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

[SilentJames]

8 hours ago, glenn__davis said:

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

Especially in the playoffs and short series. To win 99+ games in the MLB is an accomplishment because it requires your team to be built for a marathon, but the playoffs are a sprint and inconsistencies and streaks get magnified in a big way. Given the Rangers' season it is entirely possible that they just forget how to hit in the ALCS though they are all seeing the ball remarkably well right now. 

Grayson and Dean had really solid second halves, they earned the right to get these starts, they chose really bad times to have bad games. 

 

The good news is that even if you account for "luck," as constructed this is a 90+ win team that will be competing for playoffs/ division titles for the next couple of years. We will be there again. 

I said it in another thread, there is very little you can "control," in a baseball season. The Orioles were in control of their own destiny and clinched a division title and won 101 games - nothing can take that away from them. The playoff are a new season, everything is zeroed out chaos reigns. They had a great year, its a shame it ended as it did. 

Get 'em next year. 

[Hallas]

11 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

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.

I think for teams that are going for the next iteration of Spahn and Sain and pray for rain, it move the needle more than a few percent.  You force your ace to pitch on short rest for game 2, or normal rest for a game 3 and lose the chance to pitch twice.  On top of that if you play a game 3 your won't have full availability out of the pen for game 1. 

 

But the burnt out O's would be just as overjoyed at a 4 day layoff as they would be for a 5 day layoff.  It's more about making things harder for the wild card team, and I think that it does a meaningful job at that.  I don't think the layoff is as big a deal for the bye team, but I think that the current rest schedule isn't hitting the mark in terms of putting the wild card teams at a disadvantage.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Hallas

[Hallas]

11 hours ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

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.

Appareantly television partners really don't want weekday day games, so this is a bit difficult to implement.  But I definitely wouldn't mind seeing the rest format adjusted so that there was 1 fewer off day mid-series, with the getaway day being on a weekend so they can travel after the game. So a 2-2-1 series like the Orioles/Rangers series, since game 2 fell on a Sunday, that would be a day game and they travel afterwards to the monday game.  This would move the ALCS up a day, so the ALCS would be able to start on Saturday and have Sunday be an afternoon getaway game.

 

You probably run into issues with football for teams with multi-sport complexes (like Baltimore.)  But it seems like it should work out.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Hallas

[Uli2001]

Short series in baseball do not show who the best team is. Baseball is an unpredictable sport over small sample sizes, and that's why they play 162 games.

In the past, the best team after 162 (154) games in each league was the league champion. Then a 7-game World Series was played to determine the WS champion. Playoffs is a totally alien idea to baseball, it was copied from other sports.

[Spy Fox]

Dodgers get swept. They're 1-6 in playoff games the last two years while having Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two guys who have won MVPs and World Series.

A good reminder things like "star power" and "guys who've been there before" aren't magic bullets either. 

[Frobby]

So, if Atlanta loses, none of the teams remaining will have more than 90 regular season wins.  Oops. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

So, if Atlanta loses, none of the teams remaining will have more than 90 regular season wins.  Oops. 

Baseball. 

[Big Al]

Would there be anything stopping the O’s and Tides from playing a scrimmage or two during the break?