Men's Baseball MLB 2018

[phelps 6,738]

1 ora fa, heywoodu ha scritto:

Which I can imagine would get a lot of criticism from the 'losing' team of course

 

Nobody wants a fair way to decide it if that means it ends up the wrong way for them  

 

if I know North American people well enough, I can fairly say that most of them (at least 80/90%) would eventually accept a lot easier to lose a single decisive tie-breaking game at the end of the RS (when all the fans, the payers and the media are well aware of the importance of that game) rather than not making the post-season because of a few spare games played maybe at the beginning of April with most players not fully fit yet and/or in bad weather conditions in a mid-week matinèe...

that would be considered really unfair...

I think the different mentality between Europe and North America can't actually help us to understand why the main Pro Sports in the US/CAN are run the way they are...

for most of the European people is just to difficult to accept the odd schedule and the fact that the game times are mainly decided by the TV stations...let's imagine all the other peculiarities...

 

by the way, I'm quite outside the European fan type and I appreciate the US Sports exactly as they are...

and I'm happy to miss a few sleeping hours to watch MLB and NHL games every year...

they are always a great show and I enjoy them just because of that, meanwhile I don't like the "win or die" kind of attitude we often see on the stands (and in the TV broadcasts/shows) in most team sports here in Europe...

 

 

[Topicmaster1010 2,315]

What a series of wild card games. Yesterday's game between the Rockies and Cubs marks the longest winner-take-all postseason game and Colorado was able to win it late with a go-ahead single in the 13th inning. The cubs ended their season with back to back losses at home. As for tonight's game, is the only way to describe Oakland's offence tonight. Using relief pitchers the whole game was also questionable. Nevertheless,  Oakland continues it's postseason disappointment from this decade and the Yankees prevail with the formula that they usually use in the form of home runs.

 

The Yankees will now play the Red Sox in the American League Divisional Series and the Rockies will play the Brewers in the National League Divisional Series.

 

Thursday features the start of the divisional series with Rockies and Brewers at 17:07 ET and the Braves and Dodgers at 20:37 ET

[phelps 6,738]

and finally we are at the season's climax...

 

World Series started last night in Boston, where the Red Sox hosted game #1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing their second consecutive final act...

 

and also this time it looks they will end up on the losing side, since Boston did show all of their power with the bats, thrashing LA by a score of 8-4...

 

it was clear from the beginning that it wasn't to be LA night, since Kershaw gave up 2 points already in the first inning...then the Dodgers cambe back once, twice and almost a third time (Machado had a chance to hit with bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the 7th, but he only hit a useless sac fly that left the team 1 run short at that point)...

but one of the usual "scientific" managerial decisions by coach Roberts in the bottom of the 7th (changing an untouchable Baez to put on the mound a long time boiled Alex Wood) costed a 3-run homer hit by Nunez on the very first pitch thrown by Wood and so the game was basically over...

 

tonight (2.09 a.m. CET) game #2 (still in Boston) will feature David Price as a starting pitcher for Boston against Hyu Jin Ryu for the Dodgers...it's gonna be another long and difficult night for the Dodger Nation, I fear...

[heywoodu 13,536]

52 minutes ago, phelps said:

costed a 3-run homer hit by Nunez on the very first pitch thrown by Wood and so the game was basically over...

2nd pitch

 

[phelps 6,738]

Il 24/10/2018 Alle 17:54, heywoodu ha scritto:

2nd pitch

 

 

well, that changes the entire development of the game...

 

back to game #2...and it was another painful night for the Dodgers fans...Ryu gave up the first run of the game, but then he had a strong outing until the 2nd out of the 5th inning, when Boston, at that point back 1-2 in the score, did all the damage with 2 consecutive hits off the Korean pitcher, followed by back to back base on balls, the first one off Ryu once again, the second one off the first reliever Madson, who gave up also the last hit that led to the 4-2 for the Red Sox, which eventually was also the final score of the game...

so, now Boston lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series...

 

now...Boston is a very, very strong team...why should someone repeatedly do the same mistakes all the time? why the Dodgers fans must have a coach like Mr.Roberts?

once agin he started with that sh*tful lineup made only with righthanded hitters..and when Ryu was clearly dead and gone, he kept him on the mound 2 batters too much...but it wasn't enough...why not matching up Benintendi with a lefty (Urias or Alexander) and then go to the untouchable -at least the night before- Baez? why using the always inconsistent Madson in that specific key situation?

above all...why is he paid so much money to waste all of the enormous talent of the team when even the last fan like me could do a lot better???

FIRE that jerk!!!!!!

 

now there's a one-day break and the teams fly to LA, where game #3 is scheduled for tomorrow night (2.09 a.m. CET), with rookie sensation Walker Buehler starting for the Dodgers and Rick Porcello for the Red Sox...

Edited October 25, 2018 by phelps

[phelps 6,738]

the world series were back in action last night...and it turned out to be a special game...

 

it took 18 innings to find a winner and the game itself lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes, both a WS record...

 

and this time the LA Dodgers came out of this marathon on top, winning 3-2 thanks a Max Muncy solo-homer in the bottom of the 18th inning...

 

before that, not much happened, especially thanks to the great game played by the LA rookie sensation pitcher Walker Buehler, who became the 3rd man ever to pitch 7 (or more) scoreless innings with 2 or fewer hits and no walks allowed in the entire centenary history of the WS...

the dodgers took the lead thanks to a solo shot by Joc Pederson and when Buehler handed over the pitching job to the closer Kenley Jansen at the start of the 8th inning on the score of 1-0 in favor of LA, it looked all over...

but Jackie Bradley Jr. didn't have the same idea and with a solo shot tied the game at 1 apiece...

so, the extra innings marathon started and despite Boston took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 13th inning, the tie was quickly restored in the bottom part of the same frame...until Max Muncy's shot sent everybody home...

 

tonight (always @ 2.09 a.m. -"old time", actually, 1.09 "new time" CET) game #4 will be particularly interesting, since both teams have their respective bullpen basically boiled after last night's workload...

and because of that, both starting pitchers haven't been announced yet...let's expect something unconventional (especially by the Red Sox)...

[phelps 6,738]

this time we didn't need to go 18 innings...it all happened in regulations...

 

first 6 and 1/2 half innings of nothing were followed by one of the crazy stints that reminded me so much of last year's WS game in Houston...

 

it all began with the Dodgers taking a 4-0 nothing lead (thanks mainly to a 3-run homer by Yasiel "el caballo loco" Puig) off the so far so good Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who normally in this post-season is a reliever not used to make too many pitches per appearance, but last night he was asked by Boston manager Alex Cora to start the game, thing that he did very, very good until, after probably having been left on the mound a bit too long, he gave up that early LA lead...

 

then the Dodgers troubles started and never ended...

after 6 great innings by Rich Hill, when in the bottom of 7th he gave up a walk (and then came back with a K), the usual overmanaging by Mr. Roberts took over...

first he sent on the mound a lefty reliever (Alexander) that surrendered a 4-pitch walk to a Boston hitter (when Rich Hill, who's also left-handed could well have taken care of him), then he made another change, giving the ball to the usual suspect Ryan madson, who already allowed all of his previous inherited runners to score...and guess what? he did allow a 3-run shot to Mitch Moreland that re-opened a game that looked close (does something sound similar to yesterday? )...

and when Kenley Jansen came out at the beginning of the 8th inning and quickly gave up a solo shot to Steve Pierce that tied the game, it was clear that the 54-0 record when leading by 4+ runs at any point of a game of the Dodgers was going to be destroyed...

and in fact, in the to of the 9th, the following LA relievers, partly because gassed out after the previous night, but mainly because they are just bad, let Boston party with 5 runs that killed any Dodger ambition (only a boiled Kimbrell made the game longer than needed by giving up 2 more points to LA in the bottom of the 9th inning)...

 

9-6 is the final score...but this loss is a lot more painful than the numbers say...basically, it's the the cover of the grave being layed...now Boston just need to put the last couple of nails on it (and probably it will happen tonight, @ 1.15 a.m. CET, when game #5 is scheduled to start at the Chavez Ravine, with Clayton Kershaw at his possible last outing with the Dodgers' jersey facing  Boston's David Price as the starting pitchers)...

[heywoodu 13,536]

I hope the Dodgers win game 5, because I can't watch that one live but I can watch a possible game 6 live  

[phelps 6,738]

16 minuti fa, heywoodu ha scritto:

I hope the Dodgers win game 5, because I can't watch that one live but I can watch a possible game 6 live  

 

 

there's only 1 way for LA to win...they need a complete game shutout by CK...

if they have to go to the bullpen, even for just 1 inning, they're gonna lose once again (I don't trust their offense anymore, too...they just can't score when it really matters)...

even Jansen is no longer the man he used to be since he had those heart troubles last Summer (and started taking all those medicines to take it under control)...

[phelps 6,738]

game over...

 

the Boston Red Sox are the World Series champions 2018...

 

congrats to them, they really deserved the title, as they dominated the season from the beginning to the end, leading all the offensive stats through the entire season and brilliantly overcoming the pitching troubles they had to face once every while...

 

game #5 was just routine...a 2-run shot by the MVP of the WS Steve Pierce in the top of the 1st inning basically closed the game even befopre it really started...

 

the only sign of life from the Dodgers came immediately in the bottom of the 1st, when David Freese answered Pierce with a solo homer...

 

but that was it, LA's bats didn't make anything for the rest of the game (thanks above all to an excellent outing from David Price, who in these WS redeemed himself from his past post-season losing efforts) and Boston could eventually even break away in the score with 3 solo shots in the 6th, 7th and 8th inning, modelling the score up to the final 5-1...

 

and in the bottom of the 9th the great rookie manager Alex Cora (what a difference with Mr. Roberts, who was once again outclassed by his direct counterpart) called on the mound his best starter, Chris Sale to act as the closer, since the designated one, Craig Kimbrell, was only taking hit after hit in the final part of the season...

 

and Sale only needed 3 quick K...then the party started...

 

meanwhile on the other side, another chance has been wasted...the now full 30 years long drought continues...and I fear it gonna take a long time before it ends, unless they fire Mr. Roberts (and the hitting instructor and some of those players, too) as soon as possible...

 

so, also this season is over...and I'm sure I'm gonna miss MLB Baseball very soon...

but then a new season will begin next April...

so, see you in 2019...I hope...

Edited October 29, 2018 by phelps