With all due respect...

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:cool:

Sorry. I was looking through my fishing gear and thought I'd do some trolling. :cool:

With the recent fade of the Phillies, it appears that the NL Central and both Wests are the only interesting fights left.

In the AL West, I always expected Houston to get better once they got healthier. Seattle's fade is a bit sad, since they looked good for a while. I suppose I can allow myself to no longer actively root against Oakland, now, since they DFA'd their pizza-delivery person assaulting Colin Kaepernick-wannabe catcher. Although Oakland is still in the Bay Area, so they've got that going against them.

I honestly don't care about any of the teams in the NL West, although I remain annoyed that whenever MLB network has any late evening or West Coast coverage, it's always the Dodgers or Giants.

As between the Cardinals and the Cubs, Im' rooting for the Brewers. It's a bit of rooting for the underdog, but also I'm a fan of Christian Yelich. He seems like good kid.

Orioles are in 1st place for 1st pick.... Clinched in the sweep by KC (the second worst team in baseball).

The fun right now is trying to see if Baltimore exceeds their worst franchise team. As it stands now their current (losing) percentage gives them MAYBE 6 more wins...

So 46 - 116

Gausman down in Atlanta is sub-2.00 ERA.

EPIC

Now for actual baseball:

Does Judge's return boost the Yanks to where they survive the wildcard playoff? Their recent loss to the A's does not bode well

LOL, no sweat. That poor hat probably felt it needed delousing.

Must say, we end up watching Brewers games because of the selling off of games to MLB cartel. It's the only way to see Cubs because the local Fox station covers all Brewers games, and replays 'em for shift workers. They look like such a different team this year. That kid Yelich is a GOOD lookin' ball player and imo one of the very best acquisitions they've made. He has great traditional baseball career written on him if he keeps his stuff together.

My brother is an Orioles fan, he is excited that they get the pick. He's also pretty excited that they are finally listening to Duquette, and signing international players.

Yelich is a stud, he isn't flashy, so he's often overlooked, but the kid can flat out play the game.

I am not sure how much Judge is going to help, it is going to take a him a few weeks to get his timing back, at the very least. Then again, nobody thought he'd be this good to begin with!!

So here we are and the Cubs took care of business with the Cards today, who are no push-overs. And actually hoping the Tigers (yes, I said an AL team) will come back to give the Brewers a loss, but they are another team that has played some reeeeally good ball this year. Never easy in the NL-Central; will probably come down to last game of this last weekend. What a hairball, but looks pretty tame compared to SCOTUS nomination hearings.

Just watched a good game, rockies clinched WC berth.
1 point from their first division championship.

Have I ever said how much I HATE the St. Louis Cards ... :mad: :mad: :mad:

If you need something to do you could put a Mojo on the Tigers tonight to beat the Brewers... askin' for a friend.
:cool:

Go Brewers! I can’t stand the Cubs. Would like nothing more than seeing them denied the Division title. And an early playoff exit to boot. :D

Another reason I like Yelich, which I didn't mention in my earlier post, and which is unrelated to his baseball talent, is the evident pride he has in his Marine brother, which he noted both in the Marlins exhibition game at Fort Bragg a few years back and during the World Baseball Classic. Sgt. Cameron Yelich got to throw out the first pitch at yesterday's game, and see his brother have a pretty good game.

A fun scenario would be for the Rockies and Brewers to take their divisions, and the defending NL Central and NL West forced into a single-elimination wildcard game.

I'm kind of conflicted, in that as a long-time Northern Virginia resident, I am rooting for the Nats over the Rockies, but at the same time I'd like the Rockies to win the NL East, because I am tired of the Dodgers and LA in general.

Well you might get your wish. Down to the last game on the last day tomorrow. And if a tie still results, Brewers go to Wrigley for tie-breaker because of Cubs' better record against them -- which is not good because both play each other better on the road & the Brewers have loved coming to Wrigley this year. What a hairball.
:D

Kind of an anti-climactic Sunday. All four relevant games were pretty much blowouts. No change to the standings, forcing two Game 163's.

Elsewhere, a lot of fan appreciation for Adam Jones, and the Orioles managed to at least end a dismal season with a win.

Yeah, and "moving" day probably for some team staff/management.

Cubs fan or not, I will be surprised if Christian Yelich doesn't end up NL MVP. That kid is somethin'.

The O's won on Opening Day and the closing game...the everything in between was just a WHOLE lotta Bad.
We'll see if the management has it in them to rebuild and get a "Houston bounce". They'll be a lot of unknown names on the roster for the next 2 -3 years. Indications are the Showalter will go and Duquette will stay. Strange that they aren't completely cleaning house but there are a lot of factors in ownership and front office that are rumored to be in flux now.

The post season will be interesting to watch. The regular season had very little drama in the AL but there is some momentum in play that will most likely have more to do with the outcome than anything in the regular season.

Bring on October ball.

13 innings. Had opportunities & didn't cash in. Adios Cubbies; Rockies headed to a Brewers team that has peaked at just the right time.

The Rockies are 10-2 in their last 12 games, including the WC, so they're peaking at the right time as well.

Well-pitched game for both teams. Somehow I don't think the A's-Yankees game is going to be a pitcher's duel, but I could be wrong.

Great game last night. ;)

Cubbies and Rockies game was reflective of the entire season.

Agree, I'm pretty sure A's -v- Yanks doesn't go down as a pitching duel but will be a matter of launch angle and exit velocity.

A's closed out the season 6-4... Yankees 7-3 and they are tied up in their regular season match-ups 3-3.

I'll pull for the A' s simply because they are not the Yankees. :p


R10

I think its going to be an interesting post season contest this year.

Surprising to see the Cubs eliminated. Brewers and Rockies (and the Dodgers) hit all the marks when it mattered the most.

Sad to see the Cardinals fade the last 12 games, the organization needs new front office people to build a more competitive team. Never should have let Jeff Luhnow depart, he would have been much better GM than Mozeliak has proven to be.

Agree on the first thing, which I'll only be hearing about because of my whereabouts.

Someone who really followed the Cubs saw this coming for quite awhile this year. Starting pitching, even when able to cruise through 6-7 innings, can't take back the 3 runs they gave up in the first 2 innings - happened alot. And the bullpen was so "which version of him are we going to see today?" they were never going to really hold against someone who was continuing to move forward. They stayed where they were on the track, with no progress really since mid-late summer and the Brewers kept going. When you stand still then, as Mr. Miyagi say, "Squoosh! Just like grape." Wish the Brewers the best, they earned it the old fashioned way, now let's see if they can make it stick.

We'll see who's around next Spring in Mesa...

That little bit of extra time for other stuff now, like I wish my buddy's lessee would get his crops out soon so I can place some targets wayyyyyy out there.

The Cubs had 39 games where they scored one or fewer runs (plus 16 where they scored two runs). The Cubs at least managed to win four of those games by a score of 1-0, but that shows that it wasn't just pitching woes, but an offense that also too often failed to deliver (they won 7 of the 16 2 run games, either 2-1 or 2-0). The hapless Orioles, by the way, had 40 such one or zero run games, winning two by a 1-0 score.

The Nationals had a similar problem with the offense often going quiet, suffering 15 shutouts, 13 1-run performances and 22 2-run performances. In the Cy Young debate, for all the people saying ignore the wins and don't punish DeGrom for a lack of run support, I would note that Max Scherzer had four losses where he gave up two runs or fewer, but the Nats were shut out. And then there's Scherzer's August 12 no-decision, where he shut out the Cubs for 7 innings and Madson gave up a walk-off grand slam in the ninth to lose 4-3.

No dispute on the bats either. Much of the season several others were carrying the "names" and, along with that, much of the NL has figured out how to get specific guys out - no secrets in baseball for long. It's an amalgam of things that have to come together, and even veterans aren't immune to trying too hard & expanding the zone, rewarding the opposing pitcher's approach. Like an old MAD magazine Spy vs. Spy episode. (Exacerbated when it's the bottom of the 2nd & your starter has already given up 3 runs.)

I actually remember feeling bad for Scherzer; delighted with the outcome but felt bad for him.

Cubs going down was one dagger for MLB as they see Milwaukee advance (not exactly a huge following for TV ratings).

Yankees made quick work of the A's... I'm annoyed to say that they seem to be hitting stride with healthy bats and arms returning just in time for the post season. Boston is going to need to come at them HARD to take away the momentum.

Sale has the ball for the series opener. He's been suspect of late although the club says he's "fine". Guess we'll find out.

Brewers made some quick work as well of the Rockies and now get to await Dodgers or Braves. They will be tough for either one getting more rest. Not having that 3rd game covered on a Sunday other than by MLB channel proves that the high church of Football outrank$$$ the branch cartel of baseball, at least as far as Brewers/Rockies are concerned.

(IMO, football before the World Series is a felony and World Series played into freakin' November gets you a cell with Bubba also, but the kid calls me a curmudgeon, so...)
:munchin

What is this football thing? Oh yeah, that waste of time that I don't miss. :D

I wish MLB hadn't taken so many games "off air" onto pay networks. I guess that's what helps keep the players' contracts outrageous and the owners' pockets stuffed with cash.