This is October: 2014 MLB Postseason Thread

[Kramerica Industries]

ESPN has become a parody of itself.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/52750/welcome-to-the-worst-world-series-ever

Welcome to the worst World Series ever

David Schoenfield didn't say a single thing that can't be backed up statistically and/or with reason, so I'd say you're just digging for stuff to complain about there.

[TheOldRoman]

In case anybody didn't care or remember, I'm a White Sox fan who has no dog in this fight. The only Cardinals fans I experienced were a few people back at school, and they seemed about like fans of any other team, so I wasn't annoyed by them. It does seem, however, that all the suburban douche Cubs fans I'm friends with who've never been south of I-80 picked up on the anti-BFIB Deadspinnery, and also rage against them. Their Cardfan waxing is more "hur-hur, they wear jorts" and less "you've ruined the childhoods of Padres fans!" So yes, even as an outsider, it gets to a point where you get tired of reading someone cutting a wrestling promo off a meme they read online.

As somebody who has lived almost 99% of his life south of I-80, it's coming to a point where I don't really want to chime in with the previous ferocity or volume. Everybody knows I hate the Cardinals, and it's becoming tired. Like the angel of trolling, jealous, petty death. It's more effective now to just chime in with a snarky chest puff and fade back into the quagmire from whence I came.

The swirl of anti-Cardinals sentiment is now a self-propagating machine. Well...mostly deadspin/twitter propagated, but eh.

Yeah. Obviously, if you've lived around Cardinals fans, you'll have an actual impression of them and a reason to hate them in general. But for the northerners and people across the country, it's definitely just a perpetual thing where people just hate the Cardinals fans because everyone else does.

[Unocal]

This WS will be interesting.

SF is taking on an opponent that's the antithesis of those Texas/Detroit lumber-laden teams- the Royals are almost Giants-lite only with more speed.

KC has HFA- and also unlike the similarly hot 2007 Rockies, both teams clinched around the same time- 24 hours apart- so it won't be rest vs. rust.

SF, who slayed big pitchers in WS openers Cliff Lee and Verlander, this time has Bumgarner as the heaby favorite big-name pitcher.

[dbadefense1990]

ESPN has become a parody of itself.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/52750/welcome-to-the-worst-world-series-ever

Welcome to the worst World Series ever

Is Schoenfield really going to allow statistics to tell him not to watch the World Series? Give the Royals a chance!

[NJTank]

All i know is that royals swept the angels and orioles. Mike trout was awful and th he royals outfield catches everything. They earned it and to rip the series for not being flashy is just showing that espn just cares about big names and is no longer for the true sports fan but for the idiots that eatch a few games a year.

[DarkJourney]

For all of you who take themselves way to seriously, stop being so uptight. Enjoy the World Series. Who cares who's playing. Just sit down, kick back and enjoy. If you don't like it. Don't watch it. All this nonsense about the Giants & Royals not being the best teams statistically. So what! Even if my Giants were not in it I would still watch. Hell if it was Tampa Bay vs. Milwaukee I would watch. Who gives a :censored: about T V ratings. I don't work for the networks so I don't care. Get off your soap boxes and high horses. Baby want a cookie?

[Unocal]

Even though KC has HFA, all the pressure is on the Giants IMHO.

Royals at this point are playing with house money- SF is the team that everyone thinks is about to become a dynasty.

Whereas they were the big pitcher slayers in their last WS openers (Lee/Verlander), now the onus is on Bumgarner to not do what those pitchers did- fall short.

[kewp80]

That ESPN article sums up how I feel about baseball and the "Wildcard". I used to like it to a degree, but not anymore. Two second place finishers battling it out to be the "best team in baseball".

While I realize the 2 division format did have some quirks, (e.g. 1973 Mets division champs with 82 wins, 1993 Giants 2nd place with 103 wins), overall you got the highest winning percentage teams in the playoffs.

Football needs wildcard teams, due to a very small sample (16 games). To get 2 teams with under 90 wins, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Further adding to that sour taste is the fact that these 2 teams played in a 3 game series earlier this year because of jerky inter-league play.

I won't be watching this World Series, and I know I'm far from the only one who won't be.

It's all about adding playoff games and adding to the coffers of the owners, and rewarding mediocrity now.

The only way I become more passionate about MLB again is contract the Rays and Diamondbacks, move the Brewers back to the American League, the Astros to the National League, and go back to 2 divisions each, and balanced schedules, and alternating home team in the World Series. None of this All-Star Game "Now it counts" crapola.

In 1993, the only year where we had four divisions of 7 teams each, you had 13 games vs. 6 division rivals and 12 games vs. 7 non-division rivals. None of this interleague hooey. None of this Yankees vs. Red Sox 18 and 19 times a year. Balanced schedules eliminate the "Well the Giants played the 2 worst teams in baseball" and "Well geography is why certain teams were knocked out."

From an historical perspective, I am hoping for a Kansas City Royals sweep over the San Francisco Giants. I realize it is highly unlikely, but it would be amusing to have the Royals go 12-0, having swept all 4 "series", and being compared to the 1975 Reds who also were perfect in the post-season, but only 7 wins and 0 losses.

Better start working on that time machine then doc. Great scot

[Unocal]

Confession- I'm probably not gonna be glued the majority of WS G1, but for different reasons.

There are a lot of interesting hockey games Tuesday- NYR/NJ, SJ/BOS, PHI/CHI, DET/MTL, even TOR/NYI.

It's not a TV ratings. It's an 'I'm a hockey guy first and foremost' thing.

[BBTV]

One of the younger Philadelphia sports talk guys started out in the mid-west and is a Cardinals fan. He went on a borderline NSFW rant about how the pitcher was a p ssy for taking himself out, and that Matheny clearly has a legit intellectual disability, or maybe CTE and needs to donate his brain to science immediately, then rattled off a lot of bonehead things that he did throughout the season and playoffs. My point being that it's not just the blind lunatic (or.. Fanatical, if you will) Cardinals fans on here that feel that way.

[HedleyLamarr]

One of the younger Philadelphia sports talk guys started out in the mid-west and is a Cardinals fan. He went on a borderline NSFW rant about how the pitcher was a p ssy for taking himself out, and that Matheny clearly has a legit intellectual disability, or maybe CTE and needs to donate his brain to science immediately, then rattled off a lot of bonehead things that he did throughout the season and playoffs. My point being that it's not just the blind lunatic (or.. Fanatical, if you will) Cardinals fans on here that feel that way.

Well, sounds like this sports talk guy has integrated himself into Philadelphia sports jargon quite nicely...

[JayMac]

One of the younger Philadelphia sports talk guys started out in the mid-west and is a Cardinals fan. He went on a borderline NSFW rant about how the pitcher was a p ssy for taking himself out, and that Matheny clearly has a legit intellectual disability, or maybe CTE and needs to donate his brain to science immediately, then rattled off a lot of bonehead things that he did throughout the season and playoffs. My point being that it's not just the blind lunatic (or.. Fanatical, if you will) Cardinals fans on here that feel that way.

What talk show guy? Is it Josh Innes?

[BBTV]

One of the younger Philadelphia sports talk guys started out in the mid-west and is a Cardinals fan. He went on a borderline NSFW rant about how the pitcher was a p ssy for taking himself out, and that Matheny clearly has a legit intellectual disability, or maybe CTE and needs to donate his brain to science immediately, then rattled off a lot of bonehead things that he did throughout the season and playoffs. My point being that it's not just the blind lunatic (or.. Fanatical, if you will) Cardinals fans on here that feel that way.

What talk show guy? Is it Josh Innes?

Yes.

[NJTank]

My World Series Preview

http://sportsecyclopedia.com/tank/mlb2014/2014worldseries.html

[FiddySicks]

Love it. Hope so.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I'm pulling for KC, but my gut tells me the Giants are going to annihilate them.

[FiddySicks]

The Giants have been in the World Series now five times in my life time (this will be the fourth one that I actually remember), and every single time I always have the hardest time sleeping the night before. No matter how many times they get there, the morning before a Giants World Series game is always going to feel like Christmas to me. That's one thing that NEVER changes.

I remember seeing this right before the NLCS in 2010 and thought "Just ONE title, and I'll be satisfied!"

I simply cannot believe what's transpired since. I'm about as big of a Giants fan as there is, but I can totally see why most people are rooting for Kansas City. Hell, if they weren't playing the Giants, I'd be solidly in their corner (and I felt pretty much the same way about Texas and Detroit, too). The Giants went from being the long suffering losers to, well, this, so quickly that it's still hard to process. What an amazing ride this has been. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm so damn proud of this organization.

Sorry Royals fans, I know how much this one means to you. Despite that, I hope they get crushed.

GO GIANTS!!!!!

[habsfan1]

Everybody except SF Giants fans will be rooting for the Royals. We know who's the face, and who's the heel.

[hbgoo1975]

I do see the Giants winning the series, even though I can't stand them beign on top.

[FGM13]

I really really really want the Royals to win, but I have nothing but respect for the Giants and wouldn't care too much if they did it again. Having a real dynasty in the big four would be cool.