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MLB playoffs open thread

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* Rough weekend for Cub fans.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:14 am

Comments

Yes it was. And I’m sure that broke your heart! The Cubs looked like the Cubs of old. Hopefully Wrigley will be the cure for what ails them.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:18 am
It’s not over ’till it’s over!! It was only two games, and tomorrow they will be in Wrigley, where all the magic happens.

Comment by Vanessa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:18 am
No Sweat - Got the Mets Surrounded From the Inside - Gonna Sweep in the Friendly Confines

Comment by x ace Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:22 am
That Murphy is on a rip. Last four playoff games: two taters off Kershaw, one off Greinke, one off Lester, one off Arietta.

That’s some pretty tall cotton. If he were a Yankee instead of a Met, he’d be in Cooperstown already.

Comment by Wordslinger Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:22 am
October is all about who gets hot at the right time and who gets a little lucky. I am a Cardinal fan and Cub fans will learn quickly that timing and luck is a lot of what determines October. The Cubs are built to last and they will keep getting chances. The Cubs have at least the next two at home and could easily get the series to 2 a piece.

Comment by Ahoy! Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:25 am
It’ll be warmer in Chicago, which certainly can’t hurt. Most of the Latino Cubs look like they’re auditioning for Blue Man Group. Tom Skilling says a warm-up is underway. Hope it warms up some Cubs bats too.

Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:25 am
Good pitching generally beats good hitting. NYC looked as cold as the Cub bats did last night.

Comment by Stones Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:27 am
my heart breaks for you Cub fans…..hide the sharp knives…

Comment by Mia Wallace Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:28 am
Cubs in 7!!!

Comment by Good Luck! Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:29 am
A Cubs win on Tuesday is beyond critical.

Comment by B-Man Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:30 am
Will the start a RaiseTheL campaign when this is over?

Comment by Jose Abreu's next homer Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:33 am
The Mets looked like pros and the Cubs looked like…well, the Cubs. Painful.

Comment by Politix Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:36 am
Yeah, OK, Wrigley and some warmth, that’s BETTER…but it’s still Hendricks pitching. Not that Lester and Arietta looked all that sharp, though.

Comment by Arsenal Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:36 am
Wasnt Murphy the name of the goat also?

Comment by Foster brooks Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:37 am
Jake wasn’t off. The Mets were hitting some very good pitches that usually work for him. The big blast was nearly off the guy’s shoe laces.

Comment by walker Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:38 am
Arrieta has a dead(ening) arm. Not good.

Comment by Conn Smythe Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:40 am
– Wasnt Murphy the name of the goat also? –

yes

Comment by B-Man Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:40 am
Lots of baseball left to play and Cubs certainly capable of comeback. Still, as I wrote Friday, this series is a test of the cliche that pitching wins in the playoffs, as the Mets built their team around pitching instead of hitting like the Cubs did.

Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:44 am
Well, at least these games are reminding the Cubs brass that they will need to go out and buy one or possible 2 premium starting pitchers to win a WS in the future. Bats won’t do it alone.

Comment by Big Joe Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:45 am
Cubs now have the back of their rotation going for 3 and 4, while the Mets have….their ace going in game 3. I’m not saying it’s over, but the Cubbies needed to split in NY to have a realistic shot.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:45 am
Not giving up yet.

Will the ivy be orange tomorrow?

Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:45 am
This is not the end of the world!!!! 5 games left!!!

Comment by L.A. Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:46 am
Please don’t lose to the Mets!
Anyone, but the Mets!

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:50 am
Banged up Cards missing their number 1 and 2 starters made the Cubs look much better than they are. Arietta had a phenomenal 2nd half and a great year, but, Lester was 10-11. How much are they paying him again? They’re at least two pitchers short, and the Mets are just proving what everyone knows - pitching ultimately wins in the playoffs. Had the Cards not thrown away Game 2 of the NLDS in the second inning, the Cubs might not have survived a trip back to St. Louis - even against that banged up pitching staff. Good run, but their weaknesses have been clearly exposed so far in the NLCS. I think that pose from Fernando Rodney was what it must look like trying to protect himself from another Murphy bomb into the bullpen.

Comment by Anon Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:52 am
I gotta say that the Mets and Royals look pretty darn good. Johnny Cueto had rough transition to the AL and Yordano Ventura had an up-and-down year, but both look like sure things in the playoffs.

I still think the Cubs can win it, but they have to sweep the games at Wrigley for that to happen.

Comment by Team Sleep Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:54 am
I want the Cubs to win, but it’s nice to see that Old Man Granderson from the South Side still has big-time game.

One of the true good guys in pro sports, with his time and his money, especially for kids.

His CPS teacher parents raised him well.

Comment by Wordslinger Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:57 am
I’m a Cards fan. Then I fell back to pulling for my second choice of the Cubs. Looks like I may have to fall back to my third choice of the Royals.

Comment by logic not emotion Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:58 am
=Bats won’t do it alone.= Through the first 2 games, Cubs as a team are hitting .159 and scored 3 runs.
I’ve always wondered why baseball teams (unlike football, hoops and hockey) have a champagne celebration after every division and pennant win. The season’s not over, you’re only moving on. My point - the Cubs may have thought beating St. Louis was the victory, not a step toward victory.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:59 am
I should know, but how do they determine home field advantage in the playoffs? Don’t the Cubs have a better record than the Mets? If so, why didn’t they have home field?

Comment by logic not emotion Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:01 am
The Cubs need to hire Ozzie if they want to win a Series /s

Y’all have a good one in JM. He will come up with something to ==take October==.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:06 am
@logic not emotion - iirc, because the Cubs are a wild card, Mets won their division.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:09 am
Logic: It’s because the Cubs are the wild card team - MLB rewards the division winners by giving them home field advantage over the wild card regardless of record. It’s kind of a legacy from when there was only 1 wild card slot, because that was the one of the few ways to make winning the division meaningful compared to winning the wild card. Now that there’s the one game sudden death play-in, winning the division is pretty important as-is.

Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:09 am
It’s gonna be tough, they need three wins in Wrigley.

Comment by Wensicia Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:13 am
Probably still better than the White Sox’ weekend, while they were watching the series from their couches.

Comment by Michael Westen Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:15 am
== how do they determine home field advantage in the playoffs?==

Via a lot of dumb kludges. Division winners always get HFA over WC teams, except in the World Series, where it depends on who won the All Star Game.

Comment by Arsenal Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:23 am
White Sox were certainly home on the couch…polishing their World Series rings…!

Comment by Capt. Jack Wagon Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:27 am
I got on this site very late today - many worthy topics to comment on, unfortunately many other commenters have already appropriated comments I might have wanted to make.

So lets talk about the Cubs - and as a life-long Cardinal fan I have already congratulated them for having the best team in the previous series and wished them well for the remainder. Anon @ 10:52 made some excellent points.

This baseball at its best. And I will never favor the Mets over a “local” team. Yet the Cubs do have to prove themselves once again - still wishing them well!

Comment by illini Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:30 am
Flashback, 2004:

The Red Sox were down 0-3 against the Yankees, came back to win four straight against the Yankees and four straight against the Cardinals.

From the wiki:

“To add a final, surreal touch to the Red Sox championship title, on the night the Red Sox won, a total lunar eclipse colored the moon over Busch Stadium to a deep red hue. The Red Sox won the title about eleven minutes before totality ended. Many Red Sox fans who were turned away due to no tickets for the game were allowed to watch the final inning from the confines of Busch Stadium after being let in free of charge.”

Emphasis added.

Anything can happen in the post-season. Anything.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:30 am
Cubbie fandom aside: good pitching beats good hitting in the postseason, nearly every time. We saw that this weekend.

The Cubs’ batters appear shaken, with Anthony Rizzo looking especially lost.

Comment by thunderspirit Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:34 am
I still believe #FlytheW

Comment by Dozer Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:36 am
==Anything can happen in the post-season. Anything.==

EXACTLY!!

Comment by Vanessa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:37 am
Cubs fans now remind me of Union General Hooker just before the debacle at Chancellorsville: “I’ve got Bobby Lee right where I want him!” Mets’ Ace goes Tuesday; looks like a 0-3 deficit.

Comment by Formerpol Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:42 am
I think I’d advise the Cubs to go ahead and keep playing until they’re Champs or eliminated. Lose 2 games away from home and win a series is tougher, but not unprecedented. The Bosox went on a 7 game winning streak and won a World Series. The guy in the big chair with the Cubs probably has some memory of that. They’ve earned their way to where they are. See it through.

Comment by A guy Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:47 am
YellowDog has a good point.

Comment by illini Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:48 am
Arsenal 3, Wateford 0.
That follows Arsenal 3, Manchester United 0 two weeks ago (we had an interlull in between).

For all depressed Cubs fans, there are alternatives.

Comment by Gooner Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:53 am
YDD,

The Red Sox started Kurt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe in that series. The Cubs can’t come close to that. It’s OK to dream, but seriously…

Comment by Anon Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:53 am
It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.

Comment by Mama Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:55 am
Now that you Cubbies have them right where you want them — Finish them off!

Comment by WhoKnew Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 11:59 am
==His CPS teacher parents raised him well.===
His parents were members of organized labor? In Chicago? I knew it: the Cubs losing is the fault of Mike Madigan and the legislators/aldermen (close enough) he controls.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:04 pm
Sorry Cubs fans, looks like you’re going to have to settle for…

“Wait ’til next year”.

Comment by jerry 101 Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:05 pm
Can’t help to wonder if Biff Tannen somehow altered history when he went Back to the Future.

Comment by Chicago 20 Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:08 pm
Coming back from this sort of playoff deficit only happens about once every decade… so the Cubs are due for about 10 of these!

Comment by Century Club Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:08 pm
=His CPS teacher parents raised him well.=

Nicest guy on the planet. My friend and I do baseball roadtrips every year and when we were in Detroit, we had great seats by the Tiger dugout. My friend’s mom worked with Granderson’s dad for a few years and when he mentioned that to him, his chatted with us about the South Side of Chicago for about 10 minutes before he and his Tigers knocked Javier Vazquez for a look and ended The White Sox’s chances of repeating as champions.

Comment by Carhartt Representative Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:12 pm
Actually I don’t think any of these current White Sox were polishing any rings, unless they came out of a cracker jack box.

Comment by Michael Westen Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:26 pm
4 words: There’s always next year.

Comment by My FiNgErS HuRt Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 12:57 pm
- 47th Ward - Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 10:25 am:

Exactly. Was thinking the same thing. I’ve never seen this large of a group of players dressed like they were playing in Alaska..

Comment by Mouthy Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:06 pm
Cubs have to face deGrom and Harvey in Chicago and then if the series returns to NYC, Syndergaard and deGrom.

Cue Dandy Don Meredith—Turn out the lights, the party is over!!!

Comment by anon Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:08 pm
One thing Cubs fans know is it ain’t over until the last out. #LetsGo

Comment by Vote Quimby! Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:15 pm
What’s the excuse gonna be this time. Goat? Bartman? Black cat? Cold weather? Played too hard against the Cardinals? “We were just the wild card team?”

Might wanna start brainstorming.

Comment by Deep South Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:22 pm
@Wordslinger:
“That Murphy is on a rip. Last four playoff games: two taters off Kershaw, one off Greinke, one off Lester, one off Arietta.

That’s some pretty tall cotton. If he were a Yankee instead of a Met, he’d be in Cooperstown already.”

Here’s an idea - don’t pitch to the guy. Walk him.

We picked up Lester for what again, because he’s good in the postseason? 0-2. Only the Cubs.

Comment by SourKraut Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:25 pm
“What’s the excuse gonna be this time.”

1) Maybe Cubs fans have finally grown up and will just say, “The other team was better this series.”

2) And they haven’t lost.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:30 pm
Wasn’t Murphy the name of the goat?

Comment by Deep South Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:33 pm
==What’s the excuse gonna be this time==

If they get swept and are eliminated on October 21, 2015, I’d say it’s the curse of Back To The Future

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:40 pm
what Gooner said!! (even if the Bayern matchup frightens.)

dear Cubs fans (not Cubbies, remember Royko loathed that term, besides, double diminutive, jeez ), get off of all the black cat/goat/1969/curses/heel clicking/Woo Woo/same as name of the goat nonsense. sometimes I wish the Cubs well just so the whining can stop.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 1:55 pm
“Rough weekend for Cub fans”

And Bears fans, and Hawks fans…

And NFL Officials

Comment by modest proposal Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:08 pm
Amalia,

It was nice of Wenger to realize that for a match against Bayern, we could use a world class keeper.

Cech is going to start. Cech v. Neuer could make this an amazing scoreless tie.

But I doubt it. We are good, but Bayern is Bayern. 3-1, Bayern and then we can go back to beating the heck out of the BPL.

Comment by Gooner Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:13 pm
===sometimes I wish the Cubs well just so the whining can stop===

Be careful what you wish for. There is nothing more unbearable in this world than an uppity Cubs fan.

Comment by Deep South Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:39 pm
==It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.==

There was a heavy set lady warming up behind Pat & Ron last night. lol

Comment by eeriter Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:42 pm
cards will whup them next year

Comment by flea Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:48 pm
Deep South is right, but as a Cards fan, I am still pulling for them.

Just don’t get obnoxious and in my face when you win!

Still wishing the Cubs well.

Comment by illini Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 2:53 pm
I truly wanted the Cubs to win this–both for my city’s bragging rights and for my Cub fan friends’ pleasure. But face it–realistically the Cubs have already lost two and so pretty much need to win all three in Chicago to have a chance–and they haven’t even faced the Mets’ ace DeGrom yet. I think it’s over.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:09 pm
Maybe that White Sox tavern could offer free drinks if the Cubs hit homers. Would barely put a dent in their profits.

Comment by anon Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:14 pm
==Be careful what you wish for. There is nothing more unbearable in this world than an uppity Cubs fan.==

That’s exactly what I think about most Cardinals Fans…

Comment by Vanessa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:15 pm
There’s still a strong chance that Arrietta gets the NL Cy Young and Bryant the NL Rookie of the year. Either or both would be nice consolation prizes for 2015 Cub fans.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:16 pm
Rich - thank you for opening these non-political threads and allowing us to comment and vent our feelings and sentiments.

I comment fairly regularly, when I can be online, and do appreciate your service and this site.

Thanks for giving us this opportunity.

And also am hoping that your rehab is going well ( enjoy the red wine !! ) and also hoping Oscar is doing better. Keep us informed.

Comment by illini Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:32 pm
We all remember Chris Sale’s foot fracture when he jumped off the back of his pick-up truck wrong just before the 2015 season started. Fun factoid: Met’s pitcher deGrom suffered a hand injury before last season.

==Add this to the list of bizarre baseball injuries: Pitcher Jacob deGrom broke his finger last year helping a neighbor castrate a calf about a week before spring training.

“Somebody was holding the back legs and I was holding the front. Their hands slipped and it kicked me,” said deGrom, who lives in DeLeon Springs, Fla., near Daytona Beach. “I looked down and my finger was facing sideways. It didn’t feel too good.”

Since the right-hander broke the ring finger on his glove hand, deGrom was able to pitch through the injury…==

Comment by Responsa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:35 pm
If I was hit in the butt by a 100 mph fastball I wouldn’t be able to limp off of the field. Jake is doing as much as he can.

Joe looks kind of down lately. Does he know something we don’t?

Comment by Geek Marine Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:48 pm
ah Gooner. I love Wenger, but Ospina is injured so he was not going to go down to keeper 3 (or that giant kid we have in the pipeline). I fear that if Ospina were well that we would see the same lineup at keeper as before. btw, look up the video “Petr Cech is magic, he wears a magic hat…” it’s pretty hilarious.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 3:55 pm
Murphy is on fire. His home run off of Arrieta came on a difficult pitch that he still managed to get a swing on.

Not that it will happen, but there has been some discussion that MLB will consider returning to a 154 game regular season. I doubt that it will be adopted, but the 154 game season was the norm before expansion began in the early Sixties. The World Series used to begin around October 1st or 2nd. This year, if the Series goes the limit, the final game is scheduled for November 4th. That assumes no rain delays (it has happened in prior Series games). In New York, we witnessed one of the problems with a lengthier postseason — frigid temperatures.

Interestingly, when Chicago last played in the W.S., Game 7 took place on October 10th. I am old enough to recall when baseball finally abandoned the tradition of scheduling all World Series games during the daytime. This was at the start of the Seventies.

Comment by After Further Review Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 4:32 pm
“The Red Sox started Kurt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe in that series. The Cubs can’t come close to that. It’s OK to dream, but seriously…”

Overlooking the fact that Red Sox were one strike away from elimination when Big Papi delivered a key hit to start a late inning rally in the ALCS.

Comment by After Further Review Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 4:39 pm
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains…..”

Comment by Jaded Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 4:41 pm
Under Further review @4:32– Good comment. Steve Stone was recently asked about the problem of having regular season games going into October and play-offs going so late into fall. He felt that current economics would not ever allow the teams/owners to go back to 154 games from the current 162. He thought something needed to change, however, and suggested that we might see MLB go to more day-night double headers to fit in more games that way. The games would be ticketed separately and the parks cleared out between games. Among the advantages would be that out of town fans coming to see their teams could get more bang from their hotel and travel bucks if they could fit in and see more games per trip. So, for instance, a three day Yankee road trip in July might sometimes fit in 4 games into the same space of time and you’d be able to shorten the calendar season that way. I kind of like that idea.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 5:05 pm
Uribe’s polishing his ring

Comment by No Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 5:13 pm
One other thing that annoys me about the baseball postseason is the statistical gimmickry when comparisons are made about performances in the wild card games, the league division series games and the league championship series games. To further the anecdotes, the broadcasters will compare a current player with someone famous from the past. What is irritating is the past players never participate in postseason playoff tournaments, which were added due to expansion, they went directly to the World Series after their teams won pennants. It sort of galls me to hear someone say “X” is about to equal or surpass Mickey Mantle or Jimmy Foxx in terms of postseason home runs in a given season when the old-timers did not play in multiple playoffs every October. The networks lump everything together as if the playoffs and the WS were and are one and the same thing.

Comment by After Further Review Monday, Oct 19, 15 @ 6:41 pm