MLB Playoffs

[Jedieb]

The final 8 our set. The games start Tues. Let the east coast sleep deprivation BEGIN!!!! :crack

Tues.
Oakland @ Minnesota 1PM
Zito v. Santana

Cards @ Padres 4PM
Carpenter v. Peavy

Tigers @ Yanks 8PM
Robertson v. Wang

Wed.
Oak @ Minnesota 1PM
Haren v. Bonser

Dodgers @ Mets 4PM
Lowe v. El Duque

Detroit @ Yanks 8PM
Verlander v. Mussina

Thursday
Cards @ Padres
Suppan v. Young

Dodgers @ Mets
Maddox v. Glavine

Friday
Minnesota @ Oakland 4PM
Garza v. Loaiza

Yanks @ Detroit 8PM
Johnson v. Rogers
(Over 80 years of starting pitching. Get the Ben Gay ready!!!!!!!!)

Saturday
Twins @ Oakland TBD
Radke v. Harden

Yanks @ Detroit TBD
Wright v. Bonderman

Mets @ Dodgers TBD
Trachsel v. Penny

Padres @ Cards
Williams v. Weaver

Let the fun begin. :cool

[JMK]

It's too bad for the Tigers that they couldn't hold on to the division crown. They held the lead from nearly day 1, but the Twins, IMO pulled off a miracle. If they were an east coast team, and not in the middle of nowhere with little media coverage, ESPN would be going nuts over them. Morneau officially sealed up MVP for me, followed closely by Jeter. You just can't deny what Morneau's production meant to the Twins, and how they caught fire from early June to today after he started playing well.

[Mu Satach]

Yay! Playoffs... my favorite part of the season. >=}

[Nathanial K'cansce]

Some of these pitching match ups are to die for. I escpecially like Johnson/Rogers and Maddux/Glavine.

[JMK]

Notice they're all guys over 40 years old.

[Jedieb]

The Yanks lineup for tomorrow:
1. Damon
2. Jeter
3. Abreu
4. Sheffield
5. Giambi
6. A-Rod
7. Matsui
8. Posada
9. Cano

Obviously Torre is trying to protect A-Rod from...well, A-Rod. Look at that bottom 1/3, Godzilla, Posada, & Cano with Damon and Jeter looming behind. Good lord this is going to be fun to watch.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

Oh weak. The Dodgers moved Maddux back a start. *shakes fist*

[CMJ]

Go Tigers!

(Or whoever plays the Yankees)

;)

[Jedieb]

El Duque strained a calf during a warmup today and is going to have an MRI. Needless to say, he may not be able to start tomorrow. The Mets are literally falling apart before they even begin the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the A's and Frank Thomas got to Santana early and lead 2-0. They've got the bases loaded right now and Santana is trying to get out of a bases loaded jam. The series could be decided right here. That's how big a road victory against Santana could be for the A's.

[CMJ]

Zito gives one up but still looks real strong.

[JMK]

So anyone ready to write off the Twins now?

The Twins went over a YEAR between home losses when Santana starts. Go figure it would have been today.

[CMJ]

Cardinals come back from the dead to take Game 1.

[JMK]

Well give the Yankees game 1. The Tigers failed to capitalize on their early scoring chances and now the Yanks are all over them. See ya in game 2.

[jjwr]

Lets have some fun with Jedieb...

When looking at the Yankees linup a linup from the movie Blue Chips comes to mind....Best Team Money can buy! Must be nice to be Brian Cashman, easiest job in sports, you can be purley mediocre in your job and have $$$ thrown at you to fix it.

Now to some real baseball...

2 Straight losses on Santana, very suprising. Twins better be carefull or they could end up out in a real hurry.

I'm really curious to see what the Mets will do, Pedro isn't that big of a loss as he hasn't been around in a while so they've been winning without him.

[sirdizzy]

The modern day murders row has looked good tonight, everyone but Cano and Matsui has a hit at the modern day Mister October Derek Jeter is 3-3. Jeter is great in october, this should be the year the yanks end their 6 year draught.

[JMK]

Jeter is simply incredible in October. I don't know if I've ever seen a better clutch performer in playoffs. The clutch players that come to mind are Tiger, Jordan, Montana and Patrick Roy. Those guys had ice water in their veins and as good as they were in regular season play, they were able to elevate even further in the playoffs.

[sirdizzy]

How bout them twins, heck yea all the way to the world series, oooops wait their 0-2


I remember seeing the predictions on ESPN from their experts who would win the world series, yanks were #1, Twins were #2, thats some expert predictions right there

[CMJ]

The A's have lost leads before. Don't count out the Twins yet.

[JMK]

Twins have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. They're so close to killing what was a great run to a division title. If they were heading back to Minnesota I'd still give them a shot...but since they're heading back to Oakland...I give them little chance to come back and win the series.

[CMJ]

Oh you have to like the A's here. But Oakland did have 2-0 leads against the Yankees(in '01 I think?)and Red Sox(in '03) and lost both times. Granted there has been a ton of turnover in that team since then, but still.

[CMJ]

The Mets outlast the Dodgers.

Tigers/Yankees rained out.

[JMK]

Anyone catch the double play at the plate last night in the Dodger/Mets game? That was hilarious! Tough call though - Kent got a late start, presumably because he thought that Green may have a shot with the opposite field hit, but seeing as he's slow as molasses he was doa...and Drew thought the wave signal was for him because he was so far up Kent's rear. :lol

[JMK]

Tigers even up the series 1-1.

Anyone catch A-Rod going down looking with the bases loaded to end an inning? :lol

To be fair, the Tigers had 2 guys out there today who hit 100mph.

[CMJ]

If there was one team that I thought was the #8 seed it was the Cardinals.

And they're up 2-0...sweeping both road games. Obviously I don't know jack about baseball. :lol:

[JMK]

I always saw the Cardinals as a sleeping giant. They have all the ingredients to be a great team (in a short series) and they certainly have the offense to do the damage. Again, we're seeing the weak links of the NL West crumble at playoff time. I don't know how that division managed to put 2 teams in the playoffs.

[CMJ]

Well, the A's are in.

[CMJ]

Padres stay alive to force a Game 4.

[Jedieb]

I was watching Deliverance, uncut, on TV last night. I'm not sure who was violated worse, Ned Beatty last night, or the Yankees this weekend. Pathetic, horrible, wretched, there's no adective too harsh for how .... bad the vaunted Yankees bats were. Jeter and Matsui were pretty much the only two guys in the lineup who delivered. Shef, Giambi, and of course A-Rod were complete and total no-shows. Things are probably going to get pretty bad in the Bronx this offseason.

I never thought I'd see a scenario where Joe Torre could be shown the door, but three consecutive post season series losses may just do it. It's a flip of the coin as too whether A-Rod will be back. If he is, I'll support the guy. But I can't say I'd be sorry to see him go. Where ever he goes he's going to pile up numbers, but the guy simply can't get it done when it matters the most and NY is killing him mentally. He's 4 for his last 40 in the playoffs. That's just unfreakin believable.

Ughh, this is almost as bad as the collapse in 04 because the expectations and the hype were so high. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

I have only been following the games through Sportscenter and the web, so I haven't watched the games. I was surprised the Twins collapsed like they did and the Yankees well I am at least happy they won't win the WS again. I am guessing the Tigers will win but who knows at this point.

[Darth McBain]

Go Mets!!!

This will be a day long remembered - it has seen the end of the Yankees, and it will soon see the Mets victorious...

Seriously, I don't know if they've got enough to win the whole thing, but I hope they go all the way...

[jjwr]

Agreed on Torre, he's meant to much to this team but he's also admitted in this series that with this lineup he didn't do much managing and just let them play. I think he has to take the fall for A-Rod, as the manager he has to deal with that, either bench him or get him hitting again.

Already heard theres a chance he'll be fired and replaced with Pinalla. As usual its not all the managers fault but the owners will never fire themselves.

I do have to admit that I'm a Tigers fan until at least the Post Season ends now :)

[CMJ]

Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing any of the remaining teams win now...except maybe the Mets(guess I have a 1986 thing still). But then they could rub it in Yankees faces.

I wonder if St. Louis can close out San Diego tonight. If they don't I'd like the Padres in Game 5.

[Doc Milo]

The Yankees collapse, in my mind, was worse than in 2004. The Red Sox and Yanks, all season long, were evenly matched that year. The LCS was a classic battle. Not easy to live with, but I could see a scenario where the Yanks could lose to the Red Sox that year. It was only a collapse in how it happened.

Last year, against the Angels, I honestly believe the Angels were a more solid fundamental team. They were the team I thought the Yanks would have trouble with this year, if they had gotten in. But this Tigers team? Sure, they were good all year long until the last 50 games or so, and then they were bad. The Yanks owned them all year, beating them even when other teams couldn't. There was no way the Yanks could lose to this team. That makes this collapse even worse than 2004.

The Yankees played like a team that felt they didn't have to show up to win. They looked dead. When Kenny Rogers shuts you out, you know that it was the hitting not hitting rather than the pitching being so outstanding. They assumed this series was in the bag, and they folded. They let their guard down. They didn't do what got them there.

I believe Torre will be fired. Word on the news this morning was that he most probably would be gone. Replaced by Lou Pinella. I think they need to rethink that. Pinella is a good manager. But their problem is not really at the top. I'd much rather they keep Torre and get rid of a bunch of these high priced players like A-Rod, Sheffield, and Giambi. I'd keep Jeter, Cano, Abreyu, Damon, and Cabrerra. Matsui I'd trade only if it was for a young, established ace pitcher. On the pitching side, I'd keep Wang, Rivera, and Proctor. Everyone else is trade-bait for rebuilding and getting players that are not of the "all-star" callibur yet, but are established on the major league level, and are good, solid, fundamental players.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Firing Torre will not help them a bit. Especially if they replace him with Pinella. Pinella did wonders with the Devil Rays, they be better off with Torre. If Torre does get fired, I expect him to get hired by the Cubs.

[jjwr]

Of course firing Torre won't help but if Steinbrenner doesn't blame this on Torre then he'll have to blame it on himself for playing real life Fantay Baseball rather than letting the baseball people build a real team.

[CMJ]

Cards get to the LCS.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Of course firing Torre won't help but if Steinbrenner doesn't blame this on Torre then he'll have to blame it on himself for playing real life Fantay Baseball rather than letting the baseball people build a real team.

He really needs to fire Cashman before he fires anybody else. He is the GM and is the one building the team or at least assigned too.

[jjwr]

Do you think Cashman has any real control? The fault of this team lies with Steinbrenner, if he would just get out of the way and let them actually run the team, pick smart players and not the most expensive ones then you would see a much better team.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Do you think Cashman has any real control? The fault of this team lies with Steinbrenner, if he would just get out of the way and let them actually run the team, pick smart players and not the most expensive ones then you would see a much better team.
Even though I hate the Yankees. I think he should fire Cashman and hire a real GM. You see that is the problem, Cashman is a yes man he does what ever George wants. The situation is similar to that of the Raiders, and if George doesn't watch out they will suck just as bad as them. Owners should never be running there teams, most of them don't know the players good enough.

[Jedieb]

The only reason Cashman came back this year was because he was promised more control and he got it. During the regular season Cashman did a great job of not panicking when Shef and Matsui went down. If George and the Tampa contingent had their way the Yankees would have given up prospect after prospect to get some help. They stood pat and it paid off. When they did make a move they picked up Abreu without sacrificing any top prospects and it turned out to be the free agent deal of the regular season. Cashman wasn't behind the signings of pitchers like Pavano and Wright. He's done a good job and I think he'll stick around for another couple of years.

Sadly, I think this is the end for Torre. I love the guy, but he has to shoulder some of the blame for these last 3 exits. If you give him credit for 4 out of 5, then he has to take some measure of blame for a historic collapse against the Sox and 2 subsequent first round exits. He also made some really questionable lineup decisions in this series. He's only got 1 year on his contract and I just don't see him coming back. Pinella will turn the place into a zoo, but it may just be what the team needs. This Yankees squad isn't like the ones that won rings in the 90's. It's a different group and I don't think Torre can handle this group as well as those 90's teams.

[JMK]

I've been out of town since Friday, but I've been waiting for this:


I almost forgot, CONGRATULATIONS to the Boston Red Sox for spending over $120 MILLION DOLLARS to finish in THIRD place! The most expensive team to ever miss the playoffs. At least when the Yankees spend over $100M they win the division and make some kind of run in the playoffs. Way to go beantown. EAT IT HATERS!!!!!!


So I guess 200 million, or whatever the Spankees' payroll is is basically worth 1 playoff victory, right? How much does a ring cost these days? ;)

[CMJ]

So I guess 200 million, or whatever the Spankees' payroll is is basically worth 1 playoff victory, right? How much does a ring cost these days? ;)


Depends on who win this year. If it's the A's about 50M I guess. ;)

[JMK]

Ohhh, you mean 50 million properly spent dollars can do it, right?

[JMK]

Hilarious! :lol

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6044930?FSO1&ATT=HCP&GT1=8705


It's almost too good to be true. Yankees fans calling in to kill their team. "Joe Torre must go." "A-Rod must go." One Yankees fan was so blinded with rage and disappointment he even suggested trading Jeter. And all this with hosts Chris Russo and Mike Francesa piling on. I must be dreaming.

I love it!

I absolutely love petulant sports fans. The kind that would drop a nuclear bomb on their own team because they're so incredibly angry (spoiled).

TRADE A-ROD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (as if he's the only batter that sucked)
FIRE TORRE AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's the worst manager of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TRADE JETER (this one made me nearly crap myself - are Spankee fans that nuts?)

It's almost more fun to root against the Yankees than it is to root for your own team - just to watch the fallout.

[CMJ]

Detroit takes Game 1.

[JMK]

You can now see why post season experience is so valued. Robertson pitched himself in to trouble on several occasions and was able to get out of it each time. Especially impressive was the inning where he had guys on 2nd & 3rd with nobody out and looking like the A's were going to storm back - then Leyland came out to speak with him and he struck out the side. That was amazing. The Tigers are looking more and more like this year's team of destiny, along with the Mets.

[CMJ]

I couldn't get past the closed off upper deck. ;)

The double plays the A's kept hitting into were what killed them. You can't overcome 4 innings getting chopped down like that.

[JMK]

Are you telling me you were at the game???

You're right though, you can't recover from hitting into all those rally-killing DPs. But as Thom Brennaman said on the FOX broadcast - the A's led the majors by hitting into 170 double plays. That's unbelievable. I wonder what the record for that is?

[CMJ]

Nah, I wasn't at the game. I meant seeing the closed off upper deck was a beat down. I know they had trouble selling it in past years for division series, but this is the ALCS. I'm sure they could sell out. Hell, Florida did with an even larger and more unweildy stadium than Oakland during '97 and '03.

[jjwr]

Heres some bizarre news, the small plane that crashed into a building in New York City is registered to Cory Lidle of the Yankees and early word is he was killed in the crash.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah I have been watching it on CNN for the last hour and half. Now ESPN has got full coverage of it on.

[Jedieb]

Unfreakin' believable. The guy was only 34. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

I know its shocking. I feel bad for his family.

[JMK]

Horrid news for the Lidle family, and very scary for the city of New York. Imagine how many people had horrendous flashbacks?

Just to show how truly classless a good portion of Yankee fans are, here are some titles of threads that have been posted in their newsgroup since the crash:

-Giambi and Sheffield in plane?
-Was Torre's On Board?
-Maybe Phillies cangive yanks a replacement for Lidle
-Abdul Li-dle TERRORIST
-Lidle's flight instructor was an Arab
-Stupid Place For A HighRise
-Maybe A-Rod should take flying lessons!
-Yankees getting desperate trying to take spotlight away from Mets

That's only some of them, and of course some trolls are having their way right now but it's disgusting to me that people would consider doing this. It should also be noted that there are just as many threads expressing condolences and criticisms of the idiots - but still, they call themselves fans when one of their players dies and they laugh it off by hoping other players on the team were on board? Heaven forbid anything ever happen to those morons.

[jjwr]

Was reading that his father found out about the crash from watching the TV and his wife and son were flying from the East Coast to California when it happened and a Priest was going to meet them at the airport to break the news.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Was reading that his father found out about the crash from watching the TV and his wife and son were flying from the East Coast to California when it happened and a Priest was going to meet them at the airport to break the news.

I heard about the wife and son. It broke really quickly, not sure how it leaked out. Although, with a famous person it is tough to stop a leak like this.

[JMK]

Pretty good game last night, some good pitching as well as some good hitting. But the Tigers are looking awesome right about now. After looking like they were going to fall apart, they've turned it right back on. And you've got guys like Guillen and Polanco who are making Jeter look like Mark Bellhorn.

[CMJ]

Tigers are last years White Sox.

[JMK]

Basically...the starting pitching isn't quite as good as Chicago's (at least that's my opinion without looking at the numbers), but they've been good enough. The offenses are similar that's for sure.

[CMJ]

St. Louis and NY split the first couple.

Detroit looks unbeatable right now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think Detroit can sweep either St. Louis or New York right now. They are just on fire.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Detriot finishes off their Sweep of Oakland. Now they get to wait to see who wins the other series.

[JMK]

The Mets live!

However this plays out, we will have a WS winning team that hasn't won a title since the mid-80's.

Kinda weird these last few seasons. 2004 Sox broke their 'curse'. The '05 Sox killed their curse, and now another starving franchise will get their due.

The big question is - when is the Cubbies turn? ;)

[CMJ]

I'm thinking '08...for the 100 year anniversary. ;)

[JMK]

Well they just hired Lou Piniella...not exactly a scrub manager. They get one season under his belt...second season they win it all, 3rd season they stink and he gets himself fired.

Of course, all this depends on whether or not Prior and Wood, those injury prone sissies can keep their arms attached to their bodies long enough to put together 1 whole season...which IMO is not only unlikely, but impossible. And it's not like they can get much in a trade for either...what is their current trade value?? It can't be very much.

[CMJ]

NLCS goes to 7....

[JMK]

Excellent stuff from Reyes and Maine.

I love game 7! :D

[jjwr]

Incredible catch by Chavez to save 2 Runs in th 6th inning. Just incredible catch, could be the play of the season and in a huge moment.

[CMJ]

One of the most amazing catches I've ever seen. This has been a HELLUVA game so far(Top of the 8th as I type).

[Jedi Master Carr]

Who would have thought Moelina could be the hero? I never thought the Cardinals would have gotten this far. Coming into the postsesason I thought they were the worse team in the layoffs.

[CMJ]

So did I. Hell I thought the Astros were gonna overtake them. But the Mets got the leadoff man on.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Cardinals finally got an out, but still 2 on with 1 out.

[CMJ]

Bases loaded with 2 outs.....

[Jedi Master Carr]

Cardinals won although they sure didn't make it look easy in that final inning. I say Detriot sweeps the Cardinals. One funny thing this is a rematch of the classic world series in 68 between Detriot and St. Louis.

[CMJ]

Detroit in 7. I like this Cardinals team.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Detroit in 7. I like this Cardinals team.

I guess we will see. I just like the way Detriot is playing right now.

[Kaast Dulli]

the mets just lost game 7 and i hate life right now. boooooooo.
how do you not swing 0-2.

[Kaast Dulli]

did i mention i hate life right now?

[jjwr]

Wow...can't believe Beltran went down looking. Of all the hitters that could be up for the Mets they would want Beltran at the plate in that situation and he's frozen.

Incredible run by the Cardinals, who knows maybe this is their year? Last few years they had much "stronger" teams but never did anything with them, maybe with the lesser team they pull it off.

I still say Detroit in 6

[JMK]

What a way to end the game. The stage was set for Beltran to really stick it to the Cards. 0-2 count, time to be agressive and protect the plate, and in comes a knee buckler. No one in baseball could have hit that pitch. That was a filthy clutch pitch. The Cardinals slay their dragon in Beltran and earn the right to lose to the Tigers in 6.

And yes, that Chavez catch, though not the most spectacular catch, was great, and unbelievably crucial. One of, if not the best/most important catch I have ever witnessed. Makes me glad to see a former Expo make good. :)

[CMJ]

I say Detriot sweeps the Cardinals.


Care to reconsider? ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Heh well they will win in 5 then:p I think Detriot was just very rusty.

[Park Kraken]

Living in Lakeland, FL, I'm rooting for Detroit to win.

[Jedieb]

The Cards CAN beat the Tigers. I'm picking St. Louis in 6. Both these teams staggered down the stretch. They were both well below .500 in their last 50 games so this year finishing strong means squat. So how have they been playing lately? Pretty damn good. Even though the Cards were pushed to 7 by the Mets, their starters actually have a lower ERA than the Detroit starters this postseason. They managed to win a game last night with a rookie on the mound. Now they get to get into their regular rotation. They've got a big edge right now. As well as Rogers has pitched, he's due for a meltdown. Weaver and Suppon have been outstanding this postseason. Carpenter is a wildcard, but if he's on he's arguably the Cards best starter. When the Red Sox swept the Cards their big 3 went to sleep. Well Puljos and Rolen have already homered. If they keep it up St. Louis will get more than enough offense to win this thing. Forget about the regular season AL dominance. It's a new season.

[JMK]

Detroit jumps out to an early 2-0 lead in what HAS to be considered a must win game.

[Jedieb]

What alien entity has taken control of Kenny Rogers body?

[Jedi Master Carr]

Rodgers has just been incredible. He has actually been unhittable all postseason. Now that is the complete opposite before this year.

[CMJ]

St. Louis sure made it interesting in the 9th. It's shaping up to be a great series.

[JMK]

So which of Kenny's lies do you want to pick apart first?

The one where he said the umpires never told him to remove that 'substance' from his hand, or the one where he said that it was just dirt and it came right off?

Look, Rogers has been the ace of the Tigers staff recently, but again, how stupid does he take us all for? Everyone knows that when rosin gets wet...what does it become? Pine tar. Beautiful.

[JMK]

:lol

Dirtgate lives:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2635618

ESPN.com also has a nice picture from Kenny's start in the ALCS, as well as a picture from last night. Hmmm....dirt sure does seem to build up in the same spot for this guy, doesn't it?
http://espn-ak.starwave.com/photo/2006/1023/mlb_rogers_hands_412.jpg

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well it didn't effect his pitching after he removed it. And with that I don't think it really matters. All pitchers find ways to cheat, they have been doing it since Cy Young pitched.

[JMK]

Yeah, you're right, he was the same with it and without it so I think this will disappear faster than it should. What's alarming to me is how little fuss LaRussa made about it at the time. I hope his friendship with Leyland didn't prompt him to stay quiet. Or even worse, I hope he didn't stay quiet because he knows his guys are finding ways to bend the rules too - a la Roger Clemens with sandpaper from 2 years ago.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah, you're right, he was the same with it and without it so I think this will disappear faster than it should. What's alarming to me is how little fuss LaRussa made about it at the time. I hope his friendship with Leyland didn't prompt him to stay quiet. Or even worse, I hope he didn't stay quiet because he knows his guys are finding ways to bend the rules too - a la Roger Clemens with sandpaper from 2 years ago.
I say it is because he don't want his players caught up in this, instead of the games. I really think that is the right call.

[CMJ]

Heh well they will win in 5 then:p I think Detriot was just very rusty.


Still rusty? ;)

[JMK]

Carpenter certainly made a case for himself last night for being deserving of a Cy Young.

Can someone please tell me why Granderson and Polanco are a combined 0-34 at the plate in this WS? Talk about choking on the big stage. Pudge has been crap too. What, can they not handle the cold? I can pretty much guarantee that Polanco can't. Look at him, he looks like he's playing in the arctic! So the temperature is in the 30's and 40's - DEAL WITH IT!

I thought Tigers in 6, but now that looks impossible. The Cardinal pitching has been very good and the Tigers bats are consequently going in the tank. Oh well.

[CMJ]

I still think Detroit has the edge, I just knew the Cardinals wouldn't go down in 4 or 5 like most of the free world was predicting. Though I didn't see it coming(though after the White Sox last year maybe I should've), the near collapse in the regular season gave this team alot of grit.

[JMK]

Just an abstract thought - if the Tigers win, how many years since it's inception would the wildcard team take the World Series?

[CMJ]

I believe 5.

Marlins in 1997
Angels in 2002
Marlins in 2003
Red Sox in 2004

Wasn't '95 the first year of the WC?

[JMK]

Were you counting the Tigers as the 5th team?

I believe you are right about 95 being the first year.

So far wild card teams have won 4/11 World Series. That's not a bad ratio for teams that purists would rather not even have make the playoffs. ;)

[CMJ]

Were you counting the Tigers as the 5th team?


Well you asked me to. :)

[JMK]

Just making sure. ;)

So we get a rainout of game 4, and the forecast doesn't look any better for tonight and tomorrow. This has to help the Cardinals as the Tigers will be kept on the road, in hotels longer while the Cardinals players sleep in their own beds.

The ratings for game 3 were the lowest EVER for a WS game. That's downright pathetic. For baseball fans at large to abandon the game during the WS just because their team isn't in it is shameful.

[jjwr]

MLB knows its a problem, have you seen those commericals where Lasorda(at least I think thats him?) goes out to get the various fans from other teams to watch.

[JMK]

:lol Yeah those are funny. I guess it's not working. Nice attempt though. This is a real problem for MLB if no one is interested unless it's a New York or Boston team in the WS.

[CMJ]

Cardinals take a 3-1 lead. Detroit's made mistakes, and St Louis has made them pay.

[JMK]

Wow, Detroit is really giving this series away. 4 errors by pitchers in the series. That's just unfathomable. Granderson slips on a routine fly ball...very very unfortunate. They were up 3-0 in game 4 and looking like they were going to take it. Now I think they're all but done. Whatever tricks Leyland has, he'd better use them now.

[CMJ]

You guys were discussing the low ratings earlier. It's actually rather surprising, because up until about 40-50 years ago if not sooner than that - St. Louis supposedly had the 2nd largest fan base in baseball. They were the team furthest West until the Dodgers moved and it took quite awhile for all the "new" teams to garner die hard fanbases.

Plus they're tied with the Athletics for 2nd most World Series titles.

[JMK]

Supposedly St. Louis has a huge fan base...and apparently they have the best, most knowledgable fans in the game...and Detroit isn't exactly Milwaukee or KC...why the hell isn't anyone watching?

[CMJ]

Maybe all those years of Yankees/Sox warfare, coupled with 2 straight sweeps in the World Series? Admittedly even though the White Sox are Chicago's "other" team, I was surprised how down the ratings were last year too.

[JMK]

Then you've got Selig coming out the other day after getting the labor deal done and saying that this is baseball's 'golden age'. Oh, ok Bud. Sure it is. With all the scandals that seem to constantly follow the sport, especially the steroid shadow, and with ratings as low as they are, how can he call this the golden age? Yeah yeah, he probably says that because attendance is apparently up. Whatever. Baseball is falling further behind the NFL all the time.

[Jedieb]

I was listening to Keith Olberman on the Dan Patrick show today and he was lamenting just how far the World Series has fallen. Regardless of who was playing, people stopped to pay attention. Attendance hit record numbers this year, but the modern TV landscape continues to bludgeon baseball. I don't really see it changing anytime soon. The WS use to be something that kids listened to on radios during school. Now, it's no different than the NBA playoffs or even the NHL. Baseball is never going to get big national numbers again. The stadiums will still get packed, the money will still pour in, but I don't see MLB ever dominating television again.

Meanwhile, the Cards have the bases loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of the first. Detroit is really on the ropes.

[CMJ]

I actually think baseball is as popular as it's been during my lifetime. Probably more so. But it's really a REGIONAL popularity. You follow your team and that's about it. People like us who watch every pitch of the playoffs, even when our team isn't in it, are a dying breed.

[CMJ]

Cardinals win their 10th World Series...2nd most to the Yankees. Congrats to the red birds! :)

Homefield advantage meant nothing in playoffs this year.

Home teams won 55% of the games, but 17% of the series played.

Compare that to the NBA. Home teams won 67% of the games played and 80% of the series. Hell even the NHL where the home team isn't suppossed to have an advantage the home team won 53% of the games AND 53% of the series.

[Darth McBain]

Congratulations to the Cards... I would have liked to see the Mets take it this year, but between the Cards and the Tigers I was for the Cards...

[Jedi Master Carr]

I actually think baseball is as popular as it's been during my lifetime. Probably more so. But it's really a REGIONAL popularity. You follow your team and that's about it. People like us who watch every pitch of the playoffs, even when our team isn't in it, are a dying breed.

I know I have become this way at least this year. The series just never interested me. I watched the first two games and just didn't watch the rest for various reasons. Of course, for me some of it is time issues. Unless the Red Soxs are in it, I don't watch every game unless I have the time or something. Also I am curious. Is St Louis the team with the least amount of wins to win a WS in the modern era? I figured some teams won 80 games back in the early days but they played less games. And then later only the best team in each league made it so it could haven't happened until the late 60's. I just can't think of a team recently to do it.

[CMJ]

The Mets in that "Amazing" year didn't win many more than the Cardinals, but I think this may be the modern record.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Mets in that "Amazing" year didn't win many more than the Cardinals, but I think this may be the modern record.

I am not sure if it shows parity or the fact there wasn't really a dominant team this year.

[CMJ]

I was mistaken, those Mets won alot more games than I thought. I searched a few random years. I found the '87 Twins won 85 games. So far - that's the lowest total for a WS Champion I've found.

[jjwr]

I wouldn't say it shows how bad the teams were, while the Padres weren't a great team they beat the Mets and Tigers who both had great records.

[JMK]

It was nice to see the Cards win the WS and Eckstein get the MVP. I'm glad the Cardinals were able to win it all and not have Pujols do all the work.

[Jedi Master Carr]

It is interesting that the better two Cardinal teams, especially the one beaten by the Red Sox, couldn't do it. And this one does. So the Twins were the lowest before? I didn't realize they only won 85 games.

[Jedieb]

The entire playoffs were kind of bizarre. The two teams to reach the WS had the worst second half records of each league's playoff contenders. The Tigers and Cards each staggered into the playoffs and looked like they could both easily get knocked out of the first round. But they got their pitching together for a couple of weeks and made a run.

The Cards played great, but you can make an argument that the Tigers LITERALLY threw the WS away. They set records for errors by pitchers in a WS and it seemed like every single one of those errors helped decide the game. I've never seen anything like it outside of a Little League game.

[JMK]

The Cards played great, but you can make an argument that the Tigers LITERALLY threw the WS away. They set records for errors by pitchers in a WS and it seemed like every single one of those errors helped decide the game. I've never seen anything like it outside of a Little League game.

I think the Tigers DID throw the WS away. The Cards got their pitching right, but when you keep Pujols to a .200 avg with almost no production, and Edmonds to .235 (although he had 4RBI), you would think the Tigers would be set.

Look at it this way - if before the series started I told you that Carpenter would get one win, and Pujols would be a non-factor, I don't think ANYONE here would have taken them to win the WS.

The pitching errors pretty much did decide every game. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Verlander pivot and turn to third. I was flabbergasted.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Youth and inexperience is the reason for that. Probably the difference in that series.