12
2012
LDS Finale & Thoughts On Last Night Winners/Losers
An article by 
ALDS Orioles @ Yankees – 5:07pm on TBS
Last night’s game was a drag to watch if you ask me. Sure, a 1-1 game going 13 innings sounds exciting but that games story wasn’t great pitching, it was the total inability on both sides to make timely contact.
Heck, the most timely contact of the night came when Joba Chamberlain got hit by a broken bat. Seriously, what are the odds of that?
As a side note – Ernie Johnson of TBS gave me reason number 1,084 why I do not watch the NBA. He’s brutal to listen to.
Darren O’Day pitched brilliantly last night for Baltimore. Good thing the Mets waived him in 2009, huh? I mean it’s not like they ever needed a good bullpen arm over the last 4 seasons.
All the Yankees fans you know are probably harping on ARod. Here’s a fun fact, if you take Tex, Granderson, ARod and Cano – the four hitters they rely on the most, they are hitting a COMBINED .153 in this series. Granderson/Cano/ARod are a combined 5 for 50!
The Orioles aren’t doing much better, Jones/Wieters/Davis/Hardy are hitting a combined .157! So you take the 8 guys combined who are expected to contribute to the cause moreso than everybody else and you’ve got a .155 hitter. That’s incredible.
Yankees fans are on edge. This series is different than past one’s when they lost. They believe the Orioles have no business being here. They don’t respect this roster at all. A series loss could create a very interesting winter.
This evening, C.C. Sabathia takes on Jason Hammel. Hammel pitched okay in Game 1, going 5.2 innings, 4 hits allowed and 2 runs.
Last night, Joe Saunders surprised me and that means Chris Tillman is still available. I have to assume he is the first out of the pen tonight if Hammel gets in trouble early. I believe this gives Baltimore a slight edge because I don’t think the Yankees have a guy available that can give them long innings in relief. I doubt Girardi would go to Pettitte in this situation.
However, with the offenses playing the way they are – I gotta go with my gut and assume the better pitcher will win.
So I am taking Sabathia to pitch the Yankees to the LCS.
Who Had the Yankees?: Clare Lafferty, Jessica DeMattia, Jessep, Tie Dyed, Xtreemicon
Who Had the Orioles?: Jim Mancari, Greg Hopps, Clayton Collier, Ed Leyro
NLDS Cardinals @ Nationals – 8:37pm on TBS
After yesterday’s game, I realized something. I really dislike Jayson Werth. His on-field interview irked me. On a positive note, he should have a quality retirement as the West Virginia University mascot.
A great matchup here as Adam Wainwright goes up against Gio Gonzalez.
The Nats won yesterday in similar fashion to how their season started. Electric pitching, and timely hitting. Jordan Zimmerman only needed 12 pitches in relief and I think that moment gave the Nats a ton of momentum.
I’m not sure how to call this one to be honest. I think the Nats SHOULD win, even though I picked the Cards – but I am also weary of picking against Wainwright.
When push comes to shove though, I trust the Cardinals hitters to come through in a tight spot before the Nationals. If given the option, I’ll trust Beltran/Craig/Freese/Holliday to come through before I trust Harper/Zimmerman/LaRoche/Morse/Werth.
The Cardinals have had their backs against the wall before, the Nationals faced it for the first time yesterday and barely snuck by.
Who Had the Cardinals?: Ed Leyro, Jessep
Who Had the Nationals?:: Jim Mancari, Greg Hopps, Clare Lafferty, Jessica DeMattia, Tie Dyed, Joe D, Clayton Collier
Last Night’s Winners:
Detroit Tigers over Oakland:
Allow me a chance for a humble brag. I said yesterday in my preview, “I don’t think Verlander is going to hand the ball to anybody tonight. This will be his game to win, and he’s going to shut down the A’s.” Nailed it.
For Detroit, I saw what I thought I’d see when I picked them as my World Series winner. Their starting pitching had a great series. What must concern them is whether or not Valverde can be effective against a much tougher lineup in Baltimore or New York.
Also, Miggy & Prince did not have a good series. Detroit cannot get to a World Series unless those 2 guys produce. Unlike the Yankees for example, Detroit doesn’t have 7-8-9 hitters that can beat you every night.
The A’s had a remarkable season. Their executives, their coaches, their players – all have a lot to be proud of in 2012. They overcame so many different obstacles and proved (yet again) that team salary and names on a piece of paper don’t win ballgames.
They didn’t use “moneyball” to build this team. In fact if you look at their roster,
It was built on power (7th in HR), not OBP (24th in OBP), defense and a great bullpen built to protect their young and inexperience starters.
Those 3 things do not fit the mold of the 2002 A’s that a book was written about. To win 94 games out of 162 and beat out the 2 time AL Champs, and a team that spent $300m in the offseason in LA is impressive. Then to go into the playoffs with:
-All Rookie Starting Staff
-Starting 3B who was supposed to be a C in the minors
-RF that they were mocked for acquiring in exchange for their closer Andrew Bailey
-Trading away Gio & Cahill
-Being predicted to lose 100 games
-Losing their #3 starter to a steroid issue
-Losing their #4 starter to a line drive to the head which almost cost him his life
-Being 5 games UNDER .500 on June 30 and 13 games out of 1st
I’m sorry but if anybody tries to downplay how impressive of a season the Oakland coaches, players and executives had they are just simply not enjoying the sport as they should and being blinded by a book that literally has NOTHING to do with how this team was built and how they performed.
I honestly feel bad for anybody who spent time rooting against them because of any vendetta they may have against sabermetrics.
They blew an opportunity to enjoy one of the best baseball stories in a long time.
Who Had the Detroit?:: Jessep, Greg Hopps, Michael Barrett, Tie Dyed, Joe D, Ed Leyro, Clayton Collier, Mitch Petanick, Xtreemicon
San Francisco Giants over Cincinnati:
The Reds defeated themselves here. They flatlined from the time they touched down in Cincinnati. Maybe the news of losing Cueto just killed their confidence, but all I know is when they left San Francisco – they looked like they could win it all.
I will be curious how the Dusty Baker situation is handled. Baker who suffered a minor stroke at the end of the regular season does not have a contract for 2013 right now. Baker has been one of the most tragic Managers in recent memory. 2002 World Series, Steve Bartman, and now this. Will he back?
As for the Giants, they looked like a team that can win it all. They’ve got great pitching, and a rejuvenated Tim Lincecum who will probably get an early start in the LCS now.
They looked tired at the end of that game though, and they should be. Winning 3 road games in a row is not an easy task, especially when 1 wrong step could end your season.
MVP Buster Posey came through yet again for the Giants, and now they await an opponent.
Who Had the Giants?:: Jessep, Clare Lafferty, Tie Dyed, Ed Leyro, Mitch Petanick
The action begins at 5:07 in the Bronx!
About the Author: Michael J. Branda
My time with MMO began in July of 2009 when I wrote a Fan Post defending Omar Minaya (before it was cool to do that.) I grew up a Mets fan with the mid 1980's teams. My favorite Met of all-time is (and was) Wally Backman. When it comes to sabermetrics versus old school thinking, I like to think I meet in the middle. I believe thinking of new ways to get answers is helpful, especially when the same way has not produced results. However, I think over-thinking certain situations can get you into trouble. I'm excited for the new regime, because I believe they have pieces in place to focus on several aspects of the Mets organization. I've waited this long for a World Series, waiting a few more years for another chance isn't going to kill me.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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Go Cards! Go Orioles!
The Yanks are benching ARod in Game 5 of the LDS. What am embarrassment. They just feed into the fans ignoring Grandy/Swish/Cano and bench their 3B in a deciding game.
Will ARod be a yankee in 2013?
I give them props for doing the bold move…
The wilpons would NEVER allow a met manager to pinch-hit for David Wright in a clutch situation in the 9th inning of ANY game…
Spring Training
Regular Season
NLDS
NLCS
World Series
The issue isnt that ARod has been terrible – it’s that Tex/Grand/Swish/Cano have also been terrible and ARod gets all of the brunt and now the manager is buying into it and benching 1 guy in a deciding game.
Swisher is playing, why? He’s been dreadful at the plate.
I agree the PH was bold – but I think if it was a lefty reliever up there it would have never happened.
All I’m saying is the yanks are teetering on the edge of a cliff right now. Losing to Detroit, Texas, Boston, La is different than losing to Baltimore. A loss today could send major changes to the Bronx.
And if you lose, and u have ARod on the bench during that loss, you’re in a ton of trouble.
I think they will win but… Go Os!!!!
seeing the O’s pull this out would be incredible.
is there any way he could be traded? Unless the Yankees eat a huge amount of money?
breaking down at 37, and with another 5 years to go? That is not good (check that, since it is the Yankees, it is fan freaking tastic).
they’d have to take a lot of the money and you’d need a team like LAD or LAA i think.
here’s the thing though – his contract is tricky because it involves incentives for HR achievements also. The Yanks signed him the way they did so he could wear pinstripes when/if he breaks HR record. His salary declines every year from this point on.
I think if ARod cares about his image in the sport – he demands a trade. You can’t be a superstar and get benched in the biggest game of the year. If they lose and he’s sitting on the bench, adios.
Only Ed Leyro, Myself and Tie Dyed head into the final LDS game with a 3 for 3 record.
Ed & I are on the island together with St. Louis.
Edit: Leyro actually took BALT.
LOL
Pagan vs Beltran in the NLCS
I’m pulling for Beltran…
Today, in an elimination game, Beltran goes 3-3 with 2 doubles and 2 walks…reaches base in all 5 plate appearances…
David Wright sadly drinks a beer…counting the days til he can leave this franchise…
wait, by the rules of the core, isn’t Beltran the biggest choker in Mets history?
Rumor has it that Mike Rizzo thought YOLO meant You Only Lose Once
Just finished watching the Cards come back from 6-0 to beat the Nats with a 4 run 9th. Just wow. So from all those that picked at least 1 team to advance it looks like Ed and Jessep should be cashing in if they placed some bets.
Ed Leyro – 4 for 4
Jessep – 4 for 4
Tie Dyed – 3 for 4
Clare Lafferty – 2 for 4
Mitch Petanick – 2 for 4
Xtreemicon – 2 for 4
Jessica DeMattia – 1 for 4
Greg Hopps – 1 for 4
Michael Barrett – 1 for 4
Joe D – 1 for 4
Clayton Collier – 1 for 4
Who Had the Yankees?: Clare Lafferty, Jessica DeMattia, Jessep, Tie Dyed, Xtreemicon, Ed Leyro
Who Had the Detroit?:: Jessep, Greg Hopps, Michael Barrett, Tie Dyed, Joe D, Ed Leyro, Clayton Collier, Mitch Petanick, Xtreemicon
Who Had the Giants?:: Jessep, Clare Lafferty, Tie Dyed, Ed Leyro, Mitch Petanick
Who Had the Cardinals?: Ed Leyro, Jessep
That was some game.
HAHAHAHA Nats.
Now they can join Strasburg on the golf course.
Carlos Beltran batting like .445 in this series.
“Now they can join Strasburg on the golf course.”
Wow, you went there with no hesitation.
LOL. I don’t have any real strong opinion one way or the other on them shutting Strasburg down. I’ll confess to not paying attention enough to know if it was warranted or not.
From what I did read, he was healthy though coming back from TJ surgery, No one knows if taking the route they did guarantees them anything.
I probably would lean towards rolling with him. Once they got to August and it looked like post season was almost a lock for them, they could have limited his innings and/or pitch counts.
Even though they look to be a repeat next season, there are no guarantees. For all Strasburg knows, that might have been his only shot. I imagine he’s none too happy.
It was a ballsy move by Rizzo. You have to believe he wants to win a W.S. as much as anyone but he wouldn’t do it at the expense of possibly doing something that could hurt his franchise pitcher. Agree with him or not you have to respect him not willing to do it at what he felt could be at Strasburg’s expense.
Now he has to live with the ramifications that may come. The “What Ifs” will haunt him until a time he wins a W.S. for the Nats and his job may be the price he pays if they don’t.
ha just me actually! We figured out Ed’s is a typo, he had Baltimore.
So I was the only 4/4 Woo Hoo!
What a great postseason so far, every game is like crazy good. And oh my god Beltran is the new Mr. October!
New ?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=beltrca01&t=b&post=1
Beltran has a .375 post-season batting average in 28 games
Like I said..Beltran >>>> anyone on the Met 40 man roster
Like I said..Beltran >>>> anyone on the Met 40 man roster.
Yes, that was true in 2006, that was still true in 2011, and it’s still definitely true in 2012. As Isaid the day the Mets traded him and our site Launched Beltran Appreciation Week, it may take a quarter century until the Mets have another all-around great and talented player as Carlos Beltran. He may be the ultimate and only real five-tool talent we have ever had. Speed, hitting, power, average, defense, Beltran did it all.