Texas vs. Arizona

[Moshagge3]

If the Rangers win, O's move up on the longest World Series drought list. If I'm remembering accurately, it goes:

1. Indians/Guardians ('48)

2. Senators/Rangers (have existed since the first Senators moved and never won)

3. (tied) Padres/Brewers (have existed since '69 and never won)

5. Mariners (have existed since '77 and never won)

6. Pirates (not saying when)

7. Orioles

A chance to move into the Top 6, baby!

[LookinUp]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s also why people were upset about the Os trades last year. Just get in and you never know what happens.

The fact is, with expanded playoffs, it might make more financial sense to take on payroll at the deadline than to take it all year. It's a risk of course, but if you get a juggernaut of expensive add-ons just in time for the playoffs, that could be worth a ton.

[Spy Fox]

1 hour ago, StottyByNature said:

It's a fair question.  The expanded playoffs keeps more teams in the race.  The flipside is that the best teams are penalized.

I would guess we will see some sort of change to try to give the top teams more of an advantage but the truth is the answer to your question is "yes" because the MLB wants more money and this is one way to get it.  (Obviously it will be a relatively low-rated Series but that is part of their calculation.)

This. MLB didn't want this matchup, but they do want this overall system and they're willing to risk the fact that occasionally more of a dud matchup will happen. They probably loved Houston-Philly last year which also involved a 6 seed. 

[Bahama O's Fan]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Mad Dog said he was going to "retire on the spot" if the Phillies lost, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

Didn't we also have some celebrities tell us they would leave the US back in 2020 if Trump won the election? How'd that work out?

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

Didn't we also have some celebrities tell us they would leave the US back in 2020 if Trump won the election? How'd that work out?

And Roch promised to do something or other if Adam Loewen didn't stay with the O's when they dropped him off the 40. 

He's already walked it back.  He MEANT that he'd retire from XM Radio where his contract was already up.

But we get to watch/listen/read about him getting crap over it, which to me at least has some value.

[tntoriole]

As far as making the wildcard gauntlet more difficult?  How about zero home games till the World Series?  Also no days off between  the wild card series and the division series? 
 

Or maybe Seager and Carter  had to hit righthanded lol ? 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, tntoriole said:

As far as making the wildcard gauntlet more difficult?  How about zero home games till the World Series?  Also no days off between  the wild card series and the division series? 
 

Or maybe Seager and Carter  had to hit righthanded lol ? 

What if two wildcard teams advance?  They have to play at a neutral site?

[tntoriole]

9 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

What if two wildcard teams advance?  They have to play at a neutral site?

Maybe the two best record teams get double bye to the LCS. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by tntoriole

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, dystopia said:

The '06 Cardinals had 83 wins and won the WS and I don't remember folks kvetching about it, granted they did win the division. 

The 1987 Twins won the World Series after only winning 85 games to secure the AL West. Granted the Twins got a huge boost getting the alternating home field in the ALCS and World Series. The Metrodome got extremely loud when it was sold out.

[24fps]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Can we also bathe in some Philly tears right now?  

 

 

NSFW, language, even though the F-bombs have been cut out.  

"Wait, where'd you get that banana?"

"From a homeless guy."

I can't stop laughing.  I love seeing Philly fans being miserable.

 

Which is more satisfying: Philly fan misery or Rob Manfred misery?  It's a toss-up for me, but I think Astros fan misery trumps both.

[Jim'sKid26]

5 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Mad Dog said he was going to "retire on the spot" if the Phillies lost, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

Love the Caddyshack reference!

[ChangeRoadUnis]

It is a great system if you want to have a fun little tournament at the end of the season full of excitement where anyone can win.  Yippee!  If you really want to crown the best team, you've got to put more emphasis on a 162 game schedule and less on best of 5 or 7.  But that would entail leaving out some of these wildcard teams and having fewer playoff games and less money.  That is never going to happen.  In fact, they are more likely to expand this thing than retract it.  

Baseball is different than Basketball or Football.  In a short series, anyone could win, including the worst team in the league, like Oakland, if they got hot.

[O's84]

5 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Mad Dog said he was going to "retire on the spot" if the Phillies lost, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

Does that mean I'll get my hearing back?

[Can_of_corn]

12 minutes ago, O's84 said:

Does that mean I'll get my hearing back?

He doesn't strike me as the type to honor his word.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 hours ago, 24fps said:

Which is more satisfying: Philly fan misery or Rob Manfred misery?  It's a toss-up for me, but I think Astros fan misery trumps both.

Would have enjoyed being a fly on the wall the past two days watching Manfred’s reaction to the conclusion of the ALCS and NLCS.