The Official Articulated Thoughts Baseball Thread

That was a hell of a game. So close to breaking the record for most innings in a WS game. Shame about the outcome, but I kind of expected it would be a walk-off HR to end it.

Glad to see the Jays bounce back and Shohei being good, but not great. I think the Jays needed to see that after game 3. Ohtani is an amazing player, but he is not unbeatable regardless of that game 3 performance. Thankfully once again the Dodgers bullpen showed why they need stellar starters and even with Shohei going long (pitching) it still fell apart. This is turning into a series to remember. For my sake I hope the Jays can win it all.
 
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Baseball playoffs are probably the most random in that even the best teams in baseball history lose about 1/3rd of their games, so even when a team wins a series 4-0 that is more of a fluke than "dominance" as the commentators like to say.

Things that I feel make baseball more interesting and harder to predict when it comes to the playoffs -

The "quality" of a team varies based on starting pitching - each team has in effect 10 main "teams" with 5 starting pitchers and 2 lineups (vs LHP and vs RHP). Some combinations might win 75% of the time, others are under .500. Most teams in others sports have greater consistency game to game.

You can't feed your best players the key moments - all other sports you can pick your best matchup at the end of games, in baseball you might load the bases 5 times but have your worst hitter coming to bat, while you best hitter always comes up with no one on and two outs. Same with pitching, you can't have your best pitching all the time. It makes it such an interesting team sport made up of a series of individual plays.

Anytime a commentator predicts a team will win a series 4-0 or 4-1 I think it proves they don't understand the game at all. No team in baseball is ever inevitable. No one player can be the focus for a team. Ohtani gets 1/9th of the at-bats and probably 20% of the innings pitched. The equivalent player in basketball or football is going to be involved in almost every play - in FB they can have someone run the ball or be targeted 5 times in a row, or in BB take 10 straight shots...especially at the end of a game. Ohtani may not even be involved as a pitcher or batter the last two innings of a tied game 7.
 
YEAH BABY!!!!!

Man I have been so worried about the Dodgers this series and yet the Jays keep coming back to show that they deserve to be there. Where did Yesavage come from? I mean a 22 year old first time MLB pitcher with only 6 starts(?) in about 2 months of MLB play? Then he absolutely dominates in game 6 (12Ks!!!!!!).

I'm still nervous, but at least there is a bit of a cushion if Yamamoto throws another lights out game.
 
Yesavage has been pretty interesting, curious how much of his performance is the players not seeing him before and how much is his stuff. But they have used him in key situations all through the playoffs...
 
Toronto winning three games already pushed the Mariners' loss into "crushing" territory, so the Jays may as well go and win the whole thing.
 
fac said:
Yesavage has been pretty interesting, curious how much of his performance is the players not seeing him before and how much is his stuff. But they have used him in key situations all through the playoffs...
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There is probably a good bit of that, but I also think his delivery is what is throwing hitters off as well. He throws over the top coming down in motion. So the ball already starts somewhat high compared to most other pitchers and then it can drop so far as it approaches that it is hard for hitters to lay off because it looks like it will be in the strike zone. Then it ends up being outside the zone and the hitters chase.

It will be interesting to see how his career plays out once teams have a stronger book on him. However I think he may be just different enough that if he can maintain control I could see him being a threat for years to come.
 
Crazy game and series.

My condolences to canprime. (Sincerely)

I admit that while I really didn't want either team to win, and when pushed I professed a desire for the Jays to finish the deal to validate the M's a bit, I will say I am experiencing some schadenfreude that the Jays hearts got stomped on the way the M's hearts were with many missed chances to seal the deal.

But I never like it when the big market teams buy their way to a title either.
 
That seriously overdelivered on any heartbreak I thought Toronto was due. That has to go down as one of the most painful losses in MLB history. Up two runs in the 8th; up one in the 9th, just two strikes away from a World Series; two Dodgers clattering into each other and making a game-saving catch anyway; and the out at home plate. I'm sorry, Jays fans.
 
Although the focus in the 10th was whether the catcher's foot regained contact on the plate for the force out, the real question was why slide at all - for force out plays at home and 1st you should run through the plate/base - not slide, which slows you down. I think if he runs straight and is standing crossing home he might beat the throw.
 
Oof. I’m sorry canprime. That’s a franchise-defining loss until a future team can change the narrative. That play at the plate was so damn close that I wish the runner had sense enough to stay upright and run through the plate. The slide might have cost him. Of course, not giving up a 2-out homer would have also been a sound strategy. Unreal game though. I thought the Dodgers were crazy committing the money they did to Yamamoto, but that guy is legit.

That was a very entertaining series. I expected the Dodgers to win, but would never have guessed they’d do it by winning 3 out 4 in Toronto.
 
I saw it theorized that he would've been safe if he had slid head-first into home plate, too.

I gotta be honest, I never cared for baseball. I thought the game was too slow and too individual. Almost like soccer PKs, but as an entire sport. The Mariners' resurgence (just surgence?) got me to tune in. The pitch clock revolutionized the game. I'm still skeptical of the regular season, but I find the individual duels fascinating in the playoffs. It's a lot like the NBA, where certain matchups and weaknesses are picked at time after time across a seven-game series.

I think I'm a baseball fan now.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
I saw it theorized that he would've been safe if he had slid head-first into home plate, too.
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I kind of doubt it - it should always be faster to be stay at top speed through the bag. Sliding only developed as a way to decelerate at 2nd and 3rd without overrunning the bag, and as a way to make the target for a tag smaller on tag plays, not to get to the bag faster. There is a reason sliding into first is almost never a thing, because you have the leeway to cross the bag without being tagged out.

The runner coming home has to assume the catcher is not trying to tag him in that situation, so your only goal is to get to the plate before the throw. Sliding in any form will slow your time to the plate. But one play is almost never the reason a team wins or lost.

TheSameIdiot said:
I gotta be honest, I never cared for baseball. I thought the game was too slow and too individual. Almost like soccer PKs, but as an entire sport.
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I think it takes watching some games where you are truly invested in the outcome to fully appreciate how every pitch, every play, matters and how you never know what might happen. Without stakes it seems slows and repetitive and maybe dull, with stakes the ebbs and flows builds more tension, or relief, or anticipation.... and I think once you get how it can be exciting, it helps make watching a regular season game more fun.
 
One little touch of a cleat denying a championship..........
Just brutal!
Great World Series, but bummed the Dodgers came through.
Glad Mariners fans didn't have to lose like that though. Sorry for your heartbreak canprime.
 
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