MLB '24 Postseason thread

I’m proud of the Royals. If you would have told me after last years 56-106 debacle that we were going to be 30 wins better and contend in the LDS, I would have told you no way in the world.
That being said. There are some question marks for next year. Most notably that bullpen. Wednesday night, they couldn’t find the strike zone late in the game. And when they did, Stanton hit one to the Drury Inn across I-70.
The front part is solid with Pac-Man (Wacha), Ragans, Lugo. Singer threw well the other night, so maybe there’s hope there.
Offensively, the middle of that lineup did almost nothing in this series.
All in all, I’m very pleased. My kid was at both games at the K and had an amazing time. (Got pic with Marlins Man yesterday). Q is your manager of the year and Witt will be 2 in MVP.

 

They need a bat or two -- 8 of their top 13 in plate appearances hit .231 or worse. if Caglianone could make a big leap by mid-summer that would be really helpful. Hunter Renfroe is definitely picking up his, which doesn't help.

I don't think Wacha will exercise his option and I probably wouldn't give him what he wants and give Noah Cameron a shot at the back of those guys in the rotation.

 

how many y'all 20something?

 

1 in 500 chance to make the playoffs. And when they did get in, everyone knew they wouldn’t go quietly.
It’s amazing. The issue may be how long they let Skubal cook.

 

A 30-win improvement is tremendous. Nobody can say they didn’t get the most of their talent.

 

This is absolutely correct.

And while David Rubenstein & Co. have had a nice honeymoon year spraying fans with water, this is when they need to show that they're fully invested in locking up some version of the future. And frankly, the trade-deadline moves didn't exactly inspire confidence.

At least they appear to be admitting there was a systematic problem somewhere.

 

Firing hitting and bench coaches is the very definition of shuffling the desk chairs on a sinking ship. Maybe the Orioles aren't sinking, but there is no coaching of hitters done at the major league level anymore and the bench coach wasn't the problem while you were going from 52 to 101 wins. Hyde probably had to approve of them being fired or get axed himself.

 

Guards-Tigers start moved to 1 p.m. They’re saying it’s because of weather but everyone in Ohio knows it’s because the Buckeyes play Oregon at 7:30.

 

Both Game 5s fall during Yom Kippur, that's why the Dodgers aren't starting Koufax.

 

Yeah yeah yeah, I know Harper had that SI cover and the two MVPs and the home run derby and he's in all the commercials and he was a regular in the major leagues at 19, but have you ever poked around his baseball-reference page? His career OPS+ is in the vicinity of Freddie Freeman, light-years behind Ohtani, Soto, Judge, and Trout. His top 4 comparables at his age include Justin Upton and Shawn Green. He's never won a Gold Glove, he's never topped 180 hits in a season, and he's only gone over 40 homers once.
The man has ample time to rack up counting stats, but I think there's a chance people think of Harper 40 years from now as something of a 21st-century Steve Garvey, super-famous in his day but not the first (or second, or third) name out of your mouth when you name the greatest players of his era.

 

All I can say as a Phillies fan is that I'm happy to have him. I don't care if he's not as good as Ohtani, since no one is. He's done right by my team since he got there.

 

Depends how many you’re naming, I suppose. He’s 8th to 10th or so in most categories from 2012-present.
The multiple MVPs write his ticket to Cooperstown. But I’m with you. A ring would benefit him.