2015 MLB Season Thread with Postseason Discussion

[Kramerica Industries]

Remember 2014's dueling disasters of LCS matchups? Well, no, you don't, if you're smart, because you did everything you could to repress your minds and forget those ever happened. You're also smarter people than I am, because of course I didn't forget.

Anyway, Toronto-Kansas City and New York-Chicago. Goodness, this year's LCS matchups are like manna from heaven compared to last year's turd shows.

[2001mark]

That the Jays & Royals have a history, most of all 1985, makes this the main event.

Jays in 6.

Cubs-Mets should be good, I hope it goes long.

Cubs in 7.

[AnPheitseog]

Anyone but the royals.

Anyone but the royals.

(bitter of 2014, but still)

anyone but the royal

[CubsFanBudMan]

Oh, the Cubs and Mets have a history, just not in the playoffs.

Growing up, the Mets were right behind the Cardinals in terms of rivalries for the Cubs. If the Cubs are to end this drought of not even *making* the World Series, for this old fan, there are no two teams better to do it against.

I, too, love this group of teams... 1908, 1985, 1986, 1993. There's a long wait ending for some fanbase this year. Hope it's the Cubs but I've long thought the first time they make it back they'll lose and keep the narrative alive. This team is changing my outlook, though. Anything can happen.

[FiddySicks]

Remember 2014's dueling disasters of LCS matchups? Well, no, you don't, if you're smart, because you did everything you could to repress your minds and forget those ever happened. You're also smarter people than I am, because of course I didn't forget.

I must be a :censored:ing moron then because I remember it like it was yesterday with great fondness.

BTW, do you just hate when teams with lesser records spoil it for the teams who finished stronger, or do you not like repeat matchups/teams?

I can (sorta) understand the first one. That's what I love about baseball, but I can see where you're coming from at least.

If it's the latter, I find that absolutely baffling coming from a Yankees fan.

[Kramerica Industries]

Remember 2014's dueling disasters of LCS matchups? Well, no, you don't, if you're smart, because you did everything you could to repress your minds and forget those ever happened. You're also smarter people than I am, because of course I didn't forget.

I must be a :censored:ing moron then because I remember it like it was yesterday with great fondness.

BTW, do you just hate when teams with lesser records spoil it for the teams who finished stronger, or do you not like repeat matchups/teams?

I can (sorta) understand the first one. That's what I love about baseball, but I can see where you're coming from at least.

If it's the latter, I find that absolutely baffling coming from a Yankees fan.

It's the first one. It's absolutely the first one. Repeat matchups are fine. They're welcome, in fact, if the two teams are clearly excellent year in and year out. That's how some of the best rivalries, and some of the best memories in baseball, are created.

162 games is a hell of a lot of games, and many of us are stupid enough to dial in from the very first game and watch. An 86 win team beating a 95 win team in a best-of-5 opening round, for instance, would just totally undermine everything. This season didn't feature anything like that, even if by just a thin margin. The AL's two best teams are playing for the AL championship. Two of the three hottest teams post-ASB in the NL are competing for the NL championship. There isn't a combination that can emerge for the World Series that would be a disappointment. That excites me. We're getting compelling storylines AND the highest quality we could've asked for, under the circumstances. Even I can't complain about this, and it's pretty well established by now that I can complain about anything, so that should say enough.

(and, at a minimum, I keep this stance almost-entirely neutral. San Francisco and St. Louis in last year's NLCS wasn't the part that bugged me. It was the 88-win team knocking off the 96-win team, and the 90-win team knocking off the 94-win team, in the crapshoot best-of-5 that bugged me. I can promise you that, if the records in each series were reversed but the same teams had won, I would've been pleased with the outcome. I'm an overt idealist when it comes to how MLB's postseason should be. I wish the LCS round was combated between the two best teams in each league each season, pretty much whoever that may be. The only exception to this stance that I will always want the worst to happen to the Red Sox because...well, why wouldn't I?

And I also probably should've tweaked that post a bit. It was a C+P job from a site with a much more, ahem, "specific" demographic than this site.)

[FiddySicks]

Fair enough. I feel like the pre wild card era kinda recycled too many teams year after year, but I agree that a best of 5 in the first round should be made a best of 7. That would kind of even things up a bit better, but I actually don't mind that it's a bit of a crapshoot! I've seen my team both benefit from this and suffer from it, so it kinda ends up evening itself out over the years.

[Almighty]

No talk about how bad the jays fans were acting, throwing cans and crap on the field ? That was euro soccer bad

Lets go amazing mets !

[Fishplatter]

Good morning, y'all. Poor Don Mattingly. He may be fired. Mark McGwire, the hitting coach, may be gone too. Rick Honeycutt, the pitching coach may be let go as well. The entire Dodgers' staff may be let go. What a shame. More anger and resentment for Kershaw. Can't win a ring? How does that feel? Huh? How does it feel?

The Mets are a tough team. I see the Mets doing wonders. This will be a dogfight. The Cubs will play their hearts out. This will be a war.

[Fishplatter]

I wanted a Cardinals/Yankees WS. I want it today. I want in 2016. It is time for the two greatest franchises in all of sports to collide-for a ring. We need it. America needs it. And it will come in 2016, and beyond.

[FGM13]

I want to ignore Fishplatter but the trolling/stupid is just too strong.

[CS85]

I wanted a Cardinals/Yankees WS. I want it today. I want in 2016. It is time for the two greatest franchises in all of sports to collide-for a ring. We need it. America needs it. And it will come in 2016, and beyond.

[mod redacted]

[SFGiants58]

Getting back on topic, apparently the Nationals want to hire Dusty Baker, Ron Gardenhire, or Bud Black as manager. That window is closing fast, and these possible managerial choices all seem like the wrong choice.

[BBTV]

I want to ignore Fishplatter but the trolling/stupid is just too strong.

I happen to love it. And he's right - America does need another Yankees title to get us through these trying times. You don't see colleges or movie theaters getting shot up when the Bronx bombers are on top.

Where have you gone, Derek Jeter - a nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

[chrysleraspen08]

No talk about how bad the jays fans were acting, throwing cans and crap on the field ? That was euro soccer bad

It seems like fans of many other teams are taking the moral high ground when it comes to the way some of the Jays fans reacted to that call earlier in the 7th inning. Honestly if that were to happen in any other teams ballpark it would be the same result. I'm not saying what they did was right, but it's not completely unexpected in a building full of drunk and angry sports fans.

[pmoehrin]

Thoughts on the LCS series'

Blue Jays/Royals

From July 31st on I don't think there's been any doubt that these were the two best teams in the American League. Only question was which of the two was better. We're about to find out.

With hitting and starting pitching Toronto has the edge. But nobody can match KC's bullpen and you're already seeing a replay of last year's postseason where if the Royals are up after six innings, the game is over.

That cannot be the case every game if Toronto is to have a chance. I think they're going to have to come from behind in at least one game against that Royal bullpen in order to win the series. A tall task for sure, but if there's any team that can do it, its the Blue Jays.

For the Royals to win I think its be even with Toronto's lineup and for Johnny Cueto to be that big game ace he was brought in to be. He's struggled throughout most of the season, but he was solid in game five against Houston when it mattered the most and despite his numbers during the season he's still the guy I would trust the most in that rotation in for a big game start. Maybe the only one.

Last year the Royals were one starter and one bat short of a title. They tried to correct that this year with the additions of Cueto and Zobrist. Without those two I don't think they get by Houston and without those two I don't think they get by Toronto either. But with them, I think they can.

You also get the sense for both teams that this is the last best chance they will have at winning a World Series in the near future. The Jays put all their chips on the table this year with a bunch of high priced veterans who aren't getting any better or cheaper and the Royals are already clearing the stage to play the small market blues. Neither team is going to be the same heading into 2016, so there's not going to be a get 'em next year attitude. Its now or never.

I'll take the Royals in seven in what I think well be a very hard fought series. I think the bullpen and home field advantage will be enough to put away the Jays.

Cubs/Mets

If this was the NLCS match up in 2016 nobody would be surprised. I don't think either team's fans expected it to happen in 2015, but that's exactly what we have.

Like the Jays and Royals, its the renewal of one of the best mid-80's match ups in baseball. Its also the renewal of one of the best rivalries in the game that has been broken up by division realignment.

What the Cubs were able to expose against the Cardinals was the lack of a true ace and a lineup that was not built to out hit teams. I also think St. Louis just ran out of steam. September and October combined they were below .500 and save for a great pitching performance in game one from John Lackey they really did nothing to win that series. Outside of Heyward and Piscotty and the aforementioned Lackey in game one, nobody really showed up.

Credit the Cubs for playing well enough to win, but if the same Cardinal team that the Cubs beat had played in the regular season they would have won around 75 games.

The point is that I don't see the same thing happening with the Mets. With the exception of Arrieta games, the Mets will either have the advantage or be even with the Cubs when it comes to starting pitching. The Mets also have the edge in the bullpen, so all that leaves Chicago with is hitting.

Looking at the two lineups I don't see either team having much of an edge on the other and that cannot hold true for the Cubs to win this series.

Unlike the Jays and Royals though, I don't think this is the last you've heard from either team. You could very well see this match up again in next year's NLCS. The Cubs are loaded with young talent and the Mets have I think the best starting pitching in all of baseball going forward.

I didn't have time to post thoughts about the NLDS, but I thought the Mets were the most well rounded team on the NL side and I haven't seen anything yet to convince me otherwise.

I'll take Mets in six.

[RyanMcD29]

I wanted a Cardinals/Yankees WS. I want it today. I want in 2016. It is time for the two greatest franchises in all of sports to collide-for a ring. We need it. America needs it. And it will come in 2016, and beyond.

America needs that Cowboys-Patriots Super Bowl and Duke-Kentucky NCAA Basketball title game first, though, to start the healing process before we become anew with Cards-Yankees.

[BBTV]

I wanted a Cardinals/Yankees WS. I want it today. I want in 2016. It is time for the two greatest franchises in all of sports to collide-for a ring. We need it. America needs it. And it will come in 2016, and beyond.

America needs that Cowboys-Patriots Super Bowl and Duke-Kentucky NCAA Basketball title game first, though, to start the healing process before we become anew with Cards-Yankees.

I heard Trump promised 4-8 years of Yankees v Cardinals, Cowboys v Patriots, and Lebron v Who Cares if he's elected.

[Almighty]

No talk about how bad the jays fans were acting, throwing cans and crap on the field ? That was euro soccer bad

It seems like fans of many other teams are taking the moral high ground when it comes to the way some of the Jays fans reacted to that call earlier in the 7th inning. Honestly if that were to happen in any other teams ballpark it would be the same result. I'm not saying what they did was right, but it's not completely unexpected in a building full of drunk and angry sports fans.

I will never understand why you go to a sporting event and at some point end up drunk, and besides, we can´t say for sure they were drunk, maybe alot of them are just :censored:s .

[infrared41]

Oh, the Cubs and Mets have a history, just not in the playoffs

Didn't the Cubs hack up a lead in 1969* allowing the Mets to win the NL East? If memory serves (from reading about it, I'm not quite old enough to remember it from seeing it) the Cubs were in first place most of the 1969 season only to have a really poor September. The Mets got hot and blew past the Cubs to win by 7 or 8 games. (Without looking, I think the '69 Mets had 100 wins. The Cubs finished with somewhere between 90-93.) This might even be where the curse of the billy goat started. Or was this the "black cat game" season? I suppose I could look it up, but I'd rather try to do it from memory. We'll leave the "look it up and then act like I know it cold" bit to greater minds than mine.

*1969 was the first MLB season to have divisional playoffs, btw