EVIL~! alkeiper

Has anyone else noticed the Braves have the second worst offense in the playoffs? And the worst bullpen too! I don't know what was wrong with Farnsworth in Chicago, but he's been a godsend in Atlanta. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I haven't noticed, because the Braves scored more runs this year than the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Also, the Red Sox have a worse bullpen.

I think the Bored's rankings miss the mark here. Four of his five criteria do not consider defense, while Win Shares sees Hudson as the best defensive second baseman in the majors.

Has anyone else noticed the Astros have the worst offense in the Playoffs?

The most intriguing destination for Thome I've heard is Texas. They have Cleveland's former GM John Hart, a need for a designated hitter, and a contract of their own (Phil Nevin) they might like to unload. Plus, Hank Blalock's poor season may make him available. I am not unwilling to trade Abreu, but we would need to receive a top flight starting pitcher in return. I'm talking Roy Oswalt, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, Dontrelle Willis, etc. I'd doubt any of their teams would make that trade, so I don't see how trading Abreu would make the Phillies better. As for A.J. Burnett, I watched him pitch live and last 2 2/3 innings. If that's the kind of performance he gives down the stretch, our money is better spent elsewhere.

Anyone else ever listen to Mike Shannon? From what I hear, he is the king of the jinxing comment. "Wouldn't it be nice if Pujols won the game with a home run here?" "Let's hope the Cards can get a double play." Comments of that nature.

The big mistake was giving him paper with both numbers AND letters on it.

Game 1: Clement vs. Contreras Game 2: Wells vs. Buehrle Game 3: Garland vs. Wakefield I think this series is probably the most interesting of the first round.

Game 1: Peavy vs. Carpenter Game 2: Astacio vs. Mulder Game 3: Morris vs. Eaton This series has two off games, which works in the Padres' favor if they hope to pull an upset.

Just caught a clip on Sportscenter with John Kruk agreeing with Joe Torre's decision to start Chien-Ming Wang in game two. Kruk cited Wang's ability to strike out batters. Wang has the lowest K rate of any Yankee pitcher on the playoff roster. Kruk cited Shawn Chacon's poor numbers against the Angels (0-1, 9.00 ERA). Of course, those numbers come from exactly two starts, one of which occured when Chacon was a rookie pitching in Coors Field. In the more recent start, Chacon allowed one unearned run in six innings. That's not to say it is the wrong decision, just that there's some faulty analysis at work.

Eskin's just an attention whore.

I need to prepare my resume. Anyone willing to write a letter of recommendation?

With Showalter, I think this is as much of an issue as the bunt breaking up Curt Schilling's no-hitter in 2001. It's not an issue. A lot of baseball people seem to invent new old-school ethics when something does not go their way. I don't buy it.

Just for fun, here are the World Series matchups that have occred three times or more... 11: New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers 7: New York Yankees vs. New York/San Francisco Giants 5: New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals 4: New York Yankees vs. Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 4: Oakland/Philadelphia Athletics vs. New York/San Francisco Giants 4: Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs (who would've guessed?) 3: Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals 3: New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds 3: New York Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs

The funny thing is, Braves/Yankees is the only World Series matchup we've seen twice in the last 25 years.

My apologies. The overall point is that while Jones carried the team at some point, Furcal (who had a fantastic month) may have carried it at other points, and other players were responsible for the team's success.

Yes, but Andruw Jones also hit .208 over the month of September. Does that sound like an MVP?

There's never any boxing news. In any case, Jones hardly embarassed himself. He lost to the best light heavyweight in boxing. If Jones didn't have his reputation, he would be applauded for putting together a gutsy effort against a top-flight boxer.

As far as the Tigers' GM goes, I don't think he can be fully blamed for the team either. He received a poor team with a dismal farm team. He decided to let the kids play in 2003 and it blew up. But now the team has Bonderman, and two terrific starters coming up in Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander. He traded Ramon Santiago and got Carlos Guillen in return and flipped Ugueth Urbina for Placido Polanco, giving the Tigers a heck of a middle infield. As for Trammell, I think the team was coming apart internally, and given that he has no prior managerial experience, no track record of success, three consecutive 90+ loss seasons, and was really a "feel good" hire in the first place, it may be time to look in a new direction.

There's always room for disagreements, but I think win shares can help shed some light on this. Here are the top ten Braves in win shares, convenient since ten Braves reached double figures... 1. Rafael Furcal (27) 2. Marcus Giles (25) 3. Andruw Jones (23) 4. Chipper Jones (20) 5. John Smoltz (18) 6. Juan Sosa (14) 7. Jeff Francouer (13) 8. Tim Hudson (13) 9. Ryan Langerhans (13) 10. Adam Laroche (12) I think those who say the Braves would be nothing without Andruw Jones are really ignoring the contributions the Braves enjoy from their double play combo every year. If Jimmy Rollins runs his streak to 57 games, I would be incredibly surprised. I think MLB would change their stance as well if it came to that. Record chases mean big money. The sparse crowds that attended Maris's 61st home run game should give an indication of what happens when you discount a record beforehand.

My only preference is to see the wild card Champion streak broken. Cardinals/anyone would be a nice World Series matchup. Last year was the last time the Cardinals were in a sub-par World Series since 1943.

I intended to have different threads for each series. I think I'll make this the playoff prediction thread, and start the others tonight or tomorrow.

Quite well actually. I didn't get to see any of the games due to work. I don't know if that was better for me or not. In any event, we fought hard and I'm proud of the team. They did their best, and hopefully we caught a few more breaks next year. You better learn who Jeremy Hermida is, and quick. He's going to be around a long, long time. What exactly did Wagner say? And without knowing, Wagner can fuck himself. Byrd played in Scranton and provided an autograph, so you know where my loyalties lie. That looks about right. Jason Michaels now owns a .380 OBP in 808 career at bats. He's .277/.360/.420 against righties, so it is not like he's just a platoon player. For reference's sake, six teams got a .360 or better OBP from their center fielders this season. It's time to see if Jason Michaels can hold center field full time, at least until Michael Bourn is ready. Shane Victorino is better suited as a fourth outfielder. Padilla will return, as I am almost certain he is not a free agent until next season. Randy Wolf should return in July, but I wouldn't depend on him. I'm busy tonight, but I should have some thoughts on the postseasons matchups tomorrow.

Whatever stupid moves the Cubs make, rest assured they pale in comparison to creating a television contract for weekly baseball, and then assuring that your affiliates can show only one game, preventing fans from watching their favorite LOCAL team. You know, the one that has their minor league affiliate in town?

The Phillies win, taking this to the last day of the season. Win or lose, this team battled to the end, and I think they have done a hell of a job.

The would be a one-game playoff for the wild card berth, Monday at Citizens Bank Park.