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PhishyBrewer

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So the Dodgers have joined a small list of teams to get to the World Series with one loss or less since the start of the LDS era since started in 1995 (I think). Only 7 teams have have done that. However the combined record for the 7 teams is 3-4. Here's the list of the 7 teams.

1. 1995 Braves: 1 loss, won WS 4-2

2. 1999 Yankees: 1 loss, won WS 4-2

3. 2005 White Sox: 1 loss, won WS 4-0

4. 2006 Tigers: 1 loss, lost WS 1-4

5.2007 Rockies: 0 losses, lost WS 0-4

6. 2014 Royals: 0 losses, lost WS 3-4

7. 2016 Indians: 1 loss, lost WS 3-4

8. 2017 Dodgers: 1 loss, lost WS 3-4

So it's now 3-5.

Edited by 9Armgeddon4
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Looks like the MLB wants to add a team in Montreal and Portland and expand to 32 teams. This expansion however will not only trigger an realignment but bring other major changes to the sport. The realignment itself would cut the total number of divisions to 4 and bring an end to the AL and NL. The number of games would also but reduced to 156.

Here's what the new 4 8 team divisions would look like after the realignment.

East: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincy, Miami, Philly, Pittsburgh, Tamba and Washington

North: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, NYY, NYM and Toronto

Midwest: CHC, CHW, Colorado, Houston, KC, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas

West: Anaheim, Arizona, LA, Oakland, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle

Here's a link that will explain more about this.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/#ItQ0Jrl06wMY0M6M.97

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God, I'd love this. Nothing would make me happier than for MLB to do this, expand to 32 teams and get rid of the separate leagues which I'm sure would mean the designated hitter would be implemented league-wide and we'd no longer have to listen to smug purists talk about the "superior strategy" that goes along with having an automatic out at the bottom of every team's batting order.

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There was a point at which I would have said the DH is anathema, but honestly with increasing pitcher specialization, only starting pitchers ever get at bats, and usually only a couple before they're pulled for the first reliever. We now have 7th and 8th inning specialists, as most teams assume the starter won't go beyond 6.

 

I would support this system if it meant the top 8 teams would go to the playoffs, without any stupid wild cards. Having four wild cards is ridiculous. If you want to realign the divisions for travel, great, but then having division winners automatically advance leads to great teams being left out. Wild card is a poor patch job for this problem. Just have the top eight advance. If all eight are in the West division because every team in that division is better than any other team in any other division, then that's how your playoffs go.

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God, I'd love this. Nothing would make me happier than for MLB to do this, expand to 32 teams and get rid of the separate leagues which I'm sure would mean the designated hitter would be implemented league-wide and we'd no longer have to listen to smug purists talk about the "superior strategy" that goes along with having an automatic out at the bottom of every team's batting order.

 

To be honest, I'd like it the other way around---pitchers hitting produces some awesome and hilarious moments. Love it when a pitcher comes up with a clutch RBI or home run, and also love seeing them flail away like they barely even know how to use a baseball bat. Especially if Shohei Otani makes it to MLB and lives up to the hype.

 

At the very least, I'd like them to adopt the college rule where a pitcher can be designated as P/DH and hit and subbed out as one or the other as needed.

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God, I'd love this. Nothing would make me happier than for MLB to do this, expand to 32 teams and get rid of the separate leagues which I'm sure would mean the designated hitter would be implemented league-wide and we'd no longer have to listen to smug purists talk about the "superior strategy" that goes along with having an automatic out at the bottom of every team's batting order.

 

To be honest, I'd like it the other way around---pitchers hitting produces some awesome and hilarious moments. Love it when a pitcher comes up with a clutch RBI or home run, and also love seeing them flail away like they barely even know how to use a baseball bat. Especially if Shohei Otani makes it to MLB and lives up to the hype.

 

At the very least, I'd like them to adopt the college rule where a pitcher can be designated as P/DH and hit and subbed out as one or the other as needed.

 

I agree... I grew up in little league and the fan of an NL team so I always was brought up under the "Everyone hits" philosophy, even when that can produce some hilarious results. On the flip side it can produce some very interesting strategy discussions not often brought up in the MLB anymore.

 

Sadly I believe MLB will go the other direction on the long run because of the potential excitement of offense.

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I actually want to see the DH removed if the realignment happens. I love watching pitchers bat in the postseason especially in the World Series. As for the postseason I think the wildcad spots should be removed and the top 3 teams from each division should make the playoffs. This way 12 teams would still make the playoffs but each division would send the same amount. So it would exactly the same as the Stanley Cup playoffs formate just without the wildcard teams.

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I actually want to see the DH removed if the realignment happens. I love watching pitchers bat in the postseason especially in the World Series. As for the postseason I think the wildcad spots should be removed and the top 3 teams from each division should make the playoffs. This way 12 teams would still make the playoffs but each division would send the same amount. So it would exactly the same as the Stanley Cup playoffs formate just without the wildcard teams.

 

The biggest problem with that is that it would likely stretch the post-season even further into November.

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To be honest, I'd like it the other way around---pitchers hitting produces some awesome and hilarious moments.
I actually want to see the DH removed if the realignment happens.

 

You know that would never happen. There have been tons of highly marketable designated hitters that sold tons of merchandise and put fans in the stands. Guys like David Ortiz would never have had any longevity if they seriously had to play a position late in their careers. The DH means more exciting, marketable players get to play more often and play deeper into their careers which makes MLB a ton of money.

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Aside from Edgar Martinez & David Ortiz, there hasn't really been any star DH's that I can remember. It prolonged the careers of declining stars in the previous era before sabermetrics, 90+ MPH fastballs being the norm, and seemingly every team having freakishly athletic young talent.

 

Ultimately, Baseball is becoming so specialized that using a roster spot for someone who is just a DH only makes sense if the player is a superstar and can REALLY rake (like Ortiz).

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Aside from Edgar Martinez & David Ortiz, there hasn't really been any star DH's that I can remember. It prolonged the careers of declining stars in the previous era before sabermetrics, 90+ MPH fastballs being the norm, and seemingly every team having freakishly athletic young talent.

 

Ultimately, Baseball is becoming so specialized that using a roster spot for someone who is just a DH only makes sense if the player is a superstar and can REALLY rake (like Ortiz).

 

I agree, but I think there will be plenty more players like that over time. The DH also allows superstar players to get more playing time and that's a big bonus too. If someone needs a "half day off" or is nursing an injury but they don't want to lose their bat, they put them at DH all the time. That's a big win for the fans who bought tickets hoping to see one of their best players who otherwise wouldn't be playing (or people flipping channels who may or may not decide to tune into a game) and it's a situation that comes up all the time.

 

PS: Travis Hafner and Frank Thomas come to mind as great designated hitters too along with the guys you mentioned, I also think you might be underestimating the appeal of keeping declining stars in the game. Guys like Jim Thome come to mind immediately but there were plenty other highly marketable players that ended their careers as designated hitters and could still rake.

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  • 1 year later...

Bumping this thread to express my overwhelming excitement that my favorite sports team actually spent big money on a big name FA As a lifelong fan of San Diego sports I've known nothing but disappointment, but for the first time in a very long time I have a reason to be hopeful for a future championship. Machado may be an ass but he's arguably the best 3B in the game and with him, Tatis Jr, Urias and Hosmer we have what looks to be the best infield in the MLB. We may not be contenders this year as our pitching staff is still very young, but the future looks very bright. Bring on Dadtober

MACHADO.thumb.jpg.c80b7f1f4c916ddfaf511b148a661b21.jpg

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Yeah, I got a Google alert for that. I'm not a Padres fan, I'm just going to San Diego later this year and Google's all like "You like baseball, and you've looked up a lot of San Diego things recently. Wanna know the Padres signed Manny Machado?"

 

Yeah, f*ck you Google. But congratulations Padres, great pickup.

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Frank Thomas was awful during the “prolonged” end of his career. Kids would have been better off seeing him doing community relations appearances...

If by "prolonged", you're referring to his very last season, which was injury-shortened and split between two teams (71 games split between Toronto and Oakland), then yeah. Maybe he should have retired in 2007, while he was still a top hitter in the game.

Frank Thomas had an OPS of .926 (w/ 39 HR) as late as 2006- he was a legit MVP candidate for much of the year. He dealt with injuries towards the end of that season, IIRC, which nixed his chances at the award. I definitely agree with you that kids would have been pretty thrilled to see a monster hitter/MVP candidate/one of the greatest of all time at the local YMCA. He wasn't too shabby in 2007 with Toronto, either.

 

*Edit* I see I'm responding to a post from 2017... but yeah, Frank Thomas was as legit a hitter as there ever was. Injuries were his downfall. Martinez and Ortiz are known cheaters. Frank Thomas, by all accounts, was clean, and he was the best right handed hitter of our time.

 

Yeah, f*ck you Google. But congratulations Padres, great pickup.

I'm a White Sox fan, and this one hurts- not so much because Manny Machado is not on the team- more because it brought to light the ineptitude with which the team's management continues to operate. The GM/Front Office planned for the winter of Machado/Harper for two years, assuring fans the wallet would be open, and walked away with nothing. They got cute and acquired Jon Jay and Yonder Alonso- two garbage ballplayer who don't add to the team at all (prior to any actual commitment with Manny Machado- which never ended up happening! What the fuck?!) in the belief that this is somehow what would make Chicago the most attractive destination (Jay is a close friend of Machado's, Alonso is his brother in law- we'll call it the Friends & Family Plan). Meanwhile, they were low-balling him on the terms of the deal the entire time- declining to throw in an opt-out, not guaranteeing years nine and ten (there was a ridiculous at-bat incentive that never would have been realized). San Diego (a late entrant to the bidding) happily did both of those things. The White Sox had the opportunity to improve their proposal, but assumed that Manny's team was bluffing. Now Machado is in San Diego, and the White Sox are left dancing with themselves, with Jon Jay and Yonder Alonso as season-long mementos of their failure.

 

It's not the first time this has happened- the White Sox highest ever free agent acquisition rang in at 68 million over the life of the contract- one of only four teams in baseball that have never gone to nine figures. They play in Chicago, as big of a market as there is, but operate as if they were Oakland or Tampa Bay. Since whiffing on Machado, there has been radio-silence on Bryce Harper (I thought that wallet was open?). Instead, there was an Ervin Santana signing (would have been nice...10 years ago), and they're rumored to be after Denard Span (again, a little late to the party).

 

Apologies- I just needed to vent. It's been a very tough pill to swallow. Hopefully, anyone who has invested into a sports franchise for as long as I have can see where I'm coming from. I don't want to sound whiny, or ungrateful- I'm just legitimately hurt. I've held tickets for the past 15 years (absolutely not renewing for 2019). There has been very little in way of reward in that time, not just in terms of results- the effort has been bare minimum. My godson and nephew are probably going to grow up Cub fans because the White Sox are an incompetent franchise- that is something I can't forgive ownership and the front office for. It's been ten years of this. The 2005 World Series Championship was among the happiest moments of my life, but it may as well be a figment of Sox fans' imaginations. Never happened, according to the rest of the world.. I doubt it will be any different by the time I have kids of my own.

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Apologies- I just needed to vent. It's been a very tough pill to swallow. Hopefully, anyone who has invested into a sports franchise for as long as I have can see where I'm coming from. I don't want to sound whiny, or ungrateful- I'm just legitimately hurt. I've held tickets for the past 15 years (absolutely not renewing for 2019). There has been very little in way of reward in that time, not just in terms of results- the effort has been bare minimum. My godson and nephew are probably going to grow up Cub fans because the White Sox are an incompetent franchise- that is something I can't forgive ownership and the front office for. It's been ten years of this. The 2005 World Series Championship was among the happiest moments of my life, but it may as well be a figment of Sox fans' imaginations. Never happened, according to the rest of the world.. I doubt it will be any different by the time I have kids of my own.

 

:< *hugs*

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