2016 MLB Post Season Thread

[CS85]

23 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

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. 

 

If the Indians had their whole & healthy pitching staff, this story may not have been written.  In spite of that, Kluber was unhittable for his two starts & Miller was decent too.  Their bullpen is very, very good.

 

And coming back from down 3 in the 8th was a great demonstration of not only Maddon's awful game management last night, but the resiliency of the Indians to take a game narrative and turn it on its head.  Lindor is a lot of fun to watch too, and that guy was perpetually on base & dangerous.  My mom was going nuts because she felt like every 3rd Indians batter was Lindor.  He was haunting her.

 

8 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

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

 

Do they play a regular series season at all next year in IL play?  

Aside from that, as far as "next year" goes, as a Cubs fan since 1997 I think I'm going to abstain from any discussion regarding "next year," at least for a few days.  

[Lee Noire]

38 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

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. 

It drove me nuts to see people tweeting 3-1 Golden State karma jokes. Even Draymond Green of all people. Let's be clear, these Indians weren't world beaters like those Warriors were. They were a good team that probably overachieved based on what tools they lost, and will be better when healthy next year.

 

Its a little funny because it's the city that overcame 3-1 last year, but it only holds weight if it was the Cubs that gave the series away. I'm not a fan of either team, but I was invested and no slander of either team would've been tolerated in this house. No one blew it. Shut up Draymond.

[CS85]

http://deadspin.com/this-ones-for-all-the-cubs-fans-who-didnt-live-long-eno-1788530112?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[kroywen]

1 hour ago, CS85 said:

 

 

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

 

The sheer look of joy on his face as he was fielding that ball... I love seeing how much joy and enthusiasm so many of these great young players have when playing the game. Kris Bryant certainly has it, Lindor as well, guys like Trout and Harper and Machado, and of course, Jose Fernandez had that joy and zeal for the game in spades.

 

Baseball needs more players who clearly love the game, love playing, and aren't afraid to show it on the field. You're not going to attract young fans with a bunch of old stodgy players grousing about "unwritten rules."

[CS85]

 

[FinsUp1214]

You know you're watching a World Series game for the ages and something beyond historical when you feel every emotion under the sun, and feel it all over again after it's over. I'll never forget it.

 

As a neutral fan without a horse in the race, I felt all of the following after the final out:

 

1. Joy and exhilaration for the Cubs and their fans (my best friend and his father have been Cubs fans all their lives; we were texting last night and he told me he called his father right before the final out so they could experience it together and they both cried when it happened. You can't help but feel joy hearing that.)

 

2. Deeply sorry for the Indians and their fans and a wish to see them back winning next year so they can taste this (it's a series where it was a shame there had to be a loser. They are a tremendous team that I truly enjoyed watching and hope they and their fans get their shot again soon.)

 

3a. A general feeling of "WTH just happened?"

 

3b. ....followed immediately by a feeling of weirdness that, as a baseball fan, a large part of baseball lore in form of the Goat Curse is now gone - especially considering that as a whole, the mega droughts of the Red Sox, White Sox, and Cubs are now no more. So Indians, Rangers, and Astros it is, now? Weird, haha.

 

4. A feeling best put into the words "I freaking love baseball".

 

Congrats Cubs, glad I got to be a witness of history last night. Now just promise me you won't go the way of most Red Sox fans I know and get all suddenly entitled and just-as-bad-as-the-Yankees on us, okay?  

 

 

[Sodboy13]

I say this as lifelong Die Sox White Fan - er, whatever. That game had my heart racing, my nerves and edge, and had me genuinely worried for my Cubs friends. That was the greatest sporting event I have ever seen, and probably ever will see. I am so happy for the Cubs.

[CS85]

4 minutes ago, Sodboy13 said:

I say this as lifelong Die Sox White Fan - er, whatever. That game had my heart racing, my nerves and edge, and had me genuinely worried for my Cubs friends. That was the greatest sporting event I have ever seen, and probably ever will see. I am so happy for the Cubs.

 

Well said. 

 

----------

 

I wrote this up this morning for anyone interested in reading it.  A blog piece about my experience last night.

 

http://untakenblogurl.blogspot.com/2016/11/november-rain.html

 

 

[vicfurth]

On 10/29/2016 at 10:34 PM, SFGiants58 said:

 

You being a Rangers fan brings up a little nostalgia take...

 

The 2016 Indians are the second coming of the 2010 Giants. Timely hitting (that has a tendency to get explosive in big situations), studly pitching that shuts down offense-heavy juggernauts, and a closer who grew a beard in the second half of the season. Any team that reminds me of the 2010 Giants is a team worth supporting.

 

 

Ok, let's do a close reading on this...

 

Bold Point #1: The Indians are a 94-win team, one that has an amazing rotation and bullpen, efficient offense, and a remarkable consistency (never lost four or more consecutive games). They have also gone 68 years without winning the World Series, and 19 years without winning the AL pennant. They're plenty deserving.

 

Bold Point #2: The Warriors ruined it for themselves. They got complacent, key members of the team disappeared in important moments, and speaking as a Warriors fan, those 73 were not reflective of the team's quality (given how often they "phoned it in" throughout the regular season and playoffs). Lebron just had to be himself, and propel the guys around him to step up their game against a complacent group of guys.

 

Bold Point #3: There's no evidence of any cheating. I'd say they're winning it fairly, and that you're being bitter because they beat your 

On 10/30/2016 at 11:50 PM, Silent Wind of Doom said:

My cousin just sent me this.  Sorry, but it's one of those weird superstitious sports things and I can't help but share it.

 

 

[vicfurth]

Okay now I can reply. (Phone glitch)

 

Got to watch last night with good friends from Chicago-area. That was awesome for sure. Best I've seen in a long time. 

 

Go Cubs Go!

[chcarlson23]

Things we didn't have last time the Cubs won a World Series before last night

-Sliced Bread

-Color TV

-Band-aids

-FM Radio

Now the current list for things we don't have after the Cubs won the World Series

-Flying Cars

-Self-Tying shoes

-Dehydrated Pizza

[EvilChameleon]

So anyway, is game 8 tonight or tomorrow?

[CS85]

I may or not be weeping a bit here at my desk after watching this.

[kroywen]

I have never been so on-edge and nervous about a game that one of my teams wasn't even involved in. The closest thing would've been Super Bowl XLII, and that featured a team from my hometown (who I have nothing against) facing off against the undefeated archrivals of my Jets.

 

But after coming all this way, I really wanted to see the Cubs finally break the curse. I wanted to witness that history. I wanted Cubs fans to finally experience a title.

 

We are never, ever going to see anything remotely like this again. Perhaps the Lions or Browns winning a Super Bowl, but I think even that would elicit a different sensation from their respective fanbases (there's a certain romance to baseball that obviously isn't there in football, and those droughts aren't nearly as long).

[MJWalker45]

Things we also didn't have (1908) and no longer have (2016):

-Betamax

- Circuit City

-Blockbuster Bowl, Freedom Bowl, Bluebonnet Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl

- Long Beach State football

-ShowBiz restaurants (Pre-Chuck E Cheese fun)

- Montreal Expos

-The original North American Soccer League

- World League of American Football (NFLEurope/Europa), UFL, USFL and the SPFL

 

[Sport]

I can't stop thinking about that game. That'll be one of the best we ever see. I found myself cheering for runs for both teams. That's never happened to me before and probably won't again. I never ended up deciding who I wanted to win. I would've been equally happy for both fanbases and equally crushed for both fanbases. 

 

Baseball is such a tightrope walk between being in control and then even minor fundamentals becoming tough to execute. So much of it is played between the ears. Rajai Davis makes a couple bad defensive plays and then hits one of the all-time greatest home runs in the history of the game. Chapman blows the biggest save ever, is able to pull it together for 4 more outs. The Cubs scored six runs and all of a sudden were asked to score more, after a rain delay, after a soul-crushing home run. That's such a mental hurdle to overcome and the Cubs were able to find 2 more and they needed the two, one wouldn't have gotten it done. The Indians down to their last out still managed to squeeze another across. Carl Edwards Jr, 48th round draft pick, maybe the smallest dude in baseball is up there getting huge outs. The Indians were a blast away from winning it all. They wouldn't go away. 

 

There's no clock to run out, you have to kill your opponent. You have to end their life and Cleveland made that as difficult as possible. I didn't think Bryant was going to make the last out until it was in Rizzo's glove. I thought "how is this one not going to work for the Cubs?" 

 

I know our drought is brief compared to other teams, but I want to win one so badly. It looks like so much fun. 

[kroywen]

31 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

I know our drought is brief compared to other teams, but I want to win one so badly. It looks like so much fun. 

That may be true, but what matters most is whether you yourself have ever experienced a championship. A Reds fan who came of age after 1990 has been waiting for a championship just as long as a Cubs fan of a similar age. 

 

Take me - I'm a Jets fan. Sure, the Jets won the Super Bowl in 1969... a couple decades before I was born. So while the Browns, Lions, Eagles, Bills, etc., may all have longer droughts than the Jets, the reality is that I'm in the same boat as a 20-something fan of one of those teams. I'd love for the Jets to win a Super Bowl (or even just play in one). Super Bowl III makes for great franchise lore, but it's part of ancient history for me - not something I was a part of or got to experience myself. And that's ultimately what matters most.

[Sport]

2 minutes ago, kroywen said:

That may be true, but what matters most is whether you yourself have ever experienced a championship. A Reds fan who came of age after 1990 has been waiting for a championship just as long as a Cubs fan of a similar age. 

 

Take me - I'm a Jets fan. Sure, the Jets won the Super Bowl in 1969... a couple decades before I was born. So while the Browns, Lions, Eagles, Bills, etc., may all have longer droughts than the Jets, the reality is that I'm in the same boat as a 20-something fan of one of those teams. I'd love for the Jets to win a Super Bowl (or even just play in one). Super Bowl III makes for great franchise lore, but it's part of ancient history for me - not something I was a part of or got to experience myself. And that's ultimately what matters most.

Similar boat for me and the Reds. The Big Red Machine might as well be the Civil War for me. I was born in 1987 so I was 3 years old the last time my team won the World Series. I watched the games and I went to the celebration in Fountain Square with my dad, but I have no memory of it. If I'm 99 years old and they still haven't won another one then I'll be able to say they had one in my lifetime, but it'd be cool to experience one and actually understand the significance. 

 

If the Royals can do it, if the Cubs can do it then we can do it too. I'm optimistic. 

[FiddySicks]

That stretch of championships was a pretty strange one. The champs from 88-91 all are in the same line still for championship droughts. There are a few teams ahead of them, but almost all of them (other than Cleveland) fall into the "Haven't yet won one" category. If not for the Royals winning last season, the only series that would've messed up an even longer line was 1987. 

[CS85]

48 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

I know our drought is brief compared to other teams, but I want to win one so badly. It looks like so much fun. 

 

It is pretty amazing, and they all feel different.  

 

This one feels like it's bigger than sports.  At first it felt like pure joy, like a great weight of stress and anxiety was lifted.  Then it felt like stunned disbelief, like maybe I was in a waking dream.

 

This morning it feels like my childhood getting dredged up from the depths, and remembering some of the first games I watched and memories with my family.  Remembering all those times as a fan I crumbled in defeat.  Remembering hanging my Cubs hat and jersey up in the closet after they blew game 7 in 2003, tears streaming down my face.  Remembering the hollow feeling after 2007 and 2008 where so much hope was instantly smashed.  Remembering years of jeers and dismissal and doubt.  

 

While obviously the Cubs winning this one transcends sports, the feeling of triumph is exquisite.  It's a glow.  It's floaty.

 

This one in particular is so moving, as sports fandom is typically inherited, so to see those alive now weep with joy for those who are no longer alive to witness it, who they themselves owe their fandom to those deceased family members, is very powerful.  This is a moment of closure for many generations of fans who all look back on loved ones lost, wishing they were there to see it and share it together.  

 

It's amazing.  It's magical.