2016 MLB Post Season Thread

[FiddySicks]

Speaking of that:

 

This one's for all the Cubs fans who didn't get a next year

 

 

I really hope they can find a way to make that wall permanent. 

 

[CubsFanBudMan]

That was fun.

[FinsUp1214]

14 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

Speaking of that:

 

This one's for all the Cubs fans who didn't get a next year

 

 

I really hope they can find a way to make that wall permanent. 

 

 

How could anyone not be moved by that? It's just wonderful. Baseball is beautiful.

[TrueYankee26]

We are all like:

 

[infrared41]

In an effort to cheer up my Indians fan friends, I posted this on Facebook. (Feel free to ridicule it...)

 

I've been following the Indians for a good 45 years. I was there for the abject misery of the 70's and 80's teams, the halcyon days of the 90's teams, and the resurgent '00's teams. Hell, I even kind of remember a little from the late 60's teams. In all those years with all those teams, I've never been as proud as I am of this Indians team.

Let's be honest, folks, our team went into this postseason with one and a half starting pitchers, a good bullpen, and a few good young players. We then proceeded to sweep the heavily favored Red Sox. We made quick work of the heavily favored Blue Jays and won the AL Pennant. Finally, we went toe to toe with the team that, by every measurable stat, was the best team in baseball. And it took that best team in baseball 7 games and one inning to beat us - but not before we scared the living hell out of them more than few times.

Sure, a lot of people will say this World Series loss is "typical Cleveland", but we know better. This wasn't the "drive" or "fumble" or any of the other one word descriptions of our sports misfortunes. This one was different. This one wasn't a "choke." This one was a glimpse of the future. And that future is very bright. Our Indians will be back...and soon. Count on it.

 

 

[The_Admiral]

The Indians reminded me of the 2003 Marlins where there were a lot of names you didn't know at the time but came to know them very well later on. Nothing is promised in baseball but this team won't fade away.

 

Speaking of no promises, FiveThirtyEight did it again!

[infrared41]

3 minutes ago, the admiral said:

The Indians reminded me of the 2003 Marlins

 

The Indians remind me of the 2014 Royals. That's why I think the Tribe will be back to finish the job next season. Well that, and it's no fun to think otherwise.

 

FiveThirtyEight is quickly becoming Nate Aluminum's batting average - which is great if you're playing in a softball league. .538 isn't so good when you hang your hat on your ability to read polling numbers and predict outcomes. 

[Cujo]

Just woke up in this alternate universe, in which the Cubs are actually World Champions.

 

Cloud nine, baby!

 

[VDizzle12]

19 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

The Indians remind me of the 2014 Royals. That's why I think the Tribe will be back to finish the job next season. Well that, and it's no fun to think otherwise.

 

FiveThirtyEight is quickly becoming Nate Aluminum's batting average - which is great if you're playing in a softball league. .538 isn't so good when you hang your hat on your ability to read polling numbers and predict outcomes. 

 

I don't see the Indians lineup overachieving again in 2017. The starting rotation of Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar, Tomlin and Bauer should be fine. But unless they want to add a few bats, i'd expect a return to .500 baseball. That's why the Indians HAD to win last night, because they are built to make the playoffs every 3-5 years.

[CS85]

 

[The_Admiral]

Over 40 million viewers last night, the most since the Braves-Twins 10-innings Game 7 in '91.

[MJWalker45]

39 minutes ago, VDizzle12 said:

 

I don't see the Indians lineup overachieving again in 2017. The starting rotation of Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar, Tomlin and Bauer should be fine. But unless they want to add a few bats, i'd expect a return to .500 baseball. That's why the Indians HAD to win last night, because they are built to make the playoffs every 3-5 years.

This is what I said this morning. When Kluber, Lindor and a few others reach the end of their current deals they'll be snagged by the Dodgers, yankees and Cubs who can afford to overpay them, not just pay above what Cleveland offers. We could still make the playoffs next year but unless the stars align as well as they did this year I'm not sure we'll see Progressive and Quicken Loans treating fans to a double dip possibility next October. I absolutely hope I'm wrong, but it's just the pessimist in me that sees the same thing that happened after 1997.

[chcarlson23]

55 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Over 40 million viewers last night, the most since the Braves-Twins 10-innings Game 7 in '91.

#MAKEBASEBALLFUNAGAIN

(#MISSIONCOMPLETE???) 

[CS85]

 

 

 

[Silent Wind of Doom]

7 hours ago, jrodsep said:

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. 

 

It's incredible.  The Big Three franchises/markets now all have their titles.

 

6 hours 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.

 

Hey!  I was making that joke 40 pages ago!

 

Seriously, though, it's the same thing that started about ten years earlier in New York.  I still have my ticket to my first game in 1995: $36 for field level seats that in 2008 were $200 in advance and $300 day of game.  I spent the last half of last season sitting in a half-empty Stadium while the "fans" who swarmed in because it was cool and outpriced the real fans gave up on the season and stopped going, the same unknowledgable bandwagon fans who became what everyone in the nation now believe to be "the Yankee fan".  It's just like Kroywen said.

 

6 hours ago, kroywen said:

Winning can breed quite a bit of entitlement and arrogance within certain corners of a fanbase...

 

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.

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier: Red Sox fans became douches, Cardinals fans started calling themselves the center of the baseball world, and the Giants started thinking they'd win every other year.  Winning changes a team and a fanbase.  There was a lot of Cubs hate coming into the NLCS in anticipation of this happening.  I'm really happy to see that when it finally happened, people seemed to put all that aside and just bask in the glory.  We'll see if it lasts.

 

6 hours ago, infrared41 said:

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

 

Hopefully they'll be the Royals and not the Rangers... unless they have to go through us, that is.  

 

I have a feeling if we end up together in that situation next year, you're going to be a lot less gracious if you lose.

 

3 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

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

 

 

How 'bout Blockbuster?  XD

[infrared41]

14 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

I have a feeling if we end up together in that situation next year, you're going to be a lot less gracious if you lose.

 

Nope. I'll be exactly as gracious as I am this year. Anyone that knows me around will tell you that, win or lose, I do my best to keep things in the proper perspective. That's not to say that if someone is acting like an ass-hole I'll sit there and take it, but short of that, I don't get too carried away one way or the other.  

[Silent Wind of Doom]

3 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

Nope. I'll be exactly as gracious as I am this year. Anyone that knows me around will tell you that, win or lose, I do my best to keep things in the proper perspective. That's not to say that if someone is acting like an ass-hole I'll sit there and take it, but short of that, I don't get too carried away one way or the other.  

 

Huh.  Not to say you'd be a jerk, but I figured there was going to be a lot less of the "I'm so glaaaaad for you, guuuuuys" attitude if it was the Yanks.  XD

[infrared41]

2 hours ago, VDizzle12 said:

 

I don't see the Indians lineup overachieving again in 2017. The starting rotation of Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar, Tomlin and Bauer should be fine. But unless they want to add a few bats, i'd expect a return to .500 baseball. That's why the Indians HAD to win last night, because they are built to make the playoffs every 3-5 years.

You seem to have ignored the part where I said...

 

Quote

"Well that, and it's no fun to think otherwise."  

 

I wasn't making a prediction, I was being optimistic. 

[infrared41]

1 minute ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

 

Huh.  Not to say you'd be a jerk, but I figured there was going to be a lot less of the "I'm so glaaaaad for you, guuuuuys" attitude if it was the Yanks.  XD

 

Oh, I can assure you there won't be any of that with the Yankees. But I won't be a jerk about it either.

 

Also, I don't recall saying anything even close to "I'm so glaaaaaad for you guuuuuuuys." Sure, I'm happy for Cubs fans, but if you think I would have had a problem with ripping their hearts out by winning last night, you're sorely mistaken. 

[SFGiants58]

25 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

I'll repeat what I said earlier: Red Sox fans became douches, Cardinals fans started calling themselves the center of the baseball world, and the Giants started thinking they'd win every other year.  Winning changes a team and a fanbase.  There was a lot of Cubs hate coming into the NLCS in anticipation of this happening.  I'm really happy to see that when it finally happened, people seemed to put all that aside and just bask in the glory.  We'll see if it lasts.

 

The bandwagoners made that a meme, one the team's marketing department capitalized on, much to my chagrin. For older fans (like myself), the whole "Even Year Bulls**t" thing was pretty tiresome this year and last, seeing it all over the internet, sports talk radio, etc. I also thought it had the effect of demeaning the team's accomplishments, like they only won through some lucky confluence instead of their own abilities. I know this makes me sound like a bad fan, but I felt a little bit of relief when the Cubs eliminated the Giants because it killed the EYBS meme.

 

Here, you also see how winning changes a fanbase. It inspires some members of said fanbase to prove themselves as "true" fans as opposed to bandwagoners. Winning can also alienate some pre-winning fans.