MLB Playoffs Thread & Extra Games

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
We have to games today to decide the division in the NL Central and West. Wild card games are on Tuesday and Wednesday, with ALDS and NLDS starting on Thursday.

Right now Cubs and Brewers are tied at one. Both starting pitchers are spinning it. Dodgers host Rockies to decide the NL West winner.

Astros will host the Indians. Boston will host the winner of the Yankees and Oakland game.

Atlanta will play the NL West winner. Winner of the NL Central will play the winner of the wild card game.

I really like this Brewers team. Tons of hitting and arguably the best bullpen in baseball. Indians and Astros should be a great series, I think they two teams have the best starting pitching in MLB. Sox and Yanks would be fun to watch.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
It will be Rockies going to Wrigley to play the Cubs, winner plays the Brewers. I like Cubs to win, they got Lester taking the mound tomorrow. They need a big game from him as the bullpen was used a lot today.

Would be pretty cool of Oakland could beat the Yanks but I don't see it happening.
 

West TX Hawk

Active member
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
2,476
Reaction score
1
Really exciting NL Wildcard game. Extremely impressive and gutsy win by the Rockies. 3 clutch 2 out hits in the 13th and an awesome bullpen. Great to see for the Rockies. Hopefully Oakland gives NY a good game too.
 

mistaowen

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
6,334
Reaction score
606
Holy beatdown last night by the Red Sox. 16-1!!

16 runs, 18 hits, Brock Holt hits for the cycle.

Doubt the Yankees go down without a fight but man, that's a tough game to come back from.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
So far games have not really been competitive, hopefully we get two great championship series. Dodgers have the better starting pitching, but Brewers have the better pen. I would like to see Brewers advance, but Dodgers have a huge advantage with their starting rotation. If Brewers can just get 5 solid innings out of their starters they should be fine.

Astros have a huge advantage with their starting rotation. Game 1 will be important for Boston to take, as Sale is really their only great starter. Price has been known to choke in the postseason, and no way I'd trust Porcello.

Astros and Brewers World Series would be a lot of fun. Ratings would be huge for Boston and LA though. Lets see where we are in a week or two.
 

hawknation2018

New member
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
3,082
Reaction score
0
My prediction is Houston and Milwaukee in the World Series, with Houston winning easily.

But the 2-3-2 format really hurts the better seed. Brewers could lose three close games on the road now and be eliminated by the Dodgers. A lot of pressure not to lose one of those first two games for the home team.

Anyway, Houston will repeat (I think).
 

West TX Hawk

Active member
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
2,476
Reaction score
1
Hawk-Lock":2450yf2o said:
Astros and Brewers World Series would be a lot of fun. Ratings would be huge for Boston and LA though. Lets see where we are in a week or two.

Yeah you just know MLB is dying to get Boston and LA in the series to grab those markets...which is why I would enjoy seeing Houston and Milwaukee.

Astros looked really good last night. These Red Sox remind me a little of the '01 M's with a great lineup, dominant regular season but not enough starting pitching (with the exception of Sale of course). The Brewers have a chance in their series-they have a great top half lineup and a stud pen with decent starting pitching. They'll be in every game this series.

It'll likely end up being a rematch from last year though. In that case I wouldn't mind seeing the Dodgers win it all since it's been 30 years now for them but I think ultimately Hou is the most talented, most balanced team and they repeat.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
Yeah last series MLB wants is Milwaukee and Houston. I was reading about how poor MLB playoff ratings have been. They are down almost 30-40% from the 2016 playoffs. MLB is just stupid. They are the only major sport to schedule them on weekdays during the day when everyone is in school or working. Then they put the games on networks nobody knows about. As long as they try to compete against football they will lose. Most prime time NFL games pull between 8-12 million viewers, while most these playoff games are between 1.5-2.5 million viewers. MLB should shorten the season by about 20 games, start a few weeks earlier and they’ll avoid football for the most part. I’m an MLB fan, but yesterday I chose CFB and today I’ll go with NFL. Baseball has a lot of problems reaching an audience, but they aren’t doing a lot to better the game.
 

West TX Hawk

Active member
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
2,476
Reaction score
1
Those ratings numbers are depressing and it's kind of sad people in general just aren't watching the game anymore. I know TBS outbid ESPN for half the playoff coverage a few years ago, but when you see Fox relegating its LCS coverage to FS1, you know there's a problem.

I've heard about proposals over the years shortening the season by 8 games or more but I don't think the owners would ever go for it. They would balk at the loss of revenue. All those tv packages every team has is what's keeping so many teams profitable, regardless of wins/losses and the loss of a week or more of ad revenue would be perpetually challenged.

The best way to garner more interest to increase ratings I feel is simply get more kids (and adults even) to play the game. When you're playing the game you want to tune in to a game to analyze swings, pitching mechanics and fully appreciate incredible defensive gems and the freakish abilities every major leaguer has. To gain more interest in people playing is easier said than done of course.

I just think phones, computers, video games, Netflix, YouTube, FB, virtual reality and whatever else is killing attention spans and public interest in this wonderful sport. People no longer appreciate the subtleties, the game within the game and the mental side--they just want short action filled spurts that football and basketball still offer.
 

Uncle Si

Active member
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Messages
20,596
Reaction score
3
The internet and video games are not killing interest in other sports though.

Thats the issue baseball is facing. Kids are playing more sports than ever before. They just arent playing baseball.

Lacrosse, for example, is getting near the same participation in hs here in Minnesota. It didnt exist 10 years ago. Club soccer and basketball and dry land ho key also have taken kids away from traditional spring sports.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
There are a lot of contributing factors as to why MLB is losing popularity, but they aren't doing anything to help the issue. Like I said, scheduling playoff games in the day on weekdays is really dumb. Find a better network deal than FS1, MLB Network and TBS.

As for the reasons why, I can probably list a ton. Like you guys mentioned, kids aren't playing it that much anymore. Baseball isn't a sport that is being played in big cities. Baesball is very middle of America, no one is playing baseball in the middle of New York City or Chicago. Also a lot goes into baseball, equipment, field size, amount of people you need to play a game, etc. Much easier to play a game of pick up hoops than a game of pick up baseball.

MLB just has a branding problem. Mike Trout is the best MLB palyer and the average person probably can't recognize him. Most anyone can recognize Tom Brady or LeBron James. It also doesn't help that most MLB players can't speak English. Ichiro was the best player in the world at one time, in our own city, and I don't think he ever attempted to learn English. I'm not saying that they should, but our country won't gravitate towards them as players when we speak different languages. And to be honest, MLB players are just boring. I don't like David Stern, but he was a branding genius, he made the game about the individual stars and it was great for the NBA.

I always felt that baseball is only interesting if your local team is doing great. I can watch the Seahawks when they suck, because football is an entertaining sport to watch. Same with the Sonics and the NBA, even if your team sucks, you can still watch your team put the ball into the hoop around 40 times a game. In baseball, you fail more than you succeed. Just think about it, if you are a .300 hitter you are considered a great player, that means that you will still fail 7 out of 10 times. You can go to a baseball game and watch your team only get 4 hits a game, that's awful. You can go watch the best baseball player in person, and there is a good chance you only see him reach base once. Go to an NBA game and you will see the best players score 20 or more points each game.

I think when people watch a sport, they want to see the stars, and success. The ball is in Tom Brady's hand every offensive snap. In an NBA game, LeBron James will pretty much touch the ball each time down the court. In MLB, you get to see the best player come to the plate as many times as the worst guy come to the plate. Then go back to success, a MLB team will hit about .250. So you will watch them fail 3 out of 4 times on offense. In the NBA you make a basket nearly 50%, that is a 50% success rate. You see a completion far more than an incompeltion in the NFL. I'm not saying baseball is flawed, but I'm not sure how much more they can do to make the game more intriguing.
 

Seahaaaawks

New member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
1,641
Reaction score
0
Location
Medford Oregon
That Red Sox/Astro’s game was the best of this post season! Unbelievable! And the final out from the Astros couldn’t have happened to a worse troll of a player! Woooooo f Houston
 

IndyHawk

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
7,943
Reaction score
1,577
Hawk-Lock":2e31ddw2 said:
There are a lot of contributing factors as to why MLB is losing popularity, but they aren't doing anything to help the issue. Like I said, scheduling playoff games in the day on weekdays is really dumb. Find a better network deal than FS1, MLB Network and TBS.

As for the reasons why, I can probably list a ton. Like you guys mentioned, kids aren't playing it that much anymore. Baseball isn't a sport that is being played in big cities. Baesball is very middle of America, no one is playing baseball in the middle of New York City or Chicago. Also a lot goes into baseball, equipment, field size, amount of people you need to play a game, etc. Much easier to play a game of pick up hoops than a game of pick up baseball.

MLB just has a branding problem. Mike Trout is the best MLB palyer and the average person probably can't recognize him. Most anyone can recognize Tom Brady or LeBron James. It also doesn't help that most MLB players can't speak English. Ichiro was the best player in the world at one time, in our own city, and I don't think he ever attempted to learn English. I'm not saying that they should, but our country won't gravitate towards them as players when we speak different languages. And to be honest, MLB players are just boring. I don't like David Stern, but he was a branding genius, he made the game about the individual stars and it was great for the NBA.

I always felt that baseball is only interesting if your local team is doing great. I can watch the Seahawks when they suck, because football is an entertaining sport to watch. Same with the Sonics and the NBA, even if your team sucks, you can still watch your team put the ball into the hoop around 40 times a game. In baseball, you fail more than you succeed. Just think about it, if you are a .300 hitter you are considered a great player, that means that you will still fail 7 out of 10 times. You can go to a baseball game and watch your team only get 4 hits a game, that's awful. You can go watch the best baseball player in person, and there is a good chance you only see him reach base once. Go to an NBA game and you will see the best players score 20 or more points each game.

I think when people watch a sport, they want to see the stars, and success. The ball is in Tom Brady's hand every offensive snap. In an NBA game, LeBron James will pretty much touch the ball each time down the court. In MLB, you get to see the best player come to the plate as many times as the worst guy come to the plate. Then go back to success, a MLB team will hit about .250. So you will watch them fail 3 out of 4 times on offense. In the NBA you make a basket nearly 50%, that is a 50% success rate. You see a completion far more than an incompeltion in the NFL. I'm not saying baseball is flawed, but I'm not sure how much more they can do to make the game more intriguing.
The game is flawed in many ways..I won't bore with details but they are so fragile today it is
pathetic..As you said many kids do not play that used to back in the day so it opens the door for more
non english speaking players.As for it being boring I chalk that up to many never playing the game
because if you played enough then you can appreciate it more easily,
 

mistaowen

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
6,334
Reaction score
606
Seahaaaawks":3s3sudub said:
That Red Sox/Astro’s game was the best of this post season! Unbelievable! And the final out from the Astros couldn’t have happened to a worse troll of a player! Woooooo f Houston

This whole series has been terrific so far. Game 3 was neck and neck and then JBJ blasted that grand slam basically ending the game there.

Have a feeling Price will get the ball in game 5 and then Sale in 6 if it goes that far. Not sure how much faith people should have in Price against an Astros team about to be knocked out, given his playoff history.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
Yeah that was a wild game last night. I couldn’t believe they called that fan interference. When the umpires were debating the call, I thought it was for either a home run or a ground rule double. I get that the fan interfered, but it was clearly over the fence. What do you want him to do when a ball is being hit right at his seat?

The last catch was awesome, Kimbrell got bailed out. He doesn’t look like his usual self. Series is all but done, Astros s win today but no way are they winning three in a row. Looks like we will get or big market World Series. Would be fun to see Kershaw and Price get matched up in a game, as both are known as playoff chokers.
 

mistaowen

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
6,334
Reaction score
606
Hawk-Lock":lme7oinh said:
Yeah that was a wild game last night. I couldn’t believe they called that fan interference. When the umpires were debating the call, I thought it was for either a home run or a ground rule double. I get that the fan interfered, but it was clearly over the fence. What do you want him to do when a ball is being hit right at his seat?

The last catch was awesome, Kimbrell got bailed out. He doesn’t look like his usual self. Series is all but done, Astros s win today but no way are they winning three in a row. Looks like we will get or big market World Series. Would be fun to see Kershaw and Price get matched up in a game, as both are known as playoff chokers.

Yeah Kimbrel has given up runs in every outing I think. Wonder if they should move him to an earlier spot and let Brasier close. He's been lights out while Kimbrel has been letting teams hang around throughout the playoffs. His control is awful and walking way too many batters which you can't do against playoff teams, less stressful innings might help him settle down.

Can see Price get rocked in game 5 and have the series head back to Boston for Sale to clinch however Sox lineup is mashing and can overcome poor starting pitching.

Hoping Brewers can make a comeback but will be tough.
 
OP
OP
Hawk-Lock

Hawk-Lock

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
5,301
Reaction score
556
With this kind of a lead he should. Low pressure situation. Astros just imploded in this series after splitting in Boston.
 

Threedee

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
5,521
Reaction score
842
Location
Federal Way, WA
Is there a more visible exhibit for how badly the Mariners organization is run than Chris Taylor?
 

Latest posts

Top