Tomorrow it all begins.
I got a post season bracket from MLB to try and win $50k.
I have the Jays and Rays and the Phils and Brewers in the WC round.
NLDS: I selected the Braves and Brewers.
ALDS The O's and Jays
ALCS: O's
NLCS: Braves
World Series: I have my home team Braves. They were the best team all year. Historic offensive numbers.
In the last 54 years the best team only has won the WS 14 times.
I believe the Braves make it 15 times.
Come On.
Give me some picks baseball fans.
I would love to see Baltimore in the WS ... but I think it'll be Atlanta vs Houston
The NL has nobody close to Atlanta's talent IMO
The Dodgers are really good. Their lineup produces runs. They have some questions with starters but so do the Braves.
The Brewers have the best starters. The Phillies are another team that is dangerous. Strong lineup and two top line starters in Wheeler and Nola.
The five series is a crap shoot because the schedule format makes it so that two starters can pitch four games. That makes it favor the team with two great starters.
Seven game series means you have to have depth. That is where the Braves will be hard to beat.
Baseball can be cruel because so many unpredictable things can happen. It is driven by analytics and number crunching but players and teams are streaky. Guys who you would never expect can get hot. If pitchers are on. They can dominate a lineup.
I have seen too much baseball to feel anything is in the bag.
Orioles vs Phillies
Braves lineup - best in baseball by far.
In playoffs, however, starting pitching and bullpen run the show. Fried has blister issue and Strider has been less than stellar in the 2nd half. Lot of innings for a 2nd year pitcher. - wearing down. Braves BP is average at best. Don't think Braves can hit their way to title.
PS. Would really like to see the Twinkies get there. Go Rocco...
Twins would be fun (or Rangers) .. but I can't see it lol
Fried is the key for the Braves to win it all.
They shut him down early to address the blister. There is treatment available to address blisters. IMO Fried is the one of the top pitchers in all of baseball. He is the ace. He has to be able to pitch through the playoffs. Without him it will be really difficult.
However, if he were to start and not be available for his next start. It would be difficult for the Braves to win. Morton has a finger sprain and is out for NLDS. They believe he will be ready if they make the NLCS.
The starters are Fried, Strider, Elder, Wright and then Morton coming back. Wright just came back from injury. He had three short starts with a pitch count. His last outing showed promise. He is a wild card. He was 21-5 in 2022.
The Braves have used many different guys out of the pen this year. Some were effective and then had arm problems. However, they have a closer in Inglesias who is mostly reliable. Jimenez, Minter, Yates, and Pierce Johnson have been really good. Brad Hand, Jesse Chavez and long guy Tonkin are all experienced guys who can do mixed duty.
The bullpen is fine. The overall numbers don't look great but they are misleading because a minor league call ups were given chances and elevated the numbers.
The Braves have been the best team all year. They have the team to win it all. But random things can always come into play that will wreak outcomes. It is the nature of baseball. Nobody can explain streaks.
I think perhaps people that gripe (and hernandez has many things to be griped on about) should learn what the strike zone is. Keep in mind, when the tv people put that "strike zone" rectangle on the screen, it is usually put on before the batter gets in an "at bat" position. I don't feel he missed too many in that vid.
And I don't care for Angel all that much. He wasn't a great ump.
He needs to be fired.
I have reached the point where I am ready for a digital strike zone. I have fought with the idea for a long time.
I thought I would never get there. But the old school idea that it will all even out is bs.
When so many games are played people forget bad calls because you play another game the next day.
But when you really look at it which is the post season. Every pitch counts. With cameras many calls get reversed. It is important to get it right.
Why not with the strike zone?
well, I love seeing Tampa lose
well, I love seeing Tampa lose
If Tampa loses, I think they fire Kevin Cash, and the Guardians hire him.
Why is Philly playoff baseball so fun to watch? Twins stadium was crazy yesterday. Rangers completely shut down Tampa. And Arizona kind of took it to Milwaukee after being down 3. Pretty good opening day.
The Braves were 8-5 against the Phillies this year.
They know each other well. The Phillies have a good lineup and two top starters. The Braves finished 14 games ahead of them.
Post season is about getting hot. If someone could figure out why teams and players are streaky. If they could put it in a pill. It would be worth a fortune.
Both teams have a home field advantage. Both have great fan support. The Braves draw from a larger area because of the former super station. The Braves pull fans from Tn, Fl, MS, Al, SC, NC.
The Phillies are a dangerous team in a five game series. The Braves will have home field throughout the post season.
The dye is cast.
ALDS:
Rangers vs Orioles
Twins vs Astros
NLDS:
Braves vs Phillies
Dodgers vs AZ
Rangers can hit. Twins can pitch. Orioles are sound all around. Astros been there. Done that.
Braves strongest lineup. Phillies beat them last year.
Dodgers second best lineup. AZ dark, dark horse.
An educated guess that means little.
Orioles and Astros advance.
Braves and Dodgers the two best team go after each other.
Surprised that all of the series were sweeps ... not much chance of that
in terms of rooting interest, I'm hoping for:
Baltimore, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Arizona
I don't know the American league very well. The Braves are my team so I watch the games they play.
The Braves played the Orioles early in the season. They won the series but I was really impressed by the Orioles.
I would like to see them play the Braves in the World Series.
IMO the Dodgers are the second best team. I respect them as a team. But I dislike them.
The Phillies are dangerous in a short series. I really hate the five game series. I would like to see a change in the schedule. 154 games. WC remain best of three. The division series should be a seven game series.
In a seven game series the better team should win. But no matter who wins in a seven game series. They deserve it.
Gosh, the Phillies seem dangerous for sure (as do the Rangers) just because they can hit in waves
I'm a Yankee fan so I saw the Orioles quite a bit ... they are well balanced and hungry. They've been building for this for a while
The Orioles play the game right. They are very sound in their approach.
I like team balance and they seem to be balanced.
The Phillies have weaknesses and strengths. They can score. They have a good pen. They do not have starter depth.
The Braves lost to the Phillies last year because Max Fried had just lost 15 lbs to a stomach virus. Spencer Strider had not pitched and was coming off an oblique injury.
Both are ready and in a five game series both can pitch twice.
The Phillies have Wheeler and Nola. Both pitched in the WC series and were great. However, Now because of the WC round they will only pitch three times in five games.
The Braves have a home field advantage and it counts.
The thing about the Braves is 1 through 9. Any player in the lineup is capable of winning a game. Meaning every guy can get hot and take over. They are not dependent on any one guy. They don't strike out. They tied the home record for the most home runs ever in a season 307.
The Braves are the only team in MLB history to slug .501.
Home runs win in post season. 21 of 27 MLB analysts pick the Braves.
In 2021 the Braves won the World Series. They won 88 games that year. 104 this year.
It is about getting hot. Players going bonkers.
If the Braves beat the Phillies. I don't think they can be beat in seven games.
good point about the 7 games. That benefits the best overall team. I'd be more concerned about Philly in a 5 game series than LA in a 7 ... if that makes sense lol
nothing like post season \baseball
I tend to root for AL teams in the Series cuz I grew up an Expos fan and can’t stand a lot of NL teams. Never liked Atlanta, or Philly, or the Dodgers.
Baltimore or Minnesota, it’d be cool if either won a WS. Long time for both.
Yea, I am rooting for Balt or Minn.
I’am not a Braves fan. I equate the Braves to the Broncos of the 80s/early 90s. Tribe should won that WS.
I was born in Cleveland. My parents were Indians fans from the Bob Feller ear. We moved to Harrisburg, Pa. when I was three.
I played Little League there. We didn't get to watch baseball. It was not on tv. I collected baseball cards and I loved the uniforms of the Milwaukee Braves. The only baseball I could watch was "Home Run Derby." I never missed it. Hank Aaron ruled. He beat them all Mantle, Killebrew, Maris, all the great sluggers of the 50's. I became a Hank fan. I collected all the Braves cards. I still maintained my Indians loyalty. But the Braves were my personal team.
I moved to Atlanta in 1978. I started going to games and the Braves of course were televised locally. Then I started coaching locally. Ned Yost was the Braves 3rd base coach at that time. Ned's son caught my son. We were neighbors. We went to the boys games together. Played travel ball.
I got to know people in the Braves organization. I love the Braves. I still root for the Guardians as my American league team.
The Braves were the best team in MLB this year. More often than not the best team does not win the World Series. It is the nature of the game.
But right now IMO the Braves are the best run sports organization.
Total bummer.
Have not been shut out at home since August of 2021. Over a year and it comes at the hands of a bullpen game?
Hard to swallow. This makes it really hard in a five game series. Takes away home field.
I hate the five game series.
I thought the Dodgers got the easy draw and would not lose a game. Kershaw got torched.
The reasons I love baseball often prove to be the most cruel.
I have always wondered if you clinch early does it work against you? Baseball is often about momentum. If you play the WC and win. You have traction. You are playing under pressure and you are in the moment.
When you clinch. Yes you can rest. But it hard to turn it back on.
The Braves finished 14 games ahead of the Phillies. I still knew all season that they would be tough in the playoffs.
what a start for Arizona ... love seeing the Dodgers get smoked. That series is interesting now
The Braves pithed a loaf yesterday, but the Braves have a history of doing that. In a 5 game series it makes it tough, but it is what it is. The Braves are the better team, and should still win, but baseball is funny. It doesn't work out that way all the time, less than any other sport.
Like hockey, scoring chances are limited, and when that happens, there are less chances for the averages working out. A day where the guys aren't seeing the ball well, the other pitcher is painting corners with smoke, all of a sudden you are headed to spring training.
yeah Atlanta looked pretty bad yesterday, at least compared to the times I've seen them. Playoff baseball is different and much tighter. We'll see if they adjust
Over 162 the best team wins. The numbers that drive the game prove out.
When post season begins. That all ends because of the random nature of baseball.
The Braves offense this season was not good or great. It was historic.
No single game is predictable. So, in a five game series anything goes.
In a seven game series you get into the depth of the team. That is not true in a short series of five games.
It will be hard to win 3 of 4 with two games in Philly.
Still anything can happen.
Weird thing about being a sports fan is most of the time; it never goes your way. You have to really enjoy it when it does go your way.
As a fan of the Expos, Browns and Maple Leafs, I’d ask this: will it ever go my way?
Anyways, I love playoff baseball, I keep an eye on things during the regular season, watch games here and there. I’m not a guy who loves baseballs flying out of the park all the time, I like great defence and pitching.
Probably my two favourite non-Expos players in my lifetime are Ozzie Smith and Greg Maddux a Braves reference for you, bone).
Watching Maddux pitch was like watching an artist paint, and Ozzie’s work spoke for itself.
As a fan of the Expos, Browns and Maple Leafs, I’d ask this: will it ever go my way?
No
Over 162 the best team wins. The numbers that drive the game prove out.
When post season begins. That all ends because of the random nature of baseball.
The Braves offense this season was not good or great. It was historic.
No single game is predictable. So, in a five game series anything goes.
In a seven game series you get into the depth of the team. That is not true in a short series of five games.
It will be hard to win 3 of 4 with two games in Philly.
Still anything can happen.
Weird thing about being a sports fan is most of the time; it never goes your way. You have to really enjoy it when it does go your way.
I totally understand. I still expect the braves to win. I am a fan of them myself. Now I only live about 80 miles away since they moved to the north side of down and aren't in the crappy south side of town.
I still think they will beat Philly and have a good chance to go all the way but as we know, any team can lose 3-4 in a row or over 7 games, just like a bad team can go out and win 3-4 games out of 5 or 7.
In baseball, with few exceptions, every team is going to win 60 games and lose 60 games. The other 42 games tell the tale. You just can't tell when those wins and losses are going to happen.
Greg Maddux is my favorite baseball player.
I don't remember missing a start when he played for Atlanta.
355 wins. 4 Cy Young's. 18 Gold Gloves.
He sliced and diced hitters. It was the way he did it that killed me. He would get the ball and throw it. Knowing precisely what he wanted to do. It was like he knew the batters mind. He made strikes look like balls; and balls look like strikes. Precision control with movement.
When you watched and really paid attention. It was a clinic.
Good for the Twins. I hope Houston goes down
He had outstanding command, varied his speeds, location, subtle pitch breaks. Like I said he was an artist
Couldn't beat the Yanks...
4-0
Zack Wheeler with a no-no and 8k through five.
Well, that turned in a hurry lol.
5-4 Braves through eight after a two-run bash by Riley.
Braves steal one! Will be a heck of a series
Just WOW!
You think you've seen it all. Then you see a play to end a playoff game that was way too cool.
The Braves looked dead. All the home runs and records down the tubes. Facing 0-2 heading to Philadelphia. Not good.
Wheller dealing. Then wham we do what we have done. Hit home runs. Hit two 2 run home runs and take the lead.
And then a whacko double play to end the game. Unreal catch by Michael Harris.
I could not fall asleep. I watched that play 20 times. It didn't help me sleep given I had gotten a steroid shot in my foot.
Baseball is an incredible game.
Dodgers down 0-2 ... D-backs are fun to watch
First off I thought the Brewers would beat the Dbacks.
Then when they won that series. I thought the Dodgers got the easy draw and would sweep the Dbacks.
Wrong.
Over 162 there is a best team. The numbers prove the case. But post season is about momentum.
The Braves clinched early. Stress is reduced. You wait to play again. It can work against you. Hard to amp up again.
I hope this win gets the Braves rolling.
The Braves probably just needed to loosen up and play, which maybe that win will accomplish. I expect that series to be 5 (along with the Astros/Twins)
or they needed a pitcher to throw a hanging slider, when Riley could not touch high fastball. "Throw him the heater, Ricky"...
Wheeler was dealing high heat for K's.
It was looking bad. Acuna took advantage of a Turner error.
d'Arnaud ambushed a pitch. He does that.
Riley can have some bad at bats. And look lost at times. But he can also take over a week and slaughter pitchers.
He barreled the ball but didn't put a good swing on it. But he is a strong dude.
The play he made to double up Harper was amazing. Man, I watched that like 20 times with goosebumps.
Phillies and Diamondbacks are on a mission.
Phillies games are quite the atmosphere.
Dude opened his mouth -- dude got his mouth shut.
Dude opened his mouth -- dude got his mouth shut.
I am sure he wasn't supposed to hear, but in a country where nearly everybody carries a vid recorder in the pocket, people are going to hear.
If any team can win 2 in a row, it's the Braves, but it isn't looking good.
I've started to really like the Phillies. Their games are electric
He said it out loud in the clubhouse with reporters present. I call b.s. This falls in line with "you're just sorry because you got caught".
Harper is a good player.
I don't care about talk.
Five game series. Game four tonight.
really looking forward to game 4 .. the series decider
Because of a five game series I felt it would boil down to Wheeler and Nola versus Strider and Fried.
The third pitchers were going to be an issue.
Charlie Morton who had been pitching really well. A veteran guy with loads of post season experience gets an index finger strain the last week of the season?
I have not heard of that before. Gets put on the IL and ruled out for the NLDS.
He would have been our third pitcher. Possibly second.
Fried was put on IL with a blister and had not pitched in weeks.
It is up to Spencer Strider to force a game five in Atlanta. One game. Play one game. Find a way.
I would have NEVER guessed that AZ would sweep the Dodgers ... they're a fun team to watch
AZ vs Philly would be electric, as will Houston vs Texas
Three 100 win teams in MLB this year...
The first two got swept, the third has it's back against the wall.
I sure did not see that coming.
The Dodgers never even had a lead? Damn. And they are a really good hitting team.
Baseball is a strange game. Dominated by numbers and stats. Analytics, Money Ball, barrel rates, millions of numbers to analyze.
Over 162 the numbers bear out.
In the post season anything goes. Heroes come from unexpected places. Strange things happen.
Atlanta was 8-5 against the Phils. Finished 14 games ahead. I wish the series was seven games. But we still have tonight.
there might be some relevance to a team sitting a week and then trying to regain the momentum ... we've seen kind of a trend
I gave up long ago trying to figure out baseball.
Momentum? One great manager said momentum goes as far as the next day's starter.
I have seen too many crazy things happen in baseball. In 1997 Jose Mesa a closer who I don't think blew a save all year. Blows the save for the championship.
Just cruel.
I don't expect a thing. I let it happen like the weather.
I’ll root for Texas in the ALCS, hate Houston, and AZ in the NL.
Three 100 win teams in MLB this year...
The first two got swept, the third has it's back against the wall.
Just get in the playoffs.... I see this in hockey, too.
Teams with great regular season records coast into the playoffs, lesser teams have to fight for 162 games.
One is sharp when the post-season starts, the other, sometimes, not quite enough. Haven’t really faced major adversity, perhaps.
Often, it’s the battle-tested teams who prevail.
j/c...
Phillies just dispatched the Braves. Another 100 win team sent packing.
Phillies are gritty and that stadium atmosphere is awesome.
All three 100 win teams gone.
They led their Division Series opponents by a total of 41 games in the standings... they went 1-9 and were outscored 60-25.
I give the Phillies pitchers credit.
The Braves averaged 5 runs a game. No team in history has ever slugged .501.
We didn't hit. Could not get the big hits. Hit 307 home runs during the season. Didn't hit them against the Phillies.
It is a bummer because the Braves had a historic year offensively. I wish they would have advanced to a seven game series.
Well my season is over. I will be happy to return this coming April. We will be back. Hopefully we win next year.
I find myself moving on quickly. I enjoy the moments. I really had fun watching games this summer.
Nice season for Atlanta .. Philadelphia played better for the series, so they move on ... I think them vs Arizona will be fun
I love those uniforms the Phillies were wearing last night.
NL - Philly
AL - Texas
WS- Philly
Nice season for Atlanta .. Philadelphia played better for the series, so they move on ... I think them vs Arizona will be fun
You are only as good as your last game. Only 1 team gets to finish the baseball season with a win.
Texas up 2-0, heading home. It’d be cool if they won it all for the first time.
going into Houston and winning 1 and 2 is a pretty tough task ... good for them
Well the World Series is set.
Rangers versus Diamondbacks.
Not exactly what most thought. All during the season I pay attention to Runs Scored and Runs Against.
The Rangers can score. They are not a surprise to me. The Diamondbacks are a real surprise. I thought the Brewers would beat them.
For sure I thought the Phils would.
So glad the Phillies lost. They found out it is not a good feeling to lose to a team; you feel you should beat.
I think the Rangers have the edge but hell the Dbacks have proved me wrong at every step.
good for the snakes! I like an unexpected series (we've had a few of them with this and the Heat/Nuggets)
Well a loud mouth New Yorker is going to eat some humble pie.
Mad Dog Russo said he would retire if the Dbacks won the two games in Philadelphia to win the series in seven games.
Well, well, well.
Don't break your promise.
The Dbacks won 84 games. They are not the best team from the National League.
But the best team often does not win the World Series. That's baseball. The diamond of all games.
Game 1 tonight.
I have no reason to root for or against either team.
Looking for a reason to pick one team and cheer them on
Does anybody?
Doesn't have to be a good reason.
Well the Dbacks were 84-78 in the regular season.
The Braves were 104-58.
The Dbacks beat the Brewers, the Dodgers, and the Phillies. Beating the Phils the last two games in Philadelphia.
They are about as underdog as you can get.
Rangers come back big time in game 1 ... feels like a huge swing
Dbacks bounce right back with a great performance by Allen.
He is an amazing story.
great pitching last night ... dbacks are a tough bunch
Well a loud mouth New Yorker is going to eat some humble pie.
Mad Dog Russo said he would retire if the Dbacks won the two games in Philadelphia to win the series in seven games.
Well, well, well.
Don't break your promise.
The Dbacks won 84 games. They are not the best team from the National League.
But the best team often does not win the World Series. That's baseball. The diamond of all games.
The thing is, the Dbacks are the best team in the National League.
I agree the Braves are the best team on paper, and the season record might confirm, but the Dbacks are in the World Series, and as a Brave fan, I don't like to say that but there is no other way to say.
It is the best game. It's pretty much a perfect game. The metrics are perfect.
The only real rules change wasn't the DH rule, it was lowering the mound 5 inches in 1969. It eliminated guys like Whitey Ford from being, well..Whitey Ford.
This is just me. People disagree and I respect that.
The regular season proves who is the best team. Playing from April to October 162 games the team with the best record is the best team.
Post season is a tournament. The team that plays the best in the post season tournament wins the tournament and the prize is the World Series Championship. The winner earns that.
I love the regular season. Love playing six games a week. Love looking at the daily box scores. Following the standings and stats.
The changes in the post season format are not to my liking. I would rather give up a week of regular season play and change the playoff format.
Wild card teams play each other in a three game series. After that the division series, conference series, and of course the World Series need to be seven games. The team that wins in a seven game series is more likely the best team.
I really dislike the five game series. IMO it is not a test of how teams won their divisions. It favors teams with two outstanding starters and does not test the depth of the roster. The depth of the roster is how you become division champions.
I credit the Rangers and the Dbacks for getting to the World Series. Whoever wins deserves it.