The four teams that won 99+ games are 1-8 in the postseason so far

[SteveA]

The other 8 teams, none of whom won more than 90 games, are a combined 17-10.

Don't know what it means.   But it's interesting.

[Sports Guy]

And that 1 win was a late inning comeback.

 

[glenn__davis]

It means what we already knew. The winners are random. It is what it is.

[Spy Fox]

It doesn’t necessarily “mean” much, but it shows that in short baseball series between good teams anything can happen. And not every failure is due to mental/emotional failures by the players & managers. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Spy Fox

[eddie83]

I know 2 of the losses were TB to TEX but the clean and relatively easy WC round victories were a big benefit. 

[tntoriole]

54 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

It doesn’t necessarily “mean” much, but it shows that in short baseball series between good teams anything can happen. And not every failure is due to mental/emotional failures by the players & managers. 

In a short series even between bad teams and good teams, the bad teams can and do win.    

[OnlyOneOriole]

Baseball and hockey are the 2 sports that a weaker team can get hot and win it all.  Football and Bball?  Superior talent almost always wins.

 

Hockey usually due to goaltending and baseball from pitching.

[EddeeEddee]

59 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

It means what we already knew. The winners are random. It is what it is.

Or it possibly means that the extra days off can have a negative effect.  Probably not exactly but not totally discounting it.

[laxtonto]

31 minutes ago, EddeeEddee said:

Or it possibly means that the extra days off can have a negative effect.  Probably not exactly but not totally discounting it.

Famgraphs did a deep dive on this this week and it looks like it is just random variation/noise than anything else

[Hallas]

I think that having a day off both before and after the wild card series isn't right.  They should remove one of those days off.  The extra days off take away a lot of the advantage that bye teams get by being allowed to set their rotation, and the layoff adds an unpredictable layer.  The biggest advantage to the bye teams would be had by making the WC winners play the day after the scheduled game 3.  It would force the starters of game 1 WC back a day and virtually guarantee that WC teams can't take advantage of a 2-aces-and-pray strategy in the LDS.

 

I'm not convinced that the layoff is bad for the bye winners but being the bye winner doesn't seem to have enough incentive right now.

 

The O's didn't lose because of this, they lost because they got bludgeoned by a scary Texas offense that went on a heater.  But I don't really think it's good for the playoff format to introduce uncertainty for the top teams in a playoff format that is already at the limit of inclusivity.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Hallas

[OnlyOneOriole]

I would still rather have 5 days off and not have to play an extra series rather than the opposite.

[drjohnnyfever1]

5 hours ago, Hallas said:

I think that having a day off both before and after the wild card series isn't right.  They should remove one of those days off.  The extra days off take away a lot of the advantage that bye teams get by being allowed to set their rotation, and the layoff adds an unpredictable layer.  The biggest advantage to the bye teams would be had by making the WC winners play the day after the scheduled game 3.  It would force the starters of game 1 WC back a day and virtually guarantee that WC teams can't take advantage of a 2-aces-and-pray strategy in the LDS.

 

I'm not convinced that the layoff is bad for the bye winners but being the bye winner doesn't seem to have enough incentive right now.

 

The O's didn't lose because of this, they lost because they got bludgeoned by a scary Texas offense that went on a heater.  But I don't really think it's good for the playoff format to introduce uncertainty for the top teams in a playoff format that is already at the limit of inclusivity.

This makes sense to me, but, honestly, I wish there were no breaks for any of the teams until the WS round is set.  Maybe have 2-3 days off before beginning the Playoffs from the season's end... idk.   But wait for a "break" or 5 days or so until after the WS round is set.  Have the teams seeded based on record from round one.    The better teams, theoretically, would get additional rest with closing out series faster.  I don't think there's any advantage for the teams that earn the bye, maybe some additional challenges, actually, but rolling thru with no breaks for anyone and playing it like an additional round of the regular season with the teams seems more reasonable to me.

You're still going to have the teams entering the Playoff round hot or cold from the season, so there's always that team(s) that's going to surprise or let down.

[btownoriole]

6 hours ago, tntoriole said:

In a short series even between bad teams and good teams, the bad teams can and do win.    

Exhibit A:  The 2021 52-win Orioles swept 3-game series from the 95-win Astros and the 92-win Red Sox in their own ballparks.

[DrungoHazewood]

7 hours ago, SteveA said:

The other 8 teams, none of whom won more than 90 games, are a combined 17-10.

Don't know what it means.   But it's interesting.

Means what it's always meant: baseball is a game where lopsided odds in any game are 60/40. Any playoff game or series is little better than a slightly weighted coin flip. I said this before the series started: playoffs generate revenue and excitement, but tell us very little about which team is best.

I mean, the '69 Orioles were the best team in franchise history. They lost in the tournament, because that's what baseball tournaments do.

[DrungoHazewood]

6 hours ago, Hallas said:

I think that having a day off both before and after the wild card series isn't right.  They should remove one of those days off.  The extra days off take away a lot of the advantage that bye teams get by being allowed to set their rotation, and the layoff adds an unpredictable layer.  The biggest advantage to the bye teams would be had by making the WC winners play the day after the scheduled game 3.  It would force the starters of game 1 WC back a day and virtually guarantee that WC teams can't take advantage of a 2-aces-and-pray strategy in the LDS.

 

I'm not convinced that the layoff is bad for the bye winners but being the bye winner doesn't seem to have enough incentive right now.

 

The O's didn't lose because of this, they lost because they got bludgeoned by a scary Texas offense that went on a heater.  But I don't really think it's good for the playoff format to introduce uncertainty for the top teams in a playoff format that is already at the limit of inclusivity.

The layoff is a rounding error either way. You could argue that it moves the needle a few percent either way. If the O's burnt out pen from a few weeks ago was that way going into the playoffs I'm sure they'd have been overjoyed for the break.