MLB 2021 Post Season

[naednek]

I thought someone said the Cubs were good

Good enough to sweep the Dodgers.

bahahahahaha

[El Guapo]

Is it bad that I get joy from watching the Yankees underperform? They build their entire team around hitting a million home runs so this season is an extra special nightmare for their setup. The Mets are only fielding 3-4 starters a game and still chugging along. It's really bizarre, but the key thing is that their pitching and defense is good. I don't think a lot of Mets fans understand how incredibly bad their defense has been the last few years.

No, it's just proof that you have a soul.

[Lorini]

I thought someone said the Cubs were good

Good enough to sweep the Dodgers.

bahahahahaha

Your team did not sweep us, just sayin' and we are still ahead of you in wins versus, 4-3. We will see all y'all NL people soon and just you wait!!!!

[Lorini]

I thought someone said the Cubs were good

Good enough to sweep the Dodgers.

OK so now go sweep the Padres.

[ImLawBoy]

Well, we already did that once. Of course, that was at home just before the Giants series. Now we'll be on the road.

[Lorini]

Well, we already did that once. Of course, that was at home just before the Giants series. Now we'll be on the road.

Again!!!

[Jeff V]

on the road.

Again!!!

Take your Willie Nelson elsewhere! This is a baseball thread!

[malchior]

Umps have been REALLY bad about calling strikes off the plate this year. Worst I've seen that I can remember. Considering how bad the hitting is this kind of crap isn't helping. It seems like every at bat that Lindor has it starts with a strike off the plate. But OMG that wasn't even close.

It seems like they want MLB to go to robot umpires.

Yeah obviously I'm happy with the outcome as a Red Sox fan but yeah...really not sure what the ump was thinking there. Was he not paying attention somehow?

I've been inclined to support robo-umpires for awhile now, assuming the technology works.

It is the same technology as used in tennis and broadcast. The high speed camera and the AI is pretty baked tech at this point. They'd have to test it in the minors, etc. but might as well get started because my impression is that for whatever reason the pitchers have gotten an advantage over the umps.

[LawBeefaroni]

....because my impression is that for whatever reason the pitchers have gotten an advantage over the umps.

Pitchers and catchers have a lot of tricks to make a ball look like a strike (that's their job), while batters have nothing to make a strike look like a ball, other than unconvincing overacting or stepping into it.

Catchers frame pitches, pitchers have a whole arsenal of deceptive ball movement. They are trying to trick the best hitters on the planet. Little surprise that they can often fool umps.

[Jaymann]

Plus the umps have to make a snap decision on a rock traveling 90-100 mph, and they can't change their mind.

[malchior]

I've done the job before myself. It's tough even with people throwing relative meatballs. It's just lately with all the technology available to broadcast we now have way more visibility into how much edge the pitcher has.

[Lorini]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

[LawBeefaroni]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

[Lorini]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I bet that's the last time he does that. If he were a dodger he wouldn't have had a second chance because Roberts would have sat him down.

[Octavious]

Got our asses kicked by Baltimore. We really need another 2 starters asap. The bottom of the rotation is super duper bad.

[ImLawBoy]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I bet that's the last time he does that. If he were a dodger he wouldn't have had a second chance because Roberts would have sat him down.

Roberts can afford to do that more than whoever is guiding the Pirate Ship these days. Hayes is probably their best player, and definitely their best prospect.

[Lorini]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I bet that's the last time he does that. If he were a dodger he wouldn't have had a second chance because Roberts would have sat him down.

Roberts can afford to do that more than whoever is guiding the Pirate Ship these days. Hayes is probably their best player, and definitely their best prospect.

In Bellinger's rookie year, he hit a line drive and sauntered to first base to of course be out (he was likely to be out). That was the first and last play he made that day. Roberts sat him down and later said Belilnger (who you folks can imagine they were very high on) had to learn to give it his all at all times. Missing first base while admiring your own home run has to be the height of selfishness.

[ImLawBoy]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I bet that's the last time he does that. If he were a dodger he wouldn't have had a second chance because Roberts would have sat him down.

Roberts can afford to do that more than whoever is guiding the Pirate Ship these days. Hayes is probably their best player, and definitely their best prospect.

In Bellinger's rookie year, he hit a line drive and sauntered to first base to of course be out (he was likely to be out). That was the first and last play he made that day. Roberts sat him down and later said Belilnger (who you folks can imagine they were very high on) had to learn to give it his all at all times. Missing first base while admiring your own home run has to be the height of selfishness.

Bellinger is not Hayes, and Roberts is not [insert Pirate manager's name here]. What worked in one scenario might not work in another. I'm not here to say that that one way is better than the other, just that we don't necessarily know all of the personalities and underlying issues that might be going on. It's possible that Hayes has a personality, for example, that wouldn't respond well to public shaming by pulling him from the game. The Pirate's manager probably knows Hayes better than we do and he may feel that it's more appropriate to deal with his actions behind the scenes. It's also worth noting that when Bellinger was a rookie in 2017 the Dodgers were a good team contending for a title. The Pirates this year are definitely not that. Different situations may call for different reactions.

[stessier]

Lorini, you may like Tim Kurkjian's HUGE article on bad base running (with videos!).

[Lorini]

Pirates hit a home run, batter admires his home run but didn't get anywhere close to first base. So we know now why the Pirates are in last place.

Next time same batter ran into a double play.

Perhaps it's time for Little League?

Hayes has been in IR since like game 2. This is his 5th he back. He's allowed to be a bit sloppy.

I think he went 7-18, 1HR, 1 2B, 1 3B and like 3 or 4 RBI in his first 4 games back.

Buehler dodged a bullet.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I bet that's the last time he does that. If he were a dodger he wouldn't have had a second chance because Roberts would have sat him down.

Roberts can afford to do that more than whoever is guiding the Pirate Ship these days. Hayes is probably their best player, and definitely their best prospect.

In Bellinger's rookie year, he hit a line drive and sauntered to first base to of course be out (he was likely to be out). That was the first and last play he made that day. Roberts sat him down and later said Belilnger (who you folks can imagine they were very high on) had to learn to give it his all at all times. Missing first base while admiring your own home run has to be the height of selfishness.

Bellinger is not Hayes, and Roberts is not [insert Pirate manager's name here]. What worked in one scenario might not work in another. I'm not here to say that that one way is better than the other, just that we don't necessarily know all of the personalities and underlying issues that might be going on. It's possible that Hayes has a personality, for example, that wouldn't respond well to public shaming by pulling him from the game. The Pirate's manager probably knows Hayes better than we do and he may feel that it's more appropriate to deal with his actions behind the scenes. It's also worth noting that when Bellinger was a rookie in 2017 the Dodgers were a good team contending for a title. The Pirates this year are definitely not that. Different situations may call for different reactions.

Hopefully it was addressed privately then. The main thing is that all players have to play for the team and not for themselves. I wonder if it was asked about in the post game manager interviews, I didn't watch those. I absolutely don't feel that just because you aren't contending means that you can lolly gag around in the game. That's not fair to the fans. I would be very disappointed as a Pirate fan if Haye's behavior was simply waved off, contending or not. If you as manager and a player don't care about playing winning style baseball why should I watch/come to your games.

[Lorini]

Lorini, you may like Tim Kurkjian's HUGE article on bad base running (with videos!).

I read that. What makes a winning team is doing the 'little' things like properly running the bases. Roberts considers being on the bases as precious, as something to be nurtured and savored but unfortunately some players don't understand/know/are told the reasons for that to be true, so they run the bases carelessly and cause their team needless outs and lost runs.

To me, that's what makes the Dodgers different and how sad it is that other teams don't see this. Not chasing balls outside the zone (because they practice it all the time), not making outs on bases, legging out the line drive, 'little' things that can win games for the teams.

And in fact I wonder if like teams eventually did with Moneyball if they just only focused on not losing games and stop worrying so much about hits if they could get better? I don't know, but winning teams play differently than losing teams, it's not all in the on base percentage.

[Isgrimnur]

Stop giving contracts with individual incentives.

[Lorini]

Lorini, you may like Tim Kurkjian's HUGE article on bad base running (with videos!).

I thought he'd put that up awhile ago, didn't realize it was new!!!! Thanks, so so true. if I can leg it to first base, pay attention to how many outs there are and therefore what I need to do on the bases and not get paid shit, why can't these million dollar plus players do this? And I frankly don't blame stats by themselves, it's that stats are used out of context. On base percentage only means something if you get to home plate or at least get another player to home base. If you get on base and then doubled off because you weren't paying attention or didn't care, then in my opinion, getting on base as a stat should be removed from your statistics.

I know I'm harsh y'all, but really these are things that are fixable and that also show the fans that you care about winning and the game and that's how you get paid, is through fan engagement. Be good to the fans and play to win.

[ImLawBoy]

Hopefully it was addressed privately then. The main thing is that all players have to play for the team and not for themselves. I wonder if it was asked about in the post game manager interviews, I didn't watch those. I absolutely don't feel that just because you aren't contending means that you can lolly gag around in the game. That's not fair to the fans. I would be very disappointed as a Pirate fan if Haye's behavior was simply waved off, contending or not. If you as manager and a player don't care about playing winning style baseball why should I watch/come to your games.

That's not what I'm saying about contending team vs. non-contending team. If someone is on a contending team you may need to take action more quickly than with a non-contending team. There's a risk of a bad reaction when you publicly shame your player for a mistake. If you're trying to win right now, you may take the risk of that bad reaction with a more immediate response. When you're already playing out the schedule in early June, you might think the risk is not worth it and take a slower approach to working with a player.

Is it just me, or is it ironic that you're taking the more old school approach to this while I'm taking the more modern? Our disputes usually seem to lean the other way.

[Lorini]

Hopefully it was addressed privately then. The main thing is that all players have to play for the team and not for themselves. I wonder if it was asked about in the post game manager interviews, I didn't watch those. I absolutely don't feel that just because you aren't contending means that you can lolly gag around in the game. That's not fair to the fans. I would be very disappointed as a Pirate fan if Haye's behavior was simply waved off, contending or not. If you as manager and a player don't care about playing winning style baseball why should I watch/come to your games.

That's not what I'm saying about contending team vs. non-contending team. If someone is on a contending team you may need to take action more quickly than with a non-contending team. There's a risk of a bad reaction when you publicly shame your player for a mistake. If you're trying to win right now, you may take the risk of that bad reaction with a more immediate response. When you're already playing out the schedule in early June, you might think the risk is not worth it and take a slower approach to working with a player.

Is it just me, or is it ironic that you're taking the more old school approach to this while I'm taking the more modern? Our disputes usually seem to lean the other way.

I don't think the player(s) have to be shamed in public per se. For all I know, Bellinger had been previously warned about not legging out line drives and Roberts decided to make an example of him because he wasn't listening. True old school would say 'you have to play the game the right (white imo) way!'. That's BS and I'm not saying that. And note that ESPN didn't use those words either. I'm saying that managers need to let the players know when they are playing selfishly/without respect to the fans and when you miss bases, run into double plays and outs, and don't pay attention on the bases that should be just as important as getting on base.

True you do like the traditions more than I do. I like to watch good baseball played and the rules enforced. And if it takes an robot ump behind the plate, I'm all in.

[Jeff V]

Back in the 70's, I was at the Cubs second or third game of the year. It was about 35 degrees, and you could count the fans in the stands (it was far less than the announced figure of around 5000).

I don't recall who the Cubs were playing, but Rick Monday was the centerfielder. He had a rather decent career and until this game was well-liked among Cub fans. When someone hit a pop fly to center, Monday just trotted toward it and the ball fell about 10 feet from him...an easy out had he made any effort whatsoever.

I believe he was traded to the Yankees shortly thereafter. And I was happy. I have zero tolerance for that sort of crap out of players making shit tons of money for playing a game.

[Isgrimnur]

I believe he was traded to the Yankees shortly thereafter.

Dodgers before the '77 season.

[Octavious]

Mets returned the favor today. Geez...I think Harvey has seen his last season. He looked good in his first two starts and then reverted to the broken dude we see now.

[LawBeefaroni]

I believe he was traded to the Yankees shortly thereafter.

Dodgers before the '77 season.

Forget it, he's rolling.

[Baroquen]

Mets returned the favor today. Geez...I think Harvey has seen his last season. He looked good in his first two starts and then reverted to the broken dude we see now.

Was just going to post this on both points. Met's destroyed us tonight, and Harvey is awful. He did have a good start, and I wasn't watching closely to see why, but has just been bad as of late. Post-game, he described his performance as "horses@#$" and that if he knew how to fix it, he'd have done so by now. Well. That's encouraging.

O's get Tampa Bay for 3 next. Guessing that will be ugly too. Watching our minor leagues brings hope, but that won't matter for another couple of years, at least.

[Jeff V]

I believe he was traded to the Yankees shortly thereafter.

Dodgers before the '77 season.

Forget it, he's rolling. having a senior moment.

FIFY

[LawBeefaroni]

Almost at Sox-typical way to lose the reigning AL MVP:

[Lorini]

Almost at Sox-typical way to lose the reigning AL MVP:

[Octavious]

DeGROM with more RBIs than hits given up. Ridiculous...

[Octavious]

And another win. Their pitching and defense is amazing.

[Lorini]

Dodgers are coming after you nadnaek! And the Padres seem to have dropped out of the race for a bit.

[naednek]

Dodgers are coming after you nadnaek! And the Padres seem to have dropped out of the race for a bit.

Not worried

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Lorini]

Dodgers are coming after you nadnaek! And the Padres seem to have dropped out of the race for a bit.

Not worried

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

You should be! (noting that we just lost our two best hitters to injury, BUT STILL!)

[Lorini]

Hey Sox fans, those Blue Jays are something else!!! I looked at the headline and I was thinking that Vlade must have gone nuts, but it wasn't him!! I'm a secret Blue Jays fan because they have my favorite pitcher, Ryu, so I look at their games. Also it's good to hear that Vlade Jr is just like his dad, he'll swing at everything

[stessier]

Hey Sox fans, those Blue Jays are something else!!! I looked at the headline and I was thinking that Vlade must have gone nuts, but it wasn't him!! I'm a secret Blue Jays fan because they have my favorite pitcher, Ryu, so I look at their games. Also it's good to hear that Vlade Jr is just like his dad, he'll swing at everything

Meh - they only scored 2 runs against the two position players we used as pitchers. That's kinda sad.