Two more Division Series concluded last night. The Diamondbacks finished off a sweep of the Dodgers with a 4-2 win, while the Astros held on to beat the Twins 3-2. Houston clinched a remarkable seventh consecutive trip to the AL Championship Series, where they’ll match up against their in-state rivals. The Rangers head to Houston this weekend.
The D-Backs, who are into the final four for the first time since 2007, join the rest of us in watching tonight’s matchup.
1. Braves/Phillies, Game 4
The Phillies went ahead in the remaining Division Series with a resounding 10-2 home victory yesterday. They hit six home runs — including two apiece from Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos — to secure a 2-1 lead in the series. They’ll try to clinch a second straight NLCS berth tonight at 7:07 CDT. It’s a rematch of the pitching matchup from Game 1, with Philadelphia lefty Ranger Suárez against Atlanta ace Spencer Strider. Suárez got the better of a pitcher’s duel on Saturday. If Strider and the Braves can fend off elimination, they’d head back to Truist Park for a decider on Saturday. The D-Backs await the winner next Monday.
2. Moreno update
In a celebratory night for Arizona, the only minor concern was an injury to catcher Gabriel Moreno. For the second straight series, Moreno was forced out early of the clinching game by injury. He left the Brewers series after being hit in the head on a backswing but passed concussion protocol and returned against L.A. Yesterday’s issue was a right hand injury that the D-Backs diagnosed as a contusion. Initial x-rays came back negative, Moreno told reporters during the postgame celebration (relayed by Sam Blum of the Athletic). He seems on track to return for the NLCS, although the club will surely monitor his progress over the next few days.
3. Mets Outlook
For all but five teams, we’re into offseason mode. MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series is nearly halfway complete. Darragh McDonald takes a look at what could be in store for the Mets in a post that’ll hit the website this afternoon.
Good to see the Dodgers out of the playoffs again and Atlanta should be following them tonight. Shaping up to be another Philly-Houston WS.
Go Rangers. Of all the teams left I’ll be rooting for them. I hope they get their first championship.
Houston in 5
I hope they win, too, but I don’t expect it.
Old – I love Mookie, but the 3-for-42 postseason streak is concerning. Has to be a mental thing with him right now.
And definitely think the Rangers, led by The Great Nate, will make the WS.
Mets will have 3 rotational spots and faulty bullpen to address above all else. Fortunately, free agency and trade market should be the strength of the offseason.
Mets need to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who should command a lengthy contract for reasonable annual cost (probably with an opt out after a few years). Senga, Quintana, Yamamoto will form a good core for the rotation. Add a mid-rotation starter and have a competition for the fifth spot (Megill, Peterson, etc).
.
Mets can have a tandem of Hader and Edwin Diaz. Need to happen, and the only thing that might put a damper on the idea would be Hader’s need to close. Financially, Hader’s contract should be more palatable if Ottavino option gets declined.
fat chance!
No FA will sign at a reasonable cost. If the cost is reasonable, there would still be bidding. Bidding stops when 29 other teams think your paying them too much.
Mets will have to outbid given the state of their team and geographic location most likely.
Elder choked yesterday.
The Braves’ 5-9 hitters are stone cold. d’Arnaud did hit that one homerun in game 2.
Actually, all of their hitters are cold. They lived and died by the HR and when you do not hit them, you lose.
I will be happy if I don’t see Tonkin or Hand again in a Braves uniform. (unlikely)
Statistically, the odds of (an) Elder surviving choking at that advanced age are really low. RIP. The hitters must be stone cold to watch an Elder choke and do nothing.
I noticed in your post you didn’t give any credit to Harper. From henceforth he has decided he will stare at you until you die.
If he’s this mad at Arcia, imagine how he treats Papelbon after he tried to choke him.
You’re confusing anger with competitiveness and showmanship. Harper has given the Braves nothing but credit and respect in the media. Arcia playfully made fun of him in front of the media, a silly mistake that will be forgotten in a week. It would be like the Phillies making a joke about the Braves offense in game 1…completely foolish because the Phillies know how good that offense is. Harper likely hits those homers without Arcia’s comments, but it’s silly to taunt superstars. Why give anyone extra motivation?
It was done in the privacy of the sheds/dressing room. If you think that it’s the job of weasels and termites in the media to release that then you just don’t know anything. It wasn’t done publicly, and as every player has said, what’s said in the dressing room stays in the dressing room-Arcia wasn’t giving an interview to the weasel from the Washington Post.
I’m just sure that no Phillies player has ever had light hearted pokes at ANY other players from ANY other team in the privacy of the dressing room, I am just absolutely sure…
These guys know better. You’ve recently used quotes from former players to make compelling arguments. Well those same former players (Rollins, Pedro, A-Rod and more) talked about how Arcia should know better. You don’t badmouth other players in the presence of media. It was foolish. There’s never been a sacred trust between media and player, especially during the playoffs.
As I’ve just said, it was done in the privacy of the dressing room, we heard about it because a media weasel was an attention seeker, he has no business ‘reporting’ that when he’s a guest in those sheds-it wasn’t an interview. He should be banned from being in a Braves dressing room ever again, weasels are not welcome.
You’ve shown that you just have no idea about the privacy of the dressing room.
Arcia can hardly speak English and needs a translator for interviews, he’s one of the nicest guys on that roster.
No. You’re missing facts here. It was done in the locker rtom with national and local media in the same room. This wasn’t some guy sneaking around the corner. Players know better. It’s why the Phillies have nothing but compliments for the Braves players. I’m sure when the media is gone they can express other thoughts, but when media is in the locker rooms, players know it and act accordingly. Anyway,it’ll blow over in a week. It was just a needless distraction the Braves didn’t need. Arcia should absolutely know better. Lesson learnned.
“This wasn’t some guy sneaking around the corner”. Yes, he was sneaking around when he wasn’t in the conversation and it was not said to him directly. You’re the king of spin.
You don’t know what’s been said by Phillies players, maybe because it hasn’t been reported. Unless you’re going to tell me you know everything that gets said in a dressing/locker room. The weasel wanted to bignote himself.
Furthermore, again do not moralise about your fanbase, when the Braves clinched their post season spot the Phillies fans booed them.
Cans were thrown on the field over a bs call, I don’t condone that, however, they were probably casuals or drunks.
I never brought up the cans. Fanbases should not be judged on the worst of pack, as the media constantly judges Phillies fans. All fanbases are essentially the same.
Dude, in baseball it’s called a clubhouse not a dressing room.
“Dressing room”
What happened to that Acuna energy? “If you don’t like it, stop it…etc” Relax. Braves are still alive and still awesome. Nothing wrong with any of this.
@ham77
It can be called many things, “dude”….
The place where you get changed is a dressing room/locker room, clubhouse, sheds, term it what you will, there is no specific term that defines it, that’s where it was said. You need to come away from your insularity. However, I doubt you know what that means, “dude’.
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Thanks for the laugh though, dude….
DwayneMurphyFav
You need to come away from your limited understanding of things.
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It’s your insularity that’s the problem that relates to your ignorance of the different definitions that are used worldwide.
Yeah, Harper. If he stares down one of my players, I’m drilling him in the back with a 100MPH fastball. Show some self-respect as a team for your players or act like it matters.
And Arcia, STFU. You have one job—field the ball cleanly and don’t throw it away. You’ve been asleep at the plate since July. Don’t do yourself or the team any favors by waking up. I hope they acquire a real SS so he can go back to his bench/reserve role but with a muzzle on.
I though men having self-respect was a bad thing these days. Lol
Tell that to Phillies fans.
There’s no bigger sign of a real man than one who stares you down.
Especially when you add in the I don’t care beard that is meticulously groomed to look like that.
I believe Kris Bryant is the godfather of the I don’t care beard.
Fact is the Braves are always trash in the NLDS. They become completely incompetent. So far they’ve been totally uncompetitive in 2 games and outplayed in the other but managed to steal the win late.
I bet they do win tonight, it will be the only good game they play all series, then they’ll turn around and maybe get 2 hits total in Game 5 and be blanked again.
Typical Braves NLDS effort.
Bryce Elder is only 24 years old. and you say he choked? This dude has been amazing all year long with incredible pressure on his young ass self, as well as
Strider. As a Braves fan I am incredibly proud how these youngsters performed. Win or lose, this is my team.
Playoff ideology sucks. Teams who have played top notch all year, deserve to be in the Series, not whose hot & whose not
.
This may have been a pun/joke. I’m not sure, but the author does make quite a few of those.
Curly,
Here is my point worded better—
I think the Braves’ issue this year is that they treated the regular season like it was the marathon. They have looked spent the last month and the Phillies are simply a better performing team right now. Or maybe they just want it more. They seem fired up and the Braves do not.
Starting pitching was an issue at least as early as the trade deadline but maybe not an area of immediate need. The Braves had injured starters maybe coming back to help. I don’t know who you go and get but the bullpen was an issue and they only made minor additions. Pierce Johnson worked out well but Brad Hand has not.
I think the Braves need to work on pacing themselves better. Slow down with your Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider young guys so they have something left when it matters. That has been the failure with the Braves.
@Hemlock — ATL has not had the pitching depth they needed. In ’21, they had enough support from the farm to make it work, but that well has been exasperated (Vines, Schuster, Dodd, Smith-Shawver, etc.), while not getting adequate support at the Deadline. They relied too much on young arms (Elder has been gassed since shortly after AS Break) and Strider’s in new territory. They’ve gotten almost nothing from Wright and Fried has been mostly on the IL. Frankly, that should show you how much they’ve relied on the offense to pick-up the slack. I really wish AA would get another innings eater even if Morton is coming back, as he can’t be fully relied upon in the postseason (again) and his reg season was incredibly erratic. Would be great to see Sonny Gray come in, but they’re not going to spend what is needed.
RunDMC,
I agree with everything in your comment.
I’ve been a Braves fan for 38 years. These playoff failures don’t get any easier. After so many years, you can see what happens next coming a mile away. I hope they prove me wrong but history has taught me otherwise.
Hemlock, should the Braves treat the season like a 50K? If it’s a marathon, I think the season is the first 20 miles and the postseason is the last 10K.
I get what you’re saying about their pitchers. It’s as if they read the Dr. Boonedoggle manual on pitching, “Win as many games as possible regardless of the human capital cost.”
Anyway you slice, the Phillies still have to win the series, so it’s not over. For reference on the “It’s not over until it’s over”, go to Mr. Steingrabber’s manual on “Firing managers for Dummies”.
Even if they had better pitching, the offense scored a total of 2 runs in the two losses. A team isn’t going to win many games 0-0 and 2-0 in the playoffs.
Bryce Elder’s innings, seasonally—
2021 137.2 (A+ AA AAA)
2022 159.0 (105 AAA + 54 Braves)
2023 183.1 (6 AAA + 174.2 reg + 2.2 playoffs)
Elder’s last 15 IP over 4 starts in 2023—
24 h 19 ER 5 HR 10 BB 12 K
11.40 ERA
What you see above is the common story with the Braves’ pitching staff that remains—they look tired, out of practice, and/or injured. As a starting pitcher, on a playoff team, your most important innings are at the end of each season. For a team’s postseason success, it is critical that its starting pitchers finish the season strong and not run out of stamina when it matters the most!
That Varsho trade was a disaster for the Blue Jays. Moreno is a better offensive version of Yadier Molina, and Jr. has been excellent in the outfield. The NL series seem like a surprise (assuming Philly wins), but the AL outcomes were pretty expected IMO.
Varsho™ sounds like a brand of wood stains and polishes.
I added a ™ to my name so I don’t have to hunt that thing down again.
The Angels need to bring in new blood. Gil is not new blood..
Baseball is more and more becoming a case of why even bother with a regular season. Just like the NBA. I am not a Dodgers fan by any means, but it just seems ridiculous that a team can finish 16 games better than another and then be eliminated by them in three games. The Dodgers are still 13 games better than Arizona this season. Braves and the Phillies is the same situation. Winning championships in baseball is not about the best, it is all about who gets hot at the right time.
It has been that way throughout baseball history, even when four teams were in the playoffs. A Mets team barely above .500 in 1973 made the World Series over a Reds team that won 99 games.
Yeah, but that was different. The Mets won their division. They didn’t finish 10+ games behind the Reds in the standings and STILL get the chance to beat them in the playoffs. Each division had a fairly different schedule back then. Teams in the East were fairly close together, while the West teams had the Padres to beat up on.
The Wild Card gives teams that finish many games the same chance as teams that have spent six months being better. By your example, it would have been like the Giants finishing 11 games behind the Reds in the division and then eliminating them in the playoffs.
I love that because there’s a new format, people are acting like this is new. The Dodgers and Braves have a history of dominance in the regular season. Neither team has many rings. This is par for the course. The playoffs are hard. The playoffs are random. This was the case in the 90s. It’s the case now. I don’t see why people are blaming the new format as much as they are. And by the way, the Braves can absolutely still win the series. I would not bet against them.
Not 100% on this, but isn’t the main difference in the new format is the amount of layoff and scheduling that further widens any momentum from the reg season into the playoffs? 5 days off and then off days between G1-G3 (NL only) is a lot of unsteadiness, when MLB allowed so few off days that last 2 seasons (esp last season). Regardless, ATL pitching in G3, obviously, was the hindrance. Elder is too spent by this point to go more than once through a lineup. Tonkin is terrible and Smith-Shawver shouldn’t be out there. Really hurts that Chavez and Morton aren’t available, relying more on Tonkin and Brad Hand. A historic offense and they have piece-meal RPs (Tonkin, Hand, etc.) with the ball the most important IP of the season.
Didn’t the 5 days off allow Fried to put the blister issue behind him? Imagine that pitching staff if it was Strider followed by a bunch of scrubs.
He most likely would have pitched through it. It’s something he’s dealt with for years and not uncommon for someone reliant on curve/breaking balls. ’21 they were able to piece some starts with rookies Bryse Wilson, among others, including get some great IP (Wright) that stepped up, that hasn’t happened so far this year. Don’t underestimate the impact of Morton being out for the DS.
“People are acting like this is new”.
It is new, it’s Manfraud’s and the owners creation to make more money. It’s called greed. How many rings do the Phillies have, and how many times have they made it to the WS?
Explain how 5 days off aids any team in regard to gaining momentum, hitting mechanics, timing, whilst other teams are playing and doing what they’re supposed to be doing, but you see ‘nothing wrong with the format’.
Furthermore, you see nothing wrong with a format where the Braves won the most games and are supposed to get an advantage playing the #1 seeded ‘wildcard’ team, whilst the Dodgers played the #6 seed. ‘Nothing to see here’, completely fair, level playing field whilst one team is playing and another team is sitting around for 5 days. Braves will have played 4 games in 10 days today, and only 2 games on consecutive days in your ballpark, sounds fair.
The ‘new’ format as you call it is a farce.
Why play 162 games if you’re going to let in 40% of teams to have a crack at the world series. Just play 100 or 120 and let half of the league in to the post season and play 5 game sets as a play off tournament and 7 for the eventual world series, think about all the excitement and money that owners, MLB and media outlets could make. Forget about 162 and winning over 100 games…
Freeman went 1-10 and Betts went 0-11 JDM 2-10, and most of the Dodgers looked cold at the plate, as the Braves have looked so far, except for yesterday where there was a bit of a flicker. Freeman & Betts are two of the best hitters in MLB, must be just too darn good those DBack pitchers, and nothing to do with sitting around doing BP or playing sim games with nothing on the line, great prep for post season baseball.
Remember the Braves won all those World Series in the 90s after being the best team in baseball? Oh wait. That didn’t happen. Nothing new.
@Fred McGriff HR,
You had me at whilst.
Braves 4 rings, been to World Series 18 times.
Phillies 2 rings been to World Series 8.
But Phillies fan base, one of the most obnoxious in all of baseball, with the Mets & Dodgers.
And Braves fans throw beer cans on the field during a playoff game. Stay classy, Atlanta.
I’m not reading all that
I’m sorry
Or
I hope you get better
Whichever is more appropriate. It’s not that big a deal. Calm down.
@VonPurpleHayes — yeah, let’s forget about the fact that the 90’s Braves played in 5 of the 9 possible World Series during that decade (’94 no WS due to strike). Those teams wouldn’t have lasted in this format.
“I’m not reading all of that”.
Very difficult to read these days for most people, and even when they do read, they don’t comprehend. They should just make it about 20 character limit for people like you.
Braves are the best teamin baseball and one of the best run organizations in sports. I have absolutely nothing but respect for them. These series their fanbase has complained about the new format, blisters and the media breaking trust. It’s really pathetic. I generally think all fanbases are the same, but the whining is incessant. Especially when the team is still very much alive.
@RunDMC You’re completely missing my point. I’m not insulting the Braves here. They’re a much better franchise than the Phillies historically. My point is that, the best team doesn’t always win. The Braves have been the best team often, to their credit. So my point is, it’snot like the new format is the only reason the Braves lose in the playoffs. The playoffs by design always had a chaos factor.
No one is whining, as has been pointed out you don’t need to use the name of the Braves for the sake of the argument of the format. It is a poor format, and that’s been said by plenty of people in the baseball industry, not just randoms on this chatboard.
However, you do not like facts, that is patently obvious, because you turn legitimate talking points into terming it as ‘whining’.
Fried hadn’t pitched for 18 days, he does have a blister issue which affects him. Morton wasn’t available, all facts, not “whining”, king of spin.
Of course it’s always been the chaos factor, but scheduling hasn’t been a part of the chaos. The best teams aren’t even getting past their first rounds — or even making it competitive (HOU notwithstanding). If this were just 1 team for 1 year, then it’s an anomaly, but if we’re having multiple years of it…
Astros have no problem with the new format. I agree that the extra WC and the bye isn’t ideal. I’m not a huge fan, but I’m also not willing to say the Dodgers and Braves losing means the format is broken. Historically, we’ve seen them lose in the playoffs to other teams who get hot. I think a lot has to do with them not playing meaningful games during the season since pre-All-Star break. It’s too small of a sample size to blame the format, especially when the Astros have been coasting.
HOU hasn’t this year or last, while NYY didn’t have a problem last year, but you’re leaving out BAL. Not saying it’s broken, but hard to not see a problem when there’s more days (5) than at ANY point in the season, including the All-Star Break (which only has 4 days off — and less than that for guys participating). There’s not 4 days off in the schedule before guys report in Feb of each year, including spring training. I’d like to see PHI win the division and go through it and see what you think.
I think it’s too early to tell. The Braves can still advance. If so, the bye worked nearly as much as it didn’t. Small sample size. I think it’s worth investigating in a year or two.
The Twitter world created a bunch if people who can’t read beyond 120 characters or so.
Don’t forget how Braves fans cheered when Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball. Charlie Morton, for his part, was a class act. He apologized to Pete.
Bryce Elder then hit Pete in the back later on in the season. Anyone want to guess Braves’ fans reactions?
Go, Philly!
That’s wild to think that post-AS Break Elder can hit his target or throw anything but a meatball high in the zone after the 2nd IP because he’s on fumes. Alonso’s gotten harder massages than that beanball, but sure, it was on purpose.
Remember Braves ran with “Throw it again?” Braves players were chanting it. T-shirts were made. Videos were made. It was awesome. Petty fun. Great for the game. This is the same exact energy, but Braves fans are upset because it’s happening to them. Strider can shutdown an entire fanbase tonight. I would not put it passed him. Baseball is great.
The 2019 Nats were basement dwellers for most of the season, but were also the best team for most of the season. The current format is simply more forgiving of a team that may have gone though a rough patch. The Dodgers didn’t win because they are titanic chokers. Under the old system they choke in the CS or just choke versus another team.
Now is it too early? 37.5% success rate of bye teams advancing with 1 team (HOU) representing it twice (’22, ’23) and NYY in ’22. Kudos to PHI, but the 3 100-win teams (ATL, LAD, BAL) won a combined 1 game in division series. Sure, has always been wild-card teams with success but this new format with 5 games off before a playoff series is a cooler.
I still think it’s a small sample size because of the teams involved. The Phillies are built for the playoffs and eliminated the Braves twice. I’m not willing to blame the bye week for that. The Dodgers have a long history of underperforming in the playoffs. Orioles are young and inexperienced. The Astros won with the bye two years in a row. Yankees won with the bye last year. I also think it’s no coincidence that the Astros were playing for a playoff spot late in the year while the Braves, Dodgers and Orioles had it locked up for quite some time. I don’t like this idea that people are using the bye as an excuse. It’s too easy and there’s not enough data.
Good point, ATL has been so dependent on pitching for yearsss growing it internally, and it seems that was the Achilles heel this year. Somehow they got thru it in ’21. No surprise that HOU picking up Verlander to solidify a stable of arms and TEX having a surplus of arms (if Scherzer returns, Eovaldi, etc.). Looks like PHI acquiring a bunch of closer-caliber arms really solidified that ‘pen. It all feels very anti-climatic, but ce la vie. Best of luck.
Go cry me a river. Been that way for a long time. Dodgers still had a lot of flaws on their roster, and starting a guy like Lynn in a pivotal game and allowing him to toss meatballs for an entire inning isn’t a winning formula.
Funny how when the Phillies had Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Howard, Utley, Rollins and were routinely winning 100, but getting bounced regularly, I noticed a lot of whining coming from Philly.
But now you’re essentially a participation trophy playing with house money and nothing to lose…everyone else should cry a river.
Maybe give us a buzz when Philly wins a Stanley Cup, you know, a trophy you actually have to earn.
Bounced routinely? They won a WS in 08. Then lost the next year to the best team ever bought. Then lost in the NLCS. Then the DS. It was a great run. Just as the Braves had many great runs. A lot more than the Phillies. It’s not easy to win, and as I said many times, the best regular season team rarely wins it all.
On the other hand though, what would be the point of watching the playoffs if you’re 90% certain who’s going to win all the time? Maybe baseball can do what soccer does and hand out a trophy for best regular season record in each league. At least they give byes for teams with the best record so we don’t have to watch them get eliminated in a 2 of 3 series. Not much difference in other sports, though, that the team that is hot at the right time can go far.
Maybe the Braves and Dodgers should’ve played a ‘friendly’ match whilst waiting on the WC series?
Whoever wins the friendly gets to choose which wild card series winner they face in the next round. Teams stay fresh and there’s something to play for.
And then they’re forced to start their #2 or #3. Every team would take the bye in a heartbeat over risking their rotation.
It wouldn’t be an elimination game so no need to throw your #1 unless you want to. You could still have a 1-2 day buffer before and after the game while the WC series are going on to rest the bullpen.
The Braves were playing simulated games with fans in attendance.
Home field advantage matters the least??? Yeah, PHI doesn’t have any advantages at CBP — are you even watching the games?!
He didn’t say there was no advantage. He said it mattered the least of all sports and he is right. If you have a five game series with one team getting all games at home for all four major sports, the road team would win the series in baseball far more times than in football, basketball, and hockey. There would still be an advantage for the home team, but not nearly as much as in other sports, especially basketball.
Technically, it hasn’t mattered yet. Braves split at home and have a chance to split at CBP.
Spoken like a true citizen of Team America who’s never experienced a two-legged series the way futbolistas do.
Didn’t PHI get no hit, at home in the world series last year? Then lost the next game also?
Yes, both games you’ve mentioned were played at Citizens Bank Park and not at Rubbermaid Park.
True, but the Phillies also were road warriors all of last season too.
Using your argument on yourself though, why even have the playoffs at all then? Why not go back to the old days when it was the two league winners for the regular season play for the World Series?
Everyone complaining about ATL and LAD is conveniently leaving Houston out of their arguments, who has had no problem with the first round bye 2 years in a row. Making the argument that a team would be better served by having a chance to be eliminated vs. guaranteed advancement is trivial at best.
@lemonlyman — you’re also forgetting about 2nd best MLB team: BAL getting swept by TEX. So 1 out of the 4 so far have advanced, while 2 of the 4 have gotten swept, while ATL is still playing.
The argument is more about WHEN to play. 1 day off – sure. 5 days off, then a day off in between G1-G3 is a bit much. They didn’t even get 5 days off for the All-Star Break (4), so they haven’t seen that much time off since before since reporting in February. Should that be the case for the most important games of the season?
If MLB won’t address, the teams will.
And if avoiding the 5 day layoff means clinching a playoff spot, tanking hard for whatever time you have left (or selectively trying if the situation calls for it) and if that ruins the integrity of the playoffs, so be it, it would be ballsy, but it wouldn’t shock me if someone tried.
Because obviously no one cares about the division title anymore, only as a means to a wild card bye, which if it’s actually a disadvantage, you’d have to calculate would you rather have the bye, or risk playing a wild card series but avoiding the 5 day layoff.
And I’ve already from several ex players who say the layoff is absolutely affecting things.
But fan blogs of course the Phillies and national writers who are all clickbait and dunking on “choker” teams don’t see the issue.
Their argument? Play better. Which they already did. Hence they’re the #1 seeds.
I mean, are people really this disingenuous on purpose for sport, or are they just plain ignorant and proud of it?
Again, small sample size. If the Braves comeback and win the series, 50% of the teams with the bye advanced. Just like last year. It’s too early to complain about this when a pattern hasn’t even emerged.
Sure, it’s early, but you don’t see a problem with 2 of the 3 100-win teams getting swept and not even being competitive? I’m already past championship doesn’t always represent the “best” team, but it seems regular season record is more of a scarlet letter in terms of positioning for a World Series run.
I would see a bigger problem if this is new. It’s not. It’s been happening since the introduction of the first WC.
You don’t see the problem, as you patently don’t see the unfairness of teams playing and gaining AB”s and another side NOT playing at all and sitting around for 5 days, how in the world is that an advantage for the team that won the most games-it isn’t.
If there was some advantage for teams coming first and winning the most in regular season it should be all 5 games at home for that team.
You want some home games, then win more games in the reg season
In this participation prizes for all society, now we have sides who finished 14, 16 games behind in reg season shooting for World Series spots.
If the Braves had played some games at roughly the same time as the Phillies (and I am just using these two teams as examples) then that’s a level playing field.. As it stands, Philadelphia played real games with real crowds, with pressure, with intensity, and got momentum coming in to play the Braves by winning, whilst the Braves sat idle playing sim games, and came into a scrap for their lives cold, and it showed. In a 5 game series coming in cold, they lost GM1, and it was the same thing last year-they were cold, although they had pitching issues then as well which was an added issue.
Philadelphia are a good team, good depth in the batting order, but when there is no equalness/level playing field in the amount of games played before you play a post season series, and you haven’t played for 5 days, that is an issue. You can spin it and flip it all you want, ex players have already commented on the matter, and they know more than anyone else on this site.
You keep repeating the line it’s a small sample size, factually you might be right, but the problem with your repetition of this line is that the problems have already been identified with unfairness. ie. Braves didn’t play, Phillies played real meaningful games struggling for their right & lives to stay in the post, Braves ended up playing the #1 seed of all the wildcards, whilst the Dodgers played the lower #6 seed. If you can’t see that that is wrong & unfair then you still don’t understand.
It’s all about participation prizes in baseball now, 1st wildcards, 2nd wildcards, 3rd wildcards. There was nothing wrong with the old system from the 90’s. The most successful at winning the majority of games out of 162 now is cheapened and irrelevant.
It isn’t a small ‘sample size’ in regard to what I’ve pointed out, they are indisputable facts, but I am sure you’ll spin your narrative.
There’s no way that the Braves were in the zone in this series, I wonder what it could be.
Harper has already credited playing at CBP as the advantage that got them home. As far as I am concerned a wildcard team playing a team that finished on top of them should get zero home games, just as when you played the Marlins – they got none. But somehow you get 2 home games against the Braves, that is not fair when you compare it to the 3 game wildcard play-off with all games at CBP.. The Braves won 104 and beat the Phillies in the regular season series, those sorts of match up records mean nothing anymore.
As far as I am concerned Manfred has made MLB a random lucky dip by allowing 12 teams into the post season. MLB has been cheapened by doing what he has done, as 162 is no longer the benchmark test, it was in years gone by. Don’t tell me it’s more exciting now, because it isn’t, it’s cheap, and it’s rewarding the ‘also rans’. You want wildcards, then revert back to 1 game shootouts, that’s your ‘prize’ for winning less games.
The Braves were ‘outplayed’ because the significant factors I have outlined are influencing the outcomes, you don’t need more samples, the teams that win the most need to play, not be disadvantaged by not playing. And if you’re going to mention the Astros, they were hardly playing a lineup as deep as eg. the Phillies, so the Astros are an outlier in this matter.
Good luck in the titan ‘wildcard’ match up. D backs had a -15 differential and Phillies +81, but those stats now mean nothing.
And I’m getting sick of this narrative that it’s only Braves or Dodgers fans who are pissed. I’m an O’s fan, and you’re damn right I’m pissed…they just had a year of a newly opened championship window slammed shut because the league screwed four teams, while not intentionally, it happened. And let’s be honest…how often can we say the O’s have a window?
What’s interesting to me is how no one seems to care/notice that the games during the regular season were tight back and forth affairs. Today, the games weren’t even competitive.
Here’s how the O’s did against Texas, for example:
@ Texas
4/3 W 2-0
4/4 W 7-2
4/5 L 5-2
@ Baltimore
5/26 L 12-2
5/27 L 5-3
5/28 W 3-2
Playoffs
10/7 L 3-2
10/8 L 11-8 (11-5 through 8)
10/9 L 7-1
Give me a break. They were neck and neck all year, but then no Scherzer, no deGrom, they magically kick their butts?
Please.
O’s inexperience showed big time. You can blame bye rust. I saw a young team in the playoffs for the first time. I guarantee you the Orioles go further next year. You need to lose before you win. Always happens. 2007 Phillies hot bounced quick after their first playoffs over a decade. 2008 they win the whole thing. Orioles will be a force next year. Blame the bye if you want, but experience matters too.
If we didn’t give an automatic berth to the division winner, regardless of how poor the division is, the Twins wouldn’t have qualified at all, and that’s with an already watered down playoffs already.
Seems like being 2 seed is even better than 1, because you’re either getting the weakest division winner, or the worst overall team to barely qualify.
84 wins would never get you a wildcard before. Now that’s good for the NLCS thanks to Manfredball
Cards won the World Series with 83 wins in 2006.
Thats a separate argument because they were a division winner. We are not far off from a .500 team making the playoffs as a wild card. Cincy and San Diego were the next teams out and they won 82 games.
Right, but my point is, the old format didn’t prevent mediocre teams from getting in either. And really, why should you be rewarded for winning a bad division? Why should you be punished for being in the best division? There are problems no matter what the format is.
Didn’t the Cards win in 2006 after the Tigers swept and had to wait six days to play? Another example of long layoffs having effects on hitters timing and rhythm.
How about the NCAA basketball tournament, or the NFL playoffs? In both the MLB & the NFL the long seasons do matter. They also create the seedings for the playoffs. Winning is also surviving AND overcoming the injuries & war of attrition.
What’s ridiculous is a team 16 games better being unable to win a single game out of 3 played
You find it ridiculous they get eliminated for that? In what playoffs doesn’t that type of effort get you eliminated? Even if you make it a 7 game series they’re down 3-0 right now and have to win 4 straight.
Face it the Dodgers deserved to be eliminated.
This coming from someone who thinks too many teams are let into the playoffs. But don’t make excuses for the Dodgers not showing up at all. It’s not remotely ridiculous they got bounced.
It would be inexcusable, except for that minor detail of one team has been sitting at home for longer than the All Star break, and the other one already has a playoff series under their belts and the confidence from winning it.
It’s clearly a momentum and rhythm game. Hence why it’s played almost daily for six months.
And it’s all fun and games until it’s YOUR team getting bounced for being too successful over 162.
I’d find another sport at this point, but clearly every league is going all in on this manufactured drama playoff garbage not for the good of the game, but for the big old $.
I’m glad you spoke the way you did about the Dodgers. I feel the same about the Braves. The Braves were good for the most part of the Season but had cold streaks. They are absolutely playing cold right now on offense. They are not pitching or hitting well collectively.
I have been a Braves fan for over 30 years, I am used to them not winning big games. They probably should have already been eliminated based on their play. Harper was aggressive and helped them hold on and you can’t fault him for that. He is a great player who plays hard and used the stupid remarks by Arcia as motivation. I have no problem with that because it is a strong work ethic to have and extra motivation helps win big games.
My problem with what he did was the throat slit motion. The national news is covering the war in Israel and talking about beheadings and such and it is insensitive of him to make that motion whilst people are actually losing their heads. I am not some sensitive person in this opinion, I just feel it was in poor taste. Yes, Bryce Harper kicked the Braves ass yesterday and is a great player, but I feel he took it a little too far given the situation being reported in Israel.
If the Braves lose, they only have themselves to blame and the Phillies have outplayed them thus far. No excuses will change that they have not showed up so far. But at some point I would expect Harper to catch a fast ball to the ribs for the throat cutting taunt, which is just as offensive as what Arcia said about his baserunning mistake. Not being a sensitive fan, just saying that in the past that kind of taunt got you a free base and a sore body part.
No disrespect intended. Eric O’Flaherty doesn’t agree at all with the take that Harper used Arcia’s private comment as motivation.
“Harper didn’t go deep bc some weasel reported that a guy joked about a blunder. He went deep bc he got 2 hanging sliders.
You gotta be a real dumbshit to think he hit two HR because he was mad or whatever. It’s the playoffs. Dumb story. Emotions don’t matter if you make pitches.”
@hiflew
The only remedy is to eliminate the playoffs entirely. Even when it was just AL vs NL in the WS, the hot team won, so by your request, the Braves win the NL and the Orioles win the AL. You can now spend your evenings watching the Golden Bachelor.
Braves/Phillies is high entertainment, and great for baseball. I’m a Phillies fan, but I know Strider is going to be lights out tonight. I’m hoping the Phillies end it tonight. Talking my Phillies fandom away for a second: There were no game threes in the WC round. We have a chance at no game fives in the DS. The Braves are really the last hope of delivering a competitive series in the DS.
What games have you been watching? The Braves haven’t been remotely competitive in these to this point.
I guess there’s still time if they show up and play well the next 2 games, but I wouldn’t count on it. You might get them to play well tonight but Game 5 they’ll disappear again. That’s a best case scenario.
Not competitive baseball whatsoever, even if they push it to 5
Got totally outplayed in the one they stole as well. I mean as a Braves fan I’ll take it, but they weren’t even sort of competitive for the first 6 innings of it. They cracked a couple timely hits but they didn’t exactly look good in that one either
Yeah. I kind of implied that if the Braves lose, every series was a dud. So that’s why the Braves are the last hope.
Agreed. As a Braves fan, I can admit that the Phillies have outplayed them thus far. No excuses on the long time off or anything else takes away that they have not been good in this series. It happens in baseball all the time. The Phillies have played better and won the games. We as a fan base need to take the bad and move on. Harper is a great player even if he does make me mad as a fan of the opposing team.
Time for Dave Roberts to go?
Managers are hired to be fired…or retired if they are very lucky.
Dodgers fans are punching their families right now
Didn’t that one fan used to be an All-Star Lefty?
He’s no longer a fan since they cleared out his locker.
And how much profit are they making? Payroll spent is a comical argument for any sports team. They all make money
Brand name soccer teams like Barcelona, Chelsea, etc. lose money on a consistent basis. Barcelona have had to sell players before making new signings.
I’ve learned a lot from watching the Phillies juggernaut. It seems the formula is:
Win about 90…just enough to get you in, but not enough where you actually have to compete, because let’s be honest, real teams are built to win 100+ and you’re not going to be able to do that. So settle in at a 5 or a 6 seed. Preferably 6.
As a 6, you get the weakest division winner, which you have a decent chance of beating in any random 3 game series (which you probably lost during the regular season, but who cares, this is when real men win)
Take on the 1, which isn’t so hard because you’ve given them false hope by losing to them already in a season series and by double digits during the fake regular season. They’ve also been sitting around for 5 days when you’ve been playing almost daily for 6 months, but ignore that, you gain nothing from pointing this out.
You’re now left competing against the other participation trophy wild card team in a best of 7. You now actually have no advantage here and you actually have to win, but don’t worry, your drunken fanbase is now behind you 1000%.
Hopefully, your opponent in the WS is one of these other participation trophy teams. If not, you’re going to bomb, and gag, and bomb like the Phillies did last year.
90 wins was almost always good enough for a playoff spot, even before the new format. The Phillies didn’t even beat the Braves yet. Last year both top teams in the AL advanced easily to the ALCS. This year, the Astros advanced again. There’s nearly as much evidence that the bye helps as there is that the bye hurts. It’s also of note that the Phillies, Braves and Dodgers are all involved again. The Phillies have a strong top-end rotation, a lineup of stars, and a good pen. Maybe that is more of the formula than anything else. Braves have pitching depth issues due to unfortunate injuries.
So it’s bomb, then gag, and then bomb again? So, they bombed twice? Your premise is thought provoking. Much obliged.
Manfred needs to adjust the playoff system… he should not let the AL East get into the playoffs. Every team that made the playoffs from the AL East has been swept the past 2 years. This just extends the playoffs for the real major league teams. Who wants to see baseball played in the snow?
No AL East representation in the playoffs… it makes sense.
I once saw an opposing coach (and players mind you) cheering when an Eagles kicker missed a chip shot FG to lose the game. I mean, the lack of awareness of these people. How dare they celebrate someone else’s blunder that results in their team’s victory. Pure trash
Am I doing this right?
Nothing wrong with it at all. Also nothing wrong with Harper’s reaction to it. Just like Alonso’s “Throw it Again” comment. It’s great fun.
Alonso’s “throw it again” was screamed/yelled from the dugout. Arcia was not talking to the media and was not in public. Apples and oranges
Possibly apples and oranges with their sad, little feelings hurt?
My point is, nothing wrong with Arcia’s comments. Nothing wrong with Harper’s reaction to them. It’s baseball man. Fun energy. The game needs this stuff.
Bulletin board material is bulletin board material. Say what you want, but be ready to get punched in the face for it.
But you must admit the snowflake reactions by Arcia and d’Arnaud were pretty hilarious. I’ve never seen professional athletes get their little feelings hurt so easily. Their interviews yesterday were must see tv.
Exactly. Arcia and d’Arnaud could have simply said “Yeah I said it. I was celebrating a great moment with my team. That’s all it was. Baseball is competitive.” Something like that and the story is over.
I’m
Sure the Braves and dodgers enjoyed the week off to rest their players. However mlb is taking this as a nfl style playoffs. Tv ratings are probably down since these are regional day games. I could see them changing the format by shortening the season by 1 week and have more night and weekend, Thursday Friday games. Not one team played on Friday night this post season.
Playing in the post is a crapshoot these days.
Just as the Boston bruins how they liked their playoffs last season. Broke team records in regular season, bounced in the 1st round
TV ratings are down because of blackout restrictions not allowing a majority of their fanbase to watch without a paid cable subscription in this day and age and skewing the playoffs on channels (AL: FS1/Fox; NL: TBS). There’s no consistency. Not to mention how many of teams went through the bankruptcy of Bally where MLB had to take hold of at least 2 different teams’ broadcasts. I mean, it’s been a s-show all year in terms of MLB on TV viewership unless you’re one of the lucky ones that doesn’t live anywhere close to your team and can enjoy MLB.tv.
And for some reason fans think teams still dealing with the Bally’s fiasco will spend in the offseason.
And the Braves of the 90s had three Hall of Famers in their rotation…they got one.
So let’s just run up to Cooperstown and yank their plaques off the wall, along with Fred McGriff and Chipper Jones while we’re at it.
Arcia F’ed around and found out
Go Braves!