2019 MLB postseason thread

That was fun. I give the Nats fans credit. They were into that game from start to finish, and never seemed like they got "down" as the innings wore on and Milwaukee held that 3-1 lead.

Soto. So goddamn good. It would have been awful if the Brewers had tied the game with a run in the 9th, but since they didn't, his base running gaffe/celebration ends up being pretty fun.

 

Appreciate the sentiment, but I'm an O's fan. Too old to have grown up with the Nats. That said, good for the Nats.

 

I never lost hope!

 

My bad. I was just checking off who on here is from the area and who is a Caps fan. Spaced you guys might prefer the Orioles.

 

To underscore how young Soto is, his brother on the field with him is like 12.

 

That’s what they get for using a methhead as their closer.

 

That was cool.

 

New baseball theory - Closers are overrated - until they aren't.

 

Closers are field goal kickers. Some can hit a 50-plus yarder without breaking a sweat then shank a PAT with the game on the line.

 

It seems like every year there's a franchise that is going to revolutionize baseball and render the closer an unnecessary luxury by running out a bullpen committee that leverages matchups to gain more wins and cost savings. The idea that binary code will win out.

Mariano Rivera was so good, he's become statistically insignificant, an outlier among the many metrics that guide MLB front offices. Nobody is looking for the next Rivera, because they think they'll never find him. Instead, they think "Closer by committee" strategies are just as good. However, may teams fail to realize it only works if you have like three or four closer-level talents on your roster, a la the Yankees with Chapman, Ottavino, Britton, Greene and Kahnle.

 

I do think you need someone with a mental make-up that relishes such an opportunity. Playoff games don't happen in a vacuum or a computer spreadsheet. It's a bad time to find out the guy you bring in doesn't respond well to pressure.

 

That was fun, really what playoff baseball is to me. Soto looked not great before that AB.
Anyone else notice that on an 0-1 slider he took it and it looked like he was happy because he had picked it up or figured out Hader?