Post: #101

The trade deadline passed yesterday, and it was a busy one. With some 45-odd trades being reported, it was the busiest trade deadline perhaps ever, certainly in the past 10 years.

Obvious winners are the Texas Rangers. They acquire Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress, and Carlos Beltran; making them the favorites going forward in the West. Especially with the Astros doing little (or acting more like sellers) to improve their roster. However, Texas did not address their starting pitching concerns, so it will be interesting to see how these moves play out for them.

Cleveland obtaining Andrew Miller may be the biggest needle mover. They now have (IMO) the best rotation in the AL, a solid lineup (better w/ Guyer), and one of the top 3 lefty relievers in baseball.

Both the Dodgers and Giants re-upped with left handed starters: Rich Hill, and Matt Moore respectively. The Dodgers also got Josh Reddick in the same deal, and the Giants got reliever Will Smith in a separate deal.

These moves both seem meh to me. Hill hasn't pitched in a month, and is always a candidate to get re-injured, or finally blow-up and fall back to earth from his other worldly ascension back into the majors after being dead in the water for years. I do like Reddick though.

Matt Moore is about as average as one can be as a pitcher. An improvement over Matt Cain and Jake Peavy, but not by THAT much.
Essentially, lots of gamesmanship from the Dodgers and Giants, with an anything you can do I can do better mentality, just for the sake of it.

Biggest winner of deadline: New York Yankees. They pick up Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Gleybar Torres, Dillon Tate, and Billy McKinney, all Top 100 prospects. An old, over the hill franchise just got a lot younger in the span of 3 days, and set themselves up real nice two to three years down the road.

Milwaukee Brewers are the silver medalists of the fire sale teams. Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz are both studs, and Phil Bickford whom they got from the Will Smith trade is a nice under the radar pickup too.

Lots of fun going into the final two months of the season. August is always a marathon through the desert before rosters expand, and the teams that get hot now set themselves up nicely to play October baseball.

Enjoy the ride!

Post: #102

(08-02-2016 08:43 AM)Chunnel Wrote:  The trade deadline passed yesterday, and it was a busy one. With some 45-odd trades being reported, it was the busiest trade deadline perhaps ever, certainly in the past 10 years.

Obvious winners are the Texas Rangers. They acquire Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress, and Carlos Beltran; making them the favorites going forward in the West. Especially with the Astros doing little (or acting more like sellers) to improve their roster. However, Texas did not address their starting pitching concerns, so it will be interesting to see how these moves play out for them.

Cleveland obtaining Andrew Miller may be the biggest needle mover. They now have (IMO) the best rotation in the AL, a solid lineup (better w/ Guyer), and one of the top 3 lefty relievers in baseball.

Both the Dodgers and Giants re-upped with left handed starters: Rich Hill, and Matt Moore respectively. The Dodgers also got Josh Reddick in the same deal, and the Giants got reliever Will Smith in a separate deal.

These moves both seem meh to me. Hill hasn't pitched in a month, and is always a candidate to get re-injured, or finally blow-up and fall back to earth from his other worldly ascension back into the majors after being dead in the water for years. I do like Reddick though.

Matt Moore is about as average as one can be as a pitcher. An improvement over Matt Cain and Jake Peavy, but not by THAT much.
Essentially, lots of gamesmanship from the Dodgers and Giants, with an anything you can do I can do better mentality, just for the sake of it.

Biggest winner of deadline: New York Yankees. They pick up Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Gleybar Torres, Dillon Tate, and Billy McKinney, all Top 100 prospects. An old, over the hill franchise just got a lot younger in the span of 3 days, and set themselves up real nice two to three years down the road.

Milwaukee Brewers are the silver medalists of the fire sale teams. Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz are both studs, and Phil Bickford whom they got from the Will Smith trade is a nice under the radar pickup too.

Lots of fun going into the final two months of the season. August is always a marathon through the desert before rosters expand, and the teams that get hot now set themselves up nicely to play October baseball.

Enjoy the ride!

I'm a Yankee fan and I think they did pretty well too. They were wise to throw in the towel for this season, because they simply aren't as good as Toronto, Boston or the Os, and adopt a re-building plan like the Cubs did when Theo Epstein first got there (ironically which the Yankees are also benefiting from since they acquired some of his prospects). It's weird for the Yankees but necessary, because the mediocrity of this season (and a few prior) is a direct result of the championship 2009 campaign. All of those veterans are now in decline and/or actively hurting the team, while still collecting huge paychecks.

I understand that sometimes you have to pay for a few declining years in a long-term deal to get the prime ones, but this has been going on for seven years (or more- isn't A-Rod on the books for one more year?). Now they have the option of developing some cost-controlled players while gorging at the trough of free agents coming around in 2018 (I wouldn't mind seeing Bryce Harper in pinstripes :-) ).

Post: #103

I'm a Yankee fan also and I'm very happy to see that the Yankees are finally getting into the prospect Market. Even if the Yankees made the wildcard this year, which I don't think they would have, they wouldn't make it past the first round. They have no pitching and their offense is very suspect. I too would like to see the Yankees get rid of all the old, dead weight. I just hope the Yankees don't use their newly-acquired Prospect as bargaining chips for the free agent Market. I would much rather see them developed their young Talent and pick up a nice free agent here and there. Bryce Harper 2018, would be nice. I hope it happens.

Post: #104

Puig basically told to fuck off, being demoted, possibly traded.

Santiago gets traded from the Halos to the Twins, horrible trade IMHO.

Trout's gotta be delusional with the front office, we've got farm system that's good right now either.

Post: #105

(08-02-2016 06:47 PM)kaotic Wrote:  Puig basically told to fuck off, being demoted, possibly traded.

Puig definitely has the talent and the tools, but his head is not there. I think all the hype went to his head. He should have spent more time in the minors before being brought up. It might be to late for him to go backwards now.

Post: #106

(08-02-2016 06:33 PM)dark_g Wrote:  I'm a Yankee fan also and I'm very happy to see that the Yankees are finally getting into the prospect Market. Even if the Yankees made the wildcard this year, which I don't think they would have, they wouldn't make it past the first round. They have no pitching and their offense is very suspect. I too would like to see the Yankees get rid of all the old, dead weight. I just hope the Yankees don't use their newly-acquired Prospect as bargaining chips for the free agent Market. I would much rather see them developed their young Talent and pick up a nice free agent here and there. Bryce Harper 2018, would be nice. I hope it happens.

I agree- when the Yankees were playing fairly well after the all-star break (I think they took two out of three or three out of four from both the O's and Giants, two excellent teams) people started to think, hey, maybe they could get a wild-card slot. The problem with that thinking is, let's say they do: Are they better than Texas, Cleveland, and Baltimore, who they will likely meet in the playoffs? Hell, are they as good as Toronto, Boston, Detroit, or Houston, their wild-card competitors? Nope. Not even close. That's the danger of the wild-card.

No, they did the right thing, and for the price of a few fungible relievers and a veteran in the twilight of his career (though Beltran admittedly is having a heck of a year) who in the long-run would have made no difference for this season, they now have one of the best farm systems in baseball.

The rebuild won't happen overnight, but I'm looking forward to when it eventually does. I'm envisioning a season like the Cubs had last year or this year, maybe by 2019 or 2020, which in the grand scheme of things isn't that long.

In the meantime I live in the DC area and have adopted the Nats as my NL team. When they first moved here of course they sucked, but through a similar strategy (drafting well and trading for and developing prospects, with a few veterans sprinkled in) they've turned into the team to beat in the NL. I'm having a hell of a lot of fun watching them while the Yankees develop.

Post: #107

The Rockies are surging right now. It really, really sucks that Trevor Story is done for the rest of the season. Dude was having an historic rookie season and has been a huge reason the rockies have been able to stay afloat.

What's cool is that the rockies may have the best pitching right now that they've ever had. Just set a franchise record for quality starts in a month and I think they have either the most or second most since the beginning of June. Jon Gray is looking the part of a legit #1, top of the rotation ace and Tylers Chatwood and Anderson have been a very solid 2 and 3.

Only 3 games back in the wild card now and I'm really loving this team. It's nice to finally still be in the hunt in August. Been quite a while.

Post: #108

(08-04-2016 12:51 AM)Only One Man Wrote:  The Rockies are surging right now. It really, really sucks that Trevor Story is done for the rest of the season. Dude was having an historic rookie season and has been a huge reason the rockies have been able to stay afloat.

What's cool is that the rockies may have the best pitching right now that they've ever had. Just set a franchise record for quality starts in a month and I think they have either the most or second most since the beginning of June. Jon Gray is looking the part of a legit #1, top of the rotation ace and Tylers Chatwood and Anderson have been a very solid 2 and 3.

Only 3 games back in the wild card now and I'm really loving this team. It's nice to finally still be in the hunt in August. Been quite a while.

IMO, Carlos Gonzalez has the prettiest swing of all-time (yes, better than Griffey Jr.)!

Jon Gray is putting up filthy numbers this year. If not for Corey Seager, Gray would/should be the front runner for NL Rookie of the Year. Now if Jeff Hoffman can step in next year and put up the similar numbers... what a 1,2 punch!

Two pitchers from the state of Oklahoma are finally coming into their own at very important times for their teams: Dylan Bundy (Baltimore) and Gray, both overcoming different adversities and lots of criticism from pundits and armchairs all over the country.

Post: #109

(08-02-2016 06:47 PM)kaotic Wrote:  Puig basically told to fuck off, being demoted, possibly traded.

Santiago gets traded from the Halos to the Twins, horrible trade IMHO.

Trout's gotta be delusional with the front office, we've got farm system that's good right now either.

(08-02-2016 06:53 PM)dark_g Wrote:  

(08-02-2016 06:47 PM)kaotic Wrote:  Puig basically told to fuck off, being demoted, possibly traded.

Puig definitely has the talent and the tools, but his head is not there. I think all the hype went to his head. He should have spent more time in the minors before being brought up. It might be to late for him to go backwards now.

Allow me to make a Puig counterpoint, and come to his defense. He has definitely shown immaturity at times in past seasons. However, I think his immaturity is amplified by the market he plays in. If he pulled the same stunts early in his career in lets say: Kansas City, Baltimore, or Milwaukee sports media would gloss over the incidents almost like they never happened. Lots of players do dumb shit that they are fortunate is not unveiled by ESPN (the TMZ of the sports world).

If Miguel Cabrera played for the Yankees or Dodgers when he got his DUI in 2011, the criticism would have been much harsher, and would have taken the country a lot more time to forget about it.

Now for Puig's on-field performance. I don't recall any issues this year with Puig's attitude causing rifts between himself and the coaching staff/front office. I find it very likely that he is reaching a level maturity that it would probably take for a 20 year old Cuban a longer time to obtain when given $42 million at that age.

Puig is hitting .260/.320/.386 this year, hardly anything to write home about. However, Puig went to the DL in early June with a hamstring injury, and is a very likely explanation for his pitiful May in which he hit around .220. Now since his return from the DL he has .308/.391/.410 . Excellent numbers that show signs of an injury free player. The power is not there yet, but would probably come around with more reps/consistent reps.

Most encouraging is his .391 OBP. In July he also had 8 BB to 12 Ks, and his OPS+ was 23% better than league average. Now, last night in Colorado, the Dodgers had Scott Van Slyke hitting clean-up and playing right field. Van Slyke is hitting .229 with an OPS of .615. It would take a lot to convince me that the Dodgers would rather have Van Slyke playing RF over Puig against a good left handed pitcher.

Now why the Front Office sent him down when he has played good baseball over the past month is up for the debate. It can hardly be for his on-field play. Maybe its a matter of a Front Office filled with so many ex-GMs they feel the need to make edgy moves to try to prove how smart and forward thinking they are? That's my theory, and if it works good for them. But personally I'd rather have Puig patrolling RF, who was play pretty well after injury, than a platoon of Van Slyke and Reddick.

This will be a good one to follow.

Post: #110

Never forget this day

Post: #111

Report: Edwin Encarnacion accused of knowingly giving STDs to partner in $11.5M lawsuit

Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Edwin Encarnacion is the subject of a $11.5 million lawsuit that claims the slugger knowingly gave a woman multiple sexually transmitted diseases as well as battery, misrepresentation of the facts and additional allegations, TMZ Sports reported.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by the celebrity gossip site Monday, the 24-year-old woman said she tested positive for two unspecified sexually transmitted diseases after having unprotected sex multiple occasions with Encarnacion during a trip to the Dominican Republic in February 2016.
Full article


This will be a tough case for her to win, especially since she's been sharing her goods with other team members.

Post: #112

Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Post: #113

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Sorry man, BLM SJW's lost to the Feminist SJWs and I'm happy!

Post: #114

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

You had to know that game was done as soon as you saw Jimenez warming up in the pen. That guy is shot.

Post: #115

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Tough loss for the O's. Buck should've had his closer in the game instead of Jimenez. Buck did the same thing with the Yankees in the 90s. He had a washed up pitcher in a big spot with a young/untouchable Mariano ready in the pen. Needless to say he lost both the game/playoffs and his job.

My Mets play tonight against MadBum with 4 lefthanded hitters in the lineup. Yikes!

Post: #116

(10-05-2016 10:16 AM)Chowder Head Wrote:  

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Tough loss for the O's. Buck should've had his closer in the game instead of Jimenez. Buck did the same thing with the Yankees in the 90s. He had a washed up pitcher in a big spot with a young/untouchable Mariano ready in the pen. Needless to say he lost both the game/playoffs and his job.

My Mets play tonight against MadBum with 4 lefthanded hitters in the lineup. Yikes!

Reason given from Buck was that our offense was basically stagnant so putting him in would've probably worn his arm out at the rate we were going. He wanted some assurance that his offense would help him out.

Oh well, on to rooting for the Nats. But they have a bunch of injuries with their catcher being out as well as Strasburg. Not holding my breath that they'll beat L.A.

Post: #117

(10-05-2016 10:27 AM)MdWanderer Wrote:  

(10-05-2016 10:16 AM)Chowder Head Wrote:  

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Tough loss for the O's. Buck should've had his closer in the game instead of Jimenez. Buck did the same thing with the Yankees in the 90s. He had a washed up pitcher in a big spot with a young/untouchable Mariano ready in the pen. Needless to say he lost both the game/playoffs and his job.

My Mets play tonight against MadBum with 4 lefthanded hitters in the lineup. Yikes!

Reason given from Buck was that our offense was basically stagnant so putting him in would've probably worn his arm out at the rate we were going. He wanted some assurance that his offense would help him out.

Oh well, on to rooting for the Nats. But they have a bunch of injuries with their catcher being out as well as Strasburg. Not holding my breath that they'll beat L.A.

The Nats can win a 5 game series but they'll be screwed in a 7 game series without Strasburg. Gonzalez has a greater-than-usual likelihood to overperform against the Dodgers just because he's throwing from the left. Scherzer and Roark are incredibly dependable this season. The Nats played the Dodgers relatively early in the season when Murphy was the entire offense. They're a little better spread out over the lineup now and some of the young guys could be an X-factor because they did well in the last month of the season. It's hard to judge how they will do against an actual good team, but they don't look hopeless.

Kershaw is filthy as ever but we have yet to see if he can overcome his mental block with the playoffs. I'd be interested to get a dispassionate review of the Dodgers from someone who follows them more closely. Nats fans tend to crap their pants about everything that goes wrong while outsiders think the team looks dominant. I'm sure the same goes on with any fans looking at a winning team they don't follow too closely.

I'm 50/50 on who wins the series until I see how the first game plays out. On a big night, I can see Scherzer out-dueling Kershaw and then it's all up in the air.

e: I can see Buck saving his closer but there's no way I'd use Jimenez unless the entire bullpen was already exhausted. He can't pitch to a power-hitting team.

Post: #118

I'm not a Cubs fan but I live in Chicago and this city is going nuts with excitement about the north sider's chances to win the World Series this year. As someone who tends to root against most of the local teams, I'm not sure who to root for tonight - Giants or Mets? The Cubs lost to the Mets in the playoffs last year but New York's pitching seems thin. The Giants like to win it all every other year and this is the right time for them to do it again, but they seemed fairly average all year and the Cubs beat them head-to-head during the regular season. Who is the bigger threat?

If I'm rooting against the Cubs, who do I want to win tonight's NL Wild Card game?

Post: #119

Delete - sorry, double post.

Post: #120

(10-05-2016 11:38 AM)Diop Wrote:  I'm not a Cubs fan but I live in Chicago and this city is going nuts with excitement about the north sider's chances to win the World Series this year. As someone who tends to root against most of the local teams, I'm not sure who to root for tonight - Giants or Mets? The Cubs lost to the Mets in the playoffs last year but New York's pitching seems thin. The Giants like to win it all every other year and this is the right time for them to do it again, but they seemed fairly average all year and the Cubs beat them head-to-head during the regular season. Who is the bigger threat?

If I'm rooting against the Cubs, who do I want to win tonight's NL Wild Card game?

The Giants were fairly average in 2014. They got into the playoffs in the 2nd wild card spot in the NL. That's the same position they are in now. I want to say the Mets don't have "Even Year Bullshit" attributed to them, and so the Giants are a better choice in that merit, but the Mets are likely to be in the Cubs' heads from the beating they took last year.

Post: #121

(10-05-2016 10:36 AM)Bear Hands Wrote:  

(10-05-2016 10:27 AM)MdWanderer Wrote:  

(10-05-2016 10:16 AM)Chowder Head Wrote:  

(10-04-2016 07:21 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  Would appreciate well wishes from some RVFers for my Orioles tonight in the playoffs in our efforts to take down the team from the Feminist Capital of North America, the Blue Jays!

Tough loss for the O's. Buck should've had his closer in the game instead of Jimenez. Buck did the same thing with the Yankees in the 90s. He had a washed up pitcher in a big spot with a young/untouchable Mariano ready in the pen. Needless to say he lost both the game/playoffs and his job.

My Mets play tonight against MadBum with 4 lefthanded hitters in the lineup. Yikes!

Reason given from Buck was that our offense was basically stagnant so putting him in would've probably worn his arm out at the rate we were going. He wanted some assurance that his offense would help him out.

Oh well, on to rooting for the Nats. But they have a bunch of injuries with their catcher being out as well as Strasburg. Not holding my breath that they'll beat L.A.

The Nats can win a 5 game series but they'll be screwed in a 7 game series without Strasburg. Gonzalez has a greater-than-usual likelihood to overperform against the Dodgers just because he's throwing from the left. Scherzer and Roark are incredibly dependable this season. The Nats played the Dodgers relatively early in the season when Murphy was the entire offense. They're a little better spread out over the lineup now and some of the young guys could be an X-factor because they did well in the last month of the season. It's hard to judge how they will do against an actual good team, but they don't look hopeless.

Kershaw is filthy as ever but we have yet to see if he can overcome his mental block with the playoffs. I'd be interested to get a dispassionate review of the Dodgers from someone who follows them more closely. Nats fans tend to crap their pants about everything that goes wrong while outsiders think the team looks dominant. I'm sure the same goes on with any fans looking at a winning team they don't follow too closely.

I'm 50/50 on who wins the series until I see how the first game plays out. On a big night, I can see Scherzer out-dueling Kershaw and then it's all up in the air.

e: I can see Buck saving his closer but there's no way I'd use Jimenez unless the entire bullpen was already exhausted. He can't pitch to a power-hitting team.

Nats fan here- I agree about the pants crapping, but we just lost Wilson Ramos! Who is (arguably) the best catcher in the NL right now, both on offense and defense. I have no idea why there wasn't a bigger national conversation about a guy who throws out a good percentage of base runners AND was hitting over .300, with 20 HRs. That's a serious blow to the lineup. Meanwhile Stras is out and Murphy has 'hurt buttocks' whatever the hell that means. All I know is that it must be serious since he hasn't played in a while except for a few pinch hitting appearances.

A fully healthy Nats team is scary and would go quite far in the playoffs. Even though the bench guys have done an admirable job filling in (especially Drew, who last time I checked was batting around .200 in prior stints in the AL), it's not the same. So forgive me if I crap myself just a little bit

That being said, Kershaw at his best is slightly better than Scherzer, who has a tendency to give up a long ball or two every once in a while. And when we get past Max and Tanner Roark, the rotation is weak (Gio has been a disappointment this year, I'm sorry to say), so that might make the difference in the playoffs.

Post: #122

(10-05-2016 10:36 AM)Bear Hands Wrote:  Nats fans tend to crap their pants about everything that goes wrong while outsiders think the team looks dominant. I'm sure the same goes on with any fans looking at a winning team they don't follow too closely.

Yes but it's worse in D.C because the Nats (and all of the D.C area teams for that matter) are notorious for underperforming in the playoffs despite the hype. The media basically gave the World Series trophy to the Nats before their series with San Francisco in 2014 but got outclassed badly. Their pitching performed well during the playoffs but their bats went cold (I don't even think Jayson Werth even had a hit that entire series). And back in 2012 they had NLDS in the bag, up 6-0 only to blow a lead and lose to St. Louis. They were one strike away from closing out the series in the 9th inning.

And then there are the multiple playoff failures with the Capitals and the rare times the Wizards or Redskins make it. People are taking a wait and see approach this time around after being fooled one too many times before.

(10-05-2016 11:38 AM)Diop Wrote:  I'm not a Cubs fan but I live in Chicago and this city is going nuts with excitement about the north sider's chances to win the World Series this year. As someone who tends to root against most of the local teams, I'm not sure who to root for tonight - Giants or Mets? The Cubs lost to the Mets in the playoffs last year but New York's pitching seems thin. The Giants like to win it all every other year and this is the right time for them to do it again, but they seemed fairly average all year and the Cubs beat them head-to-head during the regular season. Who is the bigger threat?

If I'm rooting against the Cubs, who do I want to win tonight's NL Wild Card game?

I would go with the Giants. Every year they have won the World Series they have looked unimpressive going into the playoffs, and this time it's an even year. They take a complete 180 from the regular season to the playoffs.

But besides from the Nats I want to see the Cubs come out of the NL and win the whole thing. It might just be the biggest street party in history the night they win the World Series.

Post: #123

(10-05-2016 01:56 PM)MdWanderer Wrote:  

(10-05-2016 10:36 AM)Bear Hands Wrote:  Nats fans tend to crap their pants about everything that goes wrong while outsiders think the team looks dominant. I'm sure the same goes on with any fans looking at a winning team they don't follow too closely.

Yes but it's worse in D.C because the Nats (and all of the D.C area teams for that matter) are notorious for underperforming in the playoffs despite the hype. The media basically gave the World Series trophy to the Nats before their series with San Francisco in 2014 but got outclassed badly. Their pitching performed well during the playoffs but their bats went cold (I don't even think Jayson Werth even had a hit that entire series). And back in 2012 they had NLDS in the bag, up 6-0 only to blow a lead and lose to St. Louis. They were one strike away from closing out the series in the 9th inning.

And then there are the multiple playoff failures with the Capitals and the rare times the Wizards or Redskins make it. People are taking a wait and see approach this time around after being fooled one too many times before.

(10-05-2016 11:38 AM)Diop Wrote:  I'm not a Cubs fan but I live in Chicago and this city is going nuts with excitement about the north sider's chances to win the World Series this year. As someone who tends to root against most of the local teams, I'm not sure who to root for tonight - Giants or Mets? The Cubs lost to the Mets in the playoffs last year but New York's pitching seems thin. The Giants like to win it all every other year and this is the right time for them to do it again, but they seemed fairly average all year and the Cubs beat them head-to-head during the regular season. Who is the bigger threat?

If I'm rooting against the Cubs, who do I want to win tonight's NL Wild Card game?

I would go with the Giants. Every year they have won the World Series they have looked unimpressive going into the playoffs, and this time it's an even year. They take a complete 180 from the regular season to the playoffs.

But besides from the Nats I want to see the Cubs come out of the NL and win the whole thing. It might just be the biggest street party in history the night they win the World Series.

I'm well aware of Washington sports history, at least since about 1990. I'm not putting my hopes and dreams on the Nationals going all the way, but I don't think they're sunk just because Ramos and Strasburg are out. The team is too talented and it's too early to say they're done. I seriously doubt the Dodgers are at 100% after 162 games themselves, even if they send their opening day roster out.

In 2014 the bats weren't totally dead. Rendon and Harper remained consistent in the post season. The problem was they were batting 2nd and 6th, and Matt Williams did not budge on the lineup at all. They were too far apart to create much offense, except for when Harper hit one straight out into the bay. Baker is more likely to put those 2 closer together in the lineup, and Murphy has shown he can hit in the post season.

No argument that Kershaw at his best is better than Scherzer at his best. However, Scherzer doesn't have a record of choking in big situations, and you can get by on 3 starters in a 5 game series considering the travel time. Scherzer and Roark can both go twice, just like the Dodgers attempted last year with Kershaw and Greinke. The bullpen isn't the same bullpen as the ones that collapsed either. Notably Drew Storen, who chokes as bad as Kershaw in the post season, isn't closing.

Chicago fans are insufferable. I'd cheer for Even Year Bullshit before I'd cheer for the Cubs. If that same team was in any other city except maybe New York I'd like them.

Post: #124

(10-05-2016 05:50 PM)Bear Hands Wrote:  Chicago fans are insufferable. I'd cheer for Even Year Bullshit before I'd cheer for the Cubs. If that same team was in any other city except maybe New York I'd like them.

Well the Giants are playing the Cubs so you might be in luck, following another dominant post season performance this time over the Mets.

I don't hate San Francisco teams or the Giants in particular, but I'm tired of them winning. When I'm older I'll probably bullshit and tell everybody how 'wonderful' seeing greatness spanned over a decade from one team was (just like I do the Bulls in the 1990s nowadays although back then I rooted for them to lose) but for now I'm starting to develop dynasty fatigue. It wouldn't be so bad if one of my teams (Orioles, Redskins, Capitals, Terps) won something for once.

And I PRAY the Red Sox don't come out of the AL. Boston fans themselves are cool but bandwagon Sox fans are irritating.

Post: #125

I think we could get the Feminist SJW World Series this year between the Giants and Blue Jays.