The regular season ended on Sunday. The two big stories: (1) Toronto held on to win the AL East and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (2) The NY Mets crumbled and the Cincinnati Reds earn the wild card spot while the Mets (with a high-priced payroll) are sent home.
That brings us to the "Wild Card Round" which are best-of-3 series:
Reds vs. Dodgers, played in LA. Winner gets to play the Phillies in the next round.
San Diego v. Chicago Cubs, played in Chicago. Winner goes on to play the Milwaukee Brewers.
Detroit Tigers v. Cleveland Guardians, played in Cleveland. Winner goes on to play Seattle Mariners. And I will remind you of a trivia point made back in the OP: Seattle is the only current MLB to never have played in a World Series. Will they make it there this year?
NY Yankees v. Boston Red Sox, played in NY. Winner goes on to play Toronto. Basically, the AL East just keeps playing each other.
It is no great surprise, but the Dodgers have eliminated the Reds from the playoffs. The other "Wild Card" series will be decided today.
The Dodgers advance to the NL Divisional Series (NLDS) against the Phillies. This will be the 13th straight year that the Dodgers have played in the NLDS. The last time that they failed to make it to the NLDS was 2012.
I'm biased as all get out, but I think the Phillies-Dodgers series should be great. And though my heart is with the Dodgers, I think it will be the Phillies in five, as they addressed their bullpen issues at the trade deadline and the Dodgers did not. Sasaki looked great in relief the other night, but he's still a very raw kid, and one inning isn't much to go on. Treinen and Yates both have an ERA over 5, Scott's 10 blown saves leads the major leagues, and Kershaw has almost no experience pitching in relief - and infamously gave up back-to-back home runs pitching in relief to the Nationals in the 2019 post-season. That leaves Dreyer - not as raw as Sasaki but still a rookie; Banda - left off the wild card roster because he's just okay; and Vesia - the one guy who's been reliable all year.
If my team doesn't advance, I'm cheering for a Brewers-Mariners World Series - two teams that have never won it, with the Mariners never even having been there. Plus it wouldn't bother me a bit to have the corporate media overlords not getting the ratings they get from big-market teams in the WS.
I hate the Yankees!! I was cheering for the Red Sox. I am not sure I see a path to TO beating the Yankees. The Toronto pitchers will have difficulties keeping the ball in the park.
I hate the Yankees!! I was cheering for the Red Sox. I am not sure I see a path to TO beating the Yankees. The Toronto pitchers will have difficulties keeping the ball in the park.
Likewise. About the Yankees, that is.
After the first 2 wins by the Jays, I see lots of was for the Jays to advance! Yesavage was awesome! The bats are working again!
Maybe, but the guy started the year in low-A ball. The Mariners radio announcer said he was over his all-time pitch count too. Most of the time I'm fully on board with leaving starters in until they need relief, but I can see why Schneider wouldn't want to push it.
Our grandson (lives near NY) made a bet: if the Yankees won last night, he would have to wear a Yankees t-shirt to school today. If it was the Blue Jays, then his friend would have to wear the Jays shirt. We are waiting to hear if his friend delivered on the bet.
Postscript to previous... Have just heard that it was agreed that the result was too heartbreaking, and it was agreed that our grandson's friend would not have to wear the Jay's shirt at school. It didn't stop our daughter calling to gloat just now, however. (It would have been different if it had been the Mets, however).
And the LA Dodgers have booked their spot in the NLCS, eliminating the Phillies.
Honestly, this was a good series. Two evenly matched teams, both with good starting pitching (and both with shaky bullpens) and both have a lineup with plenty of power. Really, none of the games were blow-outs. Yes, the Phils one win was 8-2, but that game was 3-1 going into the 8th. All the games were tight, tense affairs.
At least now I can relax for the rest of the playoffs. I am beginning to realize that I actually enjoy watching baseball more when I don't have a dog in the fight!
Phillies-Dodgers was an amazing series. I feel bad for Orion Kerkering. He had time to throw to first, but after he bobbled the ball I bet he felt like he just had to throw it the direction he was facing, where he had no chance of making the out.
He states that he just threw to "the nearest base" (after all, the bases were loaded, so out at any base). But, yeah, he bobbled and panicked and just figured the shortest throw would be the best.
But, honestly, I don't blame him for that. I don't particularly like him as a pitcher because I have seen him blow too many leads (I groaned when I saw that he was coming in), but I won't ding him for an error in that situation. Truth is, I think the Dodgers would eventually have won that game anyway. The Phillies' bats were silent while the Dodgers (as shown by the fact that they had the bases loaded) were clearly waking up. The simple truth is that the Dodgers were the better team. Kerkering's error didn't change that.
The Mariners' starting pitcher Cal Raleigh has joined the 60 Plus club, hitting 60 HR's in a regular season. Only 7 players have managed this feat. (Of course players before 1961 had a shorter season, making their achievement more impressive.)
Cal uses what is called a Torpedo Bat which places the mass of the wooden barrel more to the center of the bat than at the end of it where there will be more contact with the ball. It is a matter of physics as the referenced article indicates.
The Mariners' starting pitcher Cal Raleigh has joined the 60 Plus club, hitting 60 HR's in a regular season. Only 7 players have managed this feat. (Of course players before 1961 had a shorter season, making their achievement more impressive.)
Cal uses what is called a Torpedo Bat which places the mass of the wooden barrel more to the center of the bat than at the end of it where there will be more contact with the ball. It is a matter of physics as the referenced article indicates.
Because there are pluses and minuses to it. Most notably, the batter not only still has to get the bat on the ball, but for the torpedo shape to help, has to hit the ball nearer the center of the bat.
Dick Allen used to swing a 40-ounce bat--heavier than most--to get more lumber on the ball, but the trade-off was in loss of bat speed. Well, for most hitters. Allen was so strong that he could pull off the trick, but most batters prefer a lighter bat for more speed.
My point is just that the bat one chooses depends a lot on the type of player that you are. It is not a one-size-fits-all thing.
I was wondering while watching the game the other night if the torpedo bats splinter more often when the ball catches the end of the bat than regular bats do.
Game 7 between the Mariners and Blue Jays tonight! It has been quite the series.
On the other side, the Dodgers completed a four game sweep of the Brewers, including a remarkable game by Ohtani: he struck out ten batters in a little over six innings and he also hit three homers!
We were blacked out from seeing that game on whatever TV/streaming set-up we have at home* so we went to a bar - and I'm so glad! My partner and I were at the game in 2019 when Fernando Tatis Jr hit one out of the park. That one bounced on the pavilion roof as it went out. Ohtani's second HR the other night just sailed right over.
*If only MLB could just make it easy to see the games. I bought the Dodgers' streaming thing and had access to almost all of their regular season games. I would happily pay a chunk of money for all the post-season games.
Blue Jays won last night in their own inimitable fashion coming from 3 runs down with a three run Springer Dinger in the bottom of the seventh. Normal starting pitchers, Gausman and Bassitt appeared in relief with the former getting the win. Hoffman struck out the side in the 9th for his second save in two nights.
... My partner and I were at the game in 2019 when Fernando Tatis Jr hit one out of the park. That one bounced on the pavilion roof as it went out. Ohtani's second HR the other night just sailed right over ...
Ignorant Brit question: what does it mean in terms of scoring when it's hit out of the park?
... My partner and I were at the game in 2019 when Fernando Tatis Jr hit one out of the park. That one bounced on the pavilion roof as it went out. Ohtani's second HR the other night just sailed right over ...
Ignorant Brit question: what does it mean in terms of scoring when it's hit out of the park?
In terms of scoring, a home run is a home run, whether it just barely clears the fence or it is hit out of the park. It counts as one run (unless there were other runners on the bases). It is just more impressive to see somebody hit the ball that hard.
... My partner and I were at the game in 2019 when Fernando Tatis Jr hit one out of the park. That one bounced on the pavilion roof as it went out. Ohtani's second HR the other night just sailed right over ...
Ignorant Brit question: what does it mean in terms of scoring when it's hit out of the park?
Nothing! It's just fun. And at Dodger Stadium, it's rare. It opened in 1962, and only eight times have home run balls hit during games left the ballpark, by seven players -- one guy did it twice.
I had to look this up to be sure and noticed that I got the date wrong above -- Tatis hit it out in 2021.
Oof. The Blue Jays did exactly what they needed to do last night - run up Snell's pitch count and get to the Dodgers' awful bullpen.* Snell didn't have anything close to his best stuff, and the Dodgers failed to capitalize on all their early opportunities. Announcer Joe Davis kept talking about how the Dodgers don't chase pitches out of the zone, right as we were seeing them do that again and again.
Bam Bam Barger hits first pinch hit home run in World Series history!
Slight correction. He hit the first pinch hit grand slam in World Series history. There have been other pinch hit homers--most memorably Kirk Gibson's miracle shot.
Bam Bam Barger hits first pinch hit home run in World Series history!
Slight correction. He hit the first pinch hit grand slam in World Series history. There have been other pinch hit homers--most memorably Kirk Gibson's miracle shot.
Comments
That brings us to the "Wild Card Round" which are best-of-3 series:
Reds vs. Dodgers, played in LA. Winner gets to play the Phillies in the next round.
San Diego v. Chicago Cubs, played in Chicago. Winner goes on to play the Milwaukee Brewers.
Detroit Tigers v. Cleveland Guardians, played in Cleveland. Winner goes on to play Seattle Mariners. And I will remind you of a trivia point made back in the OP: Seattle is the only current MLB to never have played in a World Series. Will they make it there this year?
NY Yankees v. Boston Red Sox, played in NY. Winner goes on to play Toronto. Basically, the AL East just keeps playing each other.
The Dodgers advance to the NL Divisional Series (NLDS) against the Phillies. This will be the 13th straight year that the Dodgers have played in the NLDS. The last time that they failed to make it to the NLDS was 2012.
Chicago Cubs v. Milwaukee Brewers.
Detroit Tigers v. Seattle Mariners
NY Yankees v. Toronto Blue Jays.
If my team doesn't advance, I'm cheering for a Brewers-Mariners World Series - two teams that have never won it, with the Mariners never even having been there. Plus it wouldn't bother me a bit to have the corporate media overlords not getting the ratings they get from big-market teams in the WS.
Likewise. About the Yankees, that is.
After the first 2 wins by the Jays, I see lots of was for the Jays to advance! Yesavage was awesome! The bats are working again!
I will maintain my superstitious radio silence concerning the other three series.
"Heartwarming"? Perhaps. Can we compromise on that?
Honestly, this was a good series. Two evenly matched teams, both with good starting pitching (and both with shaky bullpens) and both have a lineup with plenty of power. Really, none of the games were blow-outs. Yes, the Phils one win was 8-2, but that game was 3-1 going into the 8th. All the games were tight, tense affairs.
At least now I can relax for the rest of the playoffs. I am beginning to realize that I actually enjoy watching baseball more when I don't have a dog in the fight!
But, honestly, I don't blame him for that. I don't particularly like him as a pitcher because I have seen him blow too many leads (I groaned when I saw that he was coming in), but I won't ding him for an error in that situation. Truth is, I think the Dodgers would eventually have won that game anyway. The Phillies' bats were silent while the Dodgers (as shown by the fact that they had the bases loaded) were clearly waking up. The simple truth is that the Dodgers were the better team. Kerkering's error didn't change that.
Cal uses what is called a Torpedo Bat which places the mass of the wooden barrel more to the center of the bat than at the end of it where there will be more contact with the ball. It is a matter of physics as the referenced article indicates.
So why don't more batters use this bat?
Dick Allen used to swing a 40-ounce bat--heavier than most--to get more lumber on the ball, but the trade-off was in loss of bat speed. Well, for most hitters. Allen was so strong that he could pull off the trick, but most batters prefer a lighter bat for more speed.
My point is just that the bat one chooses depends a lot on the type of player that you are. It is not a one-size-fits-all thing.
On the other side, the Dodgers completed a four game sweep of the Brewers, including a remarkable game by Ohtani: he struck out ten batters in a little over six innings and he also hit three homers!
*If only MLB could just make it easy to see the games. I bought the Dodgers' streaming thing and had access to almost all of their regular season games. I would happily pay a chunk of money for all the post-season games.
Ignorant Brit question: what does it mean in terms of scoring when it's hit out of the park?
Hope you were able to get back to sleep.
Nothing! It's just fun. And at Dodger Stadium, it's rare. It opened in 1962, and only eight times have home run balls hit during games left the ballpark, by seven players -- one guy did it twice.
I had to look this up to be sure and noticed that I got the date wrong above -- Tatis hit it out in 2021.
somewhat enlightened piglet
Let's Go, Blue Jays!
Bam Bam Barger hits first pinch hit home run in World Series history!
*Edit: And hit. Boy howdy did they hit.
Yes. Sorry for the mistake.
I didn't get to see the whole thing---after all, it ended at 3:00am my time--but that is amazing.
Of course, both teams are now hoping their next starter goes long because I imagine that the bullpens are basically toast.