2015 MLB Thread

[Jagger69]

You must forgive them , Whit. Since there's no one left alive from the last time they actually won the World Series (it was 1908 and Teddy Roosevelt was president in case anyone reading didn't know :eek, they just don't know how to act. Let 'em enjoy it as long as it lasts. If they actually do win it all (quite possible!), what a story it would be!

One thing for sure....tonight will be one helluva game, maybe the best game we'll see this post-season. Can't pick who I'd rather face.....the teams are evenly matched in so many ways. Can't wait to see it....only an hour and 20 minutes from now!!!

 

[barebeaverlover]

Picks for the ALDS:

KC vs. Houston-KC in 5. I don't think Houston's bullpen is there yet.
Texas vs. Toronto- Toronto in 5. Both teams mirror each other in a lot of ways. May come down to a battle of the pens & the Jays have an edge there.

NLDS:

Cards vs. Cubs/Pirates- Cubs/Pirates in 5. I hate to say it, I think the Cards are just too beat up.
Dodgers vs. Mets-Dodgers in 4. That's if Kershaw is regular season Kershaw.

I'm probably full of shit on most of these picks :2 cents:

Player to come up big-Jose Bautista Toronto. He's waited a long time for this.

 

[Jagger69]

Key to the game is Fowler. As he goes, so go the Cubs.

These words appear to be prophetic thus far.....2 hits, 2 runs and a 3-0 Cubs lead. Might be insurmountable considering Arrieta being on the mound for the Cubs. Bucs' only hope is to somehow get to the Cubs bullpen which, in my opinion, is their Achilles heel. Surprised how poorly Cole has looked so far....falling behind hitters, hanging breaking balls for guys like Schwarber. Pittsburgh in trouble....

 

[Whit]

These words appear to be prophetic thus far.....2 hits, 2 runs and a 3-0 Cubs lead. Might be insurmountable considering Arrieta being on the mound for the Cubs. Bucs' only hope is to somehow get to the Cubs bullpen which, in my opinion, is their Achilles heel. Surprised how poorly Cole has looked so far....falling behind hitters, hanging breaking balls for guys like Schwarber. Pittsburgh in trouble....

More about Cole choking rather than good hitting.

 

[Jagger69]

Make it 3 hits, 3 runs for Fowler. I'm afraid Pittsburgh is done. They need to get Arrieta out of the game but even then I'm not sure they can come back. Cubs on fire....scary team.

 

[John_8581]

Make it 3 hits, 3 runs for Fowler. I'm afraid Pittsburgh is done. They need to get Arrieta out of the game but even then I'm not sure they can come back. Cubs on fire....scary team.

Scary team? Besides Arrieta? Who do you have Lester? Hendricks? Hammel? Wood? Cahill? Grimm? ... Pffft!!! -- The Cardinals take them out in 5. Enough said.

NLDS

Dodgers vs. Mets-Dodgers in 4. That's if Kershaw is regular season Kershaw.

In the other NLDS series, I have to agree with this. Mets will be 0-2 down when they come back to Citifield. Mets are going to have trouble hitting against Kershaw and Grienke. And if it goes five, Kershaw is back on full rest.

 

[John_8581]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13822511/matt-harvey-misses-mandatory-workout-new-york-mets

Matt Harvey's theme song ...



:rofl2: :rofl: :rofl2: :rofl: :rofl2:

 

[BCT]

NLDS: Dodgers vs. Mets-Dodgers in 4. That's if Kershaw is regular season Kershaw.

Normally I'd pick the Dodgers to choke but they kind of lucked out on getting the Mets in the first round, I just don't see them pulling it off, too inexperienced.

 

[Jagger69]

Scary team? Besides Arrieta? Who do you have Lester? Hendricks? Hammel? Wood? Cahill? Grimm? ... Pffft!!! -- The Cardinals take them out in 5. Enough said.

I think you underestimate them. They gave us hell every time we played them this season. Their lineup is loaded with guys who can hit and their starting rotation is stronger now with the addition of Danny Haren, whom I scoffed at when they acquired him but who has pitched really well in September. You only need 3 starters in a 5-game series. Their biggest weakness against the Cardinals is their bullpen so if we can keep games close into the late innings, Redbirds definitely have the advantage (especially with Wainwright back). Arrieta will only pitch once so that helps us a lot. Still....scary? Yeah man....any team that wins 97 games is scary in a short series like this. I guarantee you that Mike Matheny is taking them seriously and so am I. Can't wait for tomorrow night!

 

[Ace Bandage]

Last night was awesome. No words to describe Arrieta right now. First pitcher with over 10 K, no BB, and a shutout in postseason history.

Sadly, the reward for winning last night is playing the best team in baseball. You have to give the nod to St. Louis in this series. Home field advantage, solid starting rotation, and a bullpen that can perform consistently. Cubs have Arrieta and Lester as solid starters. Hendricks, Hammel, and Haren are a crap shoot. They're capable of great starts occasionally, but they're also capable of giving up a bunch of runs in a short amount of time.

And if the Cubs have to go to the bullpen down the stretch, the game will definitely be in doubt. The bullpen has been the achilles heel all year long. The only way the Cubs stand a chance is to build a lead and have the starter go seven or eight strong innings. The minute a game is in the hands of Strop, Rondon, or Wood, I'll be worried.

Something else to consider: Cubs team average for the year was .244. Second lowest in baseball. That's going to have to improve in this series. St. Louis is going to score runs. I'm not sure if the Cubs can keep up...

But, then again, it's the postseason, and anything can happen. As Fowler goes, so go the Cubs. Should be a helluva series.

 

[pool_hustler]

Congrats to the Cubs :thumbsup:
Cards/Cubs should be a great series!

In the other NLDS series, I have to agree with this. Mets will be 0-2 down when they come back to Citifield. Mets are going to have trouble hitting against Kershaw and Grienke. And if it goes five, Kershaw is back on full rest.

That depends of course on how it gets to game five. If the Dodgers are down 2 to 1 after the first 3 Kershaw will have to pitch on three days rest in game 4, leaving Greinke to pitch on full rest if it then goes to game five.

 

[pool_hustler]

Congrats to the Cubs :thumbsup:
Cards/Cubs should be a great series!

In the other NLDS series, I have to agree with this. Mets will be 0-2 down when they come back to Citifield. Mets are going to have trouble hitting against Kershaw and Grienke. And if it goes five, Kershaw is back on full rest.

That depends of course on how it gets to game five. If the Dodgers are down 2 to 1 after the first 3 Kershaw will have to pitch on three days rest in game 4, leaving Greinke to pitch on full rest if it then goes to game five.

 

[pool_hustler]

That depends of course on how it gets to game five. If the Dodgers are down 2 to 1 after the first 3 Kershaw will have to pitch on three days rest in game 4, leaving Greinke to pitch on full rest if it then goes to game five.

Actually, the more I think about this, even if the Dodgers are up 2 to 1 after three I expect Kershaw to pitch on three days rest in game 4.

 

[John_8581]

Being from New York, here's how much I dislike Gary Cohen, the SNY TV play-by-play announcer and Ron Darling, the SNY analyst.

That being said ....

Actually, the more I think about this, even if the Dodgers are up 2 to 1 after three I expect Kershaw to pitch on three days rest in game 4.

The Dodgers sweep. And Matt Harvey gets shelled in game 3 and is booed off the mound at Citifield. :rofl2:

Matt .. "Can't Find My Way Home" .. Harvey



"Put It In The Books" -- Howie Rose. (the Mets radio voice.) A guy I do like!

 

[John_8581]

Meanwhile in the Sea of Red today, the Cubs went down in flames with late inning homers by Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals. The Cardinals win 4-0 over the Cubs and have a one game to nothing lead in the best of five NLDS.

 

[Ace Bandage]

Man, two of my biggest fears manifested in the first game of the series:

1. No offense. Seriously. Bryant, Rizzo, and Castro are 0-21 through two postseason games. And what's with all the strikeouts looking tonight? The zone was expanded a little, but you have to adjust as a hitter (looking at you Coghlan). Cardinals were able to do so. Cubs looked over matched all night. Doesn't matter how many you give up if you can't score any.

2. Bullpen, sigh. After Lester grooves a 3-1 fastball to Pham, Strop comes in to hang a breaking ball up in the zone. Dive home safely. Postseason, bruh. Can't do that.

I thought Lester threw well, but Lackey kept the Cubs off balance all night. Damn, does he shine in the playoffs or what? It's essential that the Cubs win game 2 tomorrow night. Cannot go down 0-2 to this Cardinals team. Not coming back from that. Based on tonight though, that's going to be a tough mountain to climb. Other than Schwarber, there weren't really any positives to build on...

 

[BCT]

Wow, I'll eat crow I thought the Jays would show up better. In all fairness Donaldson and Encarnacion were feet away from tying this series. That's playoff baseball, you can't win every game 15-0.



As for my Redbirds :thumbsup:

My man Lackey pitched a beaut tonight but he got away with that pitch on Fowler, my heart skipped on that shot, thought it was gone.

 

[John_8581]

Clayton Kershaw is losing again .... Daniel Murphy's 4th inning home run went into Orange County. :rofl2:

Clayton Kershaw has 11 Ks and 4 hits allowed through 6 innings.

Jacob deGrom is pitching brilliantly, 11 Ks through 5 1/3 innings, 5 hits allowed.

And Adrian Gonzalez almost goes deep! - FOUL BALL!

 

[Jagger69]

Man, two of my biggest fears manifested in the first game of the series:

1. No offense. Seriously. Bryant, Rizzo, and Castro are 0-21 through two postseason games. And what's with all the strikeouts looking tonight? The zone was expanded a little, but you have to adjust as a hitter (looking at you Coghlan). Cardinals were able to do so. Cubs looked over matched all night. Doesn't matter how many you give up if you can't score any.

2. Bullpen, sigh. After Lester grooves a 3-1 fastball to Pham, Strop comes in to hang a breaking ball up in the zone. Dive home safely. Postseason, bruh. Can't do that.

I thought Lester threw well, but Lackey kept the Cubs off balance all night. Damn, does he shine in the playoffs or what? It's essential that the Cubs win game 2 tomorrow night. Cannot go down 0-2 to this Cardinals team. Not coming back from that. Based on tonight though, that's going to be a tough mountain to climb. Other than Schwarber, there weren't really any positives to build on...

Agree. If the Cubs cannot gain a split at Busch, they are toast (Arrieta can't pitch every game, unfortunately for the Cubbies). If the Cardinals win tomorrow (by no means a given but I'll take Garcia over Hendricks any day), the northsiders are in serious deep shit. By the same token, if they can somehow manage a win, it's anyone's series. Tomorrow is the pivotal game. Lackey was tremendous tonight....dude will get a big pay raise next year if this keeps up.

 

[John_8581]

David Wright singles up the middle with the bases loaded off Baez. Two runs score. Mid of 7th. Mets 3 Dodgers 0.