2019 Baseball season (1 Viewer)

Hope Scherzer takes that 1st inning gopher ball and learns from it, ie., Strasburg and Sanchez junk-balled the Dodgers to death. The Dodgers love fastballs so Scherzer will have to adjust with more off-speed stuff or the Nats season will end in DC again. -- Al

It's coming a rain deluge here. I wonder if that is going to affect the game shortly? Maybe wake up for breakfast tomorrow and see the end.
 
Baseball is an interesting game, sometimes four star players disappear in a series, they go 0-14, 2-16, sometimes two guys disappear, you often hear "And the Red Sox are 2-19 with RISP this series"...…….sometimes bats go cold with no explanation.

It can be maddening...……………….

honestly George...
where I wanted to win in 3 and let some guys rest...
I really am not panicking ...yet...
they are a completely different team at home...
60-21...
with the full rotation...
 
The first of no doubt a dozen pitching changes already in the third inning. It's going to be a long game.
 
Al...good luck tonight...hope you get a win...^&grin
Thanks, Mike. I'd love to see them win and get back to LA with Strasburg on the mound. Can't ask for more than that. Oh, and don't panic, Verlander is THE guy you want on the mound, even on short rest. No point giving the other team a chance to get to Game 5 where anything can happen and cost the better team the series. -- Al
 
The Dodgers are the better team. The Nats have put up a good fight and given themselves a chance but they are just not as good. Hard to manage a team out of that situation. In particular, the Nats bullpen is atrocious. They rolled the dice and came up snake eyes last night. Best team usually wins a series unless there are some real flukes. It is certainly not impossible that you get a couple of red hot pitchers that shut down an opposing team and then you get lucky in a short series, but the Nats are going to need the baseball gods to intervene to win this series.

I’d generally agree but the Nats are not chopped liver either, although their bullpen is not very good and in a 7 game series it will be their Achilles heel. I thought their decision to bring in Corbin last night was not terrible because conventional wisdom is that you don’t want a SP facing a team the third time around through the lineup. It just didn’t work out.

However, their decision not to play Scherzer was a good one because had they won last night, Scherzer would be pitching in the clincher and if they lost — as they did — they’d have him to pitch in the tying game. So far, it’s looking pretty good.
 
I’d generally agree but the Nats are not chopped liver either, although their bullpen is not very good and in a 7 game series it will be their Achilles heel. I thought their decision to bring in Corbin last night was not terrible because conventional wisdom is that you don’t want a SP facing a team the third time around through the lineup. It just didn’t work out.

However, their decision not to play Scherzer was a good one because had they won last night, Scherzer would be pitching in the clincher and if they lost — as they did — they’d have him to pitch in the tying game. So far, it’s looking pretty good.
The decision to use Corbin was also a given because he is a LHP, something the Dodgers LH lineup should be vulnerable to, but also Corbin is only 1 of 2 LHP on the Nats staff, the other is the closer, Doolittle. Corbin was going to get used, one way or another. Lack of LH relief has hurt the Nats and will continue to do so. -- Al
 
Thanks, Mike. I'd love to see them win and get back to LA with Strasburg on the mound. Can't ask for more than that. Oh, and don't panic, Verlander is THE guy you want on the mound, even on short rest. No point giving the other team a chance to get to Game 5 where anything can happen and cost the better team the series. -- Al

Al...you're looking good now...LA has gone deep into their bullpen...Scherzer has good control...4 hits...1 HR and only 1 walk...your Nats are gonna tie it up tonight...Game 5!
 
Al...you're looking good now...LA has gone deep into their bullpen...Scherzer has good control...4 hits...1 HR and only 1 walk...your Nats are gonna tie it up tonight...Game 5!
Well, I can sure hope, but I cannot relax, not with our bullpen lurking and sure to be used. :rolleyes2: -- Al
 
Mad Max gutted out that potential mess and now it's up to our bullpen. God help us... -- Al
 
Mad Max gutted out that potential mess and now it's up to our bullpen. God help us... -- Al
Whew! Hard to emphasize how big it was for Mad Max to go 7 and get the Nats to the 8th and 9th with the only 2 decent relief pitchers we have. Max came up huge and now we get to go to LA for Game 5 with our best shot, Strasburg. Same rule though, we need to get 7 good innings out of him to repeat tonight's formula. Go Nats! -- Al
 
Whew! Hard to emphasize how big it was for Mad Max to go 7 and get the Nats to the 8th and 9th with the only 2 decent relief pitchers we have. Max came up huge and now we get to go to LA for Game 5 with our best shot, Strasburg. Same rule though, we need to get 7 good innings out of him to repeat tonight's formula. Go Nats! -- Al

In deciding games, anything can happen. I think the pressure will be on both teams, but maybe LA a little more because of the expectations.
 
congrats Al...huge game for you...Nats could change the entire complexion of the WS with just one more win...
 
In deciding games, anything can happen. I think the pressure will be on both teams, but maybe LA a little more because of the expectations.

agree...all the pressure is on the Dodgers...they are sweating bullets right now...
 
agree...all the pressure is on the Dodgers...they are sweating bullets right now...
Whichever teams solves the enigma of the other teams starting pitcher will have the advantage. Buehler completely shut down the Nats in Game 1, while Strasburg did almost as well against LA in Game 2. They face off in Game 5. If LA gets to Stras, we are dead as our bullpen is useless and won't be able to hold the game close. If LA can't solve Stras, he still needs to go 7 for the Nats to have a chance. It should be epic, unless one team or the other melts down. -- Al
 
Interesting that all 4 of these series could have ended today, but none has as of now (NYY's lead 2-0 in the 5th and could end the series if they hold on). The NL has two great series going to the 5 game limit while the AL has been only slightly less competitive. Still think it's Houston and NY in the AL, but I have no idea how the NL will shake out although I obviously favor the Nats and I think the Braves will take the Cards. -- Al
 
You have to wonder what the Twins can do to win a game in the postseason against the Yankees. They won 101 games in the regular season but even if they had home field it wouldn't have mattered. A number 1 like Cole would help. Whether they can afford him is another story.
 
You have to wonder what the Twins can do to win a game in the postseason against the Yankees. They won 101 games in the regular season but even if they had home field it wouldn't have mattered. A number 1 like Cole would help. Whether they can afford him is another story.



The Yankees have a first round bye, so it was nice of the Twins to play these 3 exhibition games with them to help them stay sharp for the next round. Maybe the Twins will get some of their autographs after the game.

Outscored 23-7.

Beyond embarrassing.

A joke is more like it.
 
The Yankees have a first round bye, so it was nice of the Twins to play these 3 exhibition games with them to help them stay sharp for the next round. Maybe the Twins will get some of their autographs after the game.

Outscored 23-7.

Beyond embarrassing.

A joke is more like it.
The Twins were no chumps. They won 101 games and hit 307 Hrs. the most in MLB history, yet the NYY's, a team with marginal SP, held them to 7 runs in 3 games. It is a scary indication of just how good the NYY's are, still the Twins do not have anything that approaches the SP that the NYY's will face with Houston. The caveat, as you say, is the rest factor. Houston needs to get past Tampa without too much trama to their pitching rotation. If Houston can line up with Verlander in Game 1 and Cole in 2, I like the Astros chances. If the Astros rotation gets shot to shreds by having to go a full 5 games with an 'all hands on deck' Game 5, then the odds lessen. I still like the pitching edge in post-season, but it has to be at least partially rested and intact, rotation wise. -- Al
 
agree...all the pressure is on the Dodgers...they are sweating bullets right now...

The Dodgers are pretty confident at home. If they fall behind and start tanking like last night, a different story but I would rate their chances at about 70-30 to win. A major choke if they lose though. Some commentator recently discussed why some baseball teams appear so much better in the regular season than playoffs. He chalked it up to depth being a decisive factor over a 162 game season in which there are so few days off. In the playoffs, depth is less of an issue and a lesser team can throw the kitchen sink at you. The Dodgers have won something like seven straight division titles now. They are a deep team but haven't been able to get in done in the playoffs. Guys like Kershaw, as great as he is, has never lifted his game in the playoffs.
 

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