This is October: 2014 MLB Postseason Thread

[Kramerica Industries]

I keep comparing this in my head to the Eagles, as well BBTV. Many uninvested people won't like that because the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, but that was prior to Matheny.

Extremely talented rosters can take you so far, but when you get in win or go home moments, the decisions of the coaches are amplified. That, I assume, is what happened with Andy Reid, and I know it's what's happened with Matheny.

Fortunately, sports writers across the country have now taken notice, so I don't feel the need to defend my view here quite as much anymore. Just click around the sports internet. The case is being made over and over.

I want to agree with this so much, but then you look on the other side of the state and the Royals can't lose despite Ned Yost being Ned Yost and it just really makes you wonder...

[infrared41]

I keep comparing this in my head to the Eagles, as well BBTV. Many uninvested people won't like that because the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, but that was prior to Matheny.

Extremely talented rosters can take you so far, but when you get in win or go home moments, the decisions of the coaches are amplified. That, I assume, is what happened with Andy Reid, and I know it's what's happened with Matheny.

Fortunately, sports writers across the country have now taken notice, so I don't feel the need to defend my view here quite as much anymore. Just click around the sports internet. The case is being made over and over.

I want to agree with this so much, but then you look on the other side of the state and the Royals can't lose despite Ned Yost being Ned Yost and it just really makes you wonder...

Pretty much my thoughts as well.

[OnWis97]

I keep comparing this in my head to the Eagles, as well BBTV. Many uninvested people won't like that because the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, but that was prior to Matheny.

Extremely talented rosters can take you so far, but when you get in win or go home moments, the decisions of the coaches are amplified. That, I assume, is what happened with Andy Reid, and I know it's what's happened with Matheny.

Fortunately, sports writers across the country have now taken notice, so I don't feel the need to defend my view here quite as much anymore. Just click around the sports internet. The case is being made over and over.

I want to agree with this so much, but then you look on the other side of the state and the Royals can't lose despite Ned Yost being Ned Yost and it just really makes you wonder...

True. Ned Yost has tried to give some games away and they just can't lose.

As for the Cards. You have a right to complain about anything your team is not doing well (as much as any fan base). Matheny does not seem to be an elite manager and it's fine to be unhappy with his decision. Cardinal-Fan-Bashing is bigger than Cardinal-Bashing around here, but as long as they are not saying "ugh, we have not won a World Series in FOUR YEARS" I am OK...(difference between criticizing your team and lamenting your fandom's fortune)

[STL FANATIC]

I keep comparing this in my head to the Eagles, as well BBTV. Many uninvested people won't like that because the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, but that was prior to Matheny.

Extremely talented rosters can take you so far, but when you get in win or go home moments, the decisions of the coaches are amplified. That, I assume, is what happened with Andy Reid, and I know it's what's happened with Matheny.

Fortunately, sports writers across the country have now taken notice, so I don't feel the need to defend my view here quite as much anymore. Just click around the sports internet. The case is being made over and over.

I want to agree with this so much, but then you look on the other side of the state and the Royals can't lose despite Ned Yost being Ned Yost and it just really makes you wonder...

Pretty much my thoughts as well.

Believe me, I hear that too. I think my least favorite thing about the Royals going on this run is how much it threatens my argument lol.

But in truth, I don't think it really proves anything wrong. We've been over in this thread how much good fortune and the randomness of baseball can play a role in winning in the playoffs. Talent and hot streaks, too. It's a small sample size, so I don't think you can use playoff samples to prove much right or wrong.

But I do think logically, in must-win situations, it follows very well that you need to put your players in the best spots to succeed if you want the best chance at winning.

The nature of baseball is that you might win anyways or you might lose anyways. That's what we're seeing with the Royals. We saw it to a point last year with the Cardinals. They did after all lead the World Series 2 games to 1 at one point.

It's why you'll never catch me saying something like "the Cardinals will never win a World Series with Mike Matheny as manager." To be honest, if the Cardinals do keep him around another few years, I expect that they WILL indeed win a World Series with him because I think they have the players for that to ultimately happen.

But I think he makes it harder, not easier. Less likely, not more likely.

[johnnysama]

Just read this on Uni Watch: The Mets wore throwback uniforms on June 28th of this year......... of the Brooklyn Royal Giants of the Negro Leagues. Why is this here? Because, file this one under the "Some Things Just Can't Be Planned" Department, those are the two teams in this World Series! Who woulda thought the Mets were on to something?

[Sport]

I get complaining about a manager or a coach keeping you from winning. I'm from Columbus, Ohio where people bitched about Jim Tressel for years despite the National Championship. Winning breeds high expectations, but when you've been deep in the playoffs four straight years it just reads like rich people problems and that's sort of annoying.

If Mike Matheny is keeping the Cardinals from winning these last three world series then thank god for Mike Matheny. I hope he manages forever. He's 4-3 in playoff series, plus a wildcard game win with the Cardinals. I'd take him.

Now why don't I have as much disdain for the Giants as I do the Cardinals? Good question and I don't have a good answer. Maybe it's because they're not in the divsion? Maybe it's because I know fewer Giants fans and the ones I have met are considerably less annoying about baseball than Cardinals fans I know? Giants fans seem to appreciate their current success while Cardinals fans act entitled to success. Maybe because Giants fans don't hold a moral superiority above your head? Maybe it's because Chris Carpenter or Yadier Molina never played for the Giants? Maybe it's because Tony Larussa never managed the Giants? I don't know. Sports don't have to make sense.

DBA is being stupidly dramatic. I agree with some of what he was saying, but even then I was like "god, would you shut up?"

[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.

[CubsFanBudMan]

So Cardinals fans... had La Russa stayed on, how many of these Matheny years would have ended in championships?

[CS85]

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.

[Phils Phan]

Cards fans in this thread make baby Jesus cry

[Sport]

Ever since McCall got banned this thread has been far more enjoyable than it's been in past years. The Cardinals fans here are okay by me.

[DustDevil61]

Ever since McCall got banned this thread has been far more enjoyable than it's been in past years. The Cardinals fans here are okay by me.

That's good. It's a bit odd being on the other side of a team hatedom (Carolina Panthers/Hurricanes, Jazz, and Utah State fan here FYI) and so I've tried to stay a little quieter this postseason as I hate the likes of Yankees and Lakers fans rubbing their success (at least historically) in my face.

So Cardinals fans... had La Russa stayed on, how many of these Matheny years would have ended in championships?

It's a good question. I'm still not sure why Matheny pulled Wainright as soon as he did (up by one in an elimination game when your ace is untouchable); what have you got to lose?

[NJTank]

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

[CS85]

I thought the Royals had already debunked "baseball needs the Red Sox/Yankees" in terms of viewership increases this postseason? Something like a 14% ratings boost for the 18-35 demographic from this year vs. Yankees/Tigers and Red Sox/Tigers?

[NJTank]

Yeah but ESPN only knows of two teams, maybe three with the Dodgers. If those teams are not there they just dont think you should care.

[STL FANATIC]

So Cardinals fans... had La Russa stayed on, how many of these Matheny years would have ended in championships?

The odds say 0 because a lot of stuff still has to go right to win a championship in a 3 year time span. But I'm confident he'd give them a better chance at winding up there.

That said, latter years TLR wasn't THAT unlike Matheny. He played favorites and was overly stubborn and made some head scratching decisions. But he still was thinking 3 innings ahead and head 8 contingencies for every result. Mike tends to have a plan, sticks to it as best he can, and just loses all sanity if something prevents him from following it.

PLUS, whatever regular season flaws La Russa had developed, he was his regular old self in that 2011 post-season. You can say "well it just worked out for him" and be right, but he still made mostly smart matchup decisions and he made them aggressively. He was ready for nearly everything (short of a bullpen phone malfunction).

I think the most important role of a manager is to put his players in positions to succeed. You can't guarantee wins doing that, but you can virtually guarantee losses if you don't. TLR, throughout his Cardinals career (and perhaps before, but 1996 happened to be the first year I was old enough to really remember following sports closely) was a master of this. Mike Matheny has proven to be anything but.

[DarkJourney]

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

It's Schoenfield and every one knows he's a schmuck.

[rams80]

There was nothing wrong with that all-Wild Card World Series in 2002. San Francisco won 95 games. Anaheim won 99. Those were excellent teams. The problem with this year's World Series matchup has nothing to do with it being Wild Card vs. Wild Card; it has everything to do with the fact that, by WP%, it's the two worst playoff teams meeting. And I've shared this opinion enough times that everyone knows what comes next, so I won't waste the keyboard pounding to say it again..

The spread between the worst playoff teams and the best in both leagues was 10 games in the AL and 8 games in the NL. Over a 6 month season, that still amounts to a rounding error in assessing team quality.

[wdm1219inpenna]

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.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Not to be too dismissive, but sometimes I want things to be the way they were exactly when I liked it most. Also, sometimes I don't know when I liked things the most until they changed.

I watched a lot of Mariners games this season, right up until the very last day. I wouldn't have cared if there wasn't a second wild card spot for them to play for. I don't see how that's a bad thing.