MLB Game Chatter 9/20-9/22

[mike546 0]

With a 3 and a half lead going into Boston on Friday, and with the chances of a sweep, and with three games with the Twins to end the season, I'd say were in deep shit.

[strummer 0]

Red Sox strand the bases loaded in the 9th. 6-6 going into the 10th.

[Guest Anglesault]

Deep shit doesn't begin to describe it.

 

When beating Pedro is our most legit shot at a win, we are FUCKED.

[Bored 0]

I'm sorry but once again this A.L. East "race" is completey irrelevent and all this hand ringing over the results is pointless. They are both going to the playoffs and homefield doesn't mean much at all in the playoffs. A.L. West, N.L. Wild Card, and now the N.L. West races are ten times more important and have much more on the line than the A.L. East race.

[Guest Anglesault]

I'm sorry but once again this A.L. East "race" is completey irrelevent and all this hand ringing over the results is pointless. They are both going to the playoffs

OOOH!

 

::runs around the house celebrating::

 

Maybe we can get THE WILD CARD!

 

And homefield certainly does have a positive affect in the playoffs.

[mike546 0]

The reason I care is because I don't want to face Santana twice in the first round.

 

Thats like two automatic loses.

 

 

Homefield means a ton. Do you honestly think be come back on Pedro in game 7 if it was in Boston?

[sfaJack 0]

If I added everything up correctly, using playoff results from 2000-03, the record of the home teams is a whopping 71-67, a small advantage at best.

[Bored 0]

*sigh* A's drop another one to the Rangers. Now with the way the Angels are playing no guarentee they'll gain any ground (currently tied 1-1 in the 4th vs. the Mariners) but problem is the Rangers are now just one more win over the A's tommorrow from being right back in the race again.

[Guest Anglesault]

If I added everything up correctly, using playoff results from 2000-03, the record of the home teams is a whopping 71-67, a small advantage at best.

And what's the percentage of play off games won in the bottom of the ninth or extra innings?

 

If Boston won the division last year, the ALCS could have been drastically different. A Boone home run in the *top* of the 11th with Boston coming up to bat changes alot of things. Last licks, no matter how childish you might see it, means a hell of a lot.

[Guest Anglesault]

Of course. Of FUCKING COURSE!

 

And, as anyone with half a brain predicted, after all that work over the weekend, the yankees fucking bloody incompetance has left them right back where we started.

[Cartman 0]

What? You thought a shitty closer was going to stop the Sox from winning another game and gaining a game on the Yanks?

[Guest Anglesault]

What? You thought a shitty closer was going to stop the Sox from winning another game and gaining a game on the Yanks?

I was hoping that the Yankees wouldn't play two horseshit games against the Blue Jays. I was hoping the only decent reliever in the Orioles pen would get in the game.

 

I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, considering we have like a 10 % chance of winning a game in Boston, the Yankees would turn it up here.

[mike546 0]

We kinda have a chance in game 2.

 

Who knows what Javy will show up.

[Guest Anglesault]

We kinda have a chance in game 2.

a) The Yankees can't hit Wakefield for some unknown reason.

 

b) Vazquez is a walking joke. I miss Boomer.

[mike546 0]

On the somewhat bright side, Strurtze SO needs to take over the 7th inning role.

[Guest Anglesault]

On the somewhat bright side, Strurtze SO needs to take over the 7th inning role.

Say that again and try to convince yourself that that's a "bright" side.

[2GOLD 0]

In real news and not the Yankees fans complaining that the Red Sox are back in the East race so they can choke again.

 

 

The Giants beat the Astros 5-1 after the Killer Bs apparently left their stingers in Houston. The loss drops the Astros 3 games behind the Giants.

 

And the Dodgers trail the Padres 4-0 in the top of the 8th.

 

To recap:

A loss by LA means that SF would be 1/2 behind the Dodgers for first in the West. It would also mean the Cubs would be just a 1/2 game behind the Giants and a game behind the Dodgers. The Padres would remain four back of the Giants, 4 1/2 back of the Dodgers and 3 1/2 behind the Cubs.

 

Houston would need help, the Padres are winning but the teams in front of them are as well, Florida may be done but they have an outside chance as do the Phillies.

 

The Dodgers are about to lose their second in a row, the seventh in the last 11 games.

[Guest Smues]

Ichiro has 3 hits, and barring a double play here in the 8th will get another at bat. Just when I had thought he'd lost his chance at the record he gets hot again. Oh and Ibanez is 6-6 and has a chance of getting another at bat.

[Guest Smues]

And another infield single gives Ichiro 4 on the night. I think that leaves him 10 away from tying the record, with 9 games to go. 9 hits in his last two games.

[Guest Staravenger]

I thought he had 10 games left...oh, whats the difference, I think everyone knows he can (and most likely will) do it. He needs 1 hit per game, 2 in 1 game if it is 9, and most likely is, since I've been wrong about everything this week.

[Fökai 0]

Ichiro does indeed have 10 games left; three at Texas starting Friday, a four game series at Oakland beginning on Monday, and the three-game homestand against Texas to close the season.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the Twins next week if i'm the Yankees. They look too be going through the motions and are seem more content in playing out the regular season. Also, don't expect Santana to pitch more than 5 innings in next Thursdays game.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Houston would need help, the Padres are winning but the teams in front of them are as well, Florida may be done but they have an outside chance as do the Phillies.

 

The Marlins and Phillies have no shot here. They're 6.5 and 7.5 games back, respectively, with 11 games remaining. Not only would it take a historic set of circumstances to make that up, but they would need to pass four other teams in the process. It's not happening.

[Guest Sylvan Grenier]

Fucking Dodgers, fucking Astros. What the hell is going on with these teams? I'm worried because no matter how many games the Cubs win, the Giants are winning just as many, with a stronger schedule.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

You know, at this point, I'm starting to think the Cubs may have to battle the Dodgers over that Wild Card spot.

[Guest Sylvan Grenier]

The Dodgers are basically -0.5 games out of the Wild Card race.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

In case my fellow Cubs fans have any doubts about tonight, we want the Cubs, Padres, and Giants all to win today. That way we're tied with the Dodgers for the wildcard, 3.5 ahead of the Astros and Padres, with the Dodgers and Giants playing six more games against each other.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Bad news in St. Louis, from MLB.com:

 

An EMG (electromyogram) exam revealed that Carpenter has "nerve irritation to his upper arm, causing him discomfort and muscle weakness," according to a release issued by the team. Carpenter will rest and take oral anti-inflammatory medication, and will be re-evaluated on Saturday.

 

That could but a crimp in plans to move Carpenter along towards a start. He had been tentatively slated to throw this weekend, then make a start Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Carpenter left his start on Saturday against the Dodgers with the biceps strain, and his spot in the starting rotation on Thursday will be taken by Dan Haren.

 

This team has been a walking infirmary for the last three years and now, when we finally have a season when everybody seems to be healthy and all of the talent is finally in place, the injury bug strikes Kline, Walker, Rolen, and Carpenter as we approach the playoffs.

 

But 2002 proved that this team had the fortitude to succeed in spite of injuries, and I'm going to remain optimistic that the heart of this team will do whatever it takes to win in October.

[Mik 0]

Well, with the Marlins out of the race, I'm trying to decide what teams to pull for this October.

 

Right now, I'm thinking Cardinals and Red Sox. What it really boils down to is that I would be happy with either the Cubs (it's not a full blown rivalry yet) or Cardinals emerging from the NL and anyone but the Yankees from the AL.

[2GOLD 0]

Houston would need help, the Padres are winning but the teams in front of them are as well, Florida may be done but they have an outside chance as do the Phillies.

 

The Marlins and Phillies have no shot here. They're 6.5 and 7.5 games back, respectively, with 11 games remaining. Not only would it take a historic set of circumstances to make that up, but they would need to pass four other teams in the process. It's not happening.

 

Hence the words outside shot.

The odds of it happening are between 'laughable' and 'are you serious?', but they are there.

 

Preview of today's important games:

AL

 

WEST:

Oakland (Hudson, 12-5, 3.36 era) at Texas (Park, 3-6, 5.92 era) 2:05 pm

 

-Rangers are 3 behind Oakland and could move to 2 back with a win. Anaheim is off before their very big series with Oakland starting Friday. An Oakland loss would put the Angels just 2 out of the West lead with a chance to take the lead with a series sweep.

 

The West in both leagues will really decide itself with Anaheim getting 3 games with Oakland, 4 games at Texas and then closing the season with 3 at Oakland. The Rangers will have 3 with Seattle, 4 with the Angels and 3 at Seattle meaning they would have the "easiest" path to the West title.

 

Oakland will have a four game set with Seattle between the Angel series so they will need a sweep of the M's just to keep themselves in solid position.

 

EAST:

 

Tampa Bay (Ritchie, 0-1, 6.75 era) at New York (Lieber, 12-8, 4.40 era) 3:05

Baltimore (Cabrera, 12-7, 4.51 era) at Boston (Lowe, 14-12, 5.19 era) 7:05

 

-Another Yankee loss and a Red Sox win would move the Sox just 2.5 behind the Yankees with a three game series at Boston starting on Friday.

 

Boston follow the 'do or die' series with the Yankees with three at the D-rays and four at Camden with the O's having a small chance to spoil the Sox run for the East crown.

 

A poor showing in the series against the Sox would leave the Yankees meeting the Twins for three before traveling to Toronto to face the Jays. A good showing and the odds of NY losing the East sit between 'yeah right' and 'you kidding me?'

 

 

NL

WEST/WILDCARD

 

L.A (Ishii, 13-7, 4.75 era) at Padres (Wells, 12-7, 3.50 era) 10:05 pm

Houston (Backe, 3-3, 4.45 era) at San Fran (Schmidt, 16-7, 3.24 era) 10:15 pm

Chicago (Maddux, 14-10, 3.68 era) at Pittsburgh (Figueroa, 0-2, 4.44 era) 12:35 pm

 

-Ok, this is where it gets fun for these teams. A Giants and Cubs win combined with a Dodgers loss would put the Giants up 1/2 in the West and the Cubs tied with LA for the Wildcard and the Padres would move to 3.5 out of the card [thanks Cabbage, knew I messed one up]. A Cubs win, a Dodgers win and a Giants loss would put the Cubs in the wildcard lead and give LA a 1.5 game cushion to work with.

 

However, the Giants and Dodgers start a series at San Fran on Friday and play each other six times over the last nine games of the season. The Giants also will take on the Padres.

 

The Padres could really clean up tonight. Trailing by 4.5 games in the West and 4 in the Wildcard, a Padres win combined with losses by all other teams would move them 3.5 out of first in the West and 3 out of the wildcard.

 

The Padres start a series with the Giants next Tuesday and could take the West crown if they can sweep through LA and Arizona before encountering the Giants. After the Giants series, the Padres finish the season with three against Arizona and could be very much in the race by then.

 

Meanwhile the Cubs will get the Mets next followed by Cinn. and then close the season out in Atlanta. The Cubs have one of the harder paths since they can only grab the Wildcard.

 

Houston will have troubles tonight if they lose and might be calling it a season. A loss would leave them 4 out of the wildcard and 3.5 behind the Cubs and tied with the Padres for third if SD, CHI, and SF all win. A win helps them pull back some life, moving to 2.5 behind the Cubs (if the Cubs win as well) for the Wildcard and 2 behind the Giants. Nothing is easy for the Astros, heading to the Brewers team that ended their season last year followed by the Cardinals. If they are still alive headed into the final three games of the season, the Astros take on the confusing Rockies in Houston.