ST: Rays @ Blue Jays September 25-27

[IMAN5]

Anyways my analysis on the game.

Kevin Pillar has really turned it up lately. He had his struggles early in this month but the last few games he has had some huge hits that brought in game tying runs. I love Dalton Pompey because I'm from Mississauga, and even though he only has one job of base running he does it perfectly. 5/5 stolen bases, can't complain about that. He stole 2 bases vs Cleveland and had that run that was key when Gomes ended up homering to tie it in the 9th. Then yesterday's game, if he doesn't steal to 2nd he maybe gets stranded at 3rd after Pillar's double and never scores the tying run. That happens and Donaldson's home run isn't a walk off.

Josh Donaldson, man after some off games early in the month a lot of critics were saying "he might slump his way out of the mvp title" but what he did yesterday was incredible. Lets not just talk about the walkoff homerun, lets talk about the play in the 8th inning where he got the man on 3rd base out with heads up thinking and a fast reaction. Amazing defensive play that really helped keep them in it.

I love this team and even if there's a few games left and anything can happen I'm a believer we'll clinch 1st.

[LLJ]

Could you explain this a bit more?

What was it before?

No clue. Obviously the probable division winners had the lowest odds over the WC teams. I remember hearing the Mets and Dodgers were all 6-1. KC and St. Louis were 5-1 and 6-1. Can't remember which was which though.

Last year's Giants were 12-1 going in.

I wonder how often oddsmakers get it right about the World Series champs. I can't imagine it's a very high % considering its crapshoot reputation.

[The_Hater]

No clue. Obviously the probable division winners had the lowest odds over the WC teams. I remember hearing the Mets and Dodgers were all 6-1. KC and St. Louis were 5-1 and 6-1. Can't remember which was which though.

Last year's Giants were 12-1 going in.

I wonder how often oddsmakers get it right about the World Series champs. I can't imagine it's a very high % considering its crapshoot reputation.

You'd be right. The MLB playoffs is the biggest crapshoot of the 4 major sports for sure and especially difficult to handicap with the 1 game WC in play.

I made the comment a couple of months back that had 10 teams made the playoffs back in 2002-03 the Jays almost certainly wouldn't have won 2 titles.

[satyr9]

You'd be right. The MLB playoffs is the biggest crapshoot of the 4 major sports for sure and especially difficult to handicap with the 1 game WC in play.

I made the comment a couple of months back that had 10 teams made the playoffs back in 2002-03 the Jays almost certainly wouldn't have won 2 titles.

Gotta say, this is a pretty bold statement. If the playoffs got more cluttered ten years after the Jays won their World Series titles, then they never could've won them? I think you'll have to explain yourself.

Were the Marlins going to beat them, 'cause Loria decided it was cheaper to invent time travel and compete against fewer teams instead of paying for one year of salaries and getting his ring in '03 if he'd had more wildcard slots to contend against?

[LLJ]

I've thought about this a lot and I think the reason why it's so unpredictable is that for the most part, all the teams in the playoffs aren't really separated a whole lot by talent. By and large most MLB teams in the playoffs have comparable talent to one another. And when things are almost equal, luck and hot/cold streaks figure into the picture much more. And you can't always measure a team's talent by their records, necessarily. A lot more teams out there, like Oakland since the late 90s, find ways to win regular season games by emphasizing certain statistical areas of baseball, even if they don't have A-level talent. Every once in a moon you have a team like the 96-2000 Yankees which field a team stacked with dominant talent that's completely on another level compared to most teams so they can win MULTIPLE titles, but that is so rare.

The 92 and 93 Jays were really talented, but I don't know if their collective level of talent dwarfed that of the other 9 best teams in the league to enough of a degree to guarantee back to back in a 10 team playoff system. It's certainly possible they could have won 2 in a row anyway, but you have to figure the chances wouldn't be as great.

Another argument though, is that the Jays may have won titles in 87 and 90 with the wildcard in place. So instead of talking about 92 and 93 we might be talking about out 87 and 92 if the current WC were in place back then.

I still think either way, we'd have won 2 from 85-93 with or without the WC. Just the years might be different.

[The_Hater]

You'd be right. The MLB playoffs is the biggest crapshoot of the 4 major sports for sure and especially difficult to handicap with the 1 game WC in play.

I made the comment a couple of months back that had 10 teams made the playoffs back in 2002-03 the Jays almost certainly wouldn't have won 2 titles.

Gotta say, this is a pretty bold statement. If the playoffs got more cluttered ten years after the Jays won their World Series titles, then they never could've won them? I think you'll have to explain yourself.

Were the Marlins going to beat them, 'cause Loria decided it was cheaper to invent time travel and compete against fewer teams instead of paying for one year of salaries and getting his ring in '03 if he'd had more wildcard slots to contend against?

It's not bold, it's math. Having to win one extra playoff series in either season would have greatly increased the chances of losing. It doesn't even matter who they might have played because the baseball playoffs are as always a crapshoot.

[satyr9]

You'd be right. The MLB playoffs is the biggest crapshoot of the 4 major sports for sure and especially difficult to handicap with the 1 game WC in play.

I made the comment a couple of months back that had 10 teams made the playoffs back in 2002-03 the Jays almost certainly wouldn't have won 2 titles.

Gotta say, this is a pretty bold statement. If the playoffs got more cluttered ten years after the Jays won their World Series titles, then they never could've won them? I think you'll have to explain yourself.

Were the Marlins going to beat them, 'cause Loria decided it was cheaper to invent time travel and compete against fewer teams instead of paying for one year of salaries and getting his ring in '03 if he'd had more wildcard slots to contend against?

It's not bold, it's math. Having to win one extra playoff series in either season would have greatly increased the chances of losing. It doesn't even matter who they might have played because the baseball playoffs are as always a crapshoot.

I think you missed the point I was making.

[Santoki]

Gotta say, this is a pretty bold statement. If the playoffs got more cluttered ten years after the Jays won their World Series titles, then they never could've won them? I think you'll have to explain yourself.

Were the Marlins going to beat them, 'cause Loria decided it was cheaper to invent time travel and compete against fewer teams instead of paying for one year of salaries and getting his ring in '03 if he'd had more wildcard slots to contend against?

It's not bold, it's math. Having to win one extra playoff series in either season would have greatly increased the chances of losing. It doesn't even matter who they might have played because the baseball playoffs are as always a crapshoot.

I think you missed the point I was making.

He meant '92-'93. That should clear everything up.

[Raps in 4]

Watching no-offence teams is so boring.