The MLB Thread

Football? Basketball? Baseball?... Dodgeball? All of that goes here.

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Buscemi
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

The Royals are in the World Series.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Oscar Taveras died earlier today. He was only 22.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11770 ... lled-crash
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Geezer
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Geezer »

Tragic. Kid had all the talent in the world.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. - The Dude

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Spectre
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Spectre »

Super sad. Dude was going to be a star. Can't imagine what his teammates are going through.

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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by W »

I just saw this. We dealt Allen Craig to make space for this kid and he's been compared to a young Pujols even though he only hit .239 this year. And he was the #3 ranked prospect heading into the year. What a loss in every way imaginable.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Too-Early 2015 Regular Season Predictions:

AL East
1. Baltimore
2. Toronto
3. Yankees
4. Boston
5. Tampa Bay

AL Central
1. Kansas City
2. Cleveland
3. Detroit
4. White Sox
5. Minnesota

AL West
1. Angels
2. Seattle
3. Texas
4. Houston
5. Oakland

Wild Cards: Seattle and Cleveland

NL East
1. Washington
2. Miami
3. Mets (I swear, this team could be a Wild Card contender if they'd only fire Terry Collins)
4. Atlanta
5. Philadelphia

NL Central
1. Pittsburgh
2. Cincinnati
3. St. Louis
4. Cubs
5. Milwaukee

NL West
1. Dodgers
2. San Francisco
3. San Diego
4. Arizona
5. Colorado

Wild Cards: Miami and Cincinnati

Of course, this will certainly change by Spring Training.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Wow, this thread's been dead (and I picked the Marlins to be a Wild Card team? Jeez.).

Anyway, I decided to have fun with another "what if" scenario. In 1993, Major League Baseball voted to realign to the divisions and expanded to the playoff berths from four to eight beginning in 1994 (of course, it didn't actually happen until 1995). Also in 1993, the Giants missed the playoffs despite winning 103 games as they lost their division on the last day of the season. So I came up with an idea: what if the realignment and playoff expansion had happened one year earlier? Thanks to the people at WhatIf? Sports, I took it to the test.

Note: the playoff seedings between 1995 and 1997 were predetermined and not based on record. I simulated this seeding as best as I could by referencing the 1996 seeding and assuming things would have been in a three-year cycle.

NLDS

(1) Atlanta (East champs)
(3) St. Louis (Central champs)

Games 1 & 2 @ St. Louis

Game 1: Atlanta 5, St. Louis 3
Game 2: St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3

Games 3, 4 & 5 @ Atlanta

Game 3: Atlanta 7, St. Louis 6
Game 4: St. Louis 7, Atlanta 4
Game 5: St. Louis 6, Atlanta 1

(2) San Francisco (West champs)
(4) Philadelphia (Wild Card)

Games 1 & 2 @ Philadelphia

Game 1: Philadelphia 13, San Francisco 3
Game 2: San Francisco 4, Philadelphia 1

Games 3 & 4 @ San Francisco

Game 3: Philadelphia 5, San Francisco 2
Game 4: Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 3 (10)

ALDS

(1) Chicago (Central champs)
(4) New York (Wild Card)

Games 1 & 2 @ New York

Game 1: New York 2, Chicago 0
Game 2: New York 6, Chicago 4

Games 3 & 4 @ Chicago

Game 3: Chicago 8, New York 5
Game 4: New York 11, Chicago 6

(2) Texas (West champs)
(3) Toronto (East champs)

Games 1 & 2 @ Toronto

Game 1: Toronto 7, Texas 4
Game 2: Texas 6, Toronto 3

Games 3, 4 @ Texas

Game 3: Texas 3, Toronto 0
Game 4: Texas 8, Toronto 6

NLCS

(4) Philadelphia
(3) St. Louis

Games 1 & 2 @ St. Louis

Game 1: Philadelphia 10, St. Louis 6
Game 2: Philadelphia 11, St. Louis 6

Games 3, 4 & 5 @ Philadelphia

Game 3: St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 0
Game 4: St. Louis 8, Philadelphia 5
Game 5: St. Louis 9, Philadelphia 8 (10)

Game 6 @ St. Louis

Game 6: St. Louis 10, Philadelphia 3

ALCS

(4) New York
(3) Texas

Games 1 & 2 @ Texas

Game 1: New York 12, Texas 4
Game 2: New York 23, Texas 1 (Pat Kelly goes 6 for 7 and hits for the cycle, something that has never happened in the postseason)

Games 3, 4 & 5 @ New York

Game 3: Texas 11, New York 9
Game 4: New York 7, Texas 4
Game 5: Texas 3, New York 1 (11)

Games 6 & 7 @ Texas

Game 6: Texas 6, New York 2
Game 7: New York 5, Texas 2

World Series

St. Louis @ New York

Games 1 & 2 @ New York

Game 1: New York 6, St. Louis 5
Game 2: New York 7, St. Louis 5

Games 3, 4 & 5 @ St. Louis

Game 3: New York 5, St. Louis 1
Game 4: St. Louis 15, New York 1
Game 5: St. Louis 6, New York 3

Games 6 & 7 @ New York

Game 6: St. Louis 5, New York 3
Game 7: New York 5, St. Louis 1

Now the actual 1993 World Series (Toronto vs. Philadelphia) was already known to be quite thrilling, with the 15-14 Game 3 and the Joe Carter home run in Game 6. But in this what if scenario, there would have a near Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS event. It's also funny that the 1994 film The Scout depicted a Yankees/Cardinals World Series happening one year later. But there was no Steve Nebraska pitching a super-perfect game though (Jimmy Key did have a rubber arm, going into the ninth in almost every game he pitched in the playoffs).
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Playoff predictions:

AL Wild Card: Astros beat Yankees, 8-2

NL Wild Card: Pirates beat Cubs, 2-1

ALDS: Royals defeat Astros, 3-1
Blue Jays defeat Rangers, 3-0

NLDS: Cardinals defeat Pirates, 3-2
Mets defeat Dodgers, 3-1

ALCS: Royals defeat Blue Jays, 4-2
NLCS: Mets defeat Cardinals, 4-2

World Series: Royals defeat Mets, 4-3
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

With the World Series now over, I'm going to do another too early prediction for 2016.

AL East
1. Yankees
2. Tampa Bay
3. Boston
4. Baltimore
5. Toronto

AL Central
1. Kansas City
2. Cleveland
3. Minnesota
4. Detroit
5. White Sox

AL West
1. Houston
2. Angels
3. Texas
4. Seattle
5. Oakland

NL East
1. Mets
2. Washington
3. Miami
4. Philadelphia
5. Atlanta

NL Central
1. Cubs
2. St. Louis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Milwaukee
5. Cincinnati

NL West
1. San Francisco
2. Dodgers
3. Arizona
4. San Diego
5. Colorado

AL Wild Cards: Cleveland and Tampa Bay
NL Wild Cards: Dodgers and St. Louis
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Latest simulation idea: what if the 1904 World Series had been played. Due to a dispute, the Series was never played and until 1994, this was the only year where there was no Series. But now thanks to What If Sports, it can be played.

How it will be done:
- the Best-of-9 format from 1903 will be used
- home field used a 3-4-2 system in 1903 so that will be the system used here
- as the AL opened the Series in 1903 and 1905, the NL team will open the Series in 1904

Games 1, 2, & 3 @ New York
Game 1: New York Giants 3, Boston Americans 0
Game 2: New York 13, Boston 4
Game 3: New York 5, Boston 1

Games 4, 5, 6, & 7 @ Boston
Game 4: Boston 9, New York 3
Game 5: Boston 8, New York 7
Game 6: Boston 1, New York 0
Game 7: New York 7, Boston 3

Game 8 @ New York
Game 8: New York 2, Boston 0

Your 1904 World Series champions, the New York Giants.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by W »

I just flew through Chicago to Vegas yesterday. Does Shryke keep all the money from the licensed "W" tee shirts, or should I get a cut?
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

W was the Cubs fan first, so I imagine it's his money.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

Anyone following the World Baseball Classic? It's been rather exciting thus far, with the Cinderella Israel team (and their Mensch on the Bench), South Korea laying an egg, the Dominican Republic basically fielding an All-Star team, and just now, Italy coming back from four runs down in the bottom of the ninth to win 10-9. Saturday night in Miami should be exciting, as a sellout crowd will see a possible preview for the final.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by W »

They just renewed my keeper league and the last few cuts were pretty hard. My six (we keep 3-6) are going to be:

Trout
Goldschmidt
Scherzer
Trea Turner
Marte
Schwarber

I'm letting go of:
Dozier
Hendricks
Chapman

I considered Dozier/Hendricks, but it looks like Yahoo is letting Schwarber keep his catcher eligibility. It puts him up there with the best without the off days/nearly as much wear. I'll probably deal Marte after the draft. I can't keep him again. I flipped Harper and Bumgarner for Goldschmidt and Scherzer last year for that reason.
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Re: The MLB Thread

Post by Buscemi »

I see the Schwarber hitting leadoff experiment backfiring. He's a guy you need hitting deep in the order (like sixth or seventh, though second would work too), a prototypical power hitter. Also, he shouldn't be playing defense and catcher is a difficult position (also, Contreras is the starting catcher). Personally, I see Schwarber as a Matt Stairs type: a useful pinch hitter that you can DH in interleague games. Of course, the Cubs want to get as much value as they can from him before they can trade him.
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