MLB Postseason and World Series thread

[BJBerthiaume]

The Twins simply need some hitters that can get it done in the postseason. The difference between the Twins and Yankees is that the Yankees have clutch hitters and the Twins don't. Guys like Hudson, Kubel, Cuddyer, and even Mauer are fine for getting you to the postseason, but they aren't going to win any playoff games for you. The pitching for the Twins was fine. They did what they needed to do in games 1 and 2 to put the Twins in a position to win the game, but the hitters just didn't follow through. It's as simple as that. Span, Thome, Kubel, Valencia, Hardy. They all stranded baserunners in clutch situations. Guys like Granderson, Posada, Teixeira, and Berkman all pulled through for the Yankees. That was the difference of the series. Until the Twins get some clutch hitters, and some fiery players, they won't win a postseason series. The good thing is I think Valencia can be one of those types of players in the upcoming years, as well as Ben Revere. But Hudson, Hardy, and Kubel, etc. aren't those types of players. I would be fine letting either Hudson or Hardy go, and I would like for the Twins to trade Kubel for a middle infielder. The bullpen will be fine, keep Fuentes, get rid of Guerrier and Mijares, and move one of our starters (Blackburn preferably) to the bullpen. Another veteran starter wouldn't hurt, either. But that's my take on the Twins, and until they get some fiery, clutch players, I don't expect them to win anytime soon in the playoffs.

[Jimmy!]

Yeah, and you know what, the Twins are sick of continually not making a World Series out of their lemons. (First time that's ever been said, by the way.)

So what did they do? Went out and got Hardy, Hudson, Thome, and a bunch of other dudes to try and get that World Series. What I don't think most fans realize is how hard it is to put together and coach a team that wins championships, and trust me, the Twins aren't trying as hard as they can to win division titles, they're trying as hard as they can to win World Series'.

We've been spoiled with all the recent playoff trips, a title will come, just be patient. Ask any Red Sox fan.

Really? Minnesota has won titles in '87 and '91 and you're comparing yourself to a Red Sox fan? Take the pulse of the average Pirates, Royals, Rangers, and Mariners fan, then go back and re-read what you just wrote.

Asinine.

[WJMorris3]

Yeah, and you know what, the Twins are sick of continually not making a World Series out of their lemons. (First time that's ever been said, by the way.)

So what did they do? Went out and got Hardy, Hudson, Thome, and a bunch of other dudes to try and get that World Series. What I don't think most fans realize is how hard it is to put together and coach a team that wins championships, and trust me, the Twins aren't trying as hard as they can to win division titles, they're trying as hard as they can to win World Series'.

We've been spoiled with all the recent playoff trips, a title will come, just be patient. Ask any Red Sox fan.

Really? Minnesota has won titles in '87 and '91 and you're comparing yourself to a Red Sox fan? Take the pulse of the average Pirates, Royals, Rangers, and Mariners fan, then go back and re-read what you just wrote.

Asinine.

How can you compare the suffering of the Red Sox fans to the suffering of Rangers fans. After all, the Rangers have never lost World Series games.

[BBTV]

Yeah, and you know what, the Twins are sick of continually not making a World Series out of their lemons. (First time that's ever been said, by the way.)

So what did they do? Went out and got Hardy, Hudson, Thome, and a bunch of other dudes to try and get that World Series. What I don't think most fans realize is how hard it is to put together and coach a team that wins championships, and trust me, the Twins aren't trying as hard as they can to win division titles, they're trying as hard as they can to win World Series'.

We've been spoiled with all the recent playoff trips, a title will come, just be patient. Ask any Red Sox fan.

Really? Minnesota has won titles in '87 and '91 and you're comparing yourself to a Red Sox fan? Take the pulse of the average Pirates, Royals, Rangers, and Mariners fan, then go back and re-read what you just wrote.

Asinine.

Asinine is pretty harsh. Any Twins fan who is 25-years old or less hasn't really seen anything, so what's the difference between them and a 25-year old Red Sox fan in 2004? The Phillies won a WS in 1980, when I was 3. To me, they might as well have never one one in their 125-year history up until 2008. All I saw was losers and a front office that cried about being a "small market" team.

To any 25 year old or younger fan,

[TopCat]

I was talking about being patient, as in how Red Sox fans had to wait 80-some years between championships. Jeez, I hate when people flip a tit about the suffering of being a fan of a :censored:ty sports team when someone who's a fan of a good team says anything about the playoffs. Root for someone else if you hate it so much.

[FiddySicks]

If the Giants are gonna take this series, they HAVE to win today. Atlanta looks like a hot mess so far, and the Giants STILL can't score runs to save lives.

[BBTV]

I was talking about being patient, as in how Red Sox fans had to wait 80-some years between championships. Jeez, I hate when people flip a tit about the suffering of being a fan of a :censored:ty sports team when someone who's a fan of a good team says anything about the playoffs. Root for someone else if you hate it so much.

Maybe 100 of them did. The rest of them waited their age minus around 8. Not to repeat my post above, but I'm going to essentially repeat my post above. It's kind of cool to be another brick in the wall of fans who have seen failures, and the whole story of the losing string adds intrigue to the series, and there is certainly a "historic" element to the whole thing which is pretty cool, but in reality, to the individual fan, it's not any different whether the team you root for last won the year before you can remember, or 100 years before you can remember.

[TopCat]

Bleh, nevermind. I'll just sound dumber than I am, and I'm pretty dumb.

But fair points. Although I really wasn't trying to say Red Sox fans as individuals have been waiting 80+ years, but more like the fanbase as a whole has been waiting 80+ years. W/e I don't know what I'm trying to say.

[gingerbreadmann]

I was talking about being patient, as in how Red Sox fans had to wait 80-some years between championships. Jeez, I hate when people flip a tit about the suffering of being a fan of a :censored:ty sports team when someone who's a fan of a good team says anything about the playoffs. Root for someone else if you hate it so much.

Maybe 100 of them did. The rest of them waited their age minus around 8. Not to repeat my post above, but I'm going to essentially repeat my post above. It's kind of cool to be another brick in the wall of fans who have seen failures, and the whole story of the losing string adds intrigue to the series, and there is certainly a "historic" element to the whole thing which is pretty cool, but in reality, to the individual fan, it's not any different whether the team you root for last won the year before you can remember, or 100 years before you can remember.

I half-agree. It's not like I had to wait 86 years, or 50, or even 25. To me, 2003 was the lowest of all lows and that's when I finally understood at a personal level the year-to-year pessimism of everyone as to whether the Sox could ever actually win (I remembered 1999 well, but that was not even close to the same level). So if you want, you could say that I only "suffered" one year since that's pretty much how long I truly, honestly, was resigned to the "reality" of the curse. However, in that one year I completely changed as a fan. I say that because the historic aspect definitely rubs off on younger fans. Read this beautiful article -- I can tell you that that was really happening all across the region. It was so much more than just a championship, even though most people hadn't even "suffered" through half of the curse. Maybe it has to be such an 80-plus-year drought where basically no living fan has seen a title to have this effect, but the curse definitely, even for me as a pre-teen, affected how I saw that championship in every conceivable aspect.

I don't know if I would have felt that way had I not experienced 2003, but it's not as cut-and-dry as you make it seem. That said, TopCat wasn't even trying to compare it to the Red Sox situation, so I don't know why we're arguing about it. No one is comparing it to the Phillies or the Red Sox or the White Sox. And I agree, TopCat, that patience will help and odds are that the Twinkies win eventually, but that doesn't mean you can take an eventual title for granted. It might take a change or two in some places to go the extra distance. That doesn't mean that the Twins need to replace all their "non-clutch" players like Joe Mauer, because that will only guarantee a last-place finish. It might take a new manager just to satisfy people who think total overhaul is necessary. But, bottom line, the playoffs are an utter crapshoot and most of the time it doesn't work out but at some point things will go your way. Hopefully, it won't take 86 years (or 100+).

[LocalVulture]

Botchy can't manage under pressure worth :censored:.

[NJTank]

Looks like the Phillies will have a bye to the World Series if this keeps up.

[Punch]

Oh, Brooks Conrad. First a failed bunt attempt in the 8th and now a potential game-costing error.

The Giants are my official bandwagon team for the rest of the 2010 playoffs.

EDIT - Conrad has 3 errors today? Oh, my.

[Drew22]

Brooks Conrad, you're such a scrub.

[Dexter Morgan]

Oh, Brooks Conrad. First a failed bunt attempt in the 8th and now a potential game-costing error.

The Giants are my official bandwagon team for the rest of the 2010 playoffs.

EDIT - Conrad has 3 errors today? Oh, my.

I hope your new sig works out as well for the NY team as your old one did.

GO YANKEES! GO JETS!

[Punch]

Oh, Brooks Conrad. First a failed bunt attempt in the 8th and now a potential game-costing error.

The Giants are my official bandwagon team for the rest of the 2010 playoffs.

EDIT - Conrad has 3 errors today? Oh, my.

I hope your new sig works out as well for the NY team as your old one did.

GO YANKEES! GO JETS!

Ehh, I'm not as emotionally attached to the Vikings as I was the Twins. The Jets can win the Super Bowl, I don't care.

GO WOLVES!! GO WILD!!!

[TFoA]

Brooks Conrad, you're such a scrub.

Pretty much. All of the clutch moves that he made during the regular season have basically been flushed down the toilet ever since he became an everyday player. Granted, he really shouldn't be in that position to begin with due to injuries (The Braves basically have a patchwork defense out there at this point.), but come on. He has been AWFUL defensively, and this was the brown icing on the turd cake.

Can't put all the blame on him, though. Sanchez pitched a gem, & the Braves were looking like they did against Lincecum at times. Yet & still, they had a chance to win & blew it. I really shouldn't be this disappointed considering this is all I expected out of the Braves this year, but come onnnnnnn.

[BBTV]

Never really looked at the Reds home uniform until now.

I know that everyone wants to know my thoughts, so here they are:

1. The black is fine, they just need to use it consistently. Lose the white outline around the numbers, and just have the black against the red, like it is in the logo.

2. The front numbers aren't really necessary. There's something about the combo of the piping and numbers that just doesn't seem right to me. There's nothing really wrong with the numbers being there, but I think the jersey would be better with either the piping and no numbers, or numbers and no piping.

3. The number font certainly isn't bad, it just doesn't seem necessary. A regular Yankees-ish block, or even their old block, would be fine. If they want to keep the fancy numbers (again, nothing really wrong with them), they should really use standard block for the NOBs.

That's all.

Go Phils.

[Punch]

Double post.

[NJTank]

With all their injuries the Braves may be one of the worst teams ever to play in the postseason. The fact they made it this far is a great credit to their Hall of Fame Manager.

[Audiodrama]

With all their injuries the Braves may be one of the worst teams ever to play in the postseason. The fact they made it this far is a great credit to their Hall of Fame Manager.

One of the worst teams ever in the postseason? Come on, man. That's a little harsh. They were three outs away from taking a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. One of the worst teams ever would be incapable of getting that close.