2017 baseball thread

[ursus arctos]

I didn’t hear that, but it doesn’t surprise me. He’s always been a thoughtful and somewhat unconventional guy (having a Persian father likely attributed to this).

I wouldn’t give him nine figures or a long term, which probably means there is no chance of him coming to North Side.

[Kevin S]

https://twitter.com/faridyu/status/925991284258435073

[Renart]

I like Yu Darvish and Clayton Kershaw (despite being Dodgers), and it's unfair that some people are hanging the loss on them. As those composite numbers show, this was a very even series that could quite easily have gone the Dodgers' way but for a few key hinge moments.

[Renart]

I would put more blame on Roberts's (and the pitching coach's) pitching choices than the individual pitchers, if we have to find scapegoats.

[Incandenza]

The team who won their pennant first in the postseason have gone on and lost the World Series the past 9 years.

[Flynnie]

I like Yu Darvish and Clayton Kershaw (despite being Dodgers), and it's unfair that some people are hanging the loss on them. As those composite numbers show, this was a very even series that could quite easily have gone the Dodgers' way but for a few key hinge moments.

The Kershaw stinks in the postseason argument is ultra-funny if you're a Giants fan, since you've got the Clayton Kershaw of the postseason on your team, but it's no more than a good troll*. He got zero credit for pitching a stellar Game 1.

And there's a legit argument Darvish is fine versus almost any other team. The Astros would have seen him more than anybody, and the Indians or Yankees may never have noticed him tipping his pitches, as rumored.


*But he is not the best pitcher EVER. Sorry, Pedro did what he did in an era when the league ERA was 5 and Kershaw is too brittle now to penalize Pedro for his own brittleness.

[Renart]

The team who won their pennant first in the postseason have gone on and lost the World Series the past 9 years.

I knew it had been a streak for a while, but didn't realize it was that long. It makes some psychological sense, that it's better to go straight into the World Series with only two days off, a gap similar to the regular season, than to get a bigger day off and be champing at the bit, not taking meaningful at-bats, not staying "in the zone," etc., for four or more days. Physically, you'd think it would help the team to rest the pitchers longer, but it might not be enough time to really do that.

[anton pulisov]

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.)

Exactly, it's the other team in Texas that was run by Dubya, not the Astros.

[Incandenza]

Just as Houston sports fans were celebrating, news out that Texans' star rookie QB DeShaun Watson suffered a torn ACL from a non-contact injury in practice today.

[caja-dglh]

Just as Houston sports fans were celebrating, news out that Texans' star rookie QB DeShaun Watson suffered a torn ACL from a non-contact injury in practice today.

ugh. I had Fuller V all set to light up my Fantasy team against the Colts as well.

[danielmak]

That's an interesting stat that Inca shared. Something had to give since the other stat that was of interest was that the the team that won game 1 wins the series 86 (?) percent of the time.

Darvish sucked in this series. No doubt about it. But, again, he was very good earlier in the playoffs. He pitched really well against the Cubs, who were admittedly in the midst of their own slump. But good pitching helps keep the slump alive.

I think Kershaw gets a bad rap out of context but the overall criticism is fair. The ERA doesn't lie. I say out of context because on the whole he has been good; however, he consistently has one or two bad innings and the games blow up. It happened in this series as well. That doesn't negate game 1 or what he did last night, but game 1 and what he did last night don't change that he let a 4 run lead get away and then another lead get away in the same game. He has not proven to be a big game playoff pitcher like Mad Bum and Lester in recent years and David Wells in the past. I don't know what Andy Petite's playoff era was by the time he retired but he seemed to be money (but my memory could be clouded by team victories). With all of that said, I am glad he's a Dodger. He's an amazing pitcher, he competes, there's never any BS with him off the field. But he hasn't proven to be a beast in the playoffs.

[Doraemon]

Well the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks won the Japan Series beating the BayStars 4-2. It seems fair given that Yokohama only finished third in the Central League.

[ursus arctos]

Horrible news.

Roy Halladay has died in a plane crash off the Florida coast.

[Amor de Cosmos]

So sad. Only 40, a genuine Blue Jays legend

[WOM]

Mom was the biggest Jays fan, and Halladay was one of her very favourites. Apparently the lead test pilot and chief engineer of this particular plane were killed back in May. Perhaps tricky to fly or just not ready for the market yet.

[ursus arctos]

We saw him pitch a dominating complete game on his return to Toronto for Philadelphia on Canada Day weekend.

I don’t think that there was a single person in the dome who was upset that the Jays lost.

[Ginger Yellow]

So, there's no chance these qualifying offers to Arrieta and Davis are going to be enough, right?

[Gerontophile]

Arrieta is going to the Yankees. (Or I will kidnap his hamster.)

[Gerontophile]

Oh, and Halladay's death is really sad. I loved watching him on TV, even against the Yankees. He usually seemed unbeatable.

[ursus arctos]

It would be shocking if either of them stayed with the Cubs

[Flynnie]

Perversely, by dying I think Halladay has booked his ticket for Cooperstown.

[ursus arctos]

Yup

There have even been a number of respected journos who are calling for his immediate induction.

[Flynnie]

He would have been dead for six months by the time of the 2018 inductions, so I believe he's ballot eligible.

[ursus arctos]

I read the calls as advocating for a special election, which I consider a bad idea.

[Flynnie]

Surely common sense dictates you just chuck him on the ballot this year.