I'm not saying we will win the WS for sure... But... we added Sanchez, Miley, Pressly, Cole, Greinke, Brantley and Alvarez. *creams shorts* We are just a tad better than last season. I like our chances.
Bryce Harper got paid: Phillies 6 games behind ATL in the division. Trash. Manny Machado got paid: Padres have been out of it since Late April and 23 games behind LAD. Mike Trout got paid: ok he’s freaking good, but his team is still trash and might waste his prime like he was a Houston Texan. Nolan Arenado got paid: Colorado is even worse than the Padres! 23.5 back. Astros: Quietly sign Michael Brantley to a 2 year 32 Million deal.
Bryce Harper got paid: Phillies 6 games behind ATL in the division. Trash. Manny Machado got paid: Padres have been out of it since Late April and 23 games behind LAD. Mike Trout got paid: ok he’s ****ing good, but their team is still trash and might waste his prime like he was a Houston Texan. Nolan Arenado got paid: Colorado is even worse than the Padres! 23.5 back. Astros: Quietly sign Michael Brantley to a 2 year 32 Million deal.
The best team always wins. Baseball is a head to head competition once you get to the playoffs. All your chess pieces are in play.
No they don't, not even close. Baseball is littered with best teams getting bounced in the first round and wild card winners going deep. Us and the Indians were miles better than the Yankees in 17, they beat Cleveland and nearly beat us. It's a marathon sport reduced to one series.
I know talking heads still say Houston had the championship hangover but I really don't believe that at all. That team wasn't healthy period and there were many times in that series that Houston should have pounded the Red Sox pitching. The Red Sox offense was very elite but if Houston were healthy, they win 4 to 1.
With respects to the 2019 Dodgers and Yankees, both of those teams will not be a tough out at all. As @Nook pointed out, if the Yankees hadn't gone through the injury bug and they still are, they most likely have 80 plus wins already. The way you beat them in this post season will be by attacking them early and often with their starting pitching. I do think their bullpen will be worn out come post season though. They are grinding hard for each win. Even if their team gets completely healthy by September, there is going to be some cause and effect on their pen. Their starting pitching hasn't given them a lot of innings. Dodgers are way better than their 2017 team. I've been paying attention to them and these guys are never out of a game. They remind me so much of the 2017 Astros when it comes to playing from behind. Kershaw is like their third best pitcher this year and man that is scary. I think the one thing that does hurt them is they havent played any real competition in the NL. The AL's top 7 teams are tough while you see there's not much in the NL.
Don't agree, seven games in a world series head to head is the best format for determining the champion and the best team. and MLB agrees.
MLB agrees that you have to play at least 150 games to actually get a real test of which teams are the best and which aren’t. After that, it’s a crapshoot. The postseason is a different sport/event in itself. Anybody can win. One fluke injury, or one fluke mistake, can turn a short series on its head.
Don't believe one play determines anyone's fate over a seven game series. It's a team sport and always has been. The reason the post season is so different is because you finally have the best teams playing each other head to head under optimal conditions, and that just underscores it's relevance as determining the best team.
This team is playing so well right not that it's almost boring. I'm just going to enjoy it until the playoffs start. No predictions from me either way.
Are you calling his home run a fluke play? He earned that. The Astros earned the series over seven games. They were the best team.
I didn't see the word fluke in the post I replied to. That being said, had the Astros lost game two, their odds for winning the series would have gone way down. Now, granted, for all we know they would have won the next four, but that HR was a series changer.
Baseball has more variance than basketball. The NBA is probably the most predictable major sport out there. Usually the best team wins a ring in the NBA hence why the NBA has far more repeats and dynasties. Just to put some perspective of how dominating the Astros have been and how rare it is: It's a safe bet that the Astros will probably win 100+ games this season. That will make it three straight 100 win seasons. The last team to do that we're the Yankees from 2002 to 2004. In the 100+ years of MLB, there only have been FIVE instances where a team went three straight 100 wins seasons and the Yankees are the only team to accomplish it in the 21st century. What is insane to me is that with the ridiculous dominating history of the Yankees, their franchise has only accomplished three straight 100 win seasons once. It's very rare.
Exactlt. Just look at the Mariners -- 20 games under .500 now after starting the year 13-2 (sure, they traded Encarnacion and Bruce.. but otherwise it's the same team). Anyone can get hot for a series or a stretch.
Anyone want to diminish Yuli's EIGHT RBI's since it was against the Rockies as one poster here tried to do with the no-no since it was against the M's?
It is, but not as much as it once was. In this day and age where some (30%?) teams are trying to lose, it bloats the records somewhat of those trying to win. Sure, there have always been bad teams, but the difference is even those teams were trying to compete.
