins to compete. Shy shell out for it, or sit through it as a season ticketholder
Yes, the mfy's are good and will be a tough out. No doubt. But they are built more for the regular season than the postseason. Their starting pitching, which is the most important element for sustained post season success, is inferior to other teams, and their lineup is built for their home park and they will play more road games than home ones in every series, unlike the end of the regular season.
Their greatest strength, bullpen depth, is on display tonight, but depth there isn't as helpful in a long series with multiple off days, and any repeat games like tonight will cripple them over a series rather than a one game, winner take all.
Their greatest strength, bullpen depth, is on display tonight, but depth there isn't as helpful in a long series with multiple off days, and any repeat games like tonight will cripple them over a series rather than a one game, winner take all.
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Is it over yet?
MFY playoff games are like a colonoscopy; the prep prior to is uncomfortable, once it starts I have no desire to watch and I can't wait for it to end.
MFY playoff games are like a colonoscopy; the prep prior to is uncomfortable, once it starts I have no desire to watch and I can't wait for it to end.
In retrospect, I should not have underestimated the Twins' ability to score a run by barely beating out a double play ball with bases loaded. I should have given them more credit.
Least surprising result ever. They could replay that game ten times and the result would not change. I think the Rays or the Mariners would have had a better chance of winning.
Watching the MFY's play the Twins in the playoffs is equal to watching the Germans steamroll through Poland in 1939.
I fear you are describing a team much like the 2015 Royals, just with a hell of a lot more power up and down the lineup. Discount them at your peril.
Who's discounting them? Where is my analysis off?
I won't be shocked if they win any particular series or even the whole thing for that matter. I will, though, be surprised if they have sustained success for the reasons I already cited.
I thought about this scenario last night. The rivalry may not be what it was 13 years ago but an ALCS with these new franchise players on both sides would probably give it a nice push. The bigger problem is, *I* am not what I was 13 years ago and don't think my valves could take it.
It couldn't possibly mean as much as it did 13-14 years ago. A loss would sting but nothing like 2003. If it means the Sox advance to the ALCS, I'll take it, win or lose against the MFY
The rivalry certainly peaked in the early 2000s, and the immediate future seems bright for both teams, but we should never forget the historic clashes between Boston and NY in the late 1940s and in the 1970s, when the players actually hated one another.
My sense is that Mookie, JBJ and X get along nicely with Judge, Didi and Severino. Probably the only volatile guys are Price and Sanchez, maybe Betances and Kimbrel. Once these teams go through a real pennant race, maybe the rivalry heats up again. Somehow, it seemed like Boston always had the upper hand this past summer, except perhaps in late September. I find it hard to hate anyone on Boston.
My sense is that Mookie, JBJ and X get along nicely with Judge, Didi and Severino. Probably the only volatile guys are Price and Sanchez, maybe Betances and Kimbrel. Once these teams go through a real pennant race, maybe the rivalry heats up again. Somehow, it seemed like Boston always had the upper hand this past summer, except perhaps in late September. I find it hard to hate anyone on Boston.
The crowds getting into it, the stakes, the intensity.... a few brushback pitches, a little "too much" emotion shown on a home run, CC whining about a bunt...
Yeah, the Sox-Yanks could get really intense once again if they meet in the ALCS.
Hahhah. Pretty much my attitude. Except with a colonoscopy, I've always been totally out of it once it begins and have no ability to check the score.
Forgot about CC. Yeah, he's a holdover from when the rivalry was still strong. You guys probably don't like Gardner, either. Yankee fans don't like Pedey either, although both Gardner and Pedroia are the kind of player you want on your own team.
I could dislike Devers because one swing of his bat cost the Yankees two games in the standings. But that is just about performance, not personality. How can Yankee fans dislike X? He wears No. 2 in honor of his boyhood idol.
Players today make too much money to really care much about rivalry stuff. There will always be a few old school guys like Pedroia and Gardner but, for the most part, everything is quite tame. As it generally is, a hypothetical ALCS between these teams would be far more contentious among the fans than the actual players. I'd be surprised if we ever see a period like the 70s ever again in MLB. Texas/Toronto seems like the only series that got kind of close.
They've always made too much money and rivalries have ebbed and flowed regardless. I think people are mistaken if they don't think the rivalry is about to explode again. It only takes 1 hit batsman (cough Betances) or one short-tempered fued in a playoff series to ignite it all over again. It has been bubbling all year and these two teams really match up well against each other. Between Kimbrel's dumb pinnochio arm pose before his pitches and Dever's marshmallow physique, I'm just about ready for a nice back and forth between the teams.
You either need a contentious ALCS or some regular season fireworks. Both sides have guys who could potentially escalate things (I'd say Price/Pedroia/Sale for Sox and CC/Sanchez/Gardner for Yanks) but the bad blood just isn't there yet. Also, the best hitters on both teams are like the nicest guys on the planet so that's where I think it has to start - a HBP to either Judge or Mookie that one teams takes offense to and responds in kind.
Mookie is so much fun to watch. He plays with the joy of Willie Mays. There was not one Red Sox player from the 1970s whom I liked but I could name five on this year's Boston team, right off the bat. Mookie, JBJ, X, Vasquez and, hate to say it, Pedey.
I had one several years ago and the doctor asked if I wanted to watch, I told him no, but make me a copy and I'll watch it at home later.
It warms the cockles of my heart that these assholes are moving on and I have to be subjected to more MFY ballwashing while they play the Tribe.
Wonderful.
I feel the same way about these Yankees, much to my chagrin.
I despised the 90s and 00s Yankees with an almost religious fervor. Now? I hate them the way you hate a former childhood bully. I remember the feeling, but can't quite muster it.
Judge is a fun and likeable player. Didi is the rarest of species -- a Yankee who is both a very good and underrated player. Starlin seems like a great teammate, Bird, Tanaka, and Headley are just sort of anonymous. I even like the fake interview stuff they do in the dugout.
I feel shame.
One of the cool things about both teams having so many likeable players is that most of them are so damn young. We should be able to enjoy watching them for quite a while. Good time to be a fan.
Kay made a great point on his radio show yesterday. Everyone likes these young players until they start winning. Once they start winning, opposing fans turn on them. This honeymoon phase between the teams only lasts until there's a target on their backs.
I'm old so it's just time to forget the passion and enjoy baseball. Looking forward to tonight's NL game, too, because I have not seen much of either side, except for Goldschmidt.
1. Charlie Blackmon (L) CF
2. DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B
3. Carlos Gonzalez (L) RF
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Trevor Story (R) SS
6. Gerardo Parra (L) LF
7. Mark Reynolds (R) 1B
8. Jonathan Lucroy (R) C
9. Jon Gray (R) P
1. David Peralta (L) LF
2. Ketel Marte (S) SS
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
4. J.D. Martinez (R) RF
5. Jake Lamb (L) 3B
6. A.J. Pollock (R) CF
7. Daniel Descalso (L) 2B
8. Jeff Mathis (R) C
9. Zack Greinke (R) P
2. DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B
3. Carlos Gonzalez (L) RF
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Trevor Story (R) SS
6. Gerardo Parra (L) LF
7. Mark Reynolds (R) 1B
8. Jonathan Lucroy (R) C
9. Jon Gray (R) P
1. David Peralta (L) LF
2. Ketel Marte (S) SS
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
4. J.D. Martinez (R) RF
5. Jake Lamb (L) 3B
6. A.J. Pollock (R) CF
7. Daniel Descalso (L) 2B
8. Jeff Mathis (R) C
9. Zack Greinke (R) P
I wish the Twins had either of those lineups last night. Greinke was 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 5 starts against the Rockies this year. Gray was 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA in 3 starts against Arizona this year. Gray had 4.06 ERA on the road and Greinke was 13-1 with 2.87 ERA at home.
So...I'll say 6-4 Diamondbacks.
So...I'll say 6-4 Diamondbacks.
Gray's numbers are a bit misleading as he had spring training in July when he returned from his injury. He's got stuff much better than his numbers dictate this year.
This is so true. It happened to the Indians between 1995/96, and it happened with the Royals (perhaps to a bit lesser degree) over the past few years. One year everyone thinks they're fresh, energetic, and it's a joy watching them have fun out there. The next year everyone thinks the same players are young, arrogant, disrespectful punks. Some of it is additional exposure to players who aren't the great kids we want them to be, but probably most of it is just the way we like to write our story lines as a society.
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