2013 MLB Playoffs

[jamo]

Didn't see any baseball-related threads for the year, so... Two divisions already clinched, three more basically decided, and four wild card spots up for grabs. Shaping to be a pretty fun October.

[Golfingdad]

Not to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure that baseball season ended about 5 months ago. (Padres fan here) I could be wrong though. ;)

[meenman]

It's been a weird year - even the red sux fans I am friends with have not been obnoxious this year. I tune out rays fan because their lack of baseball knowledge disgusts me.

Girardi deserves manager of the year since he basically managed a triple a team all year.

I cant call myself a baseball fan anymore, only a yankees fan - and they are just going to tease me until the end. They are not making the playoffs. Rivera and Pettitte retiring and I cant imagine Jeter is going to stick around after next year. At least I wont go through weeks with no sleep watching playoff baseball until midnite,

The yanks will be handcuffed on player decisions until a-roids suspension is finalized - it could be a long year in the bronx next year.

[boogielicious]

The season is too long.  I think they would be better off with 150 games and expanded playoffs.  But they will never change.

[Slice of Life]

Chris Perez is a piece of s***. Worthless pile of garbage.

That's all...

[dennyjones]

Tigers fan.   I believe they stand a chance to win it all.   The bullpen is weak though.   When they score runs, they score them in bunches but can't seem to win the close games.    When the pitching is on, there are none better but...Verlander .....?? He did pitch well in his last game but came away with a no decision.

I'm ready for the playoffs.   The season is too long.    We have Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and University of Michigan football going all at the same time.  My TV is going to burn up!

[Slice of Life]

Anyone see that BOMB by Giambi?

[jamo]

Anyone see that BOMB by Giambi?

Just saw the replay. That was a SHOT.

[Slice of Life]

Just saw the replay. That was a SHOT.

Down a run, a loss gets Texas back in a tie for the 2nd wildcard spot, and 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth, and he hits a walkoff pinch-hit homerun. Can you say clutch?

If the Indians make the playoffs, Terry Francona HAS to be the AL manager of the year...

[Maddog10]

Big time Cardinals fan here. Felt bad for Wacha last night when his no-hitter got broken up with 2 outs in the 9th. It was quite a performance from a 22 year old rookie. The worst part was that it wasn't even a solid hit, but instead a weak infield grounder. Still a great game though, hoping we can hold on to this division lead and avoid the one game playoff. The NL Central has been pretty intense this year.

[Slice of Life]

Big time Cardinals fan here. Felt bad for Wacha last night when his no-hitter got broken up with 2 outs in the 9th. It was quite a performance from a 22 year old rookie. The worst part was that it wasn't even a solid hit, but instead a weak infield grounder. Still a great game though, hoping we can hold on to this division lead and avoid the one game playoff. The NL Central has been pretty intense this year.

Yeah I was watching the 9th. That was rough...

[dsc123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meenman

I cant call myself a baseball fan anymore, only a yankees fan - and they are just going to tease me until the end. They are not making the playoffs. Rivera and Pettitte retiring and I cant imagine Jeter is going to stick around after next year. At least I wont go through weeks with no sleep watching playoff baseball until midnite,

I'm a yankee fan as well, and I'm sort of confused.  What happens when a team doesn't make the playoffs?  I vaguely remember something about not making it in 2008....  I'll have to ask some of my red sox fan friends what to do.

Seriously though, it will be strange....and maybe nice...to not have to stay up all night.  I might move to the west coast just to get the NFL at 10am and MLB playoffs at 5pm.

Anyone see that BOMB by Giambi?

No, but heard about it, and heard Francona say he has a man crush on "G".  I always liked him, despite his cheating ways.

[RPMPIRE]

As a Giants fan, the season ended a long time ago, but I still like following each game. The season was such a disappointment but there great moments such as Tim Lincecum's no-hitter and a close perfect game by Petit.

If I were to root for a playoff team, it would be the A's since they're a local Bay Area team. I'm amazed how much ground Texas lost in the last month. I don't think it was more than two weeks ago that Oakland and Texas were fighting for the top spot and now the Rangers are 7.5 games back. The last four years for the Rangers must have some of the fans thinking bad luck or something - back-to-back losses in the World Series, losing the division on the last game to the A's after having a large lead and then losing the Wild Card game, and then this year falling apart down the stretch again. Nolan Ryan must be pissed.

I'm hoping Pittsburg does well, but I have a feeling their playoffs might just last one game.

[iacas]

I'm hoping Pittsburgh does well, but I have a feeling their playoffs might just last one game.

It may, because they're in the wild card spot. They played in a tough division this year with St. Louis and Cincinnati both having good years. The Pirates have more wins than all but five other teams: Boston (4), Detroit (1), Oakland (3), Atlanta (2), and St. Louis (2, own division). LA has as many wins as they do. Third place in every other division has 9, 8, 14, 19, and 18 fewer wins. In the Pirates division they have 1 fewer win. And they play the Red to end the season.

They're under-rated, but the best team in baseball doesn't even have a 70% chance of winning a one-game "playoff."

[RPMPIRE]

They're under-rated, but the best team in baseball doesn't even have a 70% chance of winning a one-game "playoff."

It's in it's second year, but I still don't like these wild card single-game elimination "playoff" games, especially for baseball. I know the season is long enough as it is, but I would much rather see a best of 3 wild card scenario. In this case, I think STL will hold their own and win the division and the Pirates will basically be having a +1 game with the Reds again.

[dsc123]

It's in it's second year, but I still don't like these wild card single-game elimination "playoff" games, especially for baseball. I know the season is long enough as it is, but I would much rather see a best of 3 wild card scenario. In this case, I think STL will hold their own and win the division and the Pirates will basically be having a +1 game with the Reds again.

Couldn't disagree more.  I love that its hard to make the playoffs in baseball and I love the emphasis on winning your division.  I think fans of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox see that the most.  For years it didn't really matter who won the division because the other team was going to get the wildcard and end up on equal footing.  I think its hard to find a more exciting thing in baseball than a one game playoff.

[jamo]

It's in it's second year, but I still don't like these wild card single-game elimination "playoff" games, especially for baseball. I know the season is long enough as it is, but I would much rather see a best of 3 wild card scenario. In this case, I think STL will hold their own and win the division and the Pirates will basically be having a +1 game with the Reds again.

From what I understand, MLB's original point with these was to expand the amount of teams that try for playoff spots come September. I've read a bunch of articles saying that their plan may have backfired. Teams are actually more likely to tank come September when winning the wild card only gets you a 50/50 chance of actually making it to the ALDS/NLDS. No one wants to spent extra money, make potentially short-sighted trades, and keep their young players in the minors just for a wild card slot that doesn't mean as much anymore. [quote name="dsc123" url="/t/70104/2013-mlb-playoffs/0_30#post_901873"] Couldn't disagree more.  I love that its hard to make the playoffs in baseball and I love the emphasis on winning your division.  I think fans of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox see that the most.  For years it didn't really matter who won the division because the other team was going to get the wildcard and end up on equal footing.  I think its hard to find a more exciting thing in baseball than a one game playoff. [/quote] Maybe Yankees fans liked that, but as a Red Sox fan I liked the assurance that having the second best record in the AL didn't go for naught. (Speaking in general terms here. There were at least several seasons where the best two AL teams were the Sox and Yanks, and having only one of those teams with a guaranteed playoff spot would be unfortunate.)

[RPMPIRE]

Maybe Yankees fans liked that, but as a Red Sox fan I liked the assurance that having the second best record in the AL didn't go for naught.

I like the bolded statement here. This is why I like the older wild card format better. I highly doubt each team is playing for the wild card spot rather than winning the division. The new format may have made that winning the division was more imperative, but if you get the next best record in your respective league and not win your division, to me, you already deserve a playoff spot considering how long the season is.