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Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Thursday, September 22, 2011
BOS 88-68 [5-16 in SEPT]
TBR 85-70 [11-9 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)
LAA 85-70 [12-7 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)
MLB.com: Beckett stumbles For the second consecutive evening, what was shaping up as a much-needed win turned into loss. Playing their final game at Fenway Park this season, the Sox suffered a 6-4 defeat to the last-place Orioles.
Almost stunningly, considering the juncture of the season that it is, Boston lost three out of four to Baltimore to cap a disappointing 3-7 homestand.
MLB.com: Rays miss opportunity in loss to Yankees
MLB.com: Haren wins 16th as Halos keep up in races
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1. Smiling Joe Hesketh Posted: September 22, 2011 at 02:18 AM (#3932740)Dead team walking. And they know it. And we know it.
Baseball is a funny game.
This edition of the team has really inspired some petty feelings in me. I almost hope the hubris they showed catches up to them. Put your best team on the field and maybe it won't matter if you have a 2-56 month and are reduced to asking how Oil Can's arm is feeling.
That's rather remarkable when you go back and read it again, slowly.
I think I'm done here guys. By turns I've soured on the NBA and NFL, and baseball might be the next to go (and it's not just because of this massive gag-job, it's some other things some personal). If they manage to un#### themselves great, if not whatever.
The Sox have Lester going twice, Beckett once, probably Bedard once and the Yankees have the division clinched. Plus, if the Angels win over the weekend, Texas will have have something to play for.
If the Rays win tonight, that's a different story.
You know, I actually kind of agree with this. You can add running a 6 man rotation for a month with both Wakefield and Miller in it because they wanted the feel good moment of Wake's 200th win.
This.
Francona has to start managing like his job is on the line. This team showed no urgency for most of the season and it is coming back to bite them in the ass something fierce.
uhhh
If the Rays can come out of the weekend one game back, they have a realistic shot -- the Yankees should have Home Field Advantage locked up at that point, so they really won't be putting much of a team out there for the last three games.
Have fun getting bounced by Haren and co.
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankee win."
Have fun getting bounced by Haren and co.
Oh it wouldn't surprise me. But I think the Red Sox are by far the scariest club if they actually make the playoffs.
That, my fellow primers, is some f*cked up sh*t.
It's a 3 horse race and two of them have broken legs coming down the stretch. Ugly really is the only way to describe it.
I agree with this. For all the talk about the Sox collapse, the Angels comeback if they can finish it off is going to be remarkable. Not only 10 back on September 1st but to make up that much ground without a single head to head game against the team you are chasing is unfathomable.
Completely lost in the discussion, Showalter's gotta get some points for ending the trend of Baltimore September swoons. He ain't Earl 2.0, but I like how he's kept a disaster of a season (with youthful pitching, injuries and Vlad Guerrero) from becoming a traveshamockery.
Didn't they do the same thing last year and finish strong?
To Buck's (and the team's) credit, they've ############ the contenders pretty thoroughly.
EDIT: Coke to Jose
We may yet have a 3-way tie for the WC... What happens then?
I was at the game and for what it's worth I thought it was the right move. Beckett seemed to pitch pretty well other than two homers by Reynolds and he really hadn't been in trouble much. You hear managers and pitching coaches talk about not just the pitch count but the effort involved in the pitches and Beckett seemed to be having a fairly easy night (again, except for Reynolds and Chris Davis who hit two balls to the track off him).
I tend to be on Tito's side generally though I like Dan's idea in #47.
No, new this year to adjust the playoff schedule. I think the last time it did was 1990 (Red Sox fans will remember that for Brunansky's catch).
Actually, it may have in 2001 also, I don't remember how the 9/11 cancellations moved things and I'm not even checking on 1994.
I am quite purposefully avoiding the Chatter for the game, because when I was listening to the game in the car in my travels tonight, and heard Beckett was out for the 8th, I was imagining the Chatter melting down.
But one thought: All year, in the 7th or 8th inning when there was less than 2 outs and guy(s) in scoring position, Tito would go to Bard. Tonight, he uses Aceves, who normally (though not always) comes in for a clean inning.
It would be fun to have a 3-way playoff for the WC in the AL and a tie/playoff in the NL. Would be quite a way to kick off the postseason.
No. Honestly, I didn't realize that was the case until a few days ago. Even as fellow Sox fans were mapping out the final X of games during one of the threads of increasing moisstness, it took me the longest time to realize that the season wasn't ending on a Sunday.
I assume it's the byproduct of starting the season at midweek this year instead of the Mondays and Tuesdays of the recent past (and, probably, with the hopes that a different start time to the playoffs will improve TV ratings).
Yeah, the prior 12 losing seasons were marked by September collapses, save for '03. One year they closed 4-32.
I can see the case for Bard over Aceves, but I think you've got to send Beckett out there and Beckett's got to do his job.
That, my fellow primers, is some f*cked up sh*t.
It's a 3 horse race and two of them have broken legs coming down the stretch. Ugly really is the only way to describe it.
Welcome to the Wild Card era.
Oh, and #### the Red Sox.
I suppose the Angels are playing well. I'd like to see one of these teams go 5-1 to finish it out. Someboy win rather than everybody lose.
They just lost 3 of 4 to a 90 loss Oriole team after losing 3 of 4 to a Tampa team that apparently can ONLY beat the Red Sox after losing 2 out of 3 to a .500 Toronto team after being swept 3 straight by Tampa after losing 3 out of 4 to Toronto after...you get the idea.
The Sox have not gone 3-3 over a 6 game stretch in a month. The best they've done is 3 wins in 8 games so I think "basically nil" is either very optimistic or very pessimistic depending on your fandom.
Last two days, yes; September, comparatively, but they really #### the bed in Baltimore & then fumbled away a game in Toronto.
Concur. Seeing how they're handling TB, the Yankees have a very real chance of sweeping the Sox this weekend. I'm assuming they'd like to "even out" what they did to TB before resting for the playoffs. Wakefield and Weiland in DNYS should be blood baths.
Had they not gotten Gonzalez they would likely have re-signed Adrian Beltre and kept Youkilis at first. Some dropoff but not a huge one.
That describes most bad teams, which is why even the bad ones win 60 games. I simply expect the Rangers this year to beat Seattle and Oakland, but Seattle has Felix Hernandez and Oakland has Trevor Cahill. In the latter case, Cahill has struggled overall but beaten Texas three times: sometimes even just the specific matchup is tough for a good team to handle.
True, but a big reason they've been playing reasonably well over the 3-4 weeks is that the bullpen has improved overall and Johnson replaced Gregg as the closer.
Pardon?
Phil. 98-57 pythag 98-57
NYY 95-60 pythag 98-57
Tex. 90-65 pythag 92-63
Rangers 98-57
Phillies 95-60
Yankees 93-62
Rangers 98-57
Phillies 95-60
Yankees 93-62
By this measure, the Red Sox are 96-60. The Rays, 85-70. Angels, 81-74 (though they always seem to beat this stuff).
Anyone who makes the playoffs can win, and even the "favorites", as it were, are really only slightly that.
Pardon?
Phil. 98-57 pythag 98-57
NYY 95-60 pythag 98-57
Tex. 90-65 pythag 92-63
Pythags are great for judging the season as a whole, but when you note that Pythags also have Boston at 92-64, you can see the inherent limitations of Pythag when it comes to judging a team's current strength.
That's not to say that Texas is as good as the Phillies or the Yankees, but Pythag isn't the way to prove that.
Well, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies don't have any significant injuries.
If Boston had Youkilis, Buchholz and Beckett healthy, they'd be as good as any team in the playoffs. They're still dangerous, but having to pitch Bedard and Lackey probably will doom them. They almost have to go 3-man rotation in the 1st round.
Screw home field... if they clinch before the final series against LAA, I want to see Scott Feldman starts and Michael Young at SS. The thought of LAA taking the wild card from Boston tickles me pink.
Oh, right, I forgot. It's a race, but not a "race".
they'll be in an interesting boat where they'll probably be trying to win to get the #2 spot and get home field, but by the same token they really have to look at lining up CJ Wilson and Holland as the 1/2 punch in the playoffs.
What about this then? Isn't the race between Texas and Detroit a good race? You think those two teams wouldn't rather face the Sox or Rays over NY?
If the Rangers tanked against LAA, we could get to face Detroit if the Angels made the playoffs. Can't count on that, but it would be amusing.
That's not to say that Texas is as good as the Phillies or the Yankees, but Pythag isn't the way to prove that.
Well, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies don't have any significant injuries.
If Boston had Youkilis, Buchholz and Beckett healthy, they'd be as good as any team in the playoffs. They're still dangerous, but having to pitch Bedard and Lackey probably will doom them. They almost have to go 3-man rotation in the 1st round.
All of which is true (heh, heh), but it's also true that Pythag isn't good for much of anything when it comes to predicting the postseason. You point out that the Yanks are 5 games better than Texas in this year's Pythags. Well, last year they were 6 games better....
Do you think the Red Sox wish they had traded for Fisher instead of Bedard...or maybe both of them? The race would be over if they Fisher...
Fisher, in his last six starts: 5-0, ERA of 0.81, 44.2 IP, 41 Ks, 4 BBs; OPS against of .426; team has won all six games. He has pitched at least 7 innings in every one of the six starts, and he has allowed no more than 1 ER in the six starts. He's been the best pitcher in baseball over the last month.
If he pitches like this in the postseason, they are going to win the World Series. Period.
No. I mean, I know what you are saying so I'm being a bit snarky but in the end you got (in head to head competition vs. Baltimore);
Boston - 1-3
TB - 1-2
LA - 1-2
No real huge changes there. if that had been;
Boston - 3-1
TB - 3-0
LA - 3-0
I don't think anyone would have blinked but you'd be in the same boat you are now standings-wise. I guess for the Angels it matters because that killed their division hopes but for the Wild Card, it has proven to be a non-issue. No team took advantage of their "easy" games.
Literally the only interest I have in that race is that if the Rangers "win," I'll have to give away my Game One ALDS tickets, because I have a big family birthday dinner planned for that night.
Division Series matchups are possibly the least significant thing in baseball. (A) I have no inordinate fear of the Yankees; the Rangers beat them last year. (B) If the Yankees are the best team in the league, the Rangers could (and should, and likely will) have to face them at some point while defending the pennant. Sooner or later, what difference does it really make: and if the Rangers lose in the first round, I will not moan about how they would have had a better chance in a longer series or something.
Home Field Advantage is theoretically nice, but the Rangers went 3-5 at home in last year's postseason, 5-3 on the road. A single game in another park is very little to worry about.
So if the Angels series next week is meaningless to the Rangers, I would prefer they play it as if they were playing Kansas City in the same situation. Don't try to tank and don't worry overmuch about winning, either. Tune up the rotation, give the starting lineup some live PAs, rest guys liberally, and yes, lots of Scott Feldman :)
Yeah, thank God for the wild card. I can't wait to tell my grandkids about the brilliant race of '11, and what a shame it would have been if all three teams had to stay home.
Let's just have the Yankees, Rangers, and Tigers play a round robin at this point.
Wasn't predicting the post-season. Just refuting:
"Texas becoming the best team in baseball".
I think the AL postseason will feature 4 very evenly matched teams. All with strengths and weaknesses.
Wasn't predicting the post-season. Just refuting:
"Texas becoming the best team in baseball".
Fair enough, but I think we'd agree that the most meaningless word in the English language when it comes to describing a baseball team is "best". The graveyards are full of Pythagorean champs who punked out when they got to October.
I think the AL postseason will feature 4 very evenly matched teams. All with strengths and weaknesses.
Even allowing for the reverse jinx factor, at this point I wouldn't put the Red Sox in the same category with the Yanks / Texas / Detroit. Those three have got to be considered a cut above a team that's won five games in September.
But one thing I do think is important, and that's getting the HFA for the LCS, because by all measures this year they've been a better home team. With a 5 game advantage over both Texas and the Tigers, that shouldn't be hard to do, but I'd like to see them at least play the A team against the Red Sox and get it out of the way.
I think this is what all teams should (and, honestly, mostly) do. No out and out days off - position starters start, maybe, if time permits, a day off on a rotating basis for the older or banged up guys. Then get the rotation set, figure out who you're pitchers are on the postseason roster and get them some work/rest as needed. None of that is "punting" the games and the guys on the field should be playing hard.
As for the #2 team in the AL, the Yankees Home Field Advantage Magic Number is 3, which they should make pretty easily. Given they will almost surely be facing a team that has time to set-up its pitching--barring a run by the Angels--I don't really care who they play.
9/11 rescheduled a week's worth of games and ended on the usual Sunday.
The 1994 strike began on Friday August 12th. I remember the players intentionally picked a weekend since that's where the owners lose more money.
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