The MLB Thread

[Spider-Fan]

I get it and thought I might be hearing from you. LOL. Cleveland has some work to do if they're going to get back into the series. Basically, they pretty much have to win the next 2. I can honestly say I've never rooted for the Yankees....not ever. I did go to one of their games when I was in NY doing for an IT buildout, but it was mainly because I like to "collect" ballparks and I'd never been to Yankee Stadium. The top 2 on my list now are Fenway and Wrigley.

Go Cleveland.....

Part of my frustration as a sports fan is I lived my early years mostly in a 50/50 Browns vs Steelers area. The Browns lack of success just over time made it a mostly Steelers area with a large pocket of Browns fans as holdover. So I always was on the losing end of these "my team is better than yours" debates. Then I moved to NY, and guess what....mostly Yankees country. During the height of the Jeter years when the were dominant and the then Indians spiraled from being great to mid. Guess how fun that was to constantly hear? And at that time, the Browns were beginning their streak of irrelevance. So I kind of have been waiting for like that good period to come. Even when we had the Cavs, LeBron 's first run was always people just waiting for him to leave cause the organization sucked, so even that wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been. Essentially my sports life, I had 4 great years of Cavs basketball where they made the finals 4 years and though they only won the 1, it was an epic win.

So I have a bit of a sports Napoleon complex where I have little sympathy for other fan bases lol! At least ones that have had like good years in recent history

 

[InCali]

Part of my frustration as a sports fan is I lived my early years mostly in a 50/50 Browns vs Steelers area. The Browns lack of success just over time made it a mostly Steelers area with a large pocket of Browns fans as holdover. So I always was on the losing end of these "my team is better than yours" debates. Then I moved to NY, and guess what....mostly Yankees country. During the height of the Jeter years when the were dominant and the then Indians spiraled from being great to mid. Guess how fun that was to constantly hear? And at that time, the Browns were beginning their streak of irrelevance. So I kind of have been waiting for like that good period to come. Even when we had the Cavs, LeBron 's first run was always people just waiting for him to leave cause the organization sucked, so even that wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been. Essentially my sports life, I had 4 great years of Cavs basketball where they made the finals 4 years and though they only won the 1, it was an epic win.

So I have a bit of a sports Napoleon complex where I have little sympathy for other fan bases lol! At least ones that have had like good years in recent history

Yeah......I have to say, I've been pretty lucky on that end. The Rams, Dodgers, and Lakers generally had great to competitive teams when I was in LA. When I moved up to Santa Cruz, there was no way I could be a Giant fan, but that was around the time of the Canseco/McGwire/Stewart/Welch/Baines/Hendersons/etc teams and the Raiders were doing pretty well also. Now I'm back in LA and it's about the same as when I was growing up (Lakers are worse, but not too horrible).

 

[Spider-Fan]

Yeah......I have to say, I've been pretty lucky on that end. The Rams, Dodgers, and Lakers generally had great to competitive teams when I was in LA. When I moved up to Santa Cruz, there was no way I could be a Giant fan, but that was around the time of the Canseco/McGwire/Stewart/Welch/Baines/Hendersons/etc teams and the Raiders were doing pretty well also. Now I'm back in LA and it's about the same as when I was growing up (Lakers are worse, but not too horrible).

One of my friends is a Lakers fan and they won that last title with Kobe and he went nuts and was like "I never thought we would win another title" and I literally told him "Dude, come on. They're the frigging Lakers. They're going to win several before you die barring a tragic accident cutting your life short." I could tell he didn't love that comment, but it's the truth. Teams like the Lakers or Celtics or Yankees or Dodgers, they may have slight down periods....but eventually they're going to do it again. They're royaltly of their leagues. People want to go there. And I don't mean that as a slight toward you or anything. I am just saying that's just the nature of the NBA and MLB. And hey, I proved to be right cause low and behold....they won the one during Covid.

Now the Raiders I know haven't been an ideal team to follow since that loss to TB in the Super Bowl. That one I can kind of feel more.

 

[InCali]

One of my friends is a Lakers fan and they won that last title with Kobe and he went nuts and was like "I never thought we would win another title" and I literally told him "Dude, come on. They're the frigging Lakers. They're going to win several before you die barring a tragic accident cutting your life short." I could tell he didn't love that comment, but it's the truth. Teams like the Lakers or Celtics or Yankees or Dodgers, they may have slight down periods....but eventually they're going to do it again. They're royaltly of their leagues. People want to go there. And I don't mean that as a slight toward you or anything. I am just saying that's just the nature of the NBA and MLB. And hey, I proved to be right cause low and behold....they won the one during Covid.

Now the Raiders I know haven't been an ideal team to follow since that loss to TB in the Super Bowl. That one I can kind of feel more.

Yeah.....I just grew up in LA, so my sports preferences were pretty much laid out for me. I mean, I could have been an Angels fan, but LA is DodgerTown and the same with the Lakers. Same with the Rams before they left town. If I'd been born somewhere else, I'm sure I would have picked the local team.

I think part of it is LA teams have a LOT of revenue. The Dodgers draw about 4M people a year and people just won't stand for a bad team. That the A's were so good is an outlier. They just had a great front office and scouting, but they couldn't keep their young players because they didn't have the revenue stream. Cleveland is a good example (at least I think it is). Teams will pop their heads up, but you need a lot of money to be consistently good. The Dodgers have lost the division title once in the last 12 or so years and that year, they won 105 games. They also have terrific scouting and consistently have one of the best farm systems in the league despite losing picks because of how much they spend.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Yeah.....I just grew up in LA, so my sports preferences were pretty much laid out for me. I mean, I could have been an Angels fan, but LA is DodgerTown and the same with the Lakers. Same with the Rams before they left town. If I'd been born somewhere else, I'm sure I would have picked the local team.

I think part of it is LA teams have a LOT of revenue. The Dodgers draw about 4M people a year and people just won't stand for a bad team. That the A's were so good is an outlier. They just had a great front office and scouting, but they couldn't keep their young players because they didn't have the revenue stream. Cleveland is a good example (at least I think it is). Teams will pop their heads up, but you need a lot of money to be consistently good. The Dodgers have lost the division title once in the last 12 or so years and that year, they won 105 games. They also have terrific scouting and consistently have one of the best farm systems in the league despite losing picks because of how much they spend.

Cleveland for what I would call a mid market team in MLB are competent. The 90s team was loaded with good hitters, but meh pitching. If they had a Clase level talent as a closer in 97, they would have beat the Marlins. But they had Jose Mesa. Not a good closer.

But post 2000s, they have been a pitching team with meh hitting. That 2007 team that lost to the Red Sox after having a 3-1 lead (I was at game 4 of that series) had Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia on it! They probably win the WS that year had they beat the Red Sox. Then in 2016, they had another stacked lineup of starting pitchers and a great bullpen. But once again, out dueled at the sticks by the Cubs. Right now, this team has great young pitchers again. This time as a bullpen. Not So much starters. If the FO would spend on another starter and a couple bats, they probably would be right in there with everyone else. But alas, I think this team is destined to be close but no cigar like the rest.

They're a competent team. But they seem to be okay with being close but not close enough

 

[InCali]

Cleveland for what I would call a mid market team in MLB are competent. The 90s team was loaded with good hitters, but meh pitching. If they had a Clase level talent as a closer in 97, they would have beat the Marlins. But they had Jose Mesa. Not a good closer.

But post 2000s, they have been a pitching team with meh hitting. That 2007 team that lost to the Red Sox after having a 3-1 lead (I was at game 4 of that series) had Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia on it! They probably win the WS that year had they beat the Red Sox. Then in 2016, they had another stacked lineup of starting pitchers and a great bullpen. But once again, out dueled at the sticks by the Cubs. Right now, this team has great young pitchers again. This time as a bullpen. Not So much starters. If the FO would spend on another starter and a couple bats, they probably would be right in there with everyone else. But alas, I think this team is destined to be close but no cigar like the rest.

They're a competent team. But they seem to be okay with being close but not close enough

Huge top of the 8th for the Guardians. I'm not that familiar with their bullpen, but I go to my best guy when Soto comes up. The next three are really, really tough.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This is a sweep

 

[InCali]

This is a sweep

Maybe I should have just shut up.

 

[Another_Fool]

Great game. Great win for Cleveland.

 

[InCali]

Great game. Great win for Cleveland.

Yeah....baseball is a funny game. So Cleveland is in basically the same place the Mets were coming into today's game. If they win, everything is up in the air. Like I said, one game in a seven game series is huge and there can be a lot of see saws.....

 

[Another_Fool]

Yeah....baseball is a funny game. So Cleveland is in basically the same place the Mets were coming into today's game. If they win, everything is up in the air. Like I said, one game in a seven game series is huge and there can be a lot of see saws.....

Yeah honestly Cleveland's bullpen spooks me so I really wanted the Yanks to secure a comfy 3-0 lead in the series. But here we go.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I hope that win propels momentum in our favor. But I am a realistic at the same time. I actually upset my dad who called me after the game cause of my take: we got lucky. Clase has blown 2 save opportunities too many this post season. That's a major concern. It's easy to overlook it because we won the game, but this is potentially an issue. But it's good to see some clutch hits finally.

So I will take it. I hope this propels the momentum in the Guardians favor and they can ride the emotion to turn this thing around. But I am not ignoring the issues just because they won

 

[InCali]

Yeah honestly Cleveland's bullpen spooks me so I really wanted the Yanks to secure a comfy 3-0 lead in the series. But here we go.

I hope that win propels momentum in our favor. But I am a realistic at the same time. I actually upset my dad who called me after the game cause of my take: we got lucky. Clase has blown 2 save opportunities too many this post season. That's a major concern. It's easy to overlook it because we won the game, but this is potentially an issue. But it's good to see some clutch hits finally.

So I will take it. I hope this propels the momentum in the Guardians favor and they can ride the emotion to turn this thing around. But I am not ignoring the issues just because they won

Uh oh......I think we've got a budding rivalry.....

 

[Spider-Fan]

We will see how game 4 goes. If the Guardians come out swinging tomorrow and take game 4, then the Yankees could be in trouble. But I gotta see if this momentum carries over first

 

[blueharvest]

Congrats to the Guardians.

 

[blueharvest]

We will see how game 4 goes. If the Guardians come out swinging tomorrow and take game 4, then the Yankees could be in trouble. But I gotta see if this momentum carries over first

According to what I've read online, the next pitcher for the Yankees is going to be Luis Gil, who allowed 3 runs and 3 hits against the Guardians the last time he was the pitcher, along with a home run. So if he pitches that badly tonight, Cleveland might have a chance of winning.

 

[Spider-Fan]

According to what I've read online, the next pitcher for the Yankees is going to be Luis Gil, who allowed 3 runs and 3 hits against the Guardians the last time he was the pitcher, along with a home run. So if he pitches that badly tonight, Cleveland might have a chance of winning.

Depends on how the youngster does with the pressure. I hope Gavin Williams pitches well

 

[InCali]

This goes back to what I was saying earlier. If Cleveland wins today, all of the talk about a blowout series goes bye bye. These short series get you funny results. I'm curious to see if the Yanks can put a devastating loss behind them. That one hurt.

Also, I was reading about the Dodgers "blowout" series over the Mets. Look, had the Mets been able to pull out a win last night, we'd be whistling another tune. One game......that's it.

BTW, I don't like the matchup for the Mets tonight, but baseball is a funny game and you never know what's going to happen. I think that, on some level, the Mets have got to be a little bit down and I'm also curious how last night's beatdown will affect them. If the Mets can pull this game out, they'll have the top of their order ready to go and they could pull this one out.

 

[Spider-Fan]

The thing about the NLCS is each game has been a blowout. Even the Mets won in a blowout. Cleveland at least you can argue beat themselves as much as the Yankees beat them games 1 and 2. Different games if they don't hand them 5 run off wild pitches and errors between the 2 games. If this series gets even tonight, then suddenly its a best of 3 with all the pressure on the Yankees. Outside of Cleveland media, everyone thought this would be a blowout. This thing gets tied after the Yankees lose like they did last night, that New York media is going to feast on them

 

[InCali]

The thing about the NLCS is each game has been a blowout. Even the Mets won in a blowout. Cleveland at least you can argue beat themselves as much as the Yankees beat them games 1 and 2. Different games if they don't hand them 5 run off wild pitches and errors between the 2 games. If this series gets even tonight, then suddenly its a best of 3 with all the pressure on the Yankees. Outside of Cleveland media, everyone thought this would be a blowout. This thing gets tied after the Yankees lose like they did last night, that New York media is going to feast on them

The Mets are not out of this series and people who counted them out before today don't understand how these series work. IF the Dodgers had an intact pitching staff, this would probably be over, but they don't. The Dodgers are going to have to put together a bullpen game and if they don't win that one, have Buehler on the mound for game 7. That's no way to win a series.

The odds are the Mets don't win. They have no margin for error and everything has to go right, but they're in it; and were in it even down 3-1.

It's tougher for Cleveland unless they somehow manage to win tonight because the Yankees haven't had the same level of injuries to their starters.

EDIT: Man, I had no idea that Josh Naylor was such a speed demon on the base paths. Nice hitting....Cleveland is playing tough....

 

[Spider-Fan]

Clase is cooked. But they had this same hole yesterday and dug out of it. We shall see if they can do it again

 

[Another_Fool]

Great game. Great win for New York.

 

[Spider-Fan]

All I can say is I have seen the Guardians blow 3 leads of 3-1 in my life. Maybe karma kicks in and they comeback from a 3-1. We shall see

 

[Another_Fool]

Clase is cooked. But they had this same hole yesterday and dug out of it. We shall see if they can do it again

Dude. I love Clase (and Evil Empire fan that I am, I've been hoping Yankees sign him one day) but my goodness he's had a terrible postseason. How many blown saves or late runs has he given up at this point? Is he just fatigued from overuse at this point?

 

[Another_Fool]

All I can say is I have seen the Guardians blow 3 leads of 3-1 in my life. Maybe karma kicks in and they comeback from a 3-1. We shall see

They can. THEY DON'T GO AWAY. Mets too.