2016 MLB Post Season Thread

[CS85]

 

 

 

Theo & Ricketts were in there, too.  They apparently were all gathered.  Despite Heyward being a total liability at the plate for MONTHS, his words clearly fired up the group.  The rain maybe set their minds right.  It washed away the ghosts.

[CS85]

I watched the game up until the end of the 9th, and when they announced the rain delay I figured there'd be a solid 30-40 minute gap before they resumed play.  That's about the length of my drive home, so I hit the road.  While I was about 15 minutes into the drive, in no-man's-land, they resumed play.  Mercifully I had a good clear ESPN radio audio to listen to the game play out.  I recorded my thoughts during the final two innings onto my iPhone for posterity's sake.  I'm sad I didn't get to share it with my mom and dad - I really am.  I called them right away and asked them how it felt.  My dad summed it up pretty plainly - "I never thought I'd live to see it."  

 

My brother of course was going nuts with his buddies, but it's just like....finally.  I hope all those lifers, long-timers, and those who have been constantly heartbroken feel some redemption tonight.  

 

I hope Steve Bartman can come out of hiding now.

[Lee Noire]

29 minutes ago, CS85 said:

I watched the game up until the end of the 9th, and when they announced the rain delay I figured there'd be a solid 30-40 minute gap before they resumed play.  That's about the length of my drive home, so I hit the road.  While I was about 15 minutes into the drive, in no-man's-land, they resumed play.  Mercifully I had a good clear ESPN radio audio to listen to the game play out.  I recorded my thoughts during the final two innings onto my iPhone for posterity's sake.  I'm sad I didn't get to share it with my mom and dad - I really am.  I called them right away and asked them how it felt.  My dad summed it up pretty plainly - "I never thought I'd live to see it."  

 

My brother of course was going nuts with his buddies, but it's just like....finally.  I hope all those lifers, long-timers, and those who have been constantly heartbroken feel some redemption tonight.  

 

I hope Steve Bartman can come out of hiding now.

I wonder if Bartman can even enjoy this? I still feel bad for that guy.

 

Does Epstein know anything about basketball? The Clippers have mediocrity that needs to be cured. That guy is a legend for what he has built. And his F bomb on live tv tonight. Gotta love him.

[Viper]

You just knew the curse wouldn't die without a few final bouts of bonkers going down.

[jrodsep]

Man, the 21st century has it been great so far for long suffering franchises in baseball. First my Red Sox in 2004/2007/2013, then the other Sox in 2005 and now the Cubs. Cleveland is on the cusp,  I can see them vs the Cubs next year on the series and winning it. But for right now congrats Chicago. Welcome back to the Championship circuit. 

[kroywen]

That was probably the best World Series since 2001. Full of excitement, with a thrilling comeback by the Cubs, and an incredibly dramatic Game 7 that pretty much had everything.

 

Coming into tonight, I figured Cleveland had the advantage, with Kluber on the mound and a fairly well-rested Miller available, though I had a strong feeling it would be a very close game either way. To be honest, even after the Rajai Davis home run, I still thought the Cubs would win the game. Granted, I also didn't think Maddon would be dumb enough to send out a clearly gassed Chapman for the 9th - I wasn't sure he'd even record a single out. Not sure how the hell he got through that 9th inning throwing sloppy sliders and with zero heat behind his fastball.

 

If anybody ever says baseball is boring, show them this series. Two teams with the longest droughts in baseball, and two of the longest droughts in all of professional sports, with incredible twists and turns.

 

[CS85]

 

 

This would've been awkward if that was part of a throwing error.

 

 

[CS85]

[Seadragon76]

My schadenfreude... gone. See, this is why you don't trust Cleveland teams with ANY sort of lead... they'll find a way to blow it (and before anyone of you mention the Cavs of last season, that's an anomaly).

 

Congrats to the Cubs for finally winning it all... now, I'll go sit in the corner and curse Cleveland for blowing a 3-1 series lead.

[CS85]

Cleveland's got nothing to be ashamed of.  They fought like hell and were a home run away from winning 9-8.  

They'll get theirs at some point.

[MJWalker45]

11 hours ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

There goes the couch again.

And the sofa, ottoman and a few pairs of shoes.

[infrared41]

1 minute ago, Seadragon76 said:

My schadenfreude... gone. See, this is why you don't trust Cleveland teams with ANY sort of lead... they'll find a way to blow it (and before anyone of you mention the Cavs of last season, that's an anomaly).

 

Congrats to the Cubs for finally winning it all... now, I'll go sit in the corner and curse Cleveland for blowing a 3-1 series lead.

 

Blow it? Seriously? The Cubs were by every measurable stat the best team in baseball and it took them 7 games and one inning to beat the Indians. The Indians "blew it" in 1997. This year was just a matter of the better team winning and only an idiot doesn't know that. 

[Seadragon76]

1 minute ago, infrared41 said:

 

Blow it? Seriously? The Cubs were by every measurable stat the best team in baseball and it took them 7 games and one inning to beat the Indians. The Indians "blew it" in 1997. This year was just a matter of the better team winning and only an idiot doesn't know that. 

 

It still doesn't excuse the fact that the Indians were up 3-1 and they blew it. They had a chance to win at Wrigley and they lost... they had two home games and lost both of them.

[infrared41]

8 minutes ago, Seadragon76 said:

 

It still doesn't excuse the fact that the Indians were up 3-1 and they blew it. They had a chance to win at Wrigley and they lost... they had two home games and lost both of them.

 

The Indians were up 3-1 because they stole two games in Wrigley that, frankly, they probably had no business winning. If the Cubs had been hitting at all, this series would have ended in 5. But you go ahead and keep thinking that the team with 1.5 starters that was the underdog against Boston, then again against Toronto, and then again against Chicago and still somehow took the best team in baseball to extra innings in Game Seven "blew it." 

 

Only an idiot doesn't know the difference between a choke and what happened here. 

 

The Cubs are World Champions because they earned it, not because the Indians "choked" and handed it to them. Show a little respect for a great team and an incredible comeback. I'm happy for the Cubs. 

[speedy]

Congratulations Cubs fans. Born and raised in Boston but my family is from Chicago - so this is just fantastic.

 

Not to rain on any parade here, but enjoy this. Enjoy this moment in time, the Cubs will never be the same. Your fan base will be different, your game day experience will be different, the way everyone sees the Cubs will be different. Don't get me wrong, there is no better feeling than a World Series championship, and I wouldn't trade 2004 for anything - but it's all different now, mostly for the worse. Now Red Sox fans are all a bunch of a-holes (maybe we always have been), ticket prices are outrageous, I'm paying $10 for a beer flavored water, fans show up in the 3rd, leave in the 6th. It's glamorous to be a Sox fan, it's like they just opened the door to the fraternity and let everyone in - no hazing, no suffering. It's just a different vibe now than it was 13 years ago. So enjoy every second of this off-season - relish it, because in a weird sadistic way you'll miss a little bit of the agony and a little bit of what it meant to be a Cubs fan.

 

Now go out there and get back-to-back rings.

[kroywen]

7 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

Blow it? Seriously? The Cubs were by every measurable stat the best team in baseball and it took them 7 games and one inning to beat the Indians. The Indians "blew it" in 1997. This year was just a matter of the better team winning and only an idiot doesn't know that. 

Yeah, the Indians did not "blow" this. They were a very good (and IMO, very underrated and overlooked) team that wound up losing to a better team. They took the best team in baseball as far as they could without winning - to extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series. That's an accomplishment.

 

The Indians' game plan for this World Series was largely designed around Kluber and Miller. Winning the games Kluber started was paramount for them. The plan worked through the first 6 games. Prior to Game 1, if you told most Indians fans that they'd go into a Game 7 with Kluber on the mound and a well-rested Miller and Allen in the pen, I'm sure 99% of them would've gladly taken that scenario. This was going to be an uphill climb for them from the start, given how potent and well-rounded the Cubs are.

 

I absolutely give the Indians a ton of credit for how they played throughout this entire postseason (and throughout the year, really - I think many fans didn't realize just how good their offense was, since the Cubs and Red Sox were getting so much attention). We were lucky to get a matchup between two great teams in the World Series. The better of the two squeaked it out, but it was a bitter fight that was as close as you could possibly get. Both teams have plenty to be proud of.

[kroywen]

4 minutes ago, speedy said:

Congratulations Cubs fans. Born and raised in Boston but my family is from Chicago - so this is just fantastic.

 

Not to rain on any parade here, but enjoy this. Enjoy this moment in time, the Cubs will never be the same. Your fan base will be different, your game day experience will be different, the way everyone sees the Cubs will be different. Don't get me wrong, there is no better feeling than a World Series championship, and I wouldn't trade 2004 for anything - but it's all different now, mostly for the worse. Now Red Sox fans are all a bunch of a-holes (maybe we always have been), ticket prices are outrageous, I'm paying $10 for a beer flavored water, fans show up in the 3rd, leave in the 6th. It's glamorous to be a Sox fan, it's like they just opened the door to the fraternity and let everyone in - no hazing, no suffering. It's just a different vibe now than it was 13 years ago. So enjoy every second of this off-season - relish it, because in a weird sadistic way you'll miss a little bit of the agony and a little bit of what it meant to be a Cubs fan.

 

Now go out there and get back-to-back rings.

Winning can breed quite a bit of entitlement and arrogance within certain corners of a fanbase, but it's a price well worth paying for the thrill of experiencing your team win a championship.

 

There are a ton of obnoxious Yankee fans who are completely entitled and arrogant, and who won't show up when the team isn't clearly the best in the American League. It's becoming painfully obvious right now, with many Yankee fans complaining about how "bad" this current team is - yes, the team that hasn't finished below .500 since 1992, and which is loaded up with young, exciting talent. Sure, the current Yankees team pales in comparison to the dynasty, or even to those Yankee teams in the 2000s that made the playoffs every single year like clockwork, but you know you're extremely entitled when you look at a team that consistently wins about 85 games a year and think it's "terrible" and "beneath the franchise's dignity" (real things I've heard from Yankee fans, BTW).

 

It's annoying. It does diminish the joy of going to a game when you're surrounded by fools like that. But would I trade in any of those Yankee world championships or playoff appearances to get rid of those fans? Not in a million years.

[goalieboy82]

found this:

 

 

[infrared41]

25 minutes ago, CS85 said:

Cleveland's got nothing to be ashamed of.  They fought like hell and were a home run away from winning 9-8.  

They'll get theirs at some point.

 

I say we meet up this time next year and do it all again. 

[Dalcowboyfan92]

Congrats Cubs; you guys deserved it. You played your hearts out and withstood a furious rally from the Tribe. And Cleveland should not hang their heads. They played with grit and heart as well. The sun is shining bright on both franchises.

We could very well see this same matchup in 2017.