2020 MLB postseason thread

Yeah, so what's so awesome about the old way of extra innings?

 

I don't have a dog in the hunt, for sure. And I know there's a Cubs-Sox DMZ somewhere in Chicago. Still ...

 

I'll be going in to pitch in Atlanta next.

 

Long-term health? Looks like the Indians made a smart move.

 

I know the baseball apologists here don't like it, but yes, it is absolutely true. The Yankees bought the World Series in 2009.

The Yankees' payroll that season was $201.45 million. The next highest was the New York Mets at $135.77 million. That is a difference of $65.68 million. To put that in perspective, the difference between the Yankees' payroll and the next on the list was more than the entire team payrolls of the Twins, Rays, Athletics, Nationals, Pirates, Padres and Marlins. (The Twins were the highest of that group at $65.3 million).

The Yankees had the highest payroll in MLB before signing a single free agent in the offseason. They added C.C. Sabathia, by far the most valuable free agent on the market. They got him by offering a massive long-term deal, too much money for him to turn down even though he reportedly wanted to go back to the West Coast. They signed Mark Teixeira, the best hitter on the free agent market, to another huge long-term deal. They also signed A.J. Burnett, arguably the second-best pitcher in free agency.

Again, this is in addition to what was already the highest payroll in the game. This was in addition to Rodriguez, who they had acquired through their built-in financial advantage, not any genius by Cashman. Yes, they had a core of home-grown talent, but unlike many other franchises, they were able to keep all of those guys when arbitration or free agency came around. Matsui may have began his career in this country, but to imply that he was home grown talent is a stretch. That was a competitive, free agent situation.

micropolitan guy claimed that the heart of their pitching staff in 2009 was home grown. This is false. Their top two starting pitchers in 2009 were Sabathia and Burnett. Don't the top two starters count as the heart of the pitching staff?

 

The Marlins didn't even have the highest payroll in MLB in 1997. They were seventh. They would be no. 2 on my list right behind the 2009 Yankees. That a team has home-grown talent isn't the only way to measure these things. It makes the roster building a hell of a lot easier if the franchise never has to lose a free agent unless it wants to let the guy go, and they can always add as many big contracts as they want.

 

It isn't absurd at all. They didn't even make the playoffs in 2008, so they used their built-in advantage to buy the pieces they needed to win it all in 2009.

But Yankee fans and baseball apologists don't like hearing or reading these things, so I get it.

 

The Yankees can do it without losing money on the deal, something that isn't true of most other franchises. Though the point isn't so much that no other franchise can do it. The Marlins showed you can in '97 and many franchises could probably pull it off now. The point is that it can be done.

 

The Twins have now lost 18 consecutive postseason games.

With a 50-50 coin-flip, the odds of that are .5 to the 18th power, or 0.00000381469. That's a 1 in 262,144 chance, according to the scientific calculator.

Incredible.

 

Skol!

#minnesotaprosportsteamssuckotherthanthelynx

 

The Twins postseason losing streak is old enough to vote.

h/t Aaron Rupar

 

Bringing in the closer in the eighth nearly came back to bite the A's today. But they will play another day.