The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

The logical fallacies of comparing two one-and-done formats with playoff series, and of comparing sports with 10-20 percent as many games to baseball are obvious.

 

Which brings me back to my earlier post.

Why bother with a 162-game season if excellence across the long haul goes unrewarded?

Play 80 games and then make brackets or something.

Me?

Put me in the Wayback Machine for 154 games, best record in each league goes to the World Series. Best-of-7 day games.

Baggy cotton flannel uniforms too, please.

 

Cleveland’s drought reaches 75 years.

In Cleveland, where they’ve mastered misery, MLB’s longest title drought reaches 75 years

 

The city of Cleveland has nothing on San Diego, which hasn't won a title since the Chargers in the AFL in the early 1960s.

Was happy to see Atlanta go out. Having gone to college in Richmond and then Nashville, I was surrounded by people who couldn't tell the difference between Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones. Two World Series wins in like 20 postseason appearances. Not great, love it.

 

Putting my money on the Diamondbacks getting to and likely winning the World Series.

Since the Brewers ended their playoff drought in 2008, their ouster has gone on to the World Series all 6 times (2 obvious from the NLCS), and winning 5 of them.

2008 - NLDS: Phillies beat Brewers (Phillies win WS)
2011 - NLCS: Cardinals beat Brewers (Cardinals win WS)
2018 - NLCS: Dodgers beat Brewers (Dodgers lose WS)
2019 - NLWC: Nationals beat Brewers (Nationals win WS)
2020 - NLWC: Dodgers beat Brewers (Dodgers win WS*)
2021 - NLDS: Braves beat Brewers (Braves win WS)
2023 - NLWC: Dbacks beat Brewers

The road to the World Series goes through Milwaukee … unfortunately it never ends there.

*because asterisks are fun

 

If the Phillies lose to the D-Backs I'm okay with it. Just wanted to see those Trump-loving shitbirds eliminated.

 

I'm not a fan of five-game series. That is just too short.

 

I much rather have best-of-seven series as well, but these four series were won 3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 3-0. It is highly unlikely any of the series outcomes would've changed.

I don't know that the best teams didn't still win. The Rangers lineup is destructive and led the AL in on-base, slugging, homers and total bases. Maybe the starting pitching evens out if the series is longer, but Seager and Simeon are devastating. Houston is in its seventh straight ALCS. Philly has Wheeler and Nola and a ton of velocity in its bullpen, Harper is a monster, Castellanos has hit four homers in his last six at-bats and they beat Strider twice. I mean, they BEAT STRIDER TWICE. The Braves were 44-29 since the All-Star break; the Phillies were 42-31. Not much different. The games were 3-0, 5-4, 10-2 and 3-0, so most were high-leverage and tight throughout.

The Dodgers started Lance Lynn in a desperate game. Think about who wasn't in their rotation in the playoffs. The D'Backs hit, and Mookie and Freddie didn't. That's baseball.

 

The 162 game season is an anachronism in the year 2023

 

And if Craig Kimbrel wasn't Antonio Bastardo with a man bun, they would have had a better record in the second half than the Braves.

 

It is also something to think about how three out of the four teams with a bye in the first round lost in the DS. Dodgers got the bye by virtue of a weak National League, getting to play the worst of the AL teams and getting to play big chunks of games against bad teams at the end of the season. But their pitching was trash and their best hitters went cold for three games when they actually faced good pitching. Braves fell flat(ish) against a cocky team that is riding a hot streak. Orioles suffered from a week off and going against a team that had to fight until the end for the division (lost it) but could keep routines going for a week. Plus the Rangers has one of the best (not the best, but one of) postseason managers ever.

It would be interesting if we shortened the season back to 154 (which will be hard to maintain divisions and a balanced schedule but can be done) and expand the playoffs to 16 so no one gets a bye. Have a 5-7-7-7 playoff format, playing short series to kickoff but going 7 the rest of the way. Fewer teams tank, we get teams fighting it out all the way to the end, none of this long layoff for the best teams in baseball. You can also shorten the minor league seasons (or just eliminate minor league playoffs, because honestly, what is the point?) and cut costs there.