MLB Thread

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Hey Droford Gausman was amazing lastnight... oh wait

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

It's pretty funny that the entire league has figured out how to pitch the jays but Gausman goes out there an just eats pure shit.

[Evil Vito]

Tim Tebow hit a home run off of a Cardinals minor leaguer on the very first pitch he saw in his first game as a pro.

Sandy Alderson = GOAT GM

[Ruien]

Who has the tie breaker between Detroit and Baltimore?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Who has the tie breaker between Detroit and Baltimore?

There will be a game if there is a tie. Tie breaker would decide home field. I assume its either Head to Head or Common Opponents.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

MOOKIE! MVP!

[Ruien]

I mean if Toronto finishes ahead of both. Would Baltimore and Detroit play a game to see who plays Toronto?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

yes, that's the first thing I said.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

0

RED SOX WIN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST!

[Emperor Smeat]

:D AL East Champs.

:| Red Sox ended up celebrating by blowing a 3-0 lead in the 9th.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Whatever. It'll give the Yankees and their fans a thrill now that they are done. 1980's level bad Yankees coming.

[Droford]

I mean if Toronto finishes ahead of both. Would Baltimore and Detroit play a game to see who plays Toronto?

And its be in Baltimore if tie with Detroit

But they won't tie with Detroit cause they're going to have the #1 spot

[Droford]

5 years ago (yesterday now..but still)
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rAY9l0qafIQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Droford]

I bought a ticket For the Wild Card game in Baltimore

#eternaloptimist #notreally

[Droford]

Indians/Tigers got postponed

It could end up being a clusterfuck of that have to make up that game on monday and then they win and tie for the 2nd wild card requiring a tie breaker game Tuesday. The Wild Card game itself is Tuesday. Of assume wild card game get pushed back

They would have to go from Atlanta Sunday to Detroit Monday to either Baltimore/Toronto Tuesday than Toronto/Baltimore Wednesday

[Droford]

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[ClockShot]

Whatever. It'll give the Yankees and their fans a thrill now that they are done. 1980's level bad Yankees coming.

Mr. Gary Sanchez would like a word.

And for the record, we never had high expectations this season. Although the 2nd half was quite fun with the youth movement.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I don't think the Yankees will be awful. They have a lot coming thru the system and their current core was good enough to position them in wildcard till the near end.

They also still have money. And they're probably gonna sign one of Machado or Harper when they're available. The Yankees are in fact scary to think about.

[Droford]

Manny will never play for the Yankees.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Wishful thinking at best. Baltimore won't pay him. They'll still be on the hook for the rotting corpse of Chris Davis. Manny is gonna be their next superstar.

[Droford]

Manny isn't going anywhere

[Droford]

Blue Jays just got 1 hit shutout by Ubaldo for 6.2 innings first batter of the game got the lone hit

And hes probably the Wild Card starter

[Damian Rey 2.0]

They're not gonna pay him Droford. He's gonna get 30 mil a year. They're not gonna tie half their likely payroll into two players. Had they not been short sighted and given Davis such an awful deal maybe they could've kept him but it's highly unlikely he stays.

Manny in pinstripes sounds so good.

[Ruien]

So how long before the Yankees dominate again? 2 years?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

2019 but i think they will continue to flirt with the wild card

[Droford]

They're not gonna pay him Droford. He's gonna get 30 mil a year. They're not gonna tie half their likely payroll into two players. Had they not been short sighted and given Davis such an awful deal maybe they could've kept him but it's highly unlikely he stays.

Manny in pinstripes sounds so good.

Manny wants to stay in Baltimore they already started contract talks before this season AFTER the Davis deal was done. They will get it done. Itll probably be a backloaded deal where Manny gets more $ after Davis' contract is over in 7 years (Manny still has 2 on his contract so if they guve him an 8 year deal the last 3 would be post Davis contract )

[RP]

haha the fix was in for Reds v Cards tonight.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Lol. How much do you think they're gonna back load Droford? Manny can say he wants to stay all he wants. Unless he's gonna take peanuts the first 5 years of the deal, Baltimore is looking at $50ish million a year in two players. Highly unlikely.

Money talks and bull shit walks. I hope you like pinstripes.

[Evil Vito]

haha the fix was in for Reds v Cards tonight.

Yeah, a loss for them tonight would have guaranteed that the Mets would, at minimum, get a Game 163 even if they managed to get swept in Philly.

[Evil Vito]

So the Mets' magic number is still 2. I really, really hope they can somehow clinch by Saturday night at the latest.

If they haven't clinched anything by Sunday and it's a must-win game, they're going to be pitching Thor which would rule him out of starting the Wild Card game. Yeah you gotta do what you gotta do to get there in the first place but shit...I love Bart but I'd feel way better sending Thor out for a do or die game.

[Evil Vito]

The Mets are listed as having a 97-98% chance of making the playoffs heading into today, and yet I still feel like they can find a way to blow it and have my guard up accordingly.

I'm the Anti-Droford lol.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

All Games are the free MLB Game of the Day on MLBTV today.

[Droford]

Orioles pounding the Yankees 8-1 in the 5th. 6 runs in the 5th off 3 home runs by Jones Trumbo (#47) and Schoop (#250 total).

Blue Jays Losing and Tigers winning would put the Jays 1/2 game ahead off the Tigers.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Who would you rather face DET or TOR?

[Droford]

Toronto they're struggling no bullpen not hitting..

The game being in Baltimore means a lot though

[Droford]

Damnit Toronto

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Bootista

[Droford]

Jays bullpen implodes again..what a surprise

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

BIG PAPI!

[Emperor Smeat]

:D PAPI

[Droford]

I'm going to have to do a 7 day detox after rooting for the Red Sox this weekend

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Umps keeping the Jays in this.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Jays are blowing it. Virtual tie for the 2nd wild card spot.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Sox are now officially facing the Indians in the first real round of the playoffs.

[Evil Vito]

God dammit, no help from the Bucs or Dodgers yesterday. A Bucs win would have clinched a Mets playoff berth, a Dodgers win would have at least mesnt there were 3 chances for the Mets to clinch today with Kershaw going.

[Evil Vito]

I've long thought this is going to go to the last game of the season so if the Mets lose and the Cards win, the Mets won't be able to pitch Thor in the WC game. And Seth Lugo has been impressive but it's tough to trust a rookie in a potential Game 163 if it gets to that point.

[Ruien]

I really hope one of the wildcard races ends in a 3 way tie.

[Evil Vito]

Holy fuck. They did it.

No Wright. No Walker. No Harvey. No Wheeler. No Matz. No deGrom. Starting Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, Gabriel Ynoa, Rafael Montero, and Sean Gilmartin in games down the stretch. 2 games under .500 on August 20th. 13 games over on October 1st.

Unreal. I'll gladly eat crow for how this year has turned out. I don't like Collins' managerial decisions most of the time, but he has to get some credit for keeping the clubhouse together.

Yeah it's not going to be easy against Bumgarner or Martinez in the WC game but the fact that they are even there is a small miracle. They're playing with house money at this point.

[Droford]

The Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher rensaisance continues today with Wade Miley. Starters over the last 7 have a 2.05 era and os unsurprisingly are 6-1

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Blue Jays balk in the tying run.

[Droford]

I saw that..lol

Os lost but so did the Tigers (thanks to some help from former Os Nick Markakis Chaz Roe and Jim Johnson) and Seattle is tied with Oakland

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

What happens if Detroit, Baltimore and the Jays are in a 3-way tie which is a shockingly more likely scenario than anyone could have thought?

[Bad News Gertner]

Jays hold tiebreaker over both

[RP]

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[Droford]

What happens if Detroit, Baltimore and the Jays are in a 3-way tie which is a shockingly more likely scenario than anyone could have thought?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2016/10/01/three-way-wild-card-tiebreaker-scenario-blue-jays-tigers-orioles/91414008/

The Toronto Blue Jays will host the first game of a potential three-way tiebreaker Tuesday while the Baltimore Orioles have opted to play one home game Wednesday instead of playing two potential road games to earn a wild-card berth, MLB officials told USA TODAY Sports.

..
Essentially the Orioles will play the loser of Det/Tor in Baltimore instead of playing Toronto in Toronto and then Detroit in Detroit If they lose to Toronto. Given their road vs home record it makes sense I guess

[RP]

That makes no sense to me but i'll go with it.

[Droford]

A 4 team tie breaker with Seattle would be Seattle at Toronto and Detroit at Baltimore winners to the Wild Card game.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Why would Baltimore be exempt from playing 2 games if they didn't win the tie breaker?

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems like a really odd way to do things by leaving it up to the teams.

Whatever was being used to rank them now should have been the actual tiebreaker for Game 163 stuff. #2 vs #3 with the winner facing #1 for the real Wild Card spot.

[Droford]

That makes no sense to me but i'll go with it.

Most teams would probably take two road shots but the Orioles are lousy on the road ..plus they face the loser of the first game of it were Detroit they would be on their 4t game in 4th city in 4 days (ATL to DET to TOR to BAL)

[Droford]

Heaven forbid Detroit wins in Baltimore Wednesday theyd have to go back to Toronto Thursday and if they win that game they have to go to Texas Friday

ATL to Det to Tor to Bal to Tor to Tex 6 days 6 games 6 cities

[Droford]

No matter what happens today/Monday the Orioles are guaranteed to have at least 1 more game whether it be a 163 tie breaker or the Wild Card. So thetes that..

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

feel like this is the lamest wildcard race... 3 teams who have done a lot of failing this year.

[Evil Vito]

Most Mets fans are hoping for a Giants loss and Cards win today to force a Game 163...and then the Cards winning that because Martinez matches up better with the Mets' lefty-heavy lineup than Bumgarner.

Idk...I'd kinda rather the Giants just win it today. Not that I want to face Bumgarner but you're going to have to beat an ace sometime in the playoffs anyway. The Mets are going to be on 3 days rest (counting today as rest since the starters will sit), the Giants/Cards would only be on 1 day of rest if they have to play tomorrow.

Baseball is the one sport where rest can be a detriment in the playoffs as it gives a hot team less time to cool down. Just look at how many 1 seeds have sat around for a week and then been buzzsawed by the Wild Card team in the new format.

[ClockShot]

Mark Teixeira's last game today. Gonna miss that guy.

[Droford]

Os up 3-1
Tigers down 1-0
Jays scoreless with Boston

Boston needs to get their shit together

[Droford]

Or get no hit on the last day off the year losing 5 of last 6.

(insert truck backup sound here)

[Evil Vito]

Red Sox tie it.......but it might not matter as the Braves are embracing their roles as spoilers. Might not be getting any Game 163.

[Droford]

Orioles are a Wild Card..woo!

[Droford]

Detroit loses

Wild Card is Toronto vs Baltimore sure TBD

[Bad News Gertner]

Thank God, at least those bitch ass Tigers missed it

[Bad News Gertner]

Woooo Toronto wins!

[Emperor Smeat]

:mad: Nice of the Red Sox to not care about wanting a possible #1 seed in the AL or even home field against the Indians.

1-5 to end the season and went downhill almost from the start of them clinching the division.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

:mad: Nice of the Red Sox to not care about wanting a possible #1 seed in the AL or even home field against the Indians.

1-5 to end the season and went downhill almost from the start of them clinching the division.

Probably loss of adrenaline etc. Plus their win streak was ridiculous, there's usually a bit of a lull after a season defining division clinching streak of play.

[Droford]

Early prediction : Boston gets swept by Cleveland

[Emperor Smeat]

The post-game Papi farewell speech was pretty good. Never knew Pedro Martinez was the reason why the Sox signed Papi till today.

Probably loss of adrenaline etc. Plus their win streak was ridiculous, there's usually a bit of a lull after a season defining division clinching streak of play.

Makes sense but just hated how they quickly reverted back to their horribleness pitching and bullpen wise from earlier in the season.

[ClockShot]

Another regular season done.

Baseball Black Monday should be interesting tomorrow.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Early prediction : Boston gets swept by Cleveland

Early prediction... Baltimore will not come close to the world series.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Os bullpen and ability to hit at the Rogers Center makes them a headache for the Jays. I'd say Baltimore have a better chance winning in Toronto than at Camden. I'd actually favour Baltimore on Tuesday.

No Droford, this isn't time for you to act like a piece of shit, just being objective.

[Evil Vito]

I expect the Giants to be favored on Wednesday. Grandy and Bruce certainly have to be in the lineup even against the LHP Bumgarner as they've both been red hot, and Wilmer Flores who mashes lefties can't swing a bat so that means Duda will get the 1B assignment. But 3 lefties against Bum is no easy task.

The other concern - the Giants have a lot of speed so when Thor allows runners on it could get dicey given his slow delivery to the plate.

[Droford]

Early prediction... Baltimore will not come close to the world series.

You're wrong

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

lol sorry Dro, but beating the Jays at this point is MEH. Yeah Jays could get hot and play some baseball but they are kittens right now.

Wait til your team has to face Texas if they get past Toronto. It'll be fucking laughable.

[Bad News Gertner]

Nobody is beating Boston

[Evil Vito]

MLB will weep if any AL team other than Boston makes the World Series.

[RP]

So my quick breakdown of the Wild Card games. This is from someone who has watched all baseball religiously this year.

Mets beat the Giants- I give Bumgardner a slight edge over Thor, but the Giants bullpen has been horrific in the second half of this season. Buster Posey has been a shell of his former self this year. And despite the Mets possibly running Jay Bruce out there for a few swings, i really like there bats a lot better. There seems to be a bit more magic in this Mets team. The Mets may have been able to challenge for the division title if they werent so banged up all year. One game. I'm taking the Mets.

Toronto beats Orioles - Orioles starting pitching is there biggest weakness. I'm guessing Tillman is getting the nod for Baltimore. I'll take the Blue Jays bats over Tillman whether at home or on the road to be honest with ya. I think this one will be a blow out.

[RP]

Jayson Stark has the Red Sox.

Who will win the World Series? It's not who you think
7:21 AM CT
Jayson Stark
ESPN Senior Writer
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So here we go. The Chicago Cubs are going to ...

Wait. Get a grip. What am I doing? What am I saying? What am I getting myself into?

Yes, it's time for that column you've been looking, waiting for all these months. Time for that moment when I (incorrectly) tell you exactly who will (translation: won't) win the World Series.

And it would be soooooo easy, soooooo safe, soooooo obvious to pick You Know Who. The best team in baseball. The winningest team in baseball. The team with the legendary 798-year World Series drought. (OK, so it's 108 -- whatever.) The team that would rock the planet like no one else if it actually, finally, magically wins the World Series.

EDITOR'S PICKS

2016 MLB playoff schedule
Check out the game and series schedules for the 2016 playoffs, including times and TV networks.

What we learned: Giants are in, and now they can win it all
Don't be fooled by the Giants' poor second half or their shaky offense. Now that Bruce Bochy has them into the playoffs, they won't be an easy out.
But sorry, my friends. Can't do it. I made up my mind eight years ago that I am never, ever going to pick the Cubs to win the World Series again. They can thank me later.

The Boston Red Sox are going to win the 2016 World Series. That's my actual (guaranteed to be inaccurate) prediction. But when it came time to write this piece, I felt there were just as many reasons to explain why I WASN'T picking the Cubs as why I WAS picking the Red Sox.

So why not the Cubs? I'll get to that momentarily. But first, it's time to reveal the results of my annual Who's Going to Win the World Series survey of 25 astute baseball executives. And if you're expecting a Cubs landslide here, well, the results are revealing.

I asked the group to pick the team that would advance to the World Series from each league and then predict who would win it. In the case of execs from clubs in contention, I asked them just to pick a team in their league they feared most, along with the club they thought would get to the Series from the other league.


The Cubs are the obvious pick to win the World Series, but that doesn't mean everyone is picking them. Benny Sieu/AP Photo
I conduct this survey every year because A) it's fascinating and B) hey, nothing makes me feel better about my own prognostication ineptitude than knowing that the smartest front-office minds in the game are just as awful at this as I am.

Over the past two years, do you want to guess how many execs who took part in this exercise guessed the eventual winner of the World Series? That would be exactly ONE. None predicted the Giants in 2014. One picked the Royals last year. So keep that in mind as we unveil the results of this year's voting:

American League Favorite (or Most-Feared Team)
Red Sox 16
Rangers 7
Blue Jays 2*

(*Survey conducted while the wild-card race was still raging.)

National League Favorite (or Most-Feared Team)
Cubs 13
Dodgers 10
Nationals 2

World Series Winner
Cubs 7
Red Sox 6
Dodgers 4
Rangers 4

So did you expect it to be that close? Nope. Me, neither. But I got the distinct vibe that many of these folks felt much like I did -- that picking "the best team" never makes you look like a genius anyway, so why not go down some other road?

"Obviously, the pick is the Cubs in the National League," quipped one NL exec. "So I like the Dodgers."

"Too much hype about the Cubs," said another.

"Out of principle, I won't pick them," said an AL exec.

Well, I'm not sure precisely what principle is at work here. But you get the idea. So why not the Cubs? Here are four reasons why not:

Best Record In MLB, Won The World Series
YEAR TEAM
2009 Yankees
2007 Red Sox
1998 Yankees
1989 Athletics
1986 Mets
Across the last 30 years
1. Beware of the No. 1 seed: Only three times in the past 25 postseasons has the team with sole possession of the best record in baseball won the World Series (2009 Yankees, 2007 Red Sox, 1998 Yankees). And to find the last time a National League team had the best record and won it all, you need to go back (gulp) 30 years -- to the '86 Mets. So there's that.

2. The pressure is about to mount: "In the postseason, the pressure on both teams to win is usually about 50-50," one exec said. "But in this case ... the pressure is on the Cubs every game, because of how well they've played, because of their record and, most of all, because of the expectations, especially in that city. If they lose one of the first two games at Wrigley, the pressure will be incredible."

3. What's up with Jake? Two different execs went out of their way to discuss the recent issues of Jake Arrieta, a guy whose work over his past 16 starts (4.44 ERA) looks a lot different than the superhuman impression he'd been doing over the previous year and a half. "Never seen him look so ordinary," one NL exec said after Arrieta's last start. "I would be concerned if I was them."

4. The voice of doom: Finally, the last thing a team saddled with a 108-year title drought needs is MY "support." I've been writing this column before every postseason for more than a decade. I've picked the Cubs three times -- 2003, 2007 and 2008. If you don't recall their jubilant World Series parades in any of those years, you would be correct. That's all my fault. My prediction record is so disastrous, I'm practically the Cleveland Browns of prognosticators. So why would I want to go and doom the Cubs at a time like this? If the bitter residents of Chicago ever decide to blame someone besides a billy goat, I don't need that someone to be me. I think the Cubs will get to the World Series. But somebody else can pick them to win. I'm out.

Phew. Glad I got that out of the way. I feel better now. But more importantly, that allows me to move along to the other big theme of this column:


The Red Sox's offense has proved to be dominant even against the best pitching. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Five reasons the Red Sox will win

1. What a lineup: The Red Sox have scored an incredible 83 more runs than the next-best offense in the American League (Cleveland). While the Blue Jays had a similar run-scoring gap last season, only one other AL team in the past 80 years has managed to put up a 100-run gap between itself and the pack -- and you need to go back all the way to the 1950 Red Sox to find that one. "Their lineup is so deep and so good," said one AL exec. "The way they work counts, foul balls off, wear down pitchers, they're just so good. And they hit good pitching."

Red Sox rake against strikeout pitchers
Where the Sox rank against pitchers with at least 9.0 K/9.
STAT RATE RANK
AVG .267 1st
OBP .324 1st
SLG .449 1st
OPS .773 1st
Source: ESPN Stats & Info
2. Their strength is greater than any other team's strength: Let's get back to that last line: They hit good pitching. Or to put this in the words of a rival GM: "Boston's offense is the singular best strength of all the teams." Now those are words that get my attention this time of year. When we try to break down which clubs profile best to survive the four-week October marathon, isn't that what we look for -- a team so dominant that even the best teams in the sport can't stop it from doing what it does best? And that's the Red Sox. Against pitchers who average a strikeout per inning or better, the Sox lead the major leagues in average, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. Against pitchers defined as "power pitchers," Boston's OPS (.798) is 65 points higher than the next-best team. But the Red Sox are also first in OPS against "finesse" pitchers (.848). And they went into the weekend as the only team in the past five years with an OPS of .800 or better against both left-handed and right-handed pitching. So good luck finding a matchup that looks like this team's kryptonite.

3. Their rotation is better than you think: It would have been easy to theorize a month ago that this team didn't have enough starting pitching to navigate October. But you might want to rethink that. Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez have made 11 starts between them since Sept. 1. They've allowed two runs or fewer in eight of those starts. Nobody questions whether Rick Porcello is the real deal anymore. ("He's dangerous, super-confident, incredibly intelligent and super-aggressive," said one rival exec. "He's put it all together.") And while you can feel free to question David Price's 5.12 career postseason ERA, "I'd rather have him pitching Game 1 or 2 than a lot of guys," a longtime NL exec said. Price is 8-0 and 2.37 in his past eight starts against teams other than the Yankees (who won't be participating), for what that's worth.

4. Their bullpen is hot: Amazing how the return of Koji Uehara has put the pieces of this bullpen back in place. Since the beginning of September, the Red Sox pen ranks second in the AL in ERA (1.81), and first in opponent average (.198) and strikeout rate (10.4 K/9). The funny thing is, aside from concerns about their left-handed relief, the most questions I heard about anyone in this bullpen were about the closer, Craig Kimbrel, mostly because of his 15 walks in his past 20 innings. ("There are days it looks like he just doesn't trust himself, and I don't know why," said one scout.) But if the biggest worry in this bullpen is a man with 83 strikeouts and just 28 hits in 53 innings, that doesn't sound like much of a crisis to me.


5. Papi Power: Every once in a while in sports, the script writes itself. So there's just something about the way the stars keep lining up for David Ortiz's retirement tour that feels as if there could be one more incredible chapter to come. One NL exec admits that when he picked the Red Sox, "that's part of the equation. There's definitely something magical about it." Well, if there is, you might want to file this away. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, only two position players in the past 60 years (Dal Maxvill and Gene Tenace, back in the 1960s, '70s and '80s) have won four World Series without sneaking onto the Yankees. And nobody has won four for a team that wasn't the Yankees since Jim Gilliam did it for the Dodgers in the '50s and '60s. Well, Big Papi already has three rings. And October looms.

So there you have it. Five carefully thought-out reasons why this pick makes sense, backed with the reassuring support of a bunch of really bright people in the game. Now what could possibly go wrong?

Outside of the fact that any team in this tournament (including the Cubs) could turn into the 2014 Giants as soon as this fun begins, I can think of only one thing that could get in the way of the Red Sox's fourth ride on the duck boats in the past 12 years:

That they just got picked by me to win it all, of course. Which means they're now officially doomed.

[Droford]

Red Sox lost 5 off their last 6
Craig Kimbrel sucks
David Price chokes in the playoffs

The Indians will beat the Red Sox in at least 4 but maybe a sweep.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

shut the fuck up

[RP]

That reminds me. The Indians are in the playoffs. Cute.

[Evil Vito]

I think the only potential WS matchup I have no interest in seeing is Giants/Red Sox. 2 fanbases that have won a ton over the last decade, meh.

[Evil Vito]

Awards

NL
MVP: Kris Bryant
CY: Jon Lester
ROTY: Corey Seager
MOTY: Dave Roberts
CPOTY: Wil Myers
Best Moment: Bartolo Colon HR
Worst Moment: Jose Fernandez :(

AL
MVP: Mike Trout
CY: Rick Porcello
ROTY: Michael Fulmer
MOTY: Terry Francona
CPOTY: Ian Desmond
Best Moment: Judge/Austin HR back to back in first career ABs
Worst Moment: Juan Uribe 106 MPH ball to the groin

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Trout won't win mvp because voters are stupid and they'll hold his team stinking against him. Mookie Betts is more than likely your 2016 mvp.

[Evil Vito]

Agreed. I was just giving my picks if I had a vote.

Came very close to Kluber over Porcello and a few other names I debated with Lester, especially Scherzer. Both Cy Young races were really tough calls.

[Evil Vito]

In b4 Droford posts a 5 paragraph expository essay on the merits of Zach Britton winning the Cy Young

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I'd go Kluber over Porcello. The wins do not give me googley eyes.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Here's my argument on why Britton shouldn't the CY award; Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest reliever of all time, never won the award.

[ClockShot]

Only thing Porcello got going is the wins. If that's all we're looking at in terms of Cy Young voting, the system is flawed/broken.

Tanaka got a good case for Cy Young. Probably won't win, but he's got the numbers in the right categories to make an argument.

[Emperor Smeat]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/870/347/f52.gif

Walt Weiss out as Rockies manager after the team didn't bother to renew his contract.

Robin Ventura out as White Sox manager. Former Cubs manager Rick Renteria got hired as the new manager for the team.

[Droford]

Here's my argument on why Britton shouldn't the CY award; Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest reliever of all time, never won the award.

Did Rivera ever have a .54 ERA ? No his best was 1.38 in 2005. Britton only have up 7 runs total (4 earned) Rivera never had a year in single digits for either.

Only 3 times Did Rivera have more Ks (83 80 and 77) than Britton 74

Zach Britton only allowed 1 HR Rivera allowed 2 twice.

Britton only allowed 38 hits in 67 innings. Rivera only once allowed less (35) but in 47 innings.

I could keep going

[Evil Vito]

https://media3.giphy.com/media/E2USislQIlsfm/200_s.gif

[Droford]

Plus Britton had a better year than Eckersley the year he won the Cy Young although not statistically as good as Ecks .61 ERA year

[Droford]

All you ever hear about is how wins are a shitty statistic for pitchers to be measured by and the only thing the two main CY candidates have going for them are they win 20+ games.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Rivera posted a WAR of 4 or better 5x in his career, including a 5 WAR year. Britton has never done that. Even this year.

Mariano pitched 15 seasons with a FIP under 3. I.e., his run prevention was not tied to not reliant in luck. He legit dominated. 2 Of those seasons he finished under 2.

Britton, in his best year, is not as good.

Rivera also threw 70 or more innings 10x. Including a year he threw over 100. Britton hasn't cracked that in the past 2 years.

You can pretend it's 1995 and that Britton is better Droford, but he's not. He's having a fluke season and only the most blind of homers are going to pretend that Britton is as good as Mariano. He's having a Mariano like season. But that and being as good are two different things.

I know it's hard because God forbid Baltimore is not the baseball Mecca of the world. I know objective analyses hurts. But the truth shall set you free.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

The only thing Britton has going for him is he pitches in the one inning a night in less than half the team's games, beating up on the bottom of the order the majority of the time. He's faced the 6-8 hitters more times than any other part of the order. Not really impressive when you're dominating the bottom of the lineup.

But context be damned.

[Droford]

The only thing Britton has going for him is he pitches in the one inning a night in less than half the team's games, beating up on the bottom of the order the majority of the time. He's faced the 6-8 hitters more times than any other part of the order. Not really impressive when you're dominating the bottom of the lineup.

But context be damned.

His sinker was voted the best pitch in baseball and it leads to an 80% ground ball rate.


Britton has been a full time closer the last 2 years (started midway in 2014) His FIP last year was 2.01 this year 1.94 better than Rivera every year except Riveras first full season in 96. So try again on that.

[ClockShot]

Diamondbacks just called for maid services.

GM Dave Stewart, and Manager Chip Hale got the axe.

Tony La Russa is in limbo at the moment.

[Droford]

Rivera holds the career record for adjusted ERA (ERA+) at 205. Even in His best year (318 2008) he was sort of short of Brittons 827.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Does Britton only pitch in save situations?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Why am I trying to prove Britton never posted a better FIP than Rivera? Shouldn't you be trying to prove that?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

He also never posted a higher WAR, nor is he throwing as many innings. But yeah he's way better than Mo and clearly the CY award this year is driven by the narrative of pitcher wins

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Does Britton only pitch in save situations?

For the most part yes. He's thrown more games than innings this year. And is pretty much a 1 inning guy. Whereas Rivera was regularly clearing more innings than games.

[Droford]

the same number of people picked the Twins to win the AL Central as the Orioles to win the Wild Card in the preseason (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/seasonpreview_mlbteampredictions/mlb-team-predictions-2016-season)

Also same number as Rays winning AL East

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Who cares? Are you so insecure with yourself and things you like that you have to obnoxiously point out how everyone was wrong? Nobody takes predictions seriously.

Well except you apparently.

[Droford]

Jays starting Stroman with a 7.04 ERA vs the Orioles this year (18 runs in 23 innings) vs not starting Lirano who have up no runs and 10ks last week vs the Orioles who are the worst team in baseball vs LHP (.234/.301/.391)

It's like Gibbons doesn't know what he's doing

[ClockShot]

Marlins fire Barry Bonds, who was the team's hitting coach after 1 season.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Well, I guess he couldn't teach them to test negative on a drug test while taking the gas.

[Droford]

I totally wasn't aware that despite the Orioles sucktitude on the road they won 5 road series in September for the first time in franchise history vs all 4 al East teams (and detroit)

[Ruien]

Save us Blue Jays! TPWW needs you now.

[Ruien]

Droford, how is that 13-0 start going for the Ravens? I hear Oakland is going to win the Superbowl this year so that explains the loss.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Save_us.TOR

[Emperor Smeat]

Marlins fire Barry Bonds, who was the team's hitting coach after 1 season.

Makes some sense since he got hired mainly to help Giancarlo Stanton reach the next level as a hitter and instead Stanton had his worst season hitting wise. Also didn't help the long HR droughts he had during the season.

[Droford]

Save us Blue Jays! TPWW needs you now.

Just imagine how it's going to be when the Orioles <strike>lose to the cubs in the World Series </strike>Win the World Series

[Droford]

And yes I'm almost resigned to the fact the Orioles will probably be the team that loses to the Cubs just because it's like 27% the Orioles fault the Cubs are where they are now so it would only be fitting

[Droford]

At least they got Tommy Hunter back

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Haha. <a href="https://twitter.com/masnOrioles">@masnOrioles</a> makes mistake of keeping audio on for Tommy Hunter playoff-clinching celebration speech. <a href="https://t.co/J87tr5Oaqk">pic.twitter.com/J87tr5Oaqk</a></p>&mdash; Emerson Marcus (@Emerson_Marcus) <a href="https://twitter.com/Emerson_Marcus/status/782699960215015424">October 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Jays starting Stroman with a 7.04 ERA vs the Orioles this year (18 runs in 23 innings) vs not starting Lirano who have up no runs and 10ks last week vs the Orioles who are the worst team in baseball vs LHP (.234/.301/.391)

It's like Gibbons doesn't know what he's doing

Gibbons is a fucking moron

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Gained a lot of respect for Manny Machado this year. Spent less time whining about Jose Bautista, spent more time mashing and being awesome at 3rd base.

[Droford]

Gained a lot of respect for Manny Machado this year. Spent less time whining about Jose Bautista, spent more time mashing and being awesome at 3rd base.

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkZDWjTWEAEQjoR.jpg:medium

And beating up Yordano Ventura

[Droford]

50 minutes 253 home runs

<iframe width="360" height="203" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lvze8ZWofdg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Do you think the Yankees will let him wear 13 when they sign him?

[Droford]

Game cannot start soon enough lol

[Droford]

Good point brought up

Orioles Blue Jays would have happened under the old wild card rules as game 163 since they tied record wise. Just like in 2012 when the Orioles tied regular season with Texas.

[Droford]

Jose Bautista snorting smelling salts before the game..nice shot lol

[Lock Jaw]

TBS graphics seem "terrible".......

[Lock Jaw]

Commentators seem "bad" as well.......

[Droford]

No pitch count i thought that was a standard thing

[Bad News Gertner]

Joey Bats!

[Droford]

Joey Bats!

Trumbo Jumbo

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Tillman leaving a lot of pitches up and now the heart of the order is coming.

And there goes the hook.

[Evil Vito]

Nothing worse than seeing dudes swing at the first pitch in a spot like that. Total rally killer.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Yep. Take a fucking pitch.

Gotta say love watching Stroman thow.

[Evil Vito]

The O's hack away on the first pitch too. I don't get it.

[Nicky Fives]

Commentators seem "bad" as well.......

I'd take anybody over Harry Reynolds....

[Evil Vito]

Mets will probably do the same thing against Bumgarner tomorrow under the notion that the first pitch fastball will be the most hittable pitch of the AB. But all that's gonna do is let him go deep so they don't have to turn to their shit tier bullpen.

[Nicky Fives]

The O's hack away on the first pitch too. I don't get it.

Neither do I. I don't even swing in video games until I get a strike.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Donaldson rocking custom LeBron cleats. Love his style.

[Evil Vito]

Actually now I think of it, not only will Bumgarner probably have a huge leash to avoid the bullpen (like 120-130 pitches) but there's probably a very good chance they turn to Cueto or Samardzija out of the pen ahead of any reliever not named Sergio Romo.

Damn that's going to be stressful to watch lol.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

If nothing else, because they can turn to Cueto or Shark they might have a quick trigger.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Stroman strong thru 6. Great outing.

[Lock Jaw]

Can't stop thinking "Schoop da woop" (pronounced "shoop", not "scope" like it actually is)

[Ruien]

Save us Toronto!

[Lock Jaw]

What an asshole throwing that water bottle

[Droford]

Shit fans throwing shit

[Lock Jaw]

Hope they find that fan and excommunicate him from Canada.....

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Wtf was that? Throwing shit at players. Christ. Hope he spends the night in the slammer. Shit is uncalled for.

[Evil Vito]

Lock Jaw for Anonymous Toronto Blue Jays General Manager

[Lock Jaw]

Lock Jaw for Anonymous Toronto Blue Jays General Manager

I would be terrible..... no thanks.......

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Calm down Droford. Just because one fan is a shit bag doesn't mean they're all like that. It'd be like using you as an example of a standard Baltimore fan.

[Evil Vito]

At least this isn't Philly, or the object thrown would have been a car battery.

[Lock Jaw]

Grilli up

Hope he can return to form and not give up runs here

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Not sure what Buck is thinking he'll accomplish other than trying to cool down the Toronto pen

[Lock Jaw]

Keep thinking Orioles manager is JBL from the future......

Or from an alternate timeline.......

[Frank Drebin]

Love the fans booing Adam Jones because he had the audacity to be pissed at some drunk asshole who threw shit on the field during a play. Classy.

[Droford]

This game is nervewracking

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I'll be the first to admit that my beloved Toronto faithful are a bunch of fucking idiots. How classless.

[screech]

At least this isn't Philly, or the object thrown would have been a car battery.

Nah man, JD Drew retired

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Been a well played game thus far. I wonder if Showalter goes with Britton with the game tied or falls in line with the standard thinking of using your closer on the road in a save situation. Which would be stupid.

[Lock Jaw]

This game is nervewracking

Yeah..... stressful.........

[Droford]

Been a well played game thus far. I wonder if Showalter goes with Britton with the game tied or falls in line with the standard thinking of using your closer on the road in a save situation. Which would be stupid.

He won't use him unless it's a save situation.

[Lock Jaw]

Bottom of the ninth, baby

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Which is stupid. He might not get a save situation. Use your best guy with the game on the line.

Meanwhile, the Orioles are getting mowed the fuck down by Osuna

[screech]

Is it me, or has the strike zone been really inconsistent?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Bringer of rain with a leadoff double. And my God those cleats tho

[Evil Vito]

Not bringing Britton is looking really stupid right about now.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

The 2nd pitcher out isn't Britton either?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

It's dumb. The fucking game is on the line. The heart of the order up. And now they call on yet another great free agent signing in Darren O' Day.

What excuse could he have for not using Britton?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

They did it.

[Evil Vito]

Another first pitch swing. What the fuck are the Jays doing?

[Lock Jaw]

Damn double plays

[Damian Rey 2.0]

You know what kills me? When the broadcast uses shit like so and so is 1-14 off this guy. Using meaningless sample sizes and such

[Droford]

Another first pitch swing. What the fuck are the Jays doing?

Doing their best Oriole impression

[Droford]

It's dumb. The fucking game is on the line. The heart of the order up. And now they call on yet another great free agent signing in Darren O' Day.

What excuse could he have for not using Britton?

Get the lead first

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Regardless of the result, you gotta question the process here. Why would you not use your best guy in that spot?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Closers are sometimes shit when not in close situations if they aren't used to it. That's the only thing I can think of. If Britton is one of those it's something as a strike against him for the Cy Young award. It's a value lowerer

[Evil Vito]

Still can't believe the Mets got Darren O'Day in the Rule 5 draft, cut him in the second week of the 2009 season to make roster room for a random Nelson Figueroa spot start, and then he became one of the best relievers in baseball.

God dammit, Omar Minaya.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Get the lead first

And what if they don't get a lead? They'll have wasted their best weapon because instead of using him in high leverage they are waiting to get a lead in what might be the last game of the season. It's stupid.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

the jays aren't getting a run off anyone at this point.

[Lock Jaw]

Hope Osuna is ok

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Never know. Not sure how many one inning arms Baltimore has left but if they have to rely on their backend starters they might be in trouble.

Really like Liriano here. Was a sneaky good move to get him and using him long in this game is smart.

[Frank Drebin]

You know what kills me? When the broadcast uses shit like so and so is 1-14 off this guy. Using meaningless sample sizes and such

Agreed, but every manager, progressive or not, would use that as the gospel and I wouldn't argue with them.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

But I would!

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Always loved the Tulo chant

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Justin Smoak sucks. Can't imagine why he got an extension.

[Frank Drebin]

But I would!

If a guy's won 10 fights in a row, you don't cherry pick trying to bet which one he might lose. You keep betting on him until he proves you otherwise.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I can get with that.

[Evil Vito]

Man my asshole is going to be so clenched tomorrow if the game is this tight.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Fun Fact: Damian Rey actually faced off against Adam Jones in high school and travel ball. 1 for 1 with a walk against Jones over his career.

[Evil Vito]

LOL Duensing coming in. jesus christ

[Evil Vito]

And now Ubaldo. What in the actual fuck.

[Evil Vito]

The saves stat should be ripped up into a million pieces and thrown into the sea.

[Lock Jaw]

The saves stat should be ripped up into a million pieces and thrown into the sea.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gob-letter-throw.gif

[Evil Vito]

Buck needs to be canned. It is incomprehensible that Ubaldo Jimenez got into this game before Zach Britton.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Buck handing Toronto the game right now. And instead of saying fuck it and bringing in THE BEST RELIEVER IN MLB he's having a fucking mound meeting while E2 comes up

[Damian Rey 2.0]

BWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

suck. it. droford.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

ED WIN

[Nicky Fives]

EDWING!!!!

[Lock Jaw]

EDWIN!!!!!!!!

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Get the lead first

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Boy that worked out

[Evil Vito]

There is not a manager in baseball who I would keep under my employ for bungling up the end of a game like that. None.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

it was a good thing Showalter used that manager know how to save Zach Britton for that special save situation

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

No Intentional Walk, No Britton, No Job.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Buck Showalter gives Adam Jones the stunner. Rips his jacket open to reveal a Toronto jersey

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

what a 1.2 by Liriano.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Buck Showalter gives Adam Jones the stunner. Rips his jacket open to reveal a Toronto jersey

hahaha I'm so happy it was a bad decision by Showalter to cost Baltimore.

[Frank Drebin]

Shocked that in an 11 inning wild card game, the seasons best closer didn't get used. How does that happen?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Too bad they didn't have those "Post Season is Ours" t-shirts this year. Can't photoshop it to "Hours" like I did against the Yankees.

Missed opportunities. :(

[Droford]

I thought maybe Britton would come in
.. No idea why not. Ugh

[Nicky Fives]

As soon as I saw Ubaldo warming in the bullpen I knew the game was over, he got lit up back in June at the game I went to....

[Evil Vito]

I'd fire Joe Maddon after a 103 win season if he pulled that stunt to end a season. I don't know how it's possible to screw up that badly.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

What makes it better is Buck walked his dusty ass out there to fucking huddle and the best strategy he came up with was to leave a guy with a 5+ ERA out there against a premier power hitter with the game on the line. Meanwhile, THE BEST RELIEVER IN ALL OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WAS SITTING ON HIS FUCKING HANDS IN THE BULLPEN BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Say what you want about it, but the new wild card format has been amazing.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I thought maybe Britton would come in
.. No idea why not. Ugh

if he used Britton they woulda won too. Great game, all jokes aside. The players on Baltimore deserved better.

Excellent game.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I thought maybe Britton would come in
.. No idea why not. Ugh

You already answered this question. "Get the lead first".

[Evil Vito]

The Orioles wouldn't be the first team to fire Buck Showalter.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KV-GJ9iNX8g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Man Buck is gonna have to really own up. He lost this game. Had multiple chances to use Britton, and when the game was on the line, he went with a pitcher that was so awful he got demoted to the pen on a team with no starting pitching.

[Lock Jaw]

I'M HYPE

[Frank Drebin]

Love the wildcard game. Good teams still get in. Gives the casual fans a taste of how crazy and intense the postseason can be. How every pitch, every move (cough Zach Britton on the bench cough) is a conversation.

I get it, it's a coin flip. You condense a 162 game season I to one game. Same principle applies to a 5 or 7 game series. Bottom line is it's exciting and good for the game.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Buck ain't hype

[RP]

So who is managing the Orioles next season? Not Showalter for sure.

[Bad News Gertner]

O's peaked too early in the game.

Better luck next year. Wah! Wah!

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

good buddy of mine is always bestowing the virtues of Showalter and how much better he is than Gibbons. I hate Gibbons, but Showalter literally just saved John Gibbons his job.

[Stickman]

Jays!!!!

[RP]

How the fuck do you not use Britton?? Might be the worst decision ever. I'm not even joking.

[RP]

LOL Showalter is gone

[RP]

Showalter just lost his job on one of the biggest stages.

[Frank Drebin]

Lol at the champagne being used just for winning the play in game. So fn stupid. Division series too. So lame.

[RP]

LOL Britton for Ubaldo is like Lebron for ELton Brand

Jesus Chist.

[Lock Jaw]

Jays busting out the champagne again........ wasting a lot of champagne again.........

[poopfromweiner dude]

Missed the big game what happened

SIKE SUCK MY DICK DROFORD

[RP]

There needs to be an investigation. I'm not ruling out Showalter throwing that game right now.

[Evil Vito]

I pray to whatever baseball gods are up there that if the Mets do lose tomorrow, it doesn't come down to Terry Collins doing Terry Collins things.

I can live with losing conventionally, getting shut down by Bumgarner, etc. but my heart cannot take a season being thrown away in the way the Orioles just lost. Man that was bad.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Lol at the champagne being used just for winning the play in game. So fn stupid. Division series too. So lame.

oh come on man, I get it's a bit over the top but 163 games s a fucking grind, and they just essentially won the wild card "pennant" in a fucking crazy game.

[Emperor Smeat]

Really dumb decisions by the Os late in the game. Saving Britton as their last pitcher was extra dumb.

[Frank Drebin]

Surprised Buck didn't call in the San Diego Chargers to help.

[Evil Vito]

lolllllllllll Showalter on ESPN trying to justify it now

[Frank Drebin]

oh come on man, I get it's a bit over the top but 163 games s a fucking grind, and they just essentially won the wild card "pennant" in a fucking crazy game.

So you get champaign when you:
- Lock up a playoff spot
- win the division
- win game 163 if necessary
- win the wildcard game
- win the LDS
- win the LCS
- Win the WS

Jesus.

[Evil Vito]

I haven't heard of teams celebrating just clinching a playoff spot UNLESS their division is already decided tbh.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

So you get champaign when you:
- Lock up a playoff spot
- win the division
- win game 163 if necessary
- win the wildcard game
- win the LDS
- win the LCS
- Win the WS

Jesus.

How much schooling does it take to become a full fledged member of the fun police?

[Lock Jaw]

Would hate to get alcohol all over my cameras/lenses/headsets..........

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Fucking Buck avoiding admitting he made the wrong move in leaving Britton on the pine.

Trying to pretend Ubaldo was a better choice lol. Keeps saying a lot of different options. Yes guy. But THE BEST option was left sitting on his fucking can in the most important game of the year.

[Frank Drebin]

How much schooling does it take to become a full fledged member of the fun police?

If you ever take a trip down to Cobb Country, Georgia
You better read the signs, respect the law and order
YOU'LL SERVE HARD TIMES
YOU'LL BE SERVING HARD TIMES
You know the Big Boss Man will make you walk the line
Better watch out boy or you'll be serving hard times