Championship Series Update: Intriguingly Close

 
I've been away for the last few days, so I haven't had a chance to do consistent posts on either of these Championship Series. They've been good games, but...it's still very hard for series' with these four teams to be entirely interesting. It's 3 of the teams from last year and the other team won 3 years ago. You can go 'ooooh, this team put up over 10 points', or 'oooh, this game's going to extras again', but without new and different teams, it only really pulls you in so much. 

The Sox-Astros series has been close in the sense that the series is tied, both teams have traded wins, and the strengths and weaknesses of both teams are showcased in both outcomes. The Astros' usual suspects will go to work, then their pitching will get beat up. The Sox will blow a lead, then pummel the heck out of Houston. I'm not sure which one of these is the winner yet, though both morally and quality-wise I am pulling for the Sox. A.) cause screw the Astros, and B.) because they actually have done work to get here. Plus, the Astros have actually been reprimanded successfully. Alex Cora may have been reprimanded, but I don't believe he's doing as much of the old shit as the Astros are. It's very interesting that the Sox are doing well again once Cora has been put back at the helm, but...better him than the Astros, I guess.

Dodgers-Braves is a lot more interesting. The games are closer, the teams are more evenly matched, there's more chance for true heroes. The first two games have ended in walkoffs, first by Austin Riley and then by Eddie Rosario. It's come down to pitching, and bullpen efficiency, and who can break through first, so it's more strategic than the other one, which is just 'HIT TONS OF HOMERS'. Also, more likable teams. I like the Braves, I like the Dodgers. I like that the Braves are winning after 2, even though most Braves fans are hesitant to be excited yet. Hey, the Sixers were winning after 2, and the sun shines on Atlanta sports more than it does Philly sports. You guys will be fine.

[remembers how far up the Falcons were in the Super Bowl]. Yeah. Fine.

I'm still pulling for a Braves-Sox series, and I hope tonight's Boston-set ALCS run pushes us towards that outcome. Especially the Sox. I can not have the Astros win another one.

Division Series: Check, Please

 

With a matchup this damned tight, it was always going to come down to a photo finish.

The Dodgers and Giants, the whole season, were so evenly matched that just calling them a wild card and a division leader did them both a disservice. The Dodgers may have won the wild card, but they still won 100 games. The Giants may have had the best record in the West, but they co-owned that division with LA. It's the kind of tight finish that is probably going to lead to Rob Manfred expanding the playoffs next year, for similar cases that won't be as deserving as this one [it's the equivalent of the Oscars making a Best Animated Feature category to appease fans of Chicken Run, and giving it to Shrek]. 

So, Giants-Dodgers coming down to a battle of pitchers, a battle of 1-run moves, and a single check swing? Yeah. That makes sense.

I was honestly rooting for the Giants, as they had the longer playoff drought and had the better regular season, but the Dodgers always felt like they could win anyway by force of payroll and roster. Their biggest indicator of status this season came when Trevor Bauer was suspended and the Dodgers just shrugged their shoulders and traded for Max Scherzer, like nothing had even happened. They can rebound from things that would wound a normal team, like coming in second, or being in elimination position at the hand of the best team in the NL. The odds are gonna be stacked in their favor, so bringing out Julio Urias and Max Scherzer in later innings is just...something the Dodgers can just do. They're the best, they can do these things.

And regardless of whether or not Flores checked his swing, which...I honestly think the umps did him dirty on, the Giants had lost the momentum, and were about to quietly lose a tense, close game to the Dodgers. Something like the Flores move puts an exclamation point on the game, and the season, sort of like Willie McCovey missing the catch in '62. It's not just a loss, we were robbed! And it's how Giants fans operate. Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer, can't you see the stats? Willie Mays is the greatest, Hank who? They see the exclamation point and disregard the truth. The truth is that the Dodgers were never going to be stopped, because they're the Dodgers. 

Dodgers-Braves, unless I'm mistaken, is gonna end similarly. The Dodgers have all the cheat codes, the Braves are now missing another outfielder. I want to be wrong, I want the Braves to upset and make it to a World Series for the first time in 22 years...but the Dodgers have so much on their side right now.

In a very boring postseason schematic, Braves-Sox is the only hope of something fairly interesting. I don't know if that's what we're gonna get, but...wouldn't it be cool?

Division Series' Day 6: Clarity and Thickening

 This was, unfortunately, bound to happen.

As the Red Sox-Rays game was balanced enough to amount for an upset...the Astros were always going to be better than the White Sox. The difference between Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa is that Baker is going the same direction the Astros are, and is driving them further even despite cheating accusations and things like that. LaRussa is holding the White Sox back, and driving them in separate directions. And the sad part is, LaRussa has a very good chance of keeping his job this offseason, because the Sox don't realize he's a problem yet, or enough of a problem that requires replacing. 

The Astros did their thing, the whole gang was beating up Carlos Rodon and friends. Martin Maldonado joined Altuve, Bregman, Brantley and the rest in bringing the margin over 10 and making it possible for anyone other than Gavin Sheets to get anything done for the Sox. The once-mighty White Sox season ended with a whimper, setting up a Red Sox-Astros ALCS that is not one of the more interesting matchups we had this year.

As for the Sox...they gave it their all.Even without Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert most of the season, they still powered through, with an excellent rotation, some great unsung heroes throughout [Andrew Vaughn being chief among them]. They also proved that they can be a contender after a 2020 season that let a lot of false contenders into the playoffs. I really hope they can strike back in 2022 and climb further than they did this year.

Meanwhile, the Braves similarly clobbered a thought-to-be-impenetrable pitching staff, taking Eric Lauer and the bullpen for a ride, and making this a very close, very tense game, with great work on both sides, Brewers getting RBIs, Braves fighting through. If it wasn't for Freddie Freeman, we'd be going to Game 5, but Freeman got the better of Josh Hader, who just had a pretty awful postseason overall I think, and Will Smith got through the ninth without tanking himself. The Braves came into some insane momentum in September and have been riding it ever since, which should make it very interesting for whoever wins in SF Thursday night.

As for the Brewers...I really thought this was their year. The pitching looked so damn good this year that I really thought they'd get through Atlanta and be a serious favorite for the World Series. Alas, that was not the case, and heroes like Christian Yelich, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff struggled in the heat of things this week. Next season should also be a big year for them, but I foresee tight competition between them, the Cardinals and the Reds. They'll need Yelich fully back to really make a statement. 

The only team to force a Game 5 yesterday were the Dodgers, who railed against Anthony Desclafani, with big moments from Trea Turner, Mookie Betts and Will Smith. As intimidating as the Giants have looked this year, the Dodgers may be just as good, with enough punch and big players to account for some major chaos. Walker Buehler, even on short rest, was still incredible on the mound, adding another piece of evidence for his Cy Young case. Game 5 may come down to Julio Urias and Logan Webb, and it may just be a battle of which youngster will make a mistake first. And who will capitalize the most.

Excited for Thursday. Sox-Astros seems kinda simple, but this NLCS has the potential to be wild. 

Division Series' Day 5: Startling Developments

 The Red Sox-Rays series was, undoubtedly, one of the most tense upsets I've seen in a while. Because as the Sox annihilated the Rays, they never stayed down, and always fought back to the point where you figured they could take the lead at any second. And yet the Sox always had another trick up their sleeve, like Christian Vazquez hitting a homer or Enrique Hernandez's contact olympics. 

So watching last night's game once again go down to a tie and almost go to extras felt like the next logical step. Of course the Rays aren't done, not with Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena playing like this. But...again, it came down to Kiké Hernandez putting it where they ain't, the runner advanced, the Sox were in, and the four seed just obliterated the one seed.

Honestly, I'm here for it. I have no idea why I've been so prone to root for Boston in this, maybe because they're less of an alpha than Tampa, but it was satisfying seeing the unsung heroes of the Sox rail down on the young, likable kids of the Rays. I don't know what this means for whoever wins the other series, but I doubt that one's gonna be any easier for Boston.

Meanwhile, I genuinely thought the Rays were going to another World Series this year. I'd resigned myself to it and everything. Once Shane McClanahan had the strong game 1, and Shane Baz had the strong first few innings of Game 2, I just assumed the rest of the series would go the same way. And then the Sox found it, turned things around, and pummeled this team in Boston, for the fans. 

I don't think this loss is gonna change much of the hierarchy in the AL East. I still expect the Rays to do well next year, though the ownership and control issues will eventually hinder them somewhere down the line. It'll be fun to see what Baz and Franco do in full seasons, and it'll be great to see Vidal Brujan finally come into his own. 

As for the NL series'..

The Braves being the first team here to 2 wins is not something I called, especially as the Brewers were looking like a under-the-radar World Series pick in the NL. And the Brewers' pitching did seem to look like the x factor here. But for the second game in a row, the Braves' lineup has been able to get through it, with Joc Pederson getting through Adrian Houser for the sole runs of the game. It was down to people like Ian Anderson and Adam Duvall to just keep setting the Brewers off balance and riding it out til the end.

The Braves are in position to advance today at home, which I did not see coming. Let's see if the Brewers still have some life left, or if the Braves' September momentum is gonna push them all the way.

Much like the Braves-Brewers game, the Dodgers-Giants series came down to just one RBI, and it was one little home run from Evan Longoria, but the rest of the game hinged on stellar defense and pitching. Max Scherzer, regardless of the run, still had 10 Ks in 7 innings, an astonishing start for the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer. Alex Wood just needed four and a half strong innings on the mound before the bullpen, and Camilo Doval, could do the rest. And the Dodgers' lineup would have done something if not for the LA winds, and Brandon Crawford's leaping catch.

The Giants are in position to advance, but the Dodgers have the home crowd, and possibly Walker Buehler, on their side. 

Three more win-or-die games today. Should be interesting. 

Division Series' Day 4: Rising Sox

 

So, uh...wild playoff day overall.

Not only did Rays-Sox Game 3 go to extras, but it all came down to a controversial ground rule double that wounded the Rays and allowed the Red Sox to come back and win it. It was a game of heroes and villains- Nick Pivetta had an incredible night in long relief during the extras, and you had more big moments from Wander Franco, Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena. Christian Vazquez, who's been hot all season, walked off in the 13th, the Sox are going into Game 4 at home leading, and despite the outcry for people defending the Rays and lambasting the umps, the Rays are going into a win-or-die situation after being the best team in the AL during the regular season.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but go Sox. Strike down the inevitable. 

speaking of striking down the inevitable...

Man...the White Sox needed that win last night, and they made it a great one, absolutely annihilating the Astros pitching staff. It was an all star cast of RBI guys, including Tim Anderson, Andrew Vaughn, Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Leury Garcia, one of the unsung heroes of the team who had a 4-RBI day including a home run. 

Now, Ryan Tepera seems to be indicating that the Astros are still stealing signs, and were doing so during the first two games in Houston, which...of course they were. You don't reprimand this team enough for cheating, and they're going to cheat more. How else do you explain why Chris Brown still has clout? So if Tepera is to be believed, the White Sox are doing well at home because the Astros don't have the sign-stealing tell on the road. So...if this series goes to Game 5, which I seriously want it to, all eyes are going to need to be on the Astros. Cause if they win, it's going to be very suspicious, as it usually is.

But also...if the White Sox are giving their all to win, and a team that's cheating comes in and clobbers them...it's not gonna look good for small-ball baseball, or Rob Manfred. So...I'm not expecting anything to really be done about this, because of the aristocracy of the MLB, but it really would be nice if somebody did something about it before a potential Game 5. 

Anyway, super happy about the White Sox winning last night, hope they can do it again tonight. 

All four series play tonight. Two of them are win-or-die games, the other two are tied. Fun stuff, man.

Divison Series' Day 3: THAT's How You Build Tension

 

See, Astros? 3 out of 4 of the playoff series' are currently tied. Three out of four of the teams that won Game 1 gave the other team a chance by, well, being NOT AS GOOD during the second game. So maybe you should think about this today in Chicago. The White Sox maybe want to win a game too, you know?

Anyway. The Braves evened things up in Milwaukee behind Max Fried, who somehow had the stronger performance over Brandon Woodruff, who had the better regular season. Meanwhile, big moments came from the usual heroes like Austin Riley, Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies. Even Eddie Rosario is hitting relatively well so far this postseason, recapturing his power numbers from his peak Twins years. Heading to Atlanta tomorrow night, things are looking even and exciting, and it could go either way at this point.

Meanwhile, contrary to the assumption, Kevin Gausman managed to give up several more runs than Logan Webb did. I was thinking going into the series that Gausman should have started Game 1, but Webb was clearly hotter than Gausman lately, and the Giants knew that. The turning point of the game came thanks to Cody Bellinger, clearly not to 2019 levels but still willing to annihilate the ball here and there, with an RBI double that opened up the game. From there the Dodgers kept pounding until it was 9-1, and the bullpen that was so ironclad in the wild card game struck back, with Joe Kelly, Corey Knebel, Brusdar Graterol and Phil Bickford having great nights in support of Julio Urias, who had an RBI himself this show.

Heading back to LA, this one could also go either way. I am more worried about how the home crowd may affect the Giants than the Brewers, but some wild things are gonna happen tomorrow night either way.

ALDS Game 3s today. Go White Sox. Please. 

Playoffs Day 2: Intriguing Trends and Also Some BS

Okay, most disappointing outcome first. The Astros are up 2-0 on the White Sox, thanks to a barrage of new figures including Chas McCormick, and have managed to get past Lance Lynn AND Lucas Giolito. This is not good at all, especially considering that the red-hot Astros only need one more win to advance, and the White Sox just aren't very formidable. Again, this White Sox team have spent the year looking really good, and being the far-and-away leaders of the AL Central, so for them to look so effete now is kinda sad. 

Tomorrow is the do-or-die game for Chicago, and while they will be home, the odds are no longer on their side. It's going to be very difficult to beat the Astros now, and I hope they have some energy left to at least win Game 3. 

Meanwhile, Game 1 of Brewers-Braves went kind of exactly the way I figured- a pitching battle. I knew Corbin Burnes would be on for a while, but Charlie Morton held his own as well, putting in a really nice start despite giving up a 2-run shot to Rowdy Tellez, finally having some nice postseason numbers [just not with Toronto]. The Brewers looked really good yesterday, and I'm still thinking they're the favorite here, despite some solid stuff from the Braves as well. Today is Fried v. Woodruff, and the former is known for giving up more runs than the latter.

Game 2 in Tampa was nice because it permeated the expectations set by the Astros series. Yes, Game 1 may have been a Rays blowout, but after the Luplow grand slam, the Sox got the best of the Rays' bullpen, beating up on Michael Wacha and friends and giving big moments to Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez. It's much more exciting if the lower seed in a playoff series puts up a fight, and evening the series on the way to two more games in Boston is a nice turn of events. Again, it'd be very cool if the Sox somehow upset the Rays, even if...it's not looking like anyone in the AL will be worth rooting for for me..

The biggest statement of the night might have been Logan Webb absolutely silencing the Dodgers in San Francisco, all while Kris Bryant, Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford kept him warm. As awesome as the Dodgers have been this season, the Giants have always been one step ahead, and having Bryant along for the ride as the team shifts into October mode for the first time under Gabe Kapler is a little scary, especially for the Dodgers. I do think there's still a lot left for LA to do, but it's going to be an uphill battle for them, especially with Gausman on the hill tonight.

Keep up the good work. Hoping for the Brewers and Giants to keep it going and avoid a complete playoff cycle repeat from 2020.