Sorry Chuck, the Dodgers are nigh unstoppable. I think this is finally going to be the year when I get the Dodger-Redsox World Series. I might explode with joy if that happens.
Considering they have losing records against the Braves, the Cardinals (2-5 vs both) and the Reds (3-4) this year, you'd best hope your "unstoppable" Dodgers match up against the Pirates in the playoffs. They managed to go 4-2 against them.
You have to look at the trend line. The Dodgers have losing records against those teams because they were terrible in the first third of the season. The Dodgers are 55-17 since June 12. That's unreal.
Despite a great W-L record, MVP-worthy performances by both Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter, and a veteran lineup with significant post-season experience, I admit that I'm a bit worried about the Cardinals in terms of the playoffs. They're a much better team at home than on the road, their bats have fallen silent too many times, and their pitching has been uneven at best lately after a spectacular beginning of the season. I'm a bit nervous about their chances for success in the playoffs.
It's so hard to predict how things will play out in October. I do think winning the division will make a huge difference -- the wild card play-in is just a crapshoot. But if the Cards make it to the divisional series, I see no reason to view their chances as worse than the other teams.
The Cardinals are the horror movie monster who just won't die. Every time you think they're finished they find a way to stage a miraculous comeback. Look at their two most recent championships, where they struggled down the stretch, barely made the playoffs, then went on improbable runs to glory. Heck, they did the same thing against the Nationals last year before the Giants turned the tables on them.
And now the Redsox! Still need to win the division, probably tomorrow, but they've got a guaranteed slot in the post season.
the dirty rotten scumbags desecrated the Diamondbacks' pool. It'll take a lot of scrubbing to get the Dodger nastiness out of there.
The reaction in Phoenix to the swim was priceless. Pretty much guarantees it will happen again at some point. The swimming pool, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous. No baseball fan would ever spend time frolicking on a pool deck when they could be watching a game. All of these sun-belt expansion teams seem to use gimickry rather than good baseball to fill seats. It's a sorry spectacle.
I'm rooting for a Cleveland / Pittsburgh World Series. It'll make the TV people mad, but it would be cool to see those two teams in it.
Cleveland plays tonight, Whoever wins between them and Tampa gets Boston next. I gotta root for the Red Sox..
Of the three wildcard options, I think Texas would have played the Redsox best. I don't think Cleveland or Tampa match up that well with any of the division winners.
A lot of baseball to watch today! Redsox and Rays are just about to start then Dodgers-Braves at 6:00. Here are my predictions for the post season: ALDS winners: Redsox, Athletics NLDS winners: Dodgers, Cardinals World Series will be Dodgers-Redsox, Dodgers win in 6.
Okay, two games in for each LDS, and we have three ties, along with the Redsox up 2-0 over the humiliated Rays. This is good, this is very good.