The Official MLB Divisional Series Playoff Blog (Part III)
This is a blog about the MLB playoffs and part of an ongoing, open-ended dialogue I'm having with you guys about storylines, match ups and just overall significance.
I should also disclose my intended target in the conversation is a casual sports fan that does not pay any attention during the regular season. In my experience, that represents the biggest group of people that would benefit from any kind of help in watching these games. The diehards, not so much.
But regular Joes - I got you in mind and I hope this helps.
For a brief playoff summary up to today, click here
In no particular order…
1. Yesterday was the first time in the history of baseball that all 4 division series were tied at 1-1 apiece. It's a muter point today with the Mets and Dodgers now holding a 2-1 lead, and this is the exact same thing I lead off with yesterday. But I don't miss opportunities to emphasize history: only one time in nearly 30 years have we gotten all the division series to a fifth game. All of this just to say that I think these playoffs have been very special so far and just about the best that I can remember while my Cubs sit at home. Purely from an enthusiast standpoint, the early taste of this postseason has been nothing short of delightful.
2. Alex Cobb pitches for Cleveland today and I think it's the longest stretch anyone has ever gone between postseason starts. I think. I can't say for sure, but he last started a game for Tampa in 2013. The only name that registers in comparison is Bartolo and I don't think that's even close. So kudos to Alex Cobb for making his way back into an October rotation after an absolutely ridiculous journey. He's a unique pitcher someone I've long admired for his aggressiveness in the strikezone despite a comparatively-underwhelming fastball.
The differentiator is two-fold: first he's got a really good splitter that he commands. The second piece is mechanical. Everything looks the same which is referred to as tunnelling. His pitches come from the same spot and are extremely hard to differentiate based on arm-action, movement, repeatability.
Granted - he's added a lot of fastball velocity since recovering from injury and maturing in his career. A decade ago you'd accuse him of doing steroids but we know better now. Cobb's worked his dick off to get back on the mound and I just want to point out that's really cool for one of baseball's older sailors.
3. I Don't Know What League Has Better Playoffs. Both have been sensation. New York/Kansas City is literally a perfect match up for baseball nerds. You got huge bats and names on one side, tremendous love and effort on the other. One team expects to destroy, the other didn't expect to be here. It's such a marvelous balancing act that really feels more appropriate than the Yankees vs. another big budget club.
Maybe that's why Jazz Chisholm isn't nervous?
And maybe that's why Tommy Pham trains in the offseason?
Are you prepared to fuck somebody up today?
Don't answer that.
Let's instead talk about the AL vs. NL match ups so far…
I think the NL has a slight edge just on name power alone. The gameplay in Tigers/Guardians has been right there with Yankees/Royals. But the fact the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers and Padres are the big names standing on the NL side is a little too hard to overcome in this imaginary match up in my head. So I'm going to slightly lean NL with the concession that the ALDS could end up delivering better drama.
4. Even so is Clarke Schmidt prepared to fuck somebody up today like Tommy Pham? Probably not but I don't know him personally. I do know he pitched well in 16 starts this year and rarely throws a 4-seam fastball. Most of his stuff works glove-side and away from right-handed-hitters, which is probably why Kansas City is hitting 7 lefties tonight including Adam Frazier in right field.
In simpler terms - the Yankees are pitching a guy that makes a shade over $2M after starting a 1-2 combo that averages $32M in salary. So that's a big drop off, but Clarke Schmidt is still pretty good. Especially since adopting a cutter and spreading his stuff relatively even across 4 different pitches.
Opposite that is Seth Lugo, a guy that commands everything you can throw. He's polished and savy and pitching at home in what should be an awesome match up in practice despite almost no sex/curb appeal on paper. Even after bombing yesterday I stand by the fact that Game Unders are the right play uniformly until Championship Series play begins.
5. Mets vs. Phillies has another awesome pitching match up. Quintana for the Mets is such a soft tosser but he's always around the zone and very hard to lay off, generally. So expect the Phillies to be up in the batters box taking massive swings the first time through the order as I would be stunned to see Quintana go more than 5.0 innings. Games move very fast in Quintana starts and I'd expect this one to be no different with the Philles down 2-1 in the series.
Meanwhile they'll pitch Ranger Suarez who quite literally has testicles the size of grapefruits. I know a lot of people think baseball players are pussies but I can assure you Ranger will fuckin cut your throat if he really had to. Think Olin Kreutz from the Bears with Mike Hampton's arsenal and Carlos Zambrano's zest for life. That's kinda how I see Ranger Suarez and this time of year only makes him better. I like Phillies tonight in a close fast game but that's also exactly what I'm cheering for. So tread lightly and responsibly.
6. More proof That Fernando Tatis is a living legend:
Incredible, really.
7. And more proof that October baseball is simply beautiful:
This clip deserves it's own blog so maybe just watch and enjoy it.
Bigger picture I'll address is that I have long said the steroid era was awesome. And now I'm watching public backlash against an electric superstar because he tested positive for doing steroids years ago. It kinda rubs me the wrong way because I think everyone everywhere should enjoy Fernando Tatis Jr. no matter your own personal pride or standards. The guy is fucking awesome plain and simple.
8. Manny Machado Is Getting Drilled Tonight and even if he doesn't, I'm sure we can all agree that Tom DeLonge singing All the Small Things was awesome last night.
Good to see Tom in the crowd and a reminder that you can see Blink-182 this weekend at the Austin City Limits music festival in Texas. Seems like a solid lineup but I can only read the top three lines of font.
9. Finally: Turns Out Baseball Is Doing Just Fine
Front Office Sports - Within that overall boost, Fox Sports averaged 3.64 million viewers for its first four National League Division Series games. That average is the highest such mark through the second day of play in this playoff round since the network’s FS1 channel began showing postseason baseball in 2014.
The highest mark ever is pretty good and that's because the playoffs are good. And today is maybe the best last day of baseball on the calendar with 4 games.
So let's close with some predictions from my computer simulations:
Padres over Dodgers in 4
Tigers over Guardians in 5
Mets over Phillies in 5
Royals over Yankees in 4
God Bless America