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Sunday scores: Giants beat the Padres 11-4, Jays beat the Orioles 12-4, Boston comes back from 5-1 down to beat Washington 7-5, Yankees walk off the Rays in the lowest scoring game of the day with a 1-0 win, Mariners lose to the Angels 3-7, and Dodgers beat the Brewers 10-3.
Giants win the West, Dodgers get the Wildcard. Over in the AL Boston and New York both get Wildcards and the Yankees will travel to Boston. For all of the talk about all chaos we got exactly 0 tiebreaker games
Official playoff bracket:
AL #5 New York Yankees (WC #2)
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AL #4 Boston Red Sox (WC #1)
AL#5/AL #4 (WC's)
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AL #1 Tampa Bay Rays (AL East Champion)
AL #3 Chicago White Sox (AL Central Champion)
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AL #2 Houston Astros (AL West Champion)
NL #5 St. Louis Cardinals (WC #2)
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NL #4 Los Angeles Dodgers (WC #1)
NL #4/NL #5 (WC's)
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NL #1 San Francisco Giants (NL West Champion)
NL #3 Atlanta Braves (NL East Champion)
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NL #2 Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central Champion).
I'd be disappointed if I were a Yankees or Dodgers fan (or team owner) for only being able to muster a lowly wild-card spot.
I'd be irrate if my team lost their play-in game.
Congrats to all the Divison champs, and especially the low pay Rays. The Rays are celebrating Florida's new minimum wage increasing to $10/hr, just the past Thursday
During the regular season, the AL East & NL West were the Two best divisions in MLB, so let's see how much that matters in the playoffs.
The last time MLB hitters batted as low as .244, was ~50 years ago in 1972. The runs scored this year averaged 4.53 which isn't exactly tearing it up either:
I know fans want to see lots of home runs, but do the metrics support that as a winning strategy over the long haul? Will it decide who wins it all this year?
Toronto had the most HR's, & Minnesota & Cinci were in the top 10 too, yet none made the post season.
The Yankees average (.237) was the lowest amongst teams who made it to post season play, but the averages of the Dodgers, Braves, Cards, & Rays were not in the top 10 either.
My playoff predictions (I'll adjust them based on round winners) but this is what I just submitted on my MLB.com Bracket challenge entry. You gotta take risks to win sometime.
I'm taking the Yankees over the Red Sox tomorrow 7-6. After losing I think the first 7 games of the season series they won 9 of the next 12 including 6 in a row and 3 in Fenway last weekend. Neither team has been playing particularly well, Red Sox got swept by the Yankees, lost 2 of 3 in Baltimore, and were lucky to sweep the series in DC as they could have easily lost 1 or even 2 of 3. Cole hasn't been particularly great either, but I'll take and the Yankees bats, Cole, and the relievers, over Nathan Eovaldi, the Red Sox bats, and a Red Sox bullpen that ran out of gas at the finish line. Plus, the Yankees seem to have played better on the road than at home in September. Got swept in 4 games at the Stadium by the jays, won 2 of 3 in Toronto; lost 2 of 3 at home to Baltimore, won 2 of 3 on the road @ Baltimore; swept a series @ Boston, lost a series at home to Cleveland.
I'm also taking the road team in the NL Wildcard game, the Cardinals to get a 4-3 10 inning win @ LA. Look, the Cardinals aren't going to be a "just happy to be there" and "roll over and play dead" team just going up the big, bad, mighty 106 win Dodgers. They are going out to California to play and win a game almost no one in the country expects them to win, and that to me, is what makes them a dangerous opponent. The season series was only 4-3 in the Dodgers favor with the teams meeting 4 times here in September right before the Cards started the 17 game winning streak. He was excellent in LA, but Scherzer is prone to the home run ball. I don't think it will be nearly as bad this year since they won last year in an abbrevated season though, but if Scherzer gives up a couple early inning home runs, you could get the Dodgers pressing, and the LA fans groaning, and that will play into the Cards hands as well. Literally no one expects them to win, so what pressure will they have?? None.
ALDS:
Yankees in 5 over the Rays. I don't know why I just have a weird feeling about this one. Tampa beat them around like a pinata, and have basically bullied them the last 2 years, so I don't know why this would suddenly change, but weird things happen in a short series like this, especially a short series against a divisional rival, and like I said above you have to take some risks to win, so I went with the Yankees to pull the "upset" if you can even count this an "upset." Of course I have the right to change this (which I probably will) if Boston wins the game on Tuesday.
White Sox in 4 over the Astros. Astros won the season series 5-2, but the White Sox have really been playing well the last week after getting out of neutral gear they were in for most of the second half, and I just like their pitching staff better then I like Houston's
NLDS:
Cards in 4 over the Giants. Fun fact: The Giants lost only 55 games this year, but 4 of those 55 were against the Cardinals as they lost both regular season series. The last one was played immediately out of the All Star break, so a lot has changed since then, but once again, the Cards have no pressure, and you have to take some risks, so this was another one I took.
Brewers in 3 over the Braves. Now I think this might be a close series: Brewers have been coasting since basically May, and as the Nats showed those few years in the NL East just coasting into the playoffs when your playoff positioning will never be in grave danger no matter how bad you play because your division is that awful does handcuff you somewhat I think. But I've been saying the whole year that the East winner would get slaughtered in 4 games max, probably 3 by one of the Brewers/Giants/Dodgers because they were that far below where the 3 NL power's are that I can't go against that here. Though in all likelihood if I wanted to take a shot in the dark this probably would've been the series to do it over both the Cards/Dodgers, Cards/Giants and Yankees/Rays because of the 4 I'd say this is probably the most likely where the favorite loses.
NLCS:
Cards in 6 over the Brewers. No Devin Williams will really hurt the Brewers here, if not a round prior. It didn't mean much to Milwaukee's playoff hopes as mentioned, and the NL was that bad where the Cards probably and likely get in regardless, but the 1-6 record the Brewers had against the Cardinals the last 2 weeks of the season probably isn't good in the psychological department should they meet up here. Cards magic carpet ride advances to the World Series.
ALDS: Yankees in 5 over the White Sox.
I mentioned the White Sox 2-5 season series record against the Astros, and they were an even worse 1-5 against the Yankees. Nothing I've seen from those 6 games makes me think the White Sox can turn that record around and win the series.
World Series:
Yankees in 6 over the Cardinals.
It wouldn't be Yankees vs. Dodgers which is probably what FOX executives want first, and not Red Sox vs. Dodgers which would probably be #2 in the FOX executives list of potential World Series matchups, but Yankees vs. Cardinals, the 2 most successful franchises in the league playing for all the marbles would be a pretty good consolation prize for FOX I would believe. Since this year may very well be the last of the 2 Wildcard system, it would be fitting to see it end with 2 Wildcard's playing for the Title for the first time since 2014.
I'm also taking the road team in the NL Wildcard game, the Cardinals to get a 4-3 10 inning win @ LA. Look, the Cardinals aren't going to be a "just happy to be there" and "roll over and play dead" team just going up the big, bad, mighty 106 win Dodgers. They are going out to California to play and win a game almost no one in the country expects them to win, and that to me, is what makes them a dangerous opponent. The season series was only 4-3 in the Dodgers favor with the teams meeting 4 times here in September right before the Cards started the 17 game winning streak. He was excellent in LA, but Scherzer is prone to the home run ball. I don't think it will be nearly as bad this year since they won last year in an abbrevated season though, but if Scherzer gives up a couple early inning home runs, you could get the Dodgers pressing, and the LA fans groaning, and that will play into the Cards hands as well. Literally no one expects them to win, so what pressure will they have?? None.
Cards at Dodger games always remind me of Jack Clark going deep off Niedenfur in the 85 playoffs. He took his time running around the bases too. Lasorda should have walked him.
I'd like to see history repeat itself.
I'd be disappointed if I were a Yankees or Dodgers fan (or team owner) for only being able to muster a lowly wild-card spot.
Dodgers won 106 games. 2nd best in all of baseball and the most of any current world series champion since I believe the 1940's. They were 44-13 and 9-1 down the stretch. No shame in that. The Giants had a very impressive season. Came out of nowhere. Hats off to them. They earned it. And it came down to the last game.
The Yankees however. The were the favorites in the AL coming into the season. They had to fight just to make the post season. Tied for the 4th best in the AL and 7th overall. If they lose tonight then need to rethink their future. New Manager? Something is not right there. Even if they beat Boston. They have a long way to get to the World Series.
I wish the Dodgers (who left Brooklyn) the Yanks, & the Red Sox could all be swept aside, but so sad for me, that can't happen.
I do like the Cards though because I used to live there during the Ozzie Smith era.
I like the Red Sox…except when they are playing the A’s, Astros, Angels, Rays, or Giants, but I feel as you do above about the Yankees and the Dodgers…..especially the Yankees.
I only got back and started watching the game in the 5th inning, but I was so glad to see the Yankees lose.
Gone! No more Yankees in 2021.
Hopefully the Dodgers will lose today 10/6 , and be gone.
‘My’ 6 teams in the 3 major sports (2 each) have been the same for over 50 years….the five Bay Area teams (49ers, Raiders, Giants, A’s, and Warriors) plus the Lakers.
Other teams I root for…..The Texans, Astros, Rockets, Angels (local teams in places I’ve lived outside the Bay Area)….The Chargers (I almost married into a Charger season ticket holding family and have actually been to more Charger games than those of any other team)…..The Chiefs (we’ve lost touch, but I used to be friends with a member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame)…..The Mets (my dad and Bud Harrelson’s dad were good friends)….the Saints, the Rays, and the Cards (the last three because of the fans, and the Cards also because of tradition, and because the original Busch Stadium was the first NL park I visited (saw a game….in the 80s) outside of California).
I hope the Giants and the Astros play in the World Series…..then I can’t lose….either the remaining team I’d most like to see win (the Giants) would win, or we’d get a parade here in Houston (the one in 2017 was great ).
If neither the Giants nor the Astros make it to the WS, I hope the Rays get in and win it all .
I'm celebrating today that the Yankees are out of it, and their organzation is spiraling downward. They need a total makeover from owner on down.
tidbit...the Rays who make 1/5th as much as the Bronx Blunders make, went into Yankee stadium 18 times in the past 2 years, and won 13 of 18 games! Ouch!
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