The Official MLB Playoff Wild Card Round Up Blog
This is a blog about MLB playoffs. Today is the 2nd day of the Wild Card series. Here's the schedule (all times central):
Tigers (1-0) @ Astros - 1:32pm
Royals (1-0) @ Orioles - 3:38pm
Mets (1-0) @ Brewers - 6:38pm
Braves @ Padres (1-0) - 7:38pm
Yesterday's Scores:
Some light observations:
- People are mad MLB let 4 games crossover so heavily and I agree. But I also concede that their hands are tied with sponsors and weather and honestly I have really no fucking clue how you overlap the first day of playoffs so badly. Three games at once followed by a west coast night game is borderline gross negligence. Possibly even reckless. Today should be better with Mets pushed back 2 hours into the 6:38pm time slot.
- One Small Thing To Bitch About: I would like the games staggered AL/NL vs. having the two AL games then two NL games. Just saying that would be a nice balance and really that's it. I said up front it's a small thing.
- One Big Thing To Consider: It took until the 2nd batter of the 4th game for the MLB postseason to see its first homerun. Here's the video but I must first say that I smell a dead ball October
I think there's a chance Rob changed out the balls to accomplish some basic goals with casual fans: games under 3 hours, late inning drama and probably most important according to Theo Epstein's think tank - Starting Pitcher storylines.
That's not conjecture. Theo ran a study (or something to that effect) that effectively laid out the most effective growth opportunities for MLB to build a better product. They wanted to see more balls in play, less strikeouts, faster games, etc. So we got a pitch clock no shifting and bigger bases.
Another recommendation was bringing back the marquee starting pitching match ups for playoffs and that means you have to build up the starting pitching storylines. I don't need to go full blown looney bin conspiracy here, but I have a hunch we see a lot of 7-inning master pieces. I have a hunch scoring will be at a minimum and the Mets play in the NLCS in the same way I had a hunch Chris Sale wasn't done in 2023.
Anyways, long story short is we like October unders.
Michael King was OUTSTANDING last night and Hubbs talked about it here:
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And again, I wasn't intending to diminish starting pitcher postseason efficacy when speculating about dead balls. I'm merely pointing out the possibility as it's aligned with a lot of MLB's positions right now with the general public.
That said, Michael King was fucking NASTY last night. Dead balls. Bowling balls. Whiffle balls. The whole thing was in play.
Nice little strut around the mound by the way. We like that a lot. Not a huge strut - but subtle. That's the sweet spot.
A Mets/Tigers World Series would be maybe the most unlikely/improbable scenario in MLB history if measured by playoff odds at the All Star break. (Or something to that effect.) I don't have the exact date or split at hand, but I imagine a $1 bet on the scneario would yield at least $100,000 conservatively.
Speaking of improbabilities, Jayson Stark shared this morning a statistic I happen to find absolutely remarkable: The Astros have played 103 postseason games in the last 9 seasons compared to the Tigers 0, which represents the largest disparity of postseason experience, ever. The column is worthy of your time if you have it to spare, a statement that exists only to those with spare time. Check it out here.
Corbin Burnes was sensational yesterday against the Royals and now I'm regretting that I called out dead balls. With or without them, Mr. Burnes is still worthy of the praise after rising to the occasion at home against a scrappy Royals team. Unfortunately for him, Cole Ragans was on the other side.
Ragans went 6 scoreless, striking out 8 and walking 0. Some highlights from the North Floridian lefty:
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Expelliarmus killed Voldemort
It was my favorite game of the day yesterday with or without my bandwagon riding the Royals this October. The 1-0 playoff game is like a closing round even par at the U.S. Open under horrendous conditions. You just gotta be fucking nails inside and out to execute the fundamentals.
And maybe that's a stretch for me to be talking about US Opens but I understand the algorithm is friendly to that demographic and as I said off the top - we're trying to grow the game with casuals.
In that spirit, I encourage you to latch onto this Royals team because they could very much shock the baseball world in the ALCS against the Yankees. But first they need to beat the Orioles again on the road.
*Pretty cool/absolutely INSANE to see Vinnie Pasquantino back in the Royals lineup after taking 5 weeks with a broken thumb. He's 2-4 weeks ahead of schedule and yesterday marked his first game action since August 29th. He hit 3rd and looked mostly incredible, which reminds me to resurface a fitting take from this year's Spring Training
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1. NOBODY FIGHT BOBBY WITT JR.
2. The fact you're even allowed to say anyone in the same sentence as Mahomes is kinda crazy to think about. But you can with Bob Witt. He's absolutely talented enough to perpetuate that comparison in the long-run.
The Astros Are Boring and I don't want to make a big deal out of that point. I think it's just easier if we all agree that the Tigers advancing is a much better storyline so let's finish up today's recap with some projections/preferences.
13/16 wild card winners in the 3-game format have won game 1. So maybe the easiest projections anyone could ever have to make*
1. Tigers vs. Cleveland ALDS
2. Yankees vs. Royals ALDS
3. Mets vs. Phillies NLDS
4. Dodgers vs. Padres NLDS
Honestly those match ups are all perfect. So even if you're still mad about the helmet sponsorships or the dead balls and sabermetrics and ex wife. Whatever's bothering you, I hope you can find the time and space to agree that playoff baseball fucking rocks.
I blame Manfred.
PS - I'm officially on the Royals very hard this year and just need to keep putting it out into the universe so people are aware. So this is me acknowledging it. Selfishly. Go Royals.