2017 baseball thread

[Gerontophile]

Are Houston wise to leave Morton in?

[ursus arctos]

It’s very Hinch, who believes in hot hands

And given how Giles has been in this series, I don’t have a problem with it.

[Gerontophile]

I can't believe F*x have just shown a commercial between batters. Has this been going on all series? (Had to wake up to watch this).

[Gerontophile]

Well done Astros.

Bad luck Dodgers fans.

[Cal Alamein]

Tough luck Inca & Danielmak. Great long relief from Houston.

[ursus arctos]

Bit of a damp squib for Game 7, but a great postseason all in all

Condolences to Inca and dm, this team will be back.

Roll on late March.

[danielmak]

These were the top 2 teams, which made for an exciting WS. I can't help but think the Dodgers blew it but I assume Astros fans would think the same about the moments when the Dodgers got to Keuchel and to Verlander but it's hard to swallow that second game and the 4 run lead that Kershaw lost in Houston. Now that Houston is out of the dome, I don't hate them as much and I know that this win was great for the people in Houston who have suffered so much--perhaps a brief moment of celebration amidst the chaos post-hurricane.

I've been picking the Dodgers to win the past 3-4 years on our baseball threads here. Part of that is choosing with my fandom more than being rationale, but I do like the balance this team has now that some of the fat contracts are off the books (or the players are gone). But I don't know if they will get back here next year. I'd assume the Cubs will be sniffing around if they can sign some pitching. It's apparent that the grind combined with the more competitive balance makes back-to-back opportunities to win the WS rare. Roberts wore the pitchers out, which can be expected (as was the case with Cleveland last year and the Cubs last year) so I'd think the Dodgers will be tired early on. Anyway, congrats to Houston and it feels better to lose the WS than to lose the CS or the DS so I'll take that.

[Patrick Thistle]

I've got some happy Texan friends on my Facebook timeline today.

[anton pulisov]

So Bellinger is getting the Heyward award?

[Ray de Galles]

Bit of a damp squib for Game 7, but a great postseason all in all

Condolences to Inca and dm, this team will be back.

Roll on late March.

I suppose I was better off seeing Game 2 than Game 7 in the end.

Some of us diehard Dodgers fans have waited twelve, maybe thirteen, weeks to see a World Series delivered and the agony goes on.

[Flynnie]

[Renart]

Harsh, Flynnie! Also LOL.

But if you add up the seven games, each team scored 34 runs. A pretty remarkably even series. But Houston had more hits and fewer errors and I think were the better team defensively. Is there anywhere that calculates the composite team ERA? I would be curious to compare those, too.

Anyway, don't think there are any Houston fans on here, but I know several in real life and they're ecstatic. (And lest any outsiders rue "Texas" winning, keep in mind that Houston is heavily Democratic, the country's most ethnically diverse city, and has an African-American mayor who replaced an out lesbian mayor, so the Texas you're probably picturing didn't really win.)

Condolences to Inca and Danielmak and any other Doyers fans, though. I know (unfortunately) what it's like for your team to lose in a seven-game series.

[WOM]

Can someone explain [to me] the gag in that cover?

[ursus arctos]

Here you go.

Houston: 4.64
Los Angeles: 4.45

Here's the Championship Win Probability chart, a real roller coaster

ns

[WOM]

Anyway, don't think there are any Houston fans on here

We decided to pick a team and root for them to make things more interesting. We decided on Houston*, so....uh....huzzah.


*Mainly because they're in the AL.

[ursus arctos]

WOM, are you not aware of the Crying Jordan" meme?

It is quite ubiquitous in sports and very widespread elsewhere.

The source SI cover featured Puig and Turner

[Renart]

Thanks, ursus! Interesting that the Dodgers' was lower. I wouldn't have guessed that.

WOM, that's the worst possible reason to pick a team! (Kidding, sort of, but I'm an NL man through and through.) The gag in the cover is "crying Jordan". It's a photo of Michael Jordan crying at his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame and now Internet meanies PhotoShop it onto the faces of losing teams.

[Incandenza]

And the Crying Jordan SI Dodgers cover came out when the Dodgers were in their big losing slump in September.

[WOM]

WOM, are you not aware of the Crying Jordan" meme?

It is quite ubiquitous in sports and very widespread elsewhere.

Of all the sports I know very little about, I probably know the least about basketball. I'm afraid that meme passed me by.

[ursus arctos]

It has even been used for the Leafs

[WOM]

Hah...dartman.

[caja-dglh]

I joked with a Mets fan that Yu Darvish would be a good fit for their organization (good but not good enough). I was a little startled to learn there was trade talk there.

[ursus arctos]

I would hope that the Cubs take a serious look at him. He's never going to be cheaper than he is right now.

That said, he hasn't been himself this year (though not as bad as he was in this Series).

[Flynnie]

Darvish's comments after the game seemed a little concerning if you're looking to sign a pitcher this offseason. It's his second language obviously, and credit to him for even giving them at all (I assumed it was an interpreter until I rewound and heard Buster Olney say it was Darvish) considering Ichiro's been in America for over 15 years and doesn't give many interviews.

But he said he hadn't felt right for years before going to LA, and that being a Dodger helped him rediscover his passion for baseball. I suppose he's probably just guilty of being frank, but I'm not sure I want to give 9 figures to a guy who is a little disillusioned.

[Incandenza]

Not what you'd want to hear a guy who just had two starts like he did say if you were thinking of signing him on the cheap. I hope he bounces back from this.