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    • While I would have enjoyed the Astros playing in a third straight World Series, I believe a Texas and Arizona matchup is great for baseball. It shows rebuilding (along with some $$$ and luck) work. Helps give every fan hope.

      Last year I thought the most interesting matchup would be the Phillies and Indians. Beer league softball team bashing homeruns against pitching, speed, defense, and very little power.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • Astro wrote:

      While I would have enjoyed the Astros playing in a third straight World Series, I believe a Texas and Arizona matchup is great for baseball. It shows rebuilding (along with some $$$ and luck) work. Helps give every fan hope.

      Last year I thought the most interesting matchup would be the Phillies and Indians. Beer league softball team bashing homeruns against pitching, speed, defense, and very little power.
      Great for baseball. Maybe. But not for me.

      I think its ridiculous to play 162 games and then have the "champion" decided by the teams that were 5 and 6 seeds. I wouldn't watch this game if it was a regular season game so I'm not going to watch it now just becasue they put some lipstick on these teams and call it the World Series. Getting the highlights on Sports Center is all I need for this year. Not picking on just baseball as all the major sports do it but baseball plays the most games so they have the least justification for letting (almost) everyone in the playoffs. Regular season should mean more than just seeding.

      Reminds me of what Bill Russell said years ago...We play an 82 game season just to eliminate Philadelphia from the playoffs.
      2,000 miler

    • max.patch wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      While I would have enjoyed the Astros playing in a third straight World Series, I believe a Texas and Arizona matchup is great for baseball. It shows rebuilding (along with some $$$ and luck) work. Helps give every fan hope.

      Last year I thought the most interesting matchup would be the Phillies and Indians. Beer league softball team bashing homeruns against pitching, speed, defense, and very little power.
      Great for baseball. Maybe. But not for me.
      I think its ridiculous to play 162 games and then have the "champion" decided by the teams that were 5 and 6 seeds. I wouldn't watch this game if it was a regular season game so I'm not going to watch it now just becasue they put some lipstick on these teams and call it the World Series. Getting the highlights on Sports Center is all I need for this year. Not picking on just baseball as all the major sports do it but baseball plays the most games so they have the least justification for letting (almost) everyone in the playoffs. Regular season should mean more than just seeding.

      Reminds me of what Bill Russell said years ago...We play an 82 game season just to eliminate Philadelphia from the playoffs.
      Was trying to look at the bright side. Old School side of me liked it when pre-1969 you had to win the league. Was fine with post-1969 when you had 2 division winners playing each other. But now it is more like March Madness. Exciting and a lot more $$$. But it does reward "being hot at the right time" over "best for the entire season".
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Earlier in the week Chris "Mad Dog" Russo said if Arizona won the last 2 games and made it to the World Series he would retire on the spot.

      We'll see.

      ETA: I like his show even though (or perhaps because of) he strays off topic more than we do here. If he picks the talent -- it's his channel -- then it might be time to retire as he has totally whiffed IMO on his last 2 attempts to fill the noon time slot.

      ETA: He showed up 12 minutes late; I guess to keep the suspense going for a while.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 3 times, last by max.patch ().

    • Warren Giles struck out. :(

      “We don’t believe in a playoff system because of the tradition and history of baseball,” NL president Warren Giles blustered to the Associated Press in May 1968. “A playoff system would be in contradiction to these traditions. You can have teams finishing fourth or fifth percentage-wise and then playing the champion of the other league in the World Series. We do not believe the public will accept this. The World Series is the greatest event in sports, and it is dangerous to tamper with it.”
      2,000 miler

    • odd man out wrote:

      I had to look it.

      % of teams that make the playoffs
      MLB 40%
      NFL 44%
      NHL 50%
      NBA 53%
      Yeah, but it used to be only 10% up until 1969, and then it was just 16.7% for my "formative} and early adult years (1969-1993). So over half my life being a MLB playoff team really meant something, compared to the other sports.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Can't disagree with anything The Athlete has to say (behind a paywall; no sense in posting a link):

      Baseball’s overlords actually made out great in ’62. The Giants faced the New York Yankees. It was best on best. Willie Mays versus Mickey Mantle. MLB didn’t get that this year. It got Rangers versus Diamondbacks. This doesn’t scream best on best. It screams Monday-in-August day game when the home team is promoting $1 hot dogs and half-priced beer to juice ticket sales — and you still leave full and drunk after the fifth inning.

      Nothing against the Rangers and Diamondbacks, or their fans and moms and wives or girlfriends, all of whom will be in attendance, just like in little league days. It’s just not appealing to the masses. The television ratings likely will be disastrous, which is a bad sign for baseball’s centerpiece event.

      Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, which tracks broadcast ratings, said Tuesday, “There’s no debating that baseball has lost its cache, just like every sport has, except for the NFL.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 2 times, last by max.patch ().

    • max.patch wrote:



      I think its ridiculous to play 162 games and then have the "champion" decided by the teams that were 5 and 6 seeds. I wouldn't watch this game if it was a regular season game so I'm not going to watch it now just becasue they put some lipstick on these teams and call it the World Series.
      I guess I wasn't the only person who felt this way. Just read that game 1 of the WS was the least watched game 1 in history.
      2,000 miler

    • max.patch wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      I think its ridiculous to play 162 games and then have the "champion" decided by the teams that were 5 and 6 seeds. I wouldn't watch this game if it was a regular season game so I'm not going to watch it now just becasue they put some lipstick on these teams and call it the World Series.
      I guess I wasn't the only person who felt this way. Just read that game 1 of the WS was the least watched game 1 in history.
      MLB looks like have chosen make their $$$ off quantity of playoff games instead of quality.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      I think its ridiculous to play 162 games and then have the "champion" decided by the teams that were 5 and 6 seeds. I wouldn't watch this game if it was a regular season game so I'm not going to watch it now just becasue they put some lipstick on these teams and call it the World Series.
      I guess I wasn't the only person who felt this way. Just read that game 1 of the WS was the least watched game 1 in history.
      MLB looks like have chosen make their $$$ off quantity of playoff games instead of quality.
      And there is always the chance they could hit the jackpot and have both if the Braves/Dodgers go against Orioles/Astros.

      BTW, attended conference in Atlanta last week and was hoping for Astros / Braves rematch and catch a game, but obviously that didn't happen.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • One of those weird oddities; he was 3-7 with the Braves, 0-2 with the Astros, and 2-7 with the Rangers. Right place, right time. (I assume these are regular season stats.)

      <snip>

      Now we know where the Braves went wrong. They did not have Will Smith on their roster.

      The Newnan native became the first player in baseball history to win a World Series ring with three different teams in three straight years.

      Smith pitched for the 2021 Braves in their World Series run, then joined the Houston Astros roster for the 2022 World Series but did not pitch. He has appeared in three postseason games this year for Texas, two in the World Series.

      ETA: This guy has 3 rings and Mike Trout has a total of 3 postseason games in his career. Some things are just weird.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 1 time, last by max.patch ().