***Official - 2025 Major League Baseball Thread (5 Viewers)

[CletiusMaximus]

So if I'm looking at this right, with the Braves out now none of the teams with the 5 best records in baseball made the LCS this year.

Three teams tied with the 6th best record and the 12th best record

I read the 4 best teams - Braves, Dodgers, Orioles and Rays won 1 combined game. Crazy.

The Brewers were 5th best with 92 regular season wins and won zero playoff games so it’s one win from the top 5.

The baseball playoffs are incredibly stupid but I guess you just have to accept that as part of the deal? Honestly maybe more teams should take it easy in the regular season, in the least it doesn’t seem to indicate playoff success in this format. It’s not 1993 anymore where you went right to the LCS.

Just a weird contrast. Play the longest regular season with sooooooo many games then short series in the playoffs. They need to find a way to shorten back to the 154 game regular season season to allow the longer playoff series.

Even though there were a lot of upsets, it is not like the other teams in the playoffs are trash. You still had to play some good baseball to get into the playoffs. You also generally go from 5 or 6 starting pitchers down to most likely 3.

Its odd to think you don't have to be that old - maybe 60 or 65 - to remember a time when there were no baseball playoffs at all, just a World Series between the two pennant winners. Then the 4 team format lasted into the 90's before things started expanding and it got all hog-wild.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

I do think this is a piece of it. Baseball is about routine and consistency so much. The Braves were doing what they could and playing essentially scrimmages against themselves, but the layoff between the end of the regular season and the division series was quite long. All the teams off byes, even the Astros, came out sluggish.

Though the Braves started resting some guys even before the end of the season which meant even more of a break.

But not having to play an entire series and potentially lose a round earlier is a pretty huge bonus in itself. If you can’t get up for a playoff series and dial things in, I’m not sure if there is a ton to complain about. Regular season is definitely about keeping even and grinding out the long season, but if you want a ring, you’d better plan on dialing things up when it comes playoff time.

Watching the Phils/Braves the last 2 nights, it was clear that the Phillies had a ton of confidence and were playing like they knew they were going to win while the Braves were playing tight and scared. IMO, that was the difference.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Either you've got the deepest, hottest, healthiest pitching staff in October/November or you don't. The end.

But then a team like Texas gets through their 2 rounds without Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer available. So while I think you're right, it wasn't the case for Texas.

Sure, I've oversimplified. You get situations where a team that isn't 100% in the pitching area gets by a team like the Orioles, a young team who seemed obviously overwhelmed by the moment. Let's see how Texas holds up against Houston.

honestly, it's as much about the luck of getting hits to drop and just getting them to be clustered. And there is not a huge way to influence that.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Either you've got the deepest, hottest, healthiest pitching staff in October/November or you don't. The end.

It seems to me a deep staff is much more important to stack wins over the long season. In a best of 3 or best of 5 playoff series, you really just need one or two hot arms and a closer. Its especially great if you have a short-term rental who you know is leaving your team to join the Yankees after the season, like the Brewers with CC Sabathia in 2008, so you can pitch him on two days rest then bring him in to cover middle relief the next day because why not?

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Despite the moans of the good teams happening to lose this year (1 year isn't exactly a trend yet) I would have to imagine the shift to more playoffs have been an overwhelming success in every respect. The game is more popular because of it, they have to be selling a ton more tickets at super high prices as other than the Rays, most of these stadiums are packed with excited fans for much more playoff games than in the old formats.

Imagine the scenes in Philly and Minnesota with those rabid fans going nuts in a stadium packed full of wild fans that bought expensive tickets. Compared to older formats where they'd have just faded into obscurity the last month of the year, too far out of it for the games to really matter down the stretch.

The reality is playoffs aren't the best way to pick the best team in any sport. Soccer style roto where the team with the best regular season is the champion is the best way. But it's also the most boring. Soccer gets away with it because unlike here, there aren't a bunch of other sports to compete with (and within soccer they have other events with more typical playoff formats), but every sport has been moving to more and more playoffs with very good reason. It's more fun for the fans, and it makes more money for the league/teams.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

All the teams off byes, even the Astros, came out sluggish.

They scored in the first inning and 3 out of the first 5 innings of game 1, with a 5-0 lead in the 5th.

 

[AAABatteries]

To be fair, the Phillies and D backs dominated their respective series so thoroughly that I don’t think the opposing fans have much to complain about.

Yeah, Braves bats didn't show up - always an issue when a HR hitting team goes cold.

 

[AAABatteries]

The baseball playoffs are incredibly stupid but I guess you just have to accept that as part of the deal? Honestly maybe more teams should take it easy in the regular season, in the least it doesn’t seem to indicate playoff success in this format. It’s not 1993 anymore where you went right to the LCS.

I know soccer comparisons can be controversial around here but that's one area where I think they get things totally right (except ironically in the US - MLS). Their regular season and tournaments both mean something. The baseball regular season is just to make the owners money and to get fat drunks like all of us entertained on a Tuesday night. We could say, look on the bright side - the Rays had one of the most incredible 2 months to start a season ever and the Braves had one of the best regular seasons ever - but in US sports nobody gives a **** about it.

 

[dino259]

Either you've got the deepest, hottest, healthiest pitching staff in October/November or you don't. The end.

But then a team like Texas gets through their 2 rounds without Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer available. So while I think you're right, it wasn't the case for Texas.

Sure, I've oversimplified. You get situations where a team that isn't 100% in the pitching area gets by a team like the Orioles, a young team who seemed obviously overwhelmed by the moment. Let's see how Texas holds up against Houston.

honestly, it's as much about the luck of getting hits to drop and just getting them to be clustered. And there is not a huge way to influence that.

And if you are watching the entire games lots of times comes down to one hitter winning or losing one pitch in an at bat. That pitch on the edge is either called a strike or a ball to setup the next pitch. That next pitch could either be an easy fly ball or slice a little more for a double in the corner to score 2 runs.

The more I have learned helping coach my kids baseball, the more I love baseball.

 

[AAABatteries]

Also, I hope Bryce Harper catches gonorrhea.

 

[Gally]

The more I have learned helping coach my kids baseball, the more I love baseball.

I totally agree. It's why when people talk about how slow the game is I know they aren't really thinking strategically. There is so much going on (pitch sequencing, defensive alignment, offensive strategy, etc) that the game is fast. The problem is most people now want instant gratification turning the game into all or nothing (HR vs K). It's why college baseball is more fun strategically.

 

[General Malaise]

Also, I hope Bryce Harper catches gonorrhea.

Stands to reason. The Phillies caught everything else Atlanta had for them this series....

 

[FatMax]

My biggest complaint about the MLB playoff format is that it doesn't do a good job of mimicking what makes the regular season important. It is so stretched out, that the importance of a solid rotation is lessened pretty significantly. In the new playoff system, teams rarely play on back to back nights. Usually there is a gap in between. It seems crazy to have a regular season where a team gets 2-3 days off per month then transition to a playoff where they have 2-3 days off (or more) per week. I know it is to maximize TV exposure, and I get that, but the end result are series that are decided by the strength of top end of the rotation while negating starter and bullpen depth.

One of my favorites baseball trivia questions is this: Who was the first player to hit a home run in November?

Spoiler: Spoiler

It was Derek Jeter, Nov. 1st, 2001 just after midnight. It was a walk-off in game four vs. the Diamondbacks.

The reason that was an interesting trivia question is because that baseball season had been postponed because of 9/11. It was an outlier for obvious reasons. Last year's World Series didn't start until October 28th. November baseball is normal now, but I'm not sure that's a good thing.

 

[Major]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

 

[AAABatteries]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

It really is impressive, even if they’ve cheated to do it

 

[GroveDiesel]

All the teams off byes, even the Astros, came out sluggish.

They scored in the first inning and 3 out of the first 5 innings of game 1, with a 5-0 lead in the 5th.

I’ve never been one to let facts stand in the way of a good rant.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

Sure, stealing other teams databases and stealing their signs helps with that

 

[Long Ball Larry]

At least strider was able to respond after the game and own up to the fact that braves just didn’t play well enough and should have done better.

Orlando Arcia on the other hand…

 

[Spartans Rule]

It's silly to play 162 games and then throw out the results for best-of-3 and best-of-5, but if you wanted to change to a more "fair" format, you'd also have to make the financial system more fair. Give the trophy to the team with the best regular season record, and oh wow, the Dodgers win again! Congrats on being owned by a group of 6 dudes where Magic Johnson is the poorest one.

The current system has a ton of flaws but they all kind of work together. Owners make money off the long season and save money through team control/arb years, the MLBPA and agents live with all that because of the huge paydays free agents get, fans like the drama of short playoff series and feeling like their smaller-market teams have a chance. It's kinda like that Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns survives despite having every disease because they're all in harmony with each other.

 

[General Malaise]

At least strider was able to respond after the game and own up to the fact that braves just didn’t play well enough and should have done better.

Orlando Arcia on the other hand…

Good lord....

 

[fred_1_15301]

At least strider was able to respond after the game and own up to the fact that braves just didn’t play well enough and should have done better.

Orlando Arcia on the other hand…

Now I’ve seen it all lol.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

I do think this is a piece of it. Baseball is about routine and consistency so much. The Braves were doing what they could and playing essentially scrimmages against themselves, but the layoff between the end of the regular season and the division series was quite long. All the teams off byes, even the Astros, came out sluggish.

Though the Braves started resting some guys even before the end of the season which meant even more of a break.

But not having to play an entire series and potentially lose a round earlier is a pretty huge bonus in itself. If you can’t get up for a playoff series and dial things in, I’m not sure if there is a ton to complain about. Regular season is definitely about keeping even and grinding out the long season, but if you want a ring, you’d better plan on dialing things up when it comes playoff time.

Watching the Phils/Braves the last 2 nights, it was clear that the Phillies had a ton of confidence and were playing like they knew they were going to win while the Braves were playing tight and scared. IMO, that was the difference.

The Dodgers lost all their starting pitching. They could have picked their opponent and their schedule and they still would have lost.

For Atlanta, as if having home field advantage wasn't enough. The Phillies had to face the Atlanta's ace twice while facing the Phillies #3 pitcher (a guy who won a whopping 4 games the entire season). They managed 1 run against him.

The NY Yankees and Houston Astros handled the layoff fine last year. The Astros did it again this year. Pressure does strange things to objects. Sometimes it can crush something, other times it turns it into a diamond. The Braves losing had nothing to do with a layoff. The Braves won the World Series in 2021, here is a list of batters who played on that World Series team that were playing in this series: Riley, Albies, D'Arnaud, Rosario, Arcia (he got 4 ABs in the 2021 post-season). Acuna, Olson, Ozuna, Harris, did not play on that post-season squad. How many times did Acuna, Olson, Ozuna and Harris come up in big spots and fail? Think this is a coincidence, the Braves scored 7 earned runs in the entire series. Here are the guys who knocked in those runs: Riley 3 RBIs, d'Arnaud 2 RBIs, Albies 1 RBI, Arcia 1 RBI. All players who were on that World Series team. It's easy to see which players were diamonds, and which got crushed?

I have an idea. Since having a BYE is such a detriment to a team. Next season, MLB should allow the teams who earn the BYE to have the option to switch with the WC teams. The #1 seed can switch with the #1 WC team and play the 2nd WC team and the #2 seed can switch with the #6 seed and play the 3rd division winner in the WC and give the BYE to those wildcard teams. You think those team would still think that BYE was a detriment and switch?

 

[Capella]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

It really is impressive how they somehow figured out a way to make things easier.

 

[Capella]

It's kinda like that Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns survives despite having every disease because they're all in harmony with each other.

“you have several diseases which have just been discovered….in you”

 

[belljr]

Heading to hopefully the series clincher this Tuesday........

 

[Ron Swanson]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

Sure, stealing other teams databases and stealing their signs helps with that

The Astros didn't steal anyone's database. Their database was the one hacked by a St. Louis Cardinals analyst. He went to prison for it.

 

[General Malaise]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

Sure, stealing other teams databases and stealing their signs helps with that

The Astros didn't steal anyone's database. Their database was the one hacked by a St. Louis Cardinals analyst. He went to prison for it.

But nobody went to prison for stealing signs or stealing a World Series? Seems fair.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

Sure, stealing other teams databases and stealing their signs helps with that

The Astros didn't steal anyone's database. Their database was the one hacked by a St. Louis Cardinals analyst. He went to prison for it.

Sorry you’re right. My mistake.

Major still sucks

 

[Ron Swanson]

Maybe they’ll go back to a 1 game wildcard.

How would that change things? All the same teams would have advanced. If anything, I think there would be more upsets in a 1 game.

There is a theory that the top teams had too long of a break and were rusty. It’s certainly a possibility.

Strange how this never effects the Astros. Seven straight ALCS appearances

Sure, stealing other teams databases and stealing their signs helps with that

The Astros didn't steal anyone's database. Their database was the one hacked by a St. Louis Cardinals analyst. He went to prison for it.

But nobody went to prison for stealing signs or stealing a World Series? Seems fair.

They'd have to put most of MLB in prison if they did that.

 

[shuke]

I would be ok with a regular-season trophy and having the playoffs be its own thing

LOL no

 

[Capella]

I would be ok with a regular-season trophy and having the playoffs be its own thing

LOL no

Did you go blind right at the sentence that followed that one?

“Hockey does that though and nobody cares and I suppose rightfully so. Everybody knows the stakes.”

 

[shuke]

I would be ok with a regular-season trophy and having the playoffs be its own thing

LOL no

Did you go blind right at the sentence that followed that one?

“Hockey does that though and nobody cares and I suppose rightfully so. Everybody knows the stakes.”

So why bother?

 

[Capella]

I would be ok with a regular-season trophy and having the playoffs be its own thing

LOL no

Did you go blind right at the sentence that followed that one?

“Hockey does that though and nobody cares and I suppose rightfully so. Everybody knows the stakes.”

So why bother?

Why bother with what. I said I’d be ok with it but acknowledged most people wouldn’t be.

 

[The Kerminator]

Not sure if this has been posted or not. I found it interesting

The Reverse Curse of the Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have been to the playoffs five times in the past six years — and nine times in team history. One thing has remained true through the franchise's bumper crop of regular-season success: Anyone who defeats the Brewers in the postseason ends their year in the World Series.

The Diamondbacks still need to win the National League Championship Series against Atlanta or Philadelphia to maintain the streak, and given their 84-win season, they'd be the most surprising team to continue the trend. With their win over the Dodgers, teams that have beaten the Brewers in the postseason are now 8-0 in subsequent series that precede the World Series and 6-2 in the World Series itself.

 

[GregR]

Great play by Abreu to make the tag.

 

[Orange&Blue]

Verlander got a lucky call on that strike 3 call

 

[Orange&Blue]

taveras with the hr!!

 

[Major]

What a momentum killer. From what I thought was a Bregman HR to Altuve getting doubled up

 

[culdeus]

Funny call. Overruns the bag then doesn't re tag? I don't get it. Wouldn't have known that was a thing.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Kyle Tucker looks like he just does not care at all. Playing like crap all postseason and doesn't even seem bothered by it.

 

[RG623]

Reason #500 why Brian Cashman should be fired, traded away Montgomery because he wasn’t good enough to pitch in the playoffs.

 

[Gally]

Funny call. Overruns the bag then doesn't re tag? I don't get it. Wouldn't have known that was a thing.

The reason is so you can't round 2B and get halfway to 3B and then when the ball is caught run straight across the diamond back to 1B. You have to re-tag every base you touched on a caught fly ball.

Altuve could have gone right up to 2B and kept his foot on (without passing the bag) and then returned to first and he would have been fine. The second he passed 2B he had to retouch 2B as well.

 

[jobarules]

Reason #500 why Brian Cashman should be fired, traded away Montgomery because he wasn’t good enough to pitch in the playoffs.

Its amazing he says things like this and still has a job

 

[GregR]

Got pulled away and didn't get to see the second half of the game until the bottom of the ninth. Think if Houston wins game 2 and gets the split they'll still be in a pretty good position. Good job by Texas blanking them though.

 

[General Malaise]

That Texas defense is no joke.

 

[bryhamm]

That Texas defense is no joke.

The whole damn team is in a groove. They haven't lost a game yet, have they?

 

[General Malaise]

That Texas defense is no joke.

The whole damn team is in a groove. They haven't lost a game yet, have they?

No, it's been an amazing run, especially considering their SP isn't full of aces and their bullpen was top 3 in blow saves this year. Keep it up!!!!

 

[Major]

That Texas defense is no joke.

The whole damn team is in a groove. They haven't lost a game yet, have they?

No, it's been an amazing run, especially considering their SP isn't full of aces and their bullpen was top 3 in blow saves this year. Keep it up!!!!

Eovaldi looking like an ace getting out of that no out, bases loaded jam without breaking a sweat. That was something.

 

[BeTheMatch]

I just don't understand how Alvarez can keep doing this

 

[belljr]

That was a spicy play