If the Angels sweep the Astros, it's time to be in full panic mode Still think we ultimately win the West, but you don't want to go into the last series of the year @ Boston, where you could lose 3 of 4 and become the 3 seed and then have to stay in Boston for some extra days only to have to face Chris Sale and maybe David Price. Astros could go on the road September 25th and not come back home until October 7th, down 0-2 to the Red Sox
The Astros have a 13 game lead with 19 games left...... the statistical probability of the Angels passing the Astros is about 1 in 1000.
Ya I know, but I'm more concerned that they will lose the 5 game lead on the Red Sox, thus having to play 6 straight games at Fenway Park....
Think?........ They've had the division wrapped up since the end of May. I need to keep my mouth shut, as bad things happen whenever I make declarations on here - but making up six games with 19 to play is going to be hard... especially since Boston isn't playing exceptionally well right now. The Indians have *only* picked up 8.5 games during an historic 18-game win streak. Unless the wheels blow completely off the Astros - and they ARE just four games removed from a seven-game win streak - the Red Sox are going to probably have to get historically hot to catch us.
I would say the Indians hitting a snag before years end and us passing them is more likely than Boston overtaking us. Home field in baseball really isn't some huge advantage anyway. Regardless of which seed we get I won't personally feel much more comfortable heading into the postseason. Ideally would like to avoid needing to beat Boston and Cleveland though
Earlier in the season, when they were just killing it on the road, I was actually thinking "Well, maybe we don't actually want home-field advantage in the playoffs." I'm predicting a first round exit, regardless of who we play, though. I don't want that, but my gut and my eyes feel pretty confident.
I'm just glad we are here in this position to win the division and be talking about how we will play in the playoffs. That's a big something in itself. The best part of this season so far is how irrelevant the rest of the teams in our division have been...because we laid on the ass-whooping.
I stopped caring about the Indians yesterday. Matter of fact, I hope their winning streak goes up to 23. Let them peak now. Seriously, they are a great team, but I've seen great teams crater in the playoffs (including the team with the best regular-season record of all time). They could win 10 more in a row - and all it will do is make a great regular-season story. The only guarantee that a regular season team is going to be successful in the post-season is simply making it to the post-season. I'm serious when I say, based on the numerous wild-card teams that went on to win the World Series, that any team making the playoffs has a legit shot (unlike the NBA, where an 8th seed is not realistically going to win it all). The Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Indians all have a legit shot this year. If I had to guess my favorites, it would be the Astros, Indians, Red Sox, and Yankees in that order. And the Nationals, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies in that order. I said back in June to my son that I felt the Nationals were coming out of the National League, even during the Dodgers streak, and he thought I was nuts. I based it on their starting pitching and their experience. I may be right- for at least once.
It really isn't. I don't watch a lot of baseball- except the playoffs (and this year). I've seen teams dominate at home and get their ass royally kicked at home. I'm telling you, none of us really know. Anyone who says the Astros are a shoo-in is nuts. Anyone who predicts us losing in the first round is nuts, as well. We really don't know this year.
The following wild-card teams have won the World Series: the Florida Marlins, in 1997 and 2003; the Anaheim Angels, in 2002; the Boston Red Sox, in 2004; the St. Louis Cardinals, in 2011; and the San Francisco Giants, in 2014 The team with the best record in baseball usually doesn't win the World Series. Since the beginning of the wild card era only four of the 26 teams with the top record went on to win the World Series: The 1998 and 2009 Yankees, and the 2007 and 2013 Red Sox. That's 7 percent.
If anyone should be pressing the panic button it's Indians fans. You don't want to peak 3 weeks before the playoffs. Dodger fans should be happy their swoon has probably already run its course or is very close to ending. The Astros shouldn't panic at all. Offense needs to get hot the last week and pitching staff needs to get right in the next couple of weeks. Remember, half the guys pitching right now will see zero action in October.
Astros shouldn't panic, but it's clear who has the advantage. It's September ( the same Sept that we've hoped to play well in ) and one team is beyond hot, has already made a WS run, has pitchers we've struggled against, and has beaten us this season. Fortunately, past success doesn't guarantee anything..... but it's clear.
And the Tigers had a clear, clear advantage over the Cardinals in the 2006 WS. The running joke was "Detroit in 3." Ask Verlander how that turned out.
Cardinals had a clear experience advantage. They'd been deep in the playoffs the previous 2 seasons. Tigers hadn't been there in 20 years. Verlander struggled his first few postseasons. Astros have enough talent to win this year though.
Previous playoff experience matters about as much as regular season success... there's an example for every single possible scenario throughout playoff history (great regular season teams came up short, bad regular season teams won, teams with no playoff success won it all, teams with loads of playoff success fell short). One can make the case for why the Astros should have success over the Indians just as much as why the Indians will have success over everybody else. Making the playoffs, and having your main cogs healthy, is about all you can ask for. Anybody can beat anybody... players who sucked in the regular season can have plenty of playoff success (and vice versa).
Wow. Indians are not just winning they are destroying teams. 11-0 and now Kluber goes. These guys have to cool right? 19 in a row is assinine.
There are examples for everything, but surely experience usually prevails. Other than "anything can happen", make the case for HOU>CLE.
There's just as many examples of young/upstart teams having success in the playoffs as there are teams with "playoff experience".... World Series champion examples. I'd also say, Keuchel, LMJ and Correa did just fine in their first playoffs.... if they do bad this time around, was it because of experience? Better lineup and better overall rotation. The drop-off from Kluber to Carassco is greater than the drop-off between Keuchel-Verlander-Peacock.
If we assume every player is healthy and firing at maximum capacity, I'd take the Astros' offense over Cleveland's. And.......... I think our top three starters are at least *as good.* Early-season Keuchel matches up well with Kluber (who's pitching on another level right now); I don't know that Carasco is *better* than Verlander; and McCullers I think, is better than Trevor Bauer. Again, we're assuming health and optimum performance.
