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The Road to the World Series: MLB Playoffs Thread!

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I

Incognito

Troll
heeehaaaaa

i was at a bar the last 5 or so innings, and how gloriosu it was!! watched pujols smack a double to tie the game, then rolen golf a ball into the stands!! all the astros fans next to me knew the game was over; poor guys. then the first swing hits in the 9th. way to go, guys!

rofl.

anyway, sox in 6.
 
D

Desperado

Member
KE04 said:
heeehaaaaa

i was at a bar the last 5 or so innings, and how gloriosu it was!! watched pujols smack a double to tie the game, then rolen golf a ball into the stands!! all the astros fans next to me knew the game was over; poor guys. then the first swing hits in the 9th. way to go, guys!

rofl.

anyway, sox in 6.
Click to expand...

Who the fuck are you a fan of anyway?
 
J

J2 Cool

Member
Yeah, haven't thought about the Cubs for next year yet but being a time of rest finally in this postseason before we're wound back up again with the world series, here it goes.

starters are most likely

Prior
Zambrano
Wood
Maddux
Rusch (had a fantastic year)

the bullpen would be the best of the same which are Dempster, Mercker, Leicester, and Remlinger. Likely Dempster the closer unless Borowski gets back to that 91mph fastball. 86 was all he got it up to after his injury last year. Hawkins will be set up the bitch. Hopefully revamp the pen though in free agency. Possibly Wagner who I heard if out there.

The lineup meanwhile needs to be built around Ramirez. Put Nomar if we get him and he's healthy, in the 3 spot, but he's not reliable. I hope they pick up Adrian Beltre, that'd be great. Alou will be dropped. Too much bitching about announcers, umpires, and everything else at the WRONG time. Not to mention if he wasnt hopping around like a girl and bitching at Bartman I can't imagine that situation being made such a big deal. He's supposed to be the proffessional and play through those things. Such a bitch.

Anyway, resign Barret for many years. They'll also make the decision on Walker or Grudzielanek. I'd take Walker because I just think he swings a wicked bat and is a damn good hitter. Very clutch too and can play the 2 or 3 spot if needed. They also need a leadoff hitter which Patterson is not. So fill Alou's spot with a leadoff guy from free agency with the money we get dumping his salary. Leadoff guy or impact player like Beltre. As far as Lee, he's a solid guy in the lineup for a while. Puts up good numbers. Sosa.. he's a face of the Cubs and I thank him for many great years but if we could get something for him unload that salary. Still, it's always talked about, never done. And I'd be a liar to say I don't love seeing him blast one and do the hop, when he actually hit's it out that is. If Cubs won a championship I'd like to see him aboard when we do it because he is the Cub still, and has been for a while. I'm kinda torn there.
 
D

Drek

Member
Woulda been nice seeing Roger own the Red Sox, oh well. At least Boston has to play the best team in baseball.
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Actually, Boston owns Clemens, especially Ortiz who if I recall has more homers off Clemens than any other pitcher he's faced. They would have drubbed 'im.

(i.e. his offense was not good enough to make the difference whereas trading him for defense would make the team better overall).
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His offense wasn't the problem, in under 40 games this year he was batting .300 with 5 HRs and around 29 RBIs. I'd take that expanded over just 140 games. Unfortunately, Nomar was definately not going to stay healthy for that much time so Theo did what he had to do and got a reliable SS who's made of steel. Didn't help Nomar any that he double clutches throws to first all the damn time, he took forever to load that cannon arm when a simple quick rope like Cabrera throws is all you really need.

Bring on the Cards. Their lineup will love the Fens, but our lineup will love their lackluster pitching even more I'd say. And who needs Clemens? We have two former Red Sox on the Cards, Suppan and Womack. God, Suppan is going to get drilled up the ass in game 3. :)
 
W

Willco

Hollywood Square
Man, the Astros are choke artists. Never gonna get a ring at this rate. Especially now that Beltran will be in pinstripes.
 
S

speshylives

Member
I can't believe the Astros lost.

I don't think the Cards have a chance against Boston. That pitching can't shut down that hitting. The Yankees proved that already.
 
D

Drek

Member
speshylives said:
I can't believe the Astros lost.

I don't think the Cards have a chance against Boston. That pitching can't shut down that hitting. The Yankees proved that already.
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The card have a better lineup than the Yankees. They aren't just a bunch of mashers, they have a good number of guys who just get themselves on base and look to get in scoring position. They play a really good mix of old school NL "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" baserunning and strategies while adding the new school homerun game. Its rare that you'll see solo shots by St. Louis' power hitters, because LaRussa almost always manages to get a guy on for them, even if its another power hitter. The only offense that I think offers the power plus versatility that the Cards have is the Sox.

However, the real question in this series is if Schilling and Lowe can keep pace with their games 6 and 7 performances. Both have a little leway, being better than both of their opposing starters (Morris and Marquis), but they need to deliver. I like the choice of Wake for game one but I'm not sure how good he'll do. It also somewhat disapoints me that we're sending Pedro against Suppan who he should clearly outperform, but its nice to know that Pedro gives us a big chance to steal the first one in STL, giving us the momentum over a great home team for games 4 and 5, with games 6 and 7 in Boston with Schilling and Pedro going respectively, on full rest.

It'll be a hard fought series, the Cards deserved all of their 105 wins, but now the Sox just need to prove that it doesn't matter who won the most, it matters who won the last game of the year.
 
T

Team Rancid

Member
Can't wait for this weekend. Watching game 1 at my friends condo that overlooks Fenway, watch the Pats deflate the Jets and then watch WS Sunday!

Schilling was the guest on Letterman's top 10 last night:
Top Ten Secrets To The Boston Red Sox Comeback presented by Curt Schilling

10. Unlike the first three games, we didn't leave early to beat the traffic.

9. We put flu virus in Jeter's gatorade.

8. Let's just say Pete Rose made some phone calls for us.

7. We asked Pokey Reese to be a little less pokey.

6. It's not like we haven't won a big game before--it's just been 86 years.

5. Honestly, I think we were tired of hearing about the Patriots.

4. The messages of encouragement Martha sent on prison napkins.

3. We pretended the baseball was Letterman's head.

2. What'd you expect--we have a guy who looks like Jesus!

1. We got Babe Ruth's ghost a hooker and now everything's cool.
Click to expand...
 
M

Mrbob

Member
I wouldn't write off Big Z yet. The guy has amazing stuff, and he finally came into his own this year. Remember, he is younger than Prior and Wood, and has the potential to be better. You are starting to see his maturation process this year in pitching quality. Now he just needs to keep his temper in check. My gut feeling is that he'll have a better year in 2005 than in 2004. Prior and Wood get back to form, and Zambrano pitches like he did in 2004, we could have three 20 games winners on our staff. We need to get some on base guys in the offseason to get on base with our home run hitters. Although it looks like we are losing one (Alou) and potentially two (Sosa). We NEED to resign Walker for 2nd base. We need a left handed bat. It's gonna come down to Grudz and Walker, and the Cubs will only be able to resign one since they both want to start. Sorry Grudz, you've done well, but Walker is a left handed bat and a contact hitter we desperately need in the day to day offense. There have been rumors of the Cubs unloading Sosa to the Yannkees and eating some of the salary so that we can make a run at Beltran. Never doubt Jim Hendry and what he can accomplish! :D He has pulled off amazing moves in 2003 and 2004 for the Cubs. It worked in 2003 (Getting Aram) and didn't work in 2004 (Getting Nomar), but you can't say the guy doesn't try and make this team better. First GM in a long time I can say that about with a Chicago team! :)

For the pitching, I know Rusch had a great year but I'm a bit worried if he gets put in the starting rotation for 2005. Was it a one year wonder type deal? I know Clements record wasn't good and he didn't pitch well the last quarter of the year, but if he had any run support he would have been a 15+ game winner this year. I'd like to resign him, but if push comes to shove and we have to decide between resigning Clement and signing a major SS/Outfield player, I say go for Nomar or Beltran! :p

Anyway, back to the ALCS, I have to say that Torre is a stand up guy. I dislike the Yankees, but I've always liked Torre. He looks at the whole picture, and is a genuine professional.

Also, I see Wakefield is gonna start game one. Cards bats are gonna crush him.
 
B

brooklyngooner

Member
I feel bad for Stros fans who think they have a shot at resigning Beltran. Boras + Yankees need a center fielder = no Beltran for anybody else. Shit I wish the Mets were in on him, but I suppose I can look forward to trading for Sosa!
 
B

Bat

Member
I think people give a bit too much credit to the Cardinals lineup. Sure, 1-5 is asbsolutely amazing, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. The thing that both the Red Sox and the Yankees have is the ability to score from any slot in the lineup, instead of basically getting their chance every two innnings. In the NLCS, a struggling pitcher often got out of a jam because the bottom of the order came up (not to mention that those quicker outs lowered their pitch counts significantly). I think a Boston lineup that has good hitting throughout is more apt to take advantage of mediocre pitching. That changes somewhat in the NL park, but it still holds true for the 6, 7, and 8 slots.

EDIT- As an example, see Tony Clark. His playing instead of Olerud was a huge break for the Sox. That one (basically) guaranteed out really messed up a bunch of innings for the Yankees. It will be the same for the Cardinals, except that they basically have two or three such hitters.

EDIT2- And I hate all the analysts who are now saying "unlike the Yankees, the Cardinals have really hitting and servicable pitching blah blah blah". Guess what? The Yankees were still a pretty damn good team. With the exception of the Kevin Brown starts, their starting pitching held up pretty well and if they didn't strand so many on base, their offense would have won the series for them.
 
C

chimpychi

Member
brooklyngooner said:
I feel bad for Stros fans who think they have a shot at resigning Beltran. Boras + Yankees need a center fielder = no Beltran for anybody else. Shit I wish the Mets were in on him, but I suppose I can look forward to trading for Sosa!
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oh god I can see that actually happening..MEts love bringing in "past their prime" stars..thanx big Mo!
 
B

brooklyngooner

Member
chimpychi said:
oh god I can see that actually happening..MEts love bringing in "past their prime" stars..thanx big Mo!
Click to expand...

Seriously. Hey let's package Reyes and Wright for Sosa, or maybe we can swindle the Yankees out of Bernie Williams!
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Mrbob said:
I wouldn't write off Big Z yet. The guy has amazing stuff, and he finally came into his own this year. Remember, he is younger than Prior and Wood, and has the potential to be better. You are starting to see his maturation process this year in pitching quality. Now he just needs to keep his temper in check. My gut feeling is that he'll have a better year in 2005 than in 2004. Prior and Wood get back to form, and Zambrano pitches like he did in 2004, we could have three 20 games winners on our staff. We need to get some on base guys in the offseason to get on base with our home run hitters. Although it looks like we are losing one (Alou) and potentially two (Sosa). We NEED to resign Walker for 2nd base. We need a left handed bat. It's gonna come down to Grudz and Walker, and the Cubs will only be able to resign one since they both want to start. Sorry Grudz, you've done well, but Walker is a left handed bat and a contact hitter we desperately need in the day to day offense. There have been rumors of the Cubs unloading Sosa to the Yannkees and eating some of the salary so that we can make a run at Beltran. Never doubt Jim Hendry and what he can accomplish! :D He has pulled off amazing moves in 2003 and 2004 for the Cubs. It worked in 2003 (Getting Aram) and didn't work in 2004 (Getting Nomar), but you can't say the guy doesn't try and make this team better. First GM in a long time I can say that about with a Chicago team! :)

For the pitching, I know Rusch had a great year but I'm a bit worried if he gets put in the starting rotation for 2005. Was it a one year wonder type deal? I know Clements record wasn't good and he didn't pitch well the last quarter of the year, but if he had any run support he would have been a 15+ game winner this year. I'd like to resign him, but if push comes to shove and we have to decide between resigning Clement and signing a major SS/Outfield player, I say go for Nomar or Beltran! :p

Anyway, back to the ALCS, I have to say that Torre is a stand up guy. I dislike the Yankees, but I've always liked Torre. He looks at the whole picture, and is a genuine professional.

Also, I see Wakefield is gonna start game one. Cards bats are gonna crush him.
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probably a crazy question since he's such a good starting pitcfher and so young, but do you think the CUbbies would ever flirt with the idea of making Zambrano their closer? He seems to have a lot of the same problems Gagne had as a SP before the Dodgers converted him (too emotional). Though, in fairness, Gagne was never as good a starter as Zambrano already is.
 
M

Mashing

Member
I bet many of you don't know this... but McClaine has more money than The Boss... he could outspend him *IF* (big IF) he wanted to.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
I don't think they would. I hope not!

But you do bring up another good point which is the number one need of the Cubs is a closer in the offseason. I can't take another year of Latoi at the closer role. He needs to go back to set up guy where he dominates. And I don't feel safe with Joe Joe Blowloski being our closer either. We need to do as much as we can to find a dominating closer in the offseason. Number one priority. As stupid as the Cubs played this last year, if we had a dominant closer we would have won 100 games and no one would be talking about all these offseason moves we have to make. :p
 
W

Willco

Hollywood Square
I think the Cardinals will probably beat Boston. It'll be real close and go down to Game 7 for sure, but even if one team falters, it'll be entertaining.

I think a lot of people forget that Boston won't be able to DH when they take the field in St. Louis and their lack of defense will destroy them. You ever see David Ortiz play first base? It's like a retarded kid trying to make a model airplane.

St. Louis' staff has been serviceable and Boston's staff is highly overrated. You got to appreciate how Schilling can pitch like that, but let's be honest folks, the man is barely stitched together and (pun intended) on his last leg. Pedro looks mediocre at best. Wakefield is incosistent. Derek Lowe also suffers from Wakefield's disease. At least St. Louis' staff is somewhat healthy, but I don't think either staff has an advantage over the other.

If Steve Kline is banged up still, Boston will have a better bullpen and that might be an important aspect of the series. We won't know until Saturday, though.

St. Louis has a much better all-around roster. They can do damage in the heart of the order, but the other players continue to pitch in and play solid defense. Boston really can't boast that.

Boston can do damage in any spot? Puh-leeze. Guys like Orlando Caberera and Bellhorn are no greater than St. Louis' lesser players like Tony Womack and Roger Cedeno. They'll be playing with Rolen, Renteria, Womack, Pujols, Edmonds, Sanders, Walker and Matheny. I like that better than Ortiz, Bellhorn, Cabrera, Mueller, Ramirez, Damon, Nixon and Varitek. Taking Millar out of that lineup and making Ortiz field hurts Boston a lot.
 
B

brooklyngooner

Member
Mashing said:
I bet many of you don't know this... but McClaine has more money than The Boss... he could outspend him *IF* (big IF) he wanted to.
Click to expand...

There's a difference though between net worth of an owner and revenue streams. Steinbrenner can pay for Beltran through revenue, whereas McClaine likely cannot.
 
B

Bat

Member
Boston can do damage in any spot? Puh-leeze. Guys like Orlando Caberera and Bellhorn are no greater than St. Louis' lesser players like Tony Womack and Roger Cedeno. They'll be playing with Rolen, Renteria, Womack, Pujols, Edmonds, Sanders, Walker and Matheny. I like that better than Ortiz, Bellhorn, Cabrera, Mueller, Ramirez, Damon, Nixon and Varitek. Taking Millar out of that lineup and making Ortiz field hurts Boston a lot
Click to expand...

No way. Not even close, actually. Both Cabrera (since he's been with Boston) and Bellhorn are much better hitters than Womack/Cedeno, and have even been as productive as Renteria/Sanders.

Let's compare the stats:

Player/AVG/SLG/OBP/OPS

Sanders .260 .315 .482 .797
Renteria .287 .327 .401 .728
Womack .307 .350 .385 .735
Cedeno .265 .327 .375 .702
Mathney .247 .292 .348 .640

Bellhorn .264 .373 .444 .817
Cabrera .294 .320 .465 .785

Once you get out of the 2-5 slots, the lineups aren't even close, and that was my original point.

By the way, those 5 Cardinals players combined for a total of 4 RBIs and 11 hits during the LCS, while Cabrera and Bellhorn had 9 RBIs and 16 hits just by themselves. So yeah, Boston definetly can do damage in any spot, while St. Louis is shaky later in the order.
 
M

Miguel

Member
I can't wholeheartedly root on the Sox knowing that my Astros were just a few less Miceli appearances away from the World Series. :(

If you'll excuse me, I'll be going back to bed...again...
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Miguel said:
I can't wholeheartedly root on the Sox knowing that my Astros were just a few less Miceli appearances away from the World Series. :(

If you'll excuse me, I'll be going back to bed...again...
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dust yorself off god dammit!!!!!!!! after you lose a few game 7's it just gets easier with time. here's my card call me during the off-season, we'll work out a plan that's sure to get your karma levels upto championship caliber that 'll help get the astros to the world series. :D
 
M

Miguel

Member
You're talking to the guy who at age 12, went home and burned every Utah Jazz basketball card I had, after Stockton hit that 3 to beat the Rockets in game 6 of the WCF.

I wanted to punch Kevin Brown in the face in 97, Smoltz in 98, 99, 2001, and almost 2004. :(

And I've said it for years. Jim Edmonds = astrokiller. Don't give me this Pujols crap, he's good, but Edmonds turns it up a notch against us. I wonder if he's gonna find a good manicurist in Boston.

:(
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Miguel said:
You're talking to the guy who at age 12, went home and burned every Utah Jazz basketball card I had, after Stockton hit that 3 to beat the Rockets in game 6 of the WCF.

I wanted to punch Kevin Brown in the face in 97, Smoltz in 98, 99, 2001, and almost 2004. :(

And I've said it for years. Jim Edmonds = astrokiller. Don't give me this Pujols crap, he's good, but Edmonds turns it up a notch against us. I wonder if he's gonna find a good manicurist in Boston.

:(
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*pffft* i broke my hand after punching a wall in 1997 when the yanks lost. i tossed a radio to the ground when they lost in 2001... but i got calmer after that. "serenity now, serenity now.....* INSANITY LATER. you got to rollit off your back.... let the karma build up.....
 
R

Ramirez

Member
ArodPurse.jpg
 
K

Kuroyume

Banned
The Astros didn't make it to the WS? WTF?

Anyway Brown needs to retire... 21.60 ERA in the ALCS -_-

EW YORK (AP) -- Brian Cashman's job is safe -- at least for now. The rest of the New York Yankees have plenty to worry about this winter.

Soon after the Yankees completed a historic collapse against Boston in the AL playoffs, volatile owner George Steinbrenner told Cashman, the team's general manager, that he will not be fired before next season.

Steinbrenner also informed Cashman he should prepare to be summoned to Tampa, Fla., for meetings in the next few days: The star-studded Yankees need to figure out why they fell apart against the Red Sox after opening a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS.

``He wants results for his investment, like any businessman,'' Cashman said Thursday.

Cashman has one year remaining on his contract. It's his job to spend Steinbrenner's money wisely and bring championships to the Big Apple, but the Yankees have gone four years without winning the World Series.

He knows what he needs to look for in the offseason.

``It'll be pitching,'' Cashman said. ``I don't think offense is a problem on this club.''
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http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...-?slug=ap-yankees-whatsnext&prov=ap&type=lgns
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Yes! Cubs declined to pick up Alou's option SEE YA WHY DON'T YOU GO RUN FROM 1ST TO 3RD ON A POP OUT WITH ONE OUT FOR ANOTHER TEAM, preferably the Stros. :p
 
E

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
The Carlos Beltran-to-the-Yankees talk has already started. Following the Astros' loss in game seven of the NLCS to the Cardinals Thursday night, the All-Star center fielder was asked repeatedly about his impending free agency and whether there was a chance he would stay in Houston. "This is going to be a team I'll consider when the season is over," Beltran would politely respond, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. "We'll have to see what happens when my agent and the owner get together." When a reporter cut to the chase and asked about signing with the Yankees, Beltran smiled. "I would like to see if that's going to happen. I don't know if the Yankees have an interest in me or not." Pressed further and questioned whether he thought he looked good in pinstripes, his smile reportedly got even wider. "I don't know," Beltran said. "What do you think?"
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Bye-bye Beltran
 
J

J2 Cool

Member
Simmons has a little chat for his first column after the Independence Day Column. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/chat/041022

Lucas (England): If the Sox win the Series, what are you going to do for the whole year with half your material now down the tubes?


Bill Simmons: Probably retire and write soft-core porn movies for Cinemax. I have this idea about a hard-drinking male detective who's tracking down a glamorous, sexy widower who may or may not be involved in a murder plot. Also, the guy's ex-wife is one of the other detectives - she broke up with him when he started drinking again. I think this could be a huge hit.
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Patrick (Atlanta GA): Any chance of Nomar throwing out the first pitch Saturday?


Bill Simmons: He's going to come out with Mia, let her throw it and then say, "Thanks, beautiful." And then we're going to shoot him in the head and put him out of his misery.
Click to expand...

Tim (Memphis): What are the chances of a "Who's your Daddy" chant when the Pats start to put away the Jets this Sunday?


Bill Simmons: About 100%. Speaking of chants, if the Sox do win it all, nothing in the history of chants will be better than the "YEAR TWO THOU-SAND!" chant at Fenway next year when the Yanks are in town. Just imagining this is one of the top-20 moments of my life as a sports fan. No, I'm not petty at all.
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Julie (Boston): Do you think Jeter does the fist pump everytime he disappoints a woman in bed? Or does he save it for when he's with A-Rod?


Bill Simmons: Whoops - I didn't mean to post that. Really, I didn't.


Chris (Arlington, VA): Bigger choke artist: A-Rod or Manning?


Bill Simmons: Jeez, sorry about that -- another accident. My mouse isn't dragging properly
Click to expand...

DS (Andover, MN): So, are you going to release the *director's cut* of your transcripts?!? What the editors make you delete, is why we enjoy your columns. You aren't afraid to tackle the tough subjects.


Bill Simmons: I'm planning on starting a website under an assumed name so I can complain about broadcasters. This is my new plan. One of the baseball announcers (I won't name him) drove me CRAZY this week. Crazier than I've ever been about an announcer. And I can't vent about it.
Click to expand...

Tim McCarver (The Booth): Bill -- Why the animosity towards me?


Bill Simmons: Because you were openly rooting for the Yankees. That's why
Click to expand...
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Ahhh, yes. The impending Sosa for Beltran trade looks like it is a go.


EXXXXXXXXXXXCCCCCCCCCCCeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnt.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Julie (Boston): Do you think Jeter does the fist pump everytime he disappoints a woman in bed? Or does he save it for when he's with A-Rod?

Bill Simmons: Whoops - I didn't mean to post that. Really, I didn't.
Click to expand...

:lol BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
 
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