Wild Card Series' Day 3: Wrap-Ups and Intrigue

The Braves beating the Reds was an outcome I had predicted, but not so mercilessly.

This was a series of two pitching battles, with great work from Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, Max Fried and Luis Castillo, and while the Reds had the better starters arguably, the Braves did what the Reds couldn't- they had their offense show up. And this time, it came in the form of Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna. Three members of this team's core. And it proved that the Braves are a playoff team, and are ready for just about anything.

They play the winner of the Cubs-Marlins matchup which won't be decided until tomorrow or Saturday. I think they're gonna be very tough to beat.

As for the Reds...this was a fun playoff team, and a great team as usual to root for, but...in a playoff scenario with a lot of teams better than them, this was sadly bound to happen.

I love this team, I love Castillo and Bauer, and I love the youth slowly being ingratiated into the core of the team, and I really hope they can improve for 2021, because...it's much more fun when they're competitive. 

In a series where literally whichever team won would be rooted for in a series against Houston, a surprisingly sharp Oakland team tied it in Game 2 and won Game 3 against a hydra-esque White Sox team, ensuring that no AL Central teams would make it to the next rung of the playoffs, which is kind of heartbreaking considering how tough that division looked this year.

Olson, Pinder and Canha, the usual suspects, pulled off a nice win over the Sox, and ensured a date with the Astros for the ALDS. I...really...REALLY hope the A's can beat Houston. It would make my day. Hell, maybe they can head to a World Series as well. 

The White Sox should not be ashamed of their season, they made it further than most people thought, and despite a drop from 1st in August, they hit their way into the playoffs with a phenomenal lineup. They just didn't have as much going for them as Oakland, even with Jimenez surging. I'll be hoping for an improvement next year, perhaps with a stronger bullpen.

Just when I was fearing an early exit from these guys, the Padres' bats woke up, Myers, Machado and Tatis beat down on the Cardinals' bullpen, and the series was tied. Even if the Padres are running out of suitable starters, I'm still hoping they sneak a win out of the Cardinals. Yes, this means they'll have to play the Dodgers [or the Brewers but probably the Dodgers], but it's a better outcome than the Cardinals winning yet another playoff series.

All of y'all saying Kershaw's a bad postseason pitcher can shut up now. Clayton Kershaw absolutely owned the Milwaukee Brewers, shutting them out in 8 innings with 13 strikeouts and only 3 hits, then left it to Brusdar Graterol to close it out. Yes, Austin Barnes and Mookie Betts helped, but this was Kershaw's game to own, and he cemented more of his own legend. 

The Dodgers will play either the Cardinals or Padres. Either way, a great series to be had.

As for the Brewers, the team that snuck into the playoffs and then had to face the biggest, baddest team of them all...they did what they could. But they really didn't have it this year, and I think they knew it. Next year, with Lorenzo Cain back and a full-capacity Yelich, maybe they'll top this performance. I hope they do.

Tomorrow, hopefully we put a cap on at least one more series. And then we ease our way into Division Series' and make this one even more real. 

Wild Card Series' Day 2: A Heaping Platter of Baseball

...damn you Manfred. 

Can you believe it, an MLB commissioner that won't actually punish a cheating team, aside from like...executives and shit. The Astros, in a normal year, would sit out the playoffs, but Manfred HAD to insist on an 8-team playoff circuit, so that SOMEHOW the Astros would just be the 8th-worst team in the AL, therefore the 8th best, and weasel its way in.

And then they beat the Twins, an actual good team, in the playoffs and because it's a 3 game series, the Astros somehow wind up in the next stage of the playoffs. Manfred could have made it Top 6 with a team getting a bye in the second round, but he had to do this and continue to reward the team he's supposed to be punishing.

...It shouldn't be this simple for the Astros to make the playoffs. They were under .500 this season, a lot of their core underperformed, and they were technically a bad team...and yet they got momentum and kicked the Twins' ass for two games, and now they get to move on. Kyle Tucker and George Springer play amazingly, and they're deeper into it.

I...I....ah god...

And the thing is...the Twins weren't a bad team this year. They ended up 1st in the AL Central despite trailing Chicago and Cleveland for most of September, overcame injuries to Josh Donaldson and Jake Odorizzi and rode on awesome seasons from Kenta Maeda and Byron Buxton. But...this team had nowhere near the amount of firepower as the 2019 team, and they knew it. The Twins may have won the division, but the White Sox were the best team in that division this year, and their playoff numbers show it. 

It's still sad to see them go this early, as they had some promise, and deserved it more than Houston, but...you know...BS rules..

 Anyway, happier news. After a 13-inning game, and some of the best material of Trevor Bauer's career, Freddie Freeman got to Amir Garrett and walked off for the Braves. It was the kind of outcome I saw coming [Cincy has the better pitching, but Atlanta's the better clutch team], but it was still cool to see Freeman do it. Tomorrow will be interesting, because I want the Reds to stay in it, but I also know how unbeatable the Braves seem this year.

In terms of David-Goliath battles, the Miami Marlins won a playoff game against the 1st place Chicago Cubs. Sandy Alcantara pitched a better game than Kyle Hendricks. Jesus Aguilar and Corey Dickerson had RBIs. This is a phenomenal statement from one of the most unlikely playoff teams in the bunch. I'm not saying they're the best team out there right now, but they might be the most dangerous. 

As a response to Lucas Giolito's gem yesterday, Chris Bassitt sprung into action for Oakland, allowing only 1 run over 7 innings with 5 strikeouts. Tommy La Stella, Marcus Semien and Khris Davis helped him out with run support, and despite some White Sox batters getting to Liam Hendriks late, the A's stayed alive to play one more game. Exciting to see who wins this series, as these are two likable teams and I really don't want to lose either of them.

Meanwhile, the 1 seeded Rays continued to bring out more surprises, including a second consecutive run-scoring showing for Randy Arozarena, the guy the Cardinals traded to Tampa along with Jose Martinez, who's now got a lot more starting time and is coming into his own. Arozarena had 3 hits today, including 2 doubles, and is having a very promising postseason. Also, your standard guys like Tyler Glasnow, Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe impressed for Tampa as well. 

And as for the team they beat...

Look...as cool as it was to watch this team get hot, this outcome was kind of inevitable. The Jays were fun, and young, and scrappy, but they were never gonna be better than the Rays, and...thanks to subpar starts from Matt Shoemaker and Hyun-Jin Ryu, never really got going. It'll be fun to see the second act next year, and how they recover from the pitching woes of the second half.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals rallied behind the old-timers like Yadier Molina, Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter, and let Kwang-Hyun Kim stay on for a bit, to beat the Padres. If you know me, you know I'm not exactly rooting for the Cardinals, and the Padres are the more fun team in this scenario. But...the Cardinals have been known to do better in the postseason, and have more momentum, it seems...and more pitching. Tomorrow the Padres are starting Zach Davies, and hopefully he'll keep runs down.

Well...it was close, but thanks to some late heroics from DJ LeMahieu and GARY SANCHEZ OF ALL PEOPLE, the Yankees squeezed past the Indians to move onto the next round and play the Rays. This is still a flawed team that let too many runs go by, but we still out hit the most dangerous clutch team in baseball, and we should be proud of that. I have no idea how the Rays series is gonna go, and I'm very worried considering our track record against Tampa this year, but I'm happy we won against Cleveland.

And even if they didn't advance, the Indians fought. They fought until the last out, and they kept putting more runs on the board. Josh Naylor was playing beautifully, Cesar Hernandez and Jose Ramirez were solid, Carlos Carrasco was a steady starter this game, and this was still a good team that just got beat out by a slightly better one. I do think they have a future next year if they keep the right people around.

And finally, this guy led a barrage of old postseason heroes for the Dodgers, including Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Walker Buehler, in shutting down the Brewers for Game 1. AJ Pollock, Will Smith and Mookie Betts had the big RBIs, Seager had a homer, Buehler pitched well enough [Arcia homer notwithstanding], and the team looked pretty great polishing off a solid 1-8 bracket matchup. I hope their luck continues, and I hope they continue to look this nice this postseason.

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: The 2008 Sunset Seasons

 

Continuing with my chronicle of all the 2008 Topps cards that Topps never bothered to make, we go to a few players who finished their careers in 2008 and never got recognition from the baseball card magnate from it. 

So, uh...remember when Richie Season was one of the most powerful hitters in baseball?

The dude had 262 home runs from 1999 until 2006, making a name for himself as a premier masher in Milwaukee before spending an injury-plagued season in Arizona, then coming to Seattle in 2005 for another stellar year. By 2008, his numbers were dwindling, he was only hitting .212 for the Ms, and they decided to release him in July. The Yankees, in the pre-Tex-era, needed a steady 1st baseman, and got a month's worth of production from Sexson, where he hit .250 in 22 games with his last home run. Not a huge departure, but enough that Upper Deck would make a card of it in their 2009 set. But not Topps. 

Shannon Stewart, one of the more intriguing contact performers of the 2000s, was coming off a season in Oakland, where he hit .290 with 167 hits and 48 RBIs, not a bad 2007 for anybody. So Stewart's old team, the Toronto Blue Jays, signed him to a one year deal in the hopes that he'd continue his 2007 numbers, or even replicate his .300 seasons in the early 2000s. At this point, Stewart was 34, and had just passed his prime years, and so his .240 average and 14 RBIs in 52 games was a bit lower than expected. The Jays released him in August, and that was the end of the road for the speedster. Like Sexson, Upper Deck produced a card of him in 2009.

Going back to New York's search for a corner infielder in Jason Giambi's injury-induced absence, the team signed Morgan Ensberg to a minor league deal in Spring Training of 2008. Morgan Ensberg, for those of you unaware, hit 36 home runs in 2005 for the Astros, and 101 RBIs, but...the insane production was limited to that year, and his numbers were pedestrian every other year. Ensberg was traded to San Diego in July of 2007, and was non-tendered, therefore the Yanks could give him a shot. In 28 games with the Bombers, Ensberg hit .203 with 4 RBIs and 1 home run. A far cry from 2008. The Yanks released him.

The interesting thing is that Ensberg does technically have a sunset card in 2008, as the Cleveland Indians would sign Ensberg not long after the Yankees cut him, but Ensberg would not play a single game with Cleveland, making him the second Cleveland Indian from 2008 I have covered in this series that got a card in Update without playing a single game to warrant it. And you wonder why Topps has so many gaps.

Like Ensberg, Toby Hall is another figure of the mid-2000s that most people have forgotten about. Hall was the starting catcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2002 until 2006, was a pretty impressive defensive catcher with the occasional contact hit. In 2006, he was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline, which is when Topps stopped caring about him, and from 2007 to 2008 he was the backup catcher to A.J. Pierzynski in Chicago. 2008 wasn't a bad year for him, as he hit .260 in 40 games with 7 RBI, and was used primarily as a defensive substitution. He was actually signed to a deal with Houston for 2009, but Houston voided the deal, perhaps due to a physical issue. 

I can't think of many...stranger careers than that of Esteban Loaiza. Guy peaks at 30 after toiling in obscurity for 10 years, nabs 21 wins and a strikeout title with the White Sox and nearly wins a Cy Young, losing to some guy from Toronto named Roy somethingorother. After the 2003 season, Loaiza bounced between teams like a pinball, winding up as a midseason pickup for the Yankees in 2004 [I saw him start a game at the Stadium!] , started for Washington and Oakland, and played for two straight Dodgers teams. In 2008, Loaiza was used mostly in relief, but did start 3 games. He left LA with a 5.63 ERA and 7 Ks. He'd pitch in Chicago, but that was less documented. And then...after he retires, he has a messy divorce and a cocaine bust, and we don't hear much from him anymore. 

Wish this post ended on a lighter note, but those are the 5 sunset cards I've got today. Topps should have made these, but they didn't, so I had to. 

Wild Card Series' Day 1: Color Me Shocked

 

Not even an impressive start from Kenta Maeda could keep the true villains of the MLB at bay, with George Springer, Framber Valdez, Michael Brantley and even noted villain Jose Altuve attacking the Twins' bullpen late to score a victory in Game 1. I am devoutly rooting for Minnesota in this series, solely because I want good things for baseball, but I'd really hate for the Twins' momentum to wear off right when they're playing an under .500 team in the playoffs. Hopefully tomorrow, and Jose Berrios, will bring better luck. 

Meanwhile, I had to watch this guy work for a few innings, and though the perfect game bid ended in inning 7, his stuff today was NASTY. So many confusing pitches that the A's couldn't make heads nor tails of, and so many solid innings of work. It did take some bullpen assistance to put them over the top, but the White Sox looked unbeatable against one of the best teams in baseball, and I absolutely love to see it.

The token 8-1 bracket in the playoffs has known to be kind of predictable, and when your 1 seed is the Tampa Bay Rays, you kind of get what you pay for. Especially when you're dealing with a matchup between on-target Blake Snell and Matt Shoemaker during a down year. Snell was flawless today, with 9 strikeouts over 5.2 innings, and no earned runs. Not exactly shocked that Snell has become a good postseason arm, and hopefully the luck will continue for Tampa.

And...then there's this guy, who completely shut down the Indians tonight with 13 strikeouts, gave another in a long line of stellar performances, and watched as Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, Brett Gardner and Gio Urshela aided in making a big opening victory over Cleveland for Game 1. It's an astonishing statement from a team that was beginning to peter out, and it was fun to watch. Tomorrow, with a lesser pitcher against the same lineup, it'll be interesting to see the contrast.

Tomorrow, some NL matches, and some more fun.

The Best of the Rest: 2020

 I figured it'd be easier to do a Non-Contenders Superlatives post this year, seeing as it's a shorter season and there's less teams to talk about, but there's also less time to actively gauge a lot of these teams' story. In another season, maybe a few of these teams could have made the playoffs. In another season, six more teams would be joining them. 

So while it's always fun to write one of these posts, there's still this sort of curve to it, like 'am I doing this right', or 'am I accounting for the right arc', or 'is this accurate'. Because while 2020 is gonna go down as a wild season, probably due to these playoffs...it may not be as accurate as a full 162-game season. And that needs to be taken into account.

Still...these are the 14 teams that didn't make the playoffs, and these are their superlatives. 

Most Likely to Succeed, According to the Sportswriters in December: Texas Rangers

Best Team That Peaked Too Early: Colorado Rockies

Best Team That Peaked Too Late: Seattle Mariners

Team That Didn't Even Begin to Give The Idea That They'd Be Good In the First Place: Pittsburgh Pirates

Best Squanderer of Hopes Their Fans Had in 2019: Second year in a row this goes to the defending World Series champs, the Washington Nationals

Most Willing to Settle: Philadelphia Phillies

Best Pitching Staff for a Team That Didn't Make the Playoffs: Kansas City Royals [I'm as shocked as you are]

Worst Pitching: Boston Red Sox

Best Farm System [Comprised of Other People's]: Seattle Mariners

Biggest Anticlimax: San Francisco Giants

Team That Should, By All Means, Be Good Yet Somehow Isn't: Los Angeles Angels

Most Anonymous Youth Movement: Detroit Tigers. Who the heck ARE most of these guys?

Most Depressing Team to Talk About Every Few Weeks: Pittsburgh Pirates

Most Comically-Timed Injuries: Arizona Diamondbacks

Most Fun Last Place Team: Kansas City Royals

Best Youth Movement: Baltimore Orioles

Best Youth Movement [That Needs Another Few Years To Adjust to the Majors]: Detroit Tigers

Team That Has No Idea What it Wants: [sigh] New York Mets

Most Likely to Not End Up on This List Next Year: Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants

So, those were my 2020 superlatives. Not as fun with 6 teams missing, but hopefully the 2021 version will be a little fuller. 

The Playoff Team I Did Not Expect

 I was readying my 'Best of the Rest' post, moving the Phillies in, and keeping the Brewers in, as I assumed they would miss out due to the Cardinals series. Because of how disappointing the offense has felt to me this year, the Brewers didn't seem to me like they'd be a playoff team, and I was expecting the Giants to land the last spot.

Well...they didn't. And for the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers figured out a way to sneak into the playoffs. 

Which means that for the first time in...at least some time [I wanna say ever but I'm not Tim Kurkjian], two teams under .500 will be in the playoffs. The Astros and the Brewers. And in a normal year, that's a stat we wouldn't have to worry about. Thanks to the expanded playoffs, the Brewers are a playoff team. Merry Christmas, Milwaukee!

The thing is...as okay as this team's core has been, and as middling as the stars like Yelich, Hiura, Braun and Sogard have been...this team has heated up since September began. First of all, somehow THIS is the team that Dan Vogelbach starts hitting for, and he's at .345 with 11 RBIs and 4 homers with Milwaukee [all I can say is thank god he didn't heat up in Toronto]. You also have late standouts like Jacob Nottingham, Jedd Gyorko and Eric Yardley coming into vogue.

And plus, the unlikely Cy Young case of Corbin Burnes has been solidified, as he's been playing with a 2.11 ERA with 88 strikeouts. Granted, he's recently hit the DL, so I'm not sure if he'll be available for upcoming playoff starts, but...they have Brandon Woodruff, Brett Anderson and Adrian Houser, so they'll be alright, I think.

Again, it's gonna be very difficult for the Brewers to get by, as they'll be playing the first-seeded Dodgers, but, as the Nats learned last year, all it takes is the right momentum and you can get by the most difficult of opponents.

Coming Tomorrow- Best of the Rest post, and...maybe eventually a Predicting the Playoffs post? Contemplating whether or not I wanna do one, as these playoffs will be particularly hard to predict. 

Glory Jays

 It's been 4 years, and I can say, with all honesty, that I no longer hate the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yes, for two straight years the Jays were the bane of my existence, deciding for two straight years in mid-June that they were playoff contenders and then just waltzing to the ALCS without much of a reason otherwise. Seeing people like Jose Bautista, Michael Saunders, Justin Smoak, Russell Martin and Roberto Osuna victorious on a regular basis stirred up a hatred in me that hadn't existed since the 2011 NLDS took out Ryan Howard's achilles. 

So, this modern incarnation of the Blue Jays, starring veterans like Randal Grichuk, Taijuan Walker and Matt Shoemaker as well as young guys like Vlad Jr., Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal, isn't quite as infuriating as the 2015-2016 teams.

...however.

Seeing these guys creep up over the last month or so, nearly usurp the Yankees in the standings and still take wins away from us was...still pretty infuriating. This youth movement took a year or two to fully form and turn into a playoff team. That...only usually happens in the Bronx, so it still catches me off guard. And this sort of team, where even guys like Danny Jansen, Travis Shaw and Jonathan Davis can be heroes, is...scary going into the postseason.

And yet I'm not entirely worried, because...the pitching isn't great. Robbie Ray, Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, Chase Anderson and Matt Shoemaker aren't as reliable starting options as you might think. Yes, Taijuan Walker and Hyun-Jin Ryu certainly are, but neither have been without some human moments. The bullpen has some intriguing pieces, but also some, like Shun Yamaguchi, who could give up crucial runs in this series.

So...as much as I do want to be worried of a potential Jays all-out-war playoff season this year...I have to think realistically, and say...maybe they'll win a series...but I don't think they're a World Series team.

...this is the kind of thing that usually ends up being wrong on this blog. So I really hope it's not.

Coming Tonight: The last playoff team, probably sliding right into the final spot by the grace of Gabe Kapler, led by a first baseman having his best season in years.