BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: NL Wildcard race: September 9, 2008

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

NL Wildcard race: September 9, 2008

MLB.com: Brewers fall to Reds in 11 innings
MLB.com: Phils’ big rally not enough to catch Fish
MLB.com: Izturis delivers Cards a walk-off win
MLB.com: Berkman leads barrage as Wolf wins

MIL 82-63 [2-7 in SEPT]
PHI 79-66 [4-4 in SEPT] (3 GB)
STL 78-66 [4-3 in SEPT] (3.5 GB)
HOU 78-67 [7-1 in SEPT] (4 GB)

NTNgod Posted: September 10, 2008 at 03:45 AM | 40 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
Related News: General, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, St Louis

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1. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:13 AM (#2935347)

HOU 78-67 [4 GB]

its going to be so funny when Houston makes the playoffs, especially after everyone, and I do mean everyone, called the GM an idiot for trying to improve his ball club at the trading deadline.

I am starting to like this unbalanced schedule more and more ..

2. Tulo's Fishy Mullet (mrams) Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:21 AM (#2935349)

I seem to recall the head scratching, myself included, on this site when Houston got Randy Wolf.

3. SouthSideRyan Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:22 AM (#2935350)

I don't get the unbalanced schedule crack.

The NL Central is pretty clearly the best division in the NL. The NL West is pretty clearly the worst, and their 1st place team's record would be good for 5th in the Central.

4. SouthSideRyan Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:23 AM (#2935351)

If Houston didn't have the miracle comeback in the past, people wouldn't make such a big deal about this. They still have 3 superior teams in front of them.

5. strong silence Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:29 AM (#2935357)

Maybe he means that he likes that one clearly undeserving team will be in the playoffs while one clearly deserving team will not be in the playoffs.

The unbalanced schedules irritate me. One league, all teams play each other an equal number of times and the fan is (nearly) guaranteed that the 4 best teams make the playoffs.

6. SouthSideRyan Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:42 AM (#2935364)

Wait, who's the clearly undeserving team? Milwaukee? Because their cold streak happened to fall in September?

Is it your belief that Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are worse than Washington and Atlanta? And that the Mets/Philly are better than the Cubs/Brewers/Cards?

I'm not seeing it.

Unless you're talking about the NL West team, but that's not really unbalanced schedules, that's divisional play which is never going away, and I think would be bad for the sport if it did. Nobody cares about the NBA race to the playoffs and homecourt advantage actually makes somewhat of a difference there.

7. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:44 AM (#2935366)

The unbalanced schedules irritate me

I kind of like the fact that you can make up so much ground within your division in the final months. I haven't done any fact checking, but wasn't Houston's run to the world series a few years back, aided a little by the unbalanced schedule? I know Colorado took advantage of it last season, just walking through th NL West in the final month of the year. It never would have happened if the schedule was "normalized".

8. strong silence Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:45 AM (#2935368)

Undeserving - winner of the West.

Deserving - either of Philly/NY or Mil/Stl/Houston. All of these teams likely will have a better record than the NL West winner but one of them will miss the playoffs.

If the playoffs started today, the Dodgers with, what the 6th best record, make the playoffs. That is a mockery and I hope Selig pays for allowing such a situation.

9. strong silence Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:48 AM (#2935371)

If there was one league with no divisions, RJ, the circumstances you like could still happen.

And we would avoid travesties such as LA or Arizona in the playoffs.

I want to see the best teams play the best teams when it matters most. 3 divisions prevents this from happening.

10. SouthSideRyan Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:52 AM (#2935372)

Dodgers have the 7th best record in the NL. If the Marlins get really hot down the stretch, the West winner could have the 8th best record.

I added an edit after realizing that's probably what you're talking about.

But your anger is misplaced. "Undeserving" teams making the playoffs isn't a Seligula creation. It's been going on since '69.

11. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:54 AM (#2935373)

Undeserving - winner of the West

couldn't the same thing be said about the NL central last season?

12. strong silence Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:57 AM (#2935375)

Yes, both of you are right that it has happened in the past. I'm just tired of it because I want the playoffs to mean much more than it does now. And be more exciting.

13. strong silence Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:58 AM (#2935376)

By bad for the sport, SSR, don't you really mean bad for a few franchises because attendance would decline?

14. Bad Doctor Posted: September 10, 2008 at 01:27 PM (#2935498)

Well this is getting interesting now. What are the odds that Sabathia pitches the Sunday finale in Philly on three days' rest? Is that going to be the plan going into the series, or does it depend on how things shake out prior to Sunday?

15. Bob T Posted: September 10, 2008 at 01:35 PM (#2935504)

But remember the 1973 NL East race was fun! The 2008 NL West race is a travesty!

16. salvomania Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:01 PM (#2935530)

In 1973 five teams were still in it with 10 games to play.

17. salvomania Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:03 PM (#2935533)

In '73 the Cubs were 2.5 games out with a week to go----and in 5th place.

18. Gern Blanston Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:05 PM (#2935534)

I don't get the unbalanced schedule crack.

Especially coming from a fan of by far the worst team in that suckass division out west.

19. salvomania Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:06 PM (#2935538)

And for the entire last month of the season, the six NL East teams played only other NL East teams.... those were the days....

20. Gern Blanston Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:09 PM (#2935539)

Oh, and the Astros aren't making the playoffs. I don't care how much '04/'05/'08 wind I'm spitting into here.

21. Boots Day Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:11 PM (#2935542)

Was there this much complaining last year when the Cubs made the playoffs with the sixth-best record in the NL?

22. Gern Blanston Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:12 PM (#2935546)

Was there this much complaining last year when the Cubs made the playoffs with the sixth-best record in the NL?

There were a lot of comments that they weren't particularly good, which they weren't.

23. salvomania Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:14 PM (#2935550)

On August 30 the Mets were in last place...

they didn't see first place until the 2nd to last weekend of the year, and their largest lead of the season was 1.5 games...

on August 5 they were 11.5 games behind the Cardinals, who swept them in a doubleheader that day...

the Cardinals would go just 21-30 the rest of the way while the Mets would go 34-19.

[Edit: I'm talkin bout 1973]

24. SoSH U at work Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:17 PM (#2935555)

I don't get the unbalanced schedule crack.

Especially coming from a fan of by far the worst team in that suckass division out west.

The line wasn't a crack, and his reasoning behind why he likes it is pretty sound. He likes that if a team goes on a nice run down the stretch, it can make up a lot of ground because it's playing against the teams being pursued. That his team sucks ass in the most suckassingest division is immaterial to his point.

25. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 02:21 PM (#2935558)

Someone needs to review to see if these late season pushes are becoming more commonplace.

26. The Polish Sausage Racer Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:10 PM (#2935651)

Just move the Brewers back to the AL, make every division 5 teams, voila. Problem solved. Trouble is Bud has some obsession with the Brewers being in the NL. Maybe if they knew how to bunt effectively, or weren't loaded with DH-type players from top to bottom, that would make some sense.

27. Kolmo Posted: September 10, 2008 at 04:29 PM (#2935680)

Just move the Brewers back to the AL, make every division 5 teams, voila. Problem solved.

Fifteen teams in each league would require at least one interleague series be scheduled for every game day.

28. SouthSideRyan Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:10 PM (#2935718)

I swear this 15/15 thing comes up like 8 times a week.

29. cardsfanboy

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:26 PM (#2935733)

30. Gern Blanston Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:30 PM (#2935736)

Besides, if you were to move a team, it'd be the Astros. Put 'em in the AL West.

31. SoSH U at work Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:35 PM (#2935743)

I'm not sure anything could get me to lose interest in baseball, but interleague games all year long, would certainly test that.

32. phredbird

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:38 PM (#2935749)

as already mentioned, 5-team divisions would make for some terrible scheduling. you gotta have even numbers.
even better, both leagues should have the same number of teams.
my suggestion, as always, is to add a team in brooklyn and a team west of the mississippi somewhere, conflate all the teams into ONE major league, and create 8 4-team divisions.
then you make the mississippi the dividing line. everybody plays everybody else on their side of the miss. an equal number of times, then crosses to do a home and home with everybody else. kinda like the NBA.
the sked balances and you can arrange it so that bos-ny, nym-brook, stl-chi, sf-LA, etc. all play each other equal numbers of times.
THEN you'd see the best teams making the playoffs.

33. Crispix Attacks Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:48 PM (#2935762)

I dislike the unbalanced schedule because I just don't want to see the Pirates or Reds 17 times a year. I would rather see a few more games against the Mets, Dodgers etc than having a ton of games against teams I don't care about.

Sounds like what you want is an American Premier League, featuring the top 15 teams in baseball, with the Pirates, Reds, Orioles, etc. playing one level lower in the Irn-Bru Baseball Championship Series. I think that would be good if it allowed for expansion to happen pretty easily.

34. akrasian Posted: September 10, 2008 at 05:52 PM (#2935768)

THEN you'd see the best teams making the playoffs.

Except in years where the better teams are mostly on one side or the other of the Mississippi. Then you'd end up with a situation like last year in the NBA - where the 9th best team in the west was likely better than the third place team in the east.

35. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L)

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 06:01 PM (#2935788)

I'm pulling for the 'Stros. I want to see Papa Grande's Haka in the playoffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd0kDxP04eI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eGCsEQ15L4

36. cardsfanboy

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 06:39 PM (#2935834)

Sounds like what you want is an American Premier League, featuring the top 15 teams in baseball, with the Pirates, Reds, Orioles, etc. playing one level lower in the Irn-Bru Baseball Championship Series. I think that would be good if it allowed for expansion to happen pretty easily.

I don't mind seeing the Pirates and Reds and others at time, but unless it's the Cubs, there really isn't any team I want to see my team face 15 times a year. And I miss our old rivalry with the Mets and Dodgers. I just think more variety is a better way to go.

Of course I'm a huge fan of interleague play so my opinion has to be wrong on this subject. (heck I actually think 3 5 team division per league is a great idea, as it would actually add to the aura of interleague play, as it stands now, when there is interleague going on, the only team you hear about is the Yankees and whoever they play. With continual interleague going on year round occassionally ESPN will acknowledge other cool matchups. Of course there is the problem with the final month of the season, where interleague could affect a pennant race, but that is a minor issue to be honest.)

37. SoSH U at work Posted: September 10, 2008 at 06:53 PM (#2935855)

Of course I'm a huge fan of interleague play so my opinion has to be wrong on this subject.

It doesn't have to be.

But it is. ;)

38. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 07:04 PM (#2935867)

My guess is that based on some of my recent posts folks have branded me a purveyor of doom.

Well, with CC on the mound it's 3-1 Reds after six innings as Jerry Hairston cranks a 3-run homer.

The Crew hasn't been able to touch the Reds bullpen during this series. If Milwaukee loses today they will have finished a 10 game homestand at 2-8 with both victories by one run. Overall they have been outscored by a 2:1 ratio.

I don't know if anyone caught Prince Fielder's comments after last night's game but they were along the lines of "Hey, whatever happens, happens. It just is. All we can do is play." (That's a paraphrase. For some reason I couldn't find last night's game wrap on MLB)

39. cardsfanboy

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 07:07 PM (#2935870)

It doesn't have to be.

But it is. ;)

I just like it (although I hate having to play KC every year.

I have no idea, other than tradition, why it's hated. If you accept the balanced schedule, then there should be no issue with interleague play (although I think every team in the same division should play the same opponents.)

40. phredbird

Posted: September 10, 2008 at 07:08 PM (#2935872)

THEN you'd see the best teams making the playoffs.

Except in years where the better teams are mostly on one side or the other of the Mississippi. Then you'd end up with a situation like last year in the NBA - where the 9th best team in the west was likely better than the third place team in the east.

well, i didn't say every one of the best teams. there will always be unequal distribution of quality, but it won't be as magnified by the playoff format as it is now.

btw, i know this is a dumb question, but i'm too lazy to look it up: has everybody played everybody else in interleague now?

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NL Wildcard race: September 9, 2008

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