The MLB pennant race thread

[MrRain422]

isn't it also a question of momentum? Better to head in playing well than crashing and burning.

 

I don't know. Last year the Tigers were bad in the second half, and finished the regular season by being swept by the Royals. They coasted through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

[MattZ]

I don't know. Last year the Tigers were bad in the second half, and finished the regular season by being swept by the Royals. They coasted through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

 

Yeah I think momentum tends to be overrated, but then again, I'd feel better if the Mets went into the postseason with some momentum instead of none.

[MrRain422]

Isn't there some homefield advantage action to be had by winning the division?

 

This is a fair point, though I think a case could be made that the difference between having homefield or not may not be big enough to do anything drastic. Kind of a judgement call I think. But you're right, that is an advantage to winning the division that I'd forgotten about.

 

My point was just that they're in the playoffs already anyway.

 

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/MLB/America.../Red%20Sox.html

[dignan]

Isn't there some homefield advantage action to be had by winning the division?

 

The division gives them a chance where the wild card does not. Right now the Angels and Indians are tied for the best record, with the head to head tie goes to the Indians. If that pace keeps up the Angels and Indians would have home field against the Yanks and Sox so the only advantage comes in the ALCS when the two teams meet again, as Roget Clemens predicted and the rest of the country hopes for. Getting in is the bigger deal than all of this "collapse" talk, anything can and will happen in the playoffs.

 

Go Yankess! and take the Red Sox with you, here's to the ratings disaster that will be Cle vs LAA!

 

Beware the power of the rally

[Sir Stewart]

the Yanks and Sox so the only advantage comes in the ALCS when the two teams meet again, as Roget Clemens predicted and the rest of the country hopes for.

 

What country?

[dignan]

What country?

 

this one no? it's not really baseball if it's not Yanks versus Sox.

[MrRain422]

I don't know, I'm part of this country, and personally I like seeing different matchups than the ones we see year after year, and on national TV throughout the regular season.

[cryptique]

this one no? it's not really baseball if it's not Yanks versus Sox.

That's only true if you live in the northeast. Most of the "rest of the country" is sick and tired of seeing one or both of those teams on TV every coddamned night. Personally, I hope they both go down in the division series so we can watch someone else for a change.

 

 

_{Sorry, Sox fans. If it's any comfort, I hope the Yankees get swept out of the postseason in highly embarrassing fashion, while the Sox make a valiant effort but ultimately fall just short.}

[dignan]

I'm not being completely serious. I spent some time on the east coast this year, and I know it's pretty damn late when those west coast games start, but it's still good baseball out here. It's my fault for liking an unpopular team, but there's just no where to go for highlights or discussions. How many hours will be spent discussing Julio Lugo's slight hesitation today when the odds of it having a huge effect on the postseason are pretty damn slim.

[jenbobblehead]

Actually, and I think I speak for the bulk of Red Sox Nation, Sox fans do not want to meet the Yankees in any kind of playoff situation every single year. We'd much rather play someone else. And not because we're afraid of the Yankees, but because its so fucking stressful.

[Kicking_Television]

Completely off topic of this Yanks/Sox conversation. I have now lost faith in the Tigers after the Indians swept them.... I now convert my fandom to the Cubbies for the remainder of the year and hope they beat out the Brewers. And I'm sure MrRain is with me on this one, The Tigers are done

[viatroy]

this one no? it's not really baseball if it's not Yanks versus Sox.

 

 

my sentiments exactly

[MrRain422]

Completely off topic of this Yanks/Sox conversation. I have now lost faith in the Tigers after the Indians swept them.... I now convert my fandom to the Cubbies for the remainder of the year and hope they beat out the Brewers. And I'm sure MrRain is with me on this one, The Tigers are done

 

I have accepted that the Tigers are done, yes.

 

But no, I'm not with you on rooting for the Cubs. I can't do that, or else Reni would string me up. Plus, it's really fun to tease my Cubs fan co-workers. Go Brewers!

[Sir Stewart]

Go Brewers!

[jenbobblehead]

Go Brewers!

i heard on SoSH that one of our interleague series would be against the Brewers. I hope it is in Milwaukee. I would totally travel for that. SAUSAGE RACE!

[Spawn's dad]

KNTV-TV

Updated: 26 minutes ago

Barry Bonds tells the San Francisco Chronicle that the man who bought his 756th home run ball and announced plans to let the public decide its fate is an "idiot." Bonds says fashion designer Marc Ecko could have found a better way to spend three-quarters of a million dollars.

 

Ecko had the winning bid Saturday in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs.

 

The 35-year-old Ecko has set up a Web site that lets visitors vote on three options for the ball: give it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown or blast it into space on a rocket ship.

 

The asterisk would suggest that Bonds' record is tainted by alleged steroid use. The Giants slugger has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

 

Ecko has not directly respond to Bonds' comments, but says in a statement he will make Bonds a custom T-shirt that says, "Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for my ball, and all I got was this 'stupid' T-shirt."'

 

Ecko plans to announce what he will do with number 756 after voting ends on the 25th of this month.

 

 

 

 

 

how about if Cryptique stops whining about the Yankees we won't let this devolve into a steroid argument?

[MrRain422]

Are you holding this thread hostage?

[Spawn's dad]

[tongue-tied lightning]

yo Manny, suck it up and play

[Sir Stewart]

i heard on SoSH that one of our interleague series would be against the Brewers. I hope it is in Milwaukee. I would totally travel for that. SAUSAGE RACE!

Apparently you'll get to see Gabe "Welcome Back" Kapler if you do.

[aricandover]

i heard on SoSH that one of our interleague series would be against the Brewers. I hope it is in Milwaukee. I would totally travel for that. SAUSAGE RACE!

 

I liked that one.

[Lammycat]

This is a fair point, though I think a case could be made that the difference between having homefield or not may not be big enough to do anything drastic. Kind of a judgement call I think. But you're right, that is an advantage to winning the division that I'd forgotten about.

It may not, but it may, too. When you look at split stats between home/road games there is a distinct advantage for NYY, LAA, and BOS playing in their home parks in terms of offense. There are splits for pitchers (Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka have lower ERAs on the road), etc. Little things in the long run, but differences that can add up, as well, to contributing to successful post-seasons.

[MrRain422]

It may not, but it may, too. When you look at split stats between home/road games there is a distinct advantage for NYY, LAA, and BOS playing in their home parks in terms of offense. There are splits for pitchers (Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka have lower ERAs on the road), etc. Little things in the long run, but differences that can add up, as well, to contributing to successful post-seasons.

 

But what are their records at home vs. on the road? Those individual player stats could all just be park factors at play.

[Lammycat]

But what are their records at home vs. on the road? Those individual player stats could all just be park factors at play.

My point is less about the specific cited pitcher stats and more about the factors governing home field "advantage."

[cryptique]

how about if Cryptique stops whining about the Yankees we won't let this devolve into a steroid argument?

Though I suppose it's arguable that it was "whining about" rather than "expressing outright disdain for," it was only one post and it slagged the Red Sox nearly as much as the Yankees. So what's your point, exactly?

 

Also: go Cubs.