2013 Playoffs LATEST: "CARDS LOSE! CARDS LOSE!" Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Champions.

[pretendastronaut]

Reds at Pirates happening now.

[Baldkin]

Anyone but St Louis and Boston, please!

 

The Brewers out drew 4 playoff teams this season (Pittsburgh, Rays, Cleveland, Oakland) and finished virtually tied with another (Cincinnati).

[TURBO]

I'm going for the Pirates! If they get knocked out, I no longer care as long as it isn't the Cardinals, Reds or Red Sox.

[jjkoestler]

Bucs vs Tribe World Series please.

[chadomac]

A's vs. Pirates, I hope

[hawing]

The Reds-Pirates game caused me to have multiple flashbacks to Game 3 of the 2008 NLDS. They were generally positive flashbacks. I think most every fanbase should have an opportunity for a happy postseason experience at least once every 20-25 years, so I'm quite all right with Pittsburghers finally getting another chance.

 

When the Brewers are not in the postseason, I tend to side with infrequent postseason visitors and/or smaller markets. So for me a PIT-CLE Series would be awesome, and as a bonus it would probably dismay Joe Buck and the gang at FOX.

 

Mostly I'm in "Anyone But the Cardinals" mode (those of you who agree with this and tweet can find kindred spirits with the #ABtC hashtag). I also feel no need for Boston to have more success. A BOS-STL Series is one I'd largely ignore.

[jjkoestler]

I'm watching the Rays v Tribe game with my old man and he keeps asking "Why do all these other teams always seem to have good, young pitching and the Brewers don't have a damn thing?" I don't have an answer and it sucks.

[gypcasino]

I was just asking myself "why have the Tampa Bay Rays now been to the playoffs as many times as the Milwaukee Brewers have" and I was sad.

[torts]

LETS GO BUCS!!!

 

[MadScientist]

I'm watching the Rays v Tribe game with my old man and he keeps asking "Why do all these other teams always seem to have good, young pitching and the Brewers don't have a damn thing?" I don't have an answer and it sucks.

Thornburg?

Peralta?

[jjkoestler]

I'm watching the Rays v Tribe game with my old man and he keeps asking "Why do all these other teams always seem to have good, young pitching and the Brewers don't have a damn thing?" I don't have an answer and it sucks.

Thornburg?

Peralta?

 

I like Thornburg and Peralta, and I hope they have great careers for the Brewers, but they aren't on same level as Archer, Moore, or Cobb.

[rondoman]

Way to early to say that.

 

Also, Archer has been atrocious the last month or so.

[xisxisxis]

Go Cards!

[trwi7]

For a 90+ win team, this Braves team is just so unimpressive.

[JohnBriggs12]

For a 90+ win team, this Braves team is just so unimpressive.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. It's hard to imagine a team that was shutout 4 times in 6 games by the Brewers has a prayer against this Dodger staff. I guess it shows how weak the AL East really was that they managed 96 wins. I'm thinking Dodgers in 4 or 5.

[reillymcshane]

The Pirates seem to be getting the love in my house. 20+ years of pain makes them sympathetic.

 

I kind of hope it's Oakland and Pittsburgh.

 

No St. Louis. Cardinals are evil.

[trwi7]

Big bounce back by the Buccos and some alliteration as well.

[jerichoholicninja]

I really hate the way the playoffs are scheduled. Everyone should be on the same schedule so no one gets an advantage. Or at least in the same league.

 

It should be:

 

Mon: tie breaker games

Tue: both Wild Card games

Wed: all game 1's or all NL or all AL game 1's

[rondoman]

I really hate the way the playoffs are scheduled. Everyone should be on the same schedule so no one gets an advantage. Or at least in the same league.

 

It should be:

 

Mon: tie breaker games

Tue: both Wild Card games

Wed: all game 1's or all NL or all AL game 1's

 

That would have been horribly unfair to the Rays.

 

They play Sunday in Toronto, Monday tiebreaker in Texas, and then you want them to play Tuesday in Cleveland and Wednesday in Boston???

 

So 4 cities in 4 days?

 

Umm, no.

[rondoman]

What the heck was that?!?!?

 

Two outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd with Reed Johnson up for the Braves.

 

So.....

 

Don Mattingly then brings in a pitcher out of the pen to intentionally walk Reed Johnson which loads the bases for Jason Heyward?!

 

That was absolute horrible management.

[trwi7]

Yeah, I'll take my shot with a hard throwing Chris Withrow against an awful Jose Constanzo than put another runner on base and have Paco Rodriguez face Heyward. He completely screwed that up.

[rondoman]

From Dodgers blog:

 

But that 2-1 Dodger deficit turned much worse in the bottom of the seventh, when the Braves doubled their score. With runners on second and third base and two outs, down one run, manager Don Mattingly had this scenario:

 

Chris Withrow to face Jose Constanza, a journeyman 29-year old who hit .276/.332/.314 in Triple-A this season.

 

But Mattingly chose to go with southpaw Paco Rodriguez, who had been very effective for nearly the entire season before a September hiccup. Fredi Gonzalez countered with pinch-hitter Reed Johnson, a former Dodger who has hit .311/.366/.456 against left-handed pitchers in his career but just .291/.328/.345 this season.

 

Strangely, Mattingly had Johnson intentionally walked to face Jason Heyward, who has hit .232/.312/.377 in his career against lefties but improved to .264/.347/.455 in 2013.

 

No matter how many numbers we look at, this move didn't pass the eye test.

 

Mattingly intentionally walked Reed Johnson to get to Jason Heyward.

 

Say that out loud, and it just doesn't sound right.

 

Sure enough, Heyward singled up the middle against Rodriguez for a 4-1 Braves lead.

[jerichoholicninja]

I really hate the way the playoffs are scheduled. Everyone should be on the same schedule so no one gets an advantage. Or at least in the same league.

 

It should be:

 

Mon: tie breaker games

Tue: both Wild Card games

Wed: all game 1's or all NL or all AL game 1's

 

That would have been horribly unfair to the Rays.

 

They play Sunday in Toronto, Monday tiebreaker in Texas, and then you want them to play Tuesday in Cleveland and Wednesday in Boston???

 

So 4 cities in 4 days?

 

Umm, no.

 

Then win your division. The whole point of this new wildcard format is to make winning the division more important.

[trwi7]

Not really breaking news but C.B. Bucknor was terrible behind the plate last night in the Tigers/A's game.

[igor67]

I do look the wildcard format a lot now. Despite the playoff teams being pretty well known for a while no one took it easy in September. This format gives more teams a chance without going crazy and clearly rewards excellence in the regular season. A wildcard winning the World Series should be a once a decade occurrence.