2019 MLB Postseason thread

[McCarthy 11,071]

The road team winning all 7 games is wild. It's kind of hard to wrap my head around. 7 games and the home fans left unhappy after all of them. In fact, I thought the Nationals were toast after game 5 because "no series ever sees the road team win every game." I'm glad the Astros didn't win because even though I like most of their players, and their win in 2017 put literal G's in my bank account, the front office seems like a bunch of aholes and I'm glad that guy got fired. 

 

Seems like the theme in sports in recent years is what used to be pretty hard "Rules" keep getting upended. Rules like "you don't come back from 3-1 deficits in the finals", "the Cubs will never win the World Series", the "home teams win game 7's in the finals every time", - That was true of every game 7 in the 3 sports for like 30 years. The last 4 baseball game 7's have been won by the visitors, the Blues won game 7 in Boston, the Bruins won game 7 in Vancouver, the Cavs won game 7 in Oakland. When was the last time the home team won game 7 in a finals? The Lakers over the Celtics? 

 

 

and if the Astros don't win another World Series with this roster they're officially the A's of the late 80's/early 90's or the Mid 90's Braves. Take your pick. 

 

[Maroon 342]

Congrats to the Nationals. A truly great new chapter added to the long story of baseball in Washington that has mostly been littered with disappointment. Had nothing against the Astros, but couldn't help but feel like the right team came out with the championship. On to the offseason!

[tp49 860]

8 hours ago, the admiral said:

That's all ours. Asians don't get this drunk...

I lived and worked in China for about a year and have extensively traveled East Asia.  I walked by a KTV bar daily on my way home from work and there were always several businessmen passed out on the sidewalk.  If you don't drink with them they don't trust you.  Ganbei!

 

2 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Also, alcoholism in East Asia is pretty rampant in places. They’re good at drinking, it’s just that it’s more “hush-hush” than white folk boozing.

This...very much this.  

[tp49 860]

12 hours ago, rainmaker17 said:

The arrogance of the Astro organization and it's fan base has been out of control for weeks here.  Many thought it would be a laughable sweep and I actually saw Championship shirts for sale HOURS before game seven started.  Guess they can cancel that parade.

I went to Game 1 of the ALCS their arrogance was palpable and something I'd expect to see in places like Boston.  I still had fun though.  Stadium pretty much emptied out after the 7th inning stretch.  As a Yankee fan I was happy to see the Nationals do what the Yankees couldn't.  Now to go listen to "Baby Shark" on a loop.

[Jake3.roo 345]

The one thing I don't like about the Astros losing is that people are doubting their legitimacy as a real dynasty. They might not quite be there yet, but they can get there, even with only one ring. The playoffs are structured not to give the best team the trophy, but to give the team with a solid core of pitchers and a hot streak the trophy. Credit is due to the Nationals for their persistence and absolute awesomeness, but if you're going to declare that the late-2010s Astros aren't a dynasty because of one Howie Kendrick swing, then you're an idiot.

 

I compare that kind of logic to people who think that LeBron is worse than Kobe because he's 3-6 in the finals. That's another debate, sure. But the Astros, with 3 straight 100+ win seasons and deep playoff runs, especially if they continue this for the next few years, which I believe they will.

 

I have the same issue with people who don't care as much about the Dodgers' 7 straight division titles and 90-win seasons and would rather call them chokers because they earned 2 NL pennants but no world series wins.

 

TL;DR: I hate when people define teams or players based on their performance in the playoffs, which is a small sample size and a terrible way to judge a team's excellence.

[dont care 3,657]

12 minutes ago, tp49 said:

I lived and worked in China for about a year and have extensively traveled East Asia.  I walked by a KTV bar daily on my way home from work and there were always several businessmen passed out on the sidewalk.  If you don't drink with them they don't trust you.  Ganbei!

 

This...very much this.  

If they are passed out then they aren’t good at drinking. The white man will instead black out and then that’s when truly crazy stuff happens

[dont care 3,657]

6 minutes ago, Jake3.roo said:

The one thing I don't like about the Astros losing is that people are doubting their legitimacy as a real dynasty. They might not quite be there yet, but they can get there, even with only one ring. The playoffs are structured not to give the best team the trophy, but to give the team with a solid core of pitchers and a hot streak the trophy. Credit is due to the Nationals for their persistence and absolute awesomeness, but if you're going to declare that the late-2010s Astros aren't a dynasty because of one Howie Kendrick swing, then you're an idiot.

 

I compare that kind of logic to people who think that LeBron is worse than Kobe because he's 3-6 in the finals. That's another debate, sure. But the Astros, with 3 straight 100+ win seasons and deep playoff runs, especially if they continue this for the next few years, which I believe they will.

 

I have the same issue with people who don't care as much about the Dodgers' 7 straight division titles and 90-win seasons and would rather call them chokers because they earned 2 NL pennants but no world series wins.

 

TL;DR: I hate when people define teams or players based on their performance in the playoffs, which is a small sample size and a terrible way to judge a team's excellence.

Regular seasons don’t matter. They are just a means to the end. It’s the playoffs that start pressure filled situations that people judged. It’s like the difference between doing your every day job vs when you present your final product. No one cares how good or how much work you put in to that point if when it comes down to the presentation you become a nervous bumbling idiot that’s the way you’ll be perceived.

[tp49 860]

4 minutes ago, Jake3.roo said:

The one thing I don't like about the Astros losing is that people are doubting their legitimacy as a real dynasty. They might not quite be there yet, but they can get there, even with only one ring. The playoffs are structured not to give the best team the trophy, but to give the team with a solid core of pitchers and a hot streak the trophy. Credit is due to the Nationals for their persistence and absolute awesomeness, but if you're going to declare that the late-2010s Astros aren't a dynasty because of one Howie Kendrick swing, then you're an idiot.

 

I compare that kind of logic to people who think that LeBron is worse than Kobe because he's 3-6 in the finals. That's another debate, sure. But the Astros, with 3 straight 100+ win seasons and deep playoff runs, especially if they continue this for the next few years, which I believe they will.

 

I have the same issue with people who don't care as much about the Dodgers' 7 straight division titles and 90-win seasons and would rather call them chokers because they earned 2 NL pennants but no world series wins.

 

TL;DR: I hate when people define teams or players based on their performance in the playoffs, which is a small sample size and a terrible way to judge a team's excellence.

I disagree.  If you want to be considered a dynasty then there has to be multiple championships involved.  The Astros simply don't have that.  I'd have zero problem declaring that the late 2010's Astros are not a dynasty.  One ring does not equal a dynasty especially when people debate whether the early 2010's Giants aren't a dynasty because they didn't win their three rings in consecutive years.

 

I also don't care about the Dodgers' seven straight division titles because much like the late 80's A's and the mid 90's Braves (who at least one one ring each) they can't win when it counts.

[Bucfan56 8,828]

Nice work, Nats. 

 

 

[ltjets21 316]

Is this the first time two different franchises in the same city have won a championship? I guess the Colts and the Ravens both won in Baltimore but I dont remember hearing as many Colt references when they pulled it off.  I suppose you could say the same about the Mets and Giants but yet again although I wasn't around I felt like it was more about the Mets than the city of New York. Last night I felt like they kept talking about the Senators even though there was a long baseball hiatus in Washington when nobody even was around in 1924 and there are barely any surviving original Senators fans.

[Utilis 28]

1 hour ago, Bucfan56 said:

Nice work, Nats. 

 

 

 

Is it me or is the Commissioner's Trophy ridiculously easy to damage? Seems like it gets broken a lot.

[TrueYankee26 452]

UrinatingTree with a Congrats Nationals video 

 

 

[AustinFomBoston 246]

10 hours ago, Utilis said:

 

Is it me or is the Commissioner's Trophy ridiculously easy to damage? Seems like it gets broken a lot.

It was always one of my least favorite of the 4 sports because of how thin & fragile it is. Of course it's going to break with all those thin tall flags around it. 

 

Has any team ever not broken at least 1 flag off it?   

[speedy 145]

22 hours ago, McCarthy said:

The road team winning all 7 games is wild. It's kind of hard to wrap my head around. 7 games and the home fans left unhappy after all of them. In fact, I thought the Nationals were toast after game 5 because "no series ever sees the road team win every game." I'm glad the Astros didn't win because even though I like most of their players, and their win in 2017 put literal G's in my bank account, the front office seems like a bunch of aholes and I'm glad that guy got fired. 

 

Seems like the theme in sports in recent years is what used to be pretty hard "Rules" keep getting upended. Rules like "you don't come back from 3-1 deficits in the finals", "the Cubs will never win the World Series", the "home teams win game 7's in the finals every time", - That was true of every game 7 in the 3 sports for like 30 years. The last 4 baseball game 7's have been won by the visitors, the Blues won game 7 in Boston, the Bruins won game 7 in Vancouver, the Cavs won game 7 in Oakland. When was the last time the home team won game 7 in a finals? The Lakers over the Celtics? 

 

 

and if the Astros don't win another World Series with this roster they're officially the A's of the late 80's/early 90's or the Mid 90's Braves. Take your pick. 

 

 

I saw a tweet along the lines of "I really feel bad for the home crowds this world series and then I remembered they can afford world series tickets and I no longer feel bad." Good stuff.

[McCarthy 11,071]

12 hours ago, Utilis said:

 

Is it me or is the Commissioner's Trophy ridiculously easy to damage? Seems like it gets broken a lot.

 

Among the many reasons it's a bad design, it gets broken in the post game party pretty much every year.

[the admiral 20,932]

It's too late now but baseball needed something with the heft of the Stanley Cup. 162 games and the longest-running cultural institution of any American sports final, and all they hand you is a wiry little paperweight. There are college football rivalry trophies called like The Big Old Log Shoe or whatever the that would feel more substantial than the Commissioner's Trophy.

[McCarthy 11,071]

I liked it better when all the flags waved in the same direction  because that's how wind works. 

 

They were right to lose the stuff in the middle when they redesigned it. 

 

The Larry O'Brien has its flaws, but it's at least made up of 3 large pieces that make up a recognizable piece of modern art. The Lombardi is nothing. It's a football on a pedestal. 

 

I'd rank them like this

1. Stanley Cup

2. Larry O'brien

3. Lombardi

4. Commissioner's trophy. 

 

 

The NL and AL trophies are so unheralded it's tough to find pictures of them. Also they've changed often over the years. 

[dont care 3,657]

1 hour ago, McCarthy said:

The NL and AL trophies are so unheralded it's tough to find pictures of them. Also they've changed often over the years. 

 

The current ones are just pennants on a pedestal. I liked it better when they were the individual league logos on a base. Atleast then you could tell what league you won without having the read it. Same with the AFC and NFC conference trophies the hollow football blows compared to the old design.

[Dolphins Dynasty 1,963]

On 10/31/2019 at 2:29 PM, tp49 said:

Now to go listen to "Baby Shark" on a loop.

 

I've been hearing about that around the Nationals. What's the big deal? Is it another meme the Gen Z kids made up?

[Tracy Jordan 747]

On 10/31/2019 at 4:50 PM, Utilis said:

 

Is it me or is the Commissioner's Trophy ridiculously easy to damage? Seems like it gets broken a lot.