And then there were four. The division series this year were pretty lopsided and not the way any of us would have thought, but in retrospect, that teams that got bounced, despite having the better seed, probably should have done more with their pitching. In further retrospect, I guess you don’t expect so many injuries or that much ineffectiveness all …
Dreamcast 75: The Post-Mortem
The postseason will continue without the Cubs again, but we got together anyway to talk about what a fun season this was despite the disappointing end. Topics include: This one’s a longer one because we had a lot of stuff to say. We’ll get together again just before the World Series in case there’s some Cubs-related news that popped up …
The Next Phase
Other than being the title of a pretty cool Star Trek episode, this coming week marks the next phase in the Cubs race towards extra baseball in October. As it stands, the Cubs stand 3.5 games back of NL Central leader Milwaukee, so they didn’t lose too much ground after an unfortunate (but ultimately acceptable) split in Cincinnati. They are …
Cubs v. Pirates – October 7, 2015
It's here. Jake Arrieta vs. Gerrit Cole. Let's do this. Lineups (my best guess) Pirates RF Polanco (L) LF Marte (R) CF McCutchen (R) 3B Ramirez (R) 2B Walker (S) 1B Alvarez (L) C Cervelli (R) SS Mercer (R) SP Cole (R) Cubs CF Fowler (S) RF Schwarber (L) LF Bryant (R) 1B Rizzo (L) 2B Castro (R) C Montero (L) …
NDLS Series Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (88-74) vs Washington Nationals (98-64)
The Nats lost 102 and 103 games in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and improved to 69-93 in 2010. Last year they finished the year with a 80-81 record, which was a marked improvement. Still, it's tough to read too much into a team whose leader in rWAR was a relief pitcher (Tyler Clippard). There was no doubt about it this …
Series preview: San Francisco Giants (94-68) vs Cincinnati Reds (97-65)
The Reds jockeyed with several other NL Central teams (including the Pirates!) for the divisional lead for the first half of the season, but after July 19 they moved into first place and never looked back. The closest they got to losing the lead was on August 9th, after NL MVP Shawn Camp exerted his powers and defeated the Reds …
Wild Card Friday “Series” Previews, including an all-new playoff results simulator!
Tonight's games: St. Louis at Atlanta: Kyle Lohse, RHP (2.86, 3.51, 3.96) vs Kris Medlen, RHP (1.57, 2.42, 2.97), 4:07 PM CT It's hard to believe that Lohse has put up nearly 11 fWAR since the Cardinals picked him up off the scrap heap. I would say he's a member of the Wandy Rodriguez Hall of Fame, except he's not …
Series Preview: Detroit Tigers (95-67) vs New York Yankees (97-65)
This series already began in disappointment, as the marquee matchup between extremely likely Cy Young winner Justing Verlander and C.C. Sabathia was suspended due to rain in the second inning. The game will resume tonight with different starters and the score 1-1. I said last night that it was good for the Yankees given how great Verlander is, but C.C. …
Series Preview: Tampa Bay Rays (91-71) at Texas Rangers (96-66)
I’m going to write my usual previews for each of the playoff series. I’ll say flat out that I don’t follow the AL at all, so any of you Rays fans who aren’t still in a daze should feel free to chime in with comments/inevitable corrections to anything I say here. Before we get to the Rays, let’s stop and …
Expand the Playoffs ASAP
Major League Baseball should add more playoff teams. Now. And they shouldn’t stop at just one more wild card team. They might as well add two and force one of the division winners to prove themselves with an extra postseason round. Bud Selig reiterated this week his belief that the playoff field would expand to ten teams as early as …
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