One-Sided LDS Action…So Far
Posted by Steve L. on October 3rd, 2008 · Comments (22)
The Dodgers are up, 2-0, on the Cubs.
The Phillies are up, 2-0, on the Brewers.
The Rays are up, 2-0, on the White Sox.
And, as I write this, the Red Sox are winning, 5-2 in the top of the 5th, and close to going up, 2-0, on the Angels.
Will any of these series see a Game 5? Shoot, how about a Game 4?
[wink]
Ken, this one is for you…and everyone else…
..who wants to celebrate about some team going well this post-season, so far, or complain about one doing poorly…
…or, for that matter, celebrate something going poorly or complain about something going well…
The Angels MIGHT force a game 5 otherwise I can’t see it happening in the other series. As good as the Red Stockings have been in the post season against the Halos, this year was different. The Los Angeles Assholes of Anaheim , California Planet Earth were great this year against the Pox.
Given all the crap the Yankees (somewhat deservedly, I’ll admit) get for not doing anything in the postseason recently…how do you explain the Angels? They have the ‘secret sauce’ after all – pitching, defense and a bullpen.
Do the Angels get a pass where the Yankees don’t?
I just see no team that can stop Boston, our prayer maybe the Rays… but the 7game series mayb too much for them…
i read a stat abt Vlad Guerrero that he has 1 RBI in 52 ABs with no XBH going into this game… how come ESPN or SI never make a sting abt that… this series may just force their hands as far as trying to retain Tex and getting CC
heres a crazy thought, given the paucity of offense that the Angels seem to have perpetually, it would be cool if the Angels come for ARod… oh yeah i am a bit drunk and need some realism.. but what if…
~~Do the Angels get a pass where the Yankees don’t?~~
Different media market and fan base.
~~ …. it would be cool if the Angels come for ARod… oh yeah i am a bit drunk and need some realism.. but what if… ~~
Lord hear our prayers.
Different media market and fan base.
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What does that have to do with their on field performance?
Sriv, I feel that the Rays are the unstoppable team. When they went to Fenway and took those two games it showed me something incredible. They don’t fear the Red Pox. They can beat them at home. It is analogous to the Marlins and the Yankees. If the Rays play Boston, then Papelbon with his asshole shaped mouth might have a frown on it!
As for Boston…… Dice-K really didn’t pitch that greatly, he is the wort 18 game winner I’ve ever seen. He has gotten it done BUT he lets too many people on base. Is Beckett gonna pitch weel with a quad injury? Lester is the real story on Boston this year, he pitched really well and deserves to be the 1st game pitcher.
Raf, the people out in Cali are much more laid back and much less passionate about sports specifically baseball. People out in Pasadena are just happy that the Angels make it to the playoffs.
butchie said: “As for Boston…… Dice-K really didn’t pitch that greatly, he is the (worst) 18 game winner I’ve ever seen.”
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This is probably deserving of another thread. Nevertheless, there must be something to this guy that is not obvious at first glance. His record is too good over two years to consider him as anything but a top of rotation guy. And it’s more than playing for a team that scores runs.
Raf, the people out in Cali are much more laid back and much less passionate about sports specifically baseball. People out in Pasadena are just happy that the Angels make it to the playoffs.
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Which has absolutely nothing to do with how the Angels perform as a team.
Absolutely Dice-K is a top of the rotation guy. Yes, the walks were too high, he didn’t pitch a lot of innings, and he made his bullpen work to save his wins.
But consider his ERA – lower than anyone else except the two guys in the running for the Cy.
And his BAA – lower than everyone who pitched as many innings. The only one close is Duscherer in Oakland, who pitched 20 or so fewer innings.
People complain that Wins are a bad measure of pitching but it seems to me that between the two stats, Losses are a more reasonable measure, in the sense that to get a win, you have to pitch five complete while you can get a loss with a single really bad outing that may only last a couple of innings (I’m talking about W-L for starters here, obviously).
And Dice made 25 starts or whatever it was and only lost three times, and that third one was in garbage time on a fluke 310 foot home run.
Having said that, we are fortunate that Dice is only called upon as a third starter, and we’ve got more complete pitchers ahead of him. But I would not put it past him at all to see him become a complete pitcher next season. He has that kind of drive to expect a certain level of results and not to rest until he reaches it. There was a piece in the Globe about him that mentioned how after last season he took to carrying a major league baseball with him all the time so that he could attain the touch and feel he had with the Japanese ball. Those balls are very different, in weight, size and tackiness. It wasn’t until the end of 2007 that he told Varitek that he finally felt his “shuuto” (cutter) was ready to use in games.
So 2007 was a difficult year of adjustment, 2008 you saw the results of his effort to improve. I have no idea if Dice-K will end up with a similar W-L record but I honestly believe he’ll be a far more complete ace, pitching deeper into games with similar dominance as this year.
~~Do the Angels get a pass where the Yankees don’t?~~
Different media market and fan base.
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Different ownership philosophy! If the team regarded winning it all as the only acceptable outcome, then there would be more pressure to perform in October or to make changes in pursuit of that performance. But as someone said, they are happy to make the playoffs and have a chance, and figure that if they keep making it they will win it all soon enough.
Different ownership philosophy!
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?
Arte Moreno has done nothing but spend since he bought the Angels.
Point being, the moves the Angels have made were designed with them winning the World Series in mind.
That the Angels haven’t performed has little to do with edicts from above, and I would find it hard to believe that Moreno and others are “just happy to be here”
I’m referring to the ownership philosophy of “win every year or the year was a failure”.
I’ve never heard any other team evince such a ridiculous credo. No one ever says they are happy to be here but the point is that making the playoffs is the goal for every other team, then going deep in October and winning it all. Winning the World Series is the only goal the Yankees know.
Once I Was, Dicey-K (nicknamed thusly because of his edge of seat men on base numbers)is really a 3a tops. He doesn’t pitch deep into a game and lets too many men on base. As you say, he makes the bullpen win the game, hardly the stuff that complete game aces like Doc of the BlueBirds or CC of the Brewcrew. I like Dicey-k’s results BUT I don’t like the way he gets there. On the Red Stockings, Lester and maybe Beckett(thought this year he wasn’t that dominant) could be mentioned in the same breath AFTER Halladay ( who is the best pitchger in the AL). BTW I feel a very similar way about Wang, to be objective. Wang, like Dicey-K is hardly a 1a ,but gets the job done. That doesn’t make Dicey-K or Wang even 2as in my book.
I’ve never heard any other team evince such a ridiculous credo.
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They may not, but their actions show that they do. There are a handful of teams that have a realistic shot of contending and winning a world series. That may not be the case in Pittsburgh, or KC, but I’m sure Philly, NY, Boston, LA, etc, etc, etc, make moves with the idea of making and winning the postseason in mind.
Yes, in a given situation when you feel you’ve got a chance and can strengthen the team. That’s normal. I’m talking about regarding a championship as the only acceptable outcome. Theo is on record as saying that the organizational goal is 95 wins and a berth in the playoffs, as often as possible. Do that and whether you make extra moves in-season or not, you’ve got a shot at it and eventually should come through.
The Yankee mantra of win the whole enchilada every year was strangely absent during the putrid Don Mattingly period. I didn’t hear too many people in the Yankee front office talk about the so-called mission statement. At this point the Yankees should concentrate on getting into the playoffs AND getting out of the first round. The whole win a WS every year crap hasn’t been successful since 2000. They need to change that idea. Hank made a statement last year that was pragmatic in that regard( strange for Hank, unh). The front office acted as if this was an off year too.
Raf , you forgot the Chicago teams. When and if Mark Cuban buys the Cubs you might hear that mantra AND he might outspend the Yankees by a 100 mill a year!
The Yankee mantra of win the whole enchilada every year was strangely absent during the putrid Don Mattingly period.
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No it wasn’t, which is why there were so many changes, managerial and otherwise.
Raf,
They didn’t even sniff the playoffs for more than a decade…please give me a break. They made changes to what, not end up in the playoffs every year? When Toronto, Boston(they went) and Baltimore were going to and winning World Series for that period the bets that George could do was good old Stumpy! It’s one thing to say something BUT you have to back it up. I also remember how cavernously empty the Stadium looked like in that period, there were no trendoids or frontrunners in the stands when they sucked!
You serious? What was the point of bringing in Yogi, Lou, Billy, Dallas, etc?
What was the point of signing players like Knucksie, Don Baylor, Jack Clark, Dave Winfield, Steve Kemp, etc?
What was the point of trading for players like Rickey Henderson, Ken Phelps, Rick Rhoden, Steve Trout, etc?
Toronto went to the WS in 92 & 93. Yanks were in the race in ’93. They added Jim Abbott, Jimmy Key, Melido Perez, Paul O’Neill, among others
Boston went to the WS in 86. Yanks were coming off a 2nd place finish to the Jays. They added Britt Burns, Tommy John, among others.
Baltimore went to the WS in 83. The Yanks had added Don Baylor among others.
The Yanks contended from 85-88, they won a pennant in 81. Steinbrenner tried to convert the team to a running one in 82, with the idea that they could win the series with speed.
Why do you think Steinbrenner made all these moves? For the hell of it?