OT: The Sox AND the Cubs are atop the standings (as of 8/31/2020)

Dresden · Post #61 » by **Dresden** » Sat Oct 3, 2020 3:20 pm

Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

dice · Post #62 » by **dice** » Sat Oct 3, 2020 11:19 pm

Jeffster81 wrote:
dice wrote:
dougthonus wrote:
I'm not a baseball fan, but why would you want to increase the number of baseball games? I get that the 3 game series is a bit short, but I can't imagine why you'd want to go past 7. I suppose money but I wouldn't be excited about 9 game NBA playoffs. I'd actually probably be more excited to move back to 5 games.

absolutely nobody wants to increase the number of REGULAR SEASON baseball games. the vast majority probably want that reduced. like most people, i have no interest in watching a regular season baseball game. people tune in for the playoffs

9 works beautifully for baseball. not so much for basketball. a 9 game baseball series as i've proposed would last a maximum of 11 days. a 9 game basketball series would take up to 3 weeks. plus, the nature of baseball necessitates longer series if the objective is to produce the best matchups at a satisfying rate. a 7 game nba series pretty much never produces fluke results. if there is an upset, it feels earned. but the inferior team pretty regularly wins a baseball series...which is particularly unsatisfying after a 162 game schedule has given pretty good indication who the best teams are

9 game series is a bit much, unless it's strictly for the World Series. I would love to see a 9 game World Series.

What I do is for the LDS/LCS only, the higher seed (team with the better record) get the HFA through the series. Under this format, had the Cubs/Marlins played in the LDS/LCS the Cubs would have all five or seven games at home.

Or another possibility is to borrow from the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) is for each series starts 1-0 in favor of the team with the better record.

i'm all for creative solutions in terms of giving the clearly better team more of an advantage in a postseason series. whether that be making the home/road split more lopsided or a longer series or whatever. starting the series 1-0 doesn't sit well with me, though. nor does giving the better team EVERY game at home, just because it's nice to have the inferior team's fans a chance to root them on in person as a reward for a good season (variety in atmosphere is good for the the viewer as well)

i guess there's an issue with lengthening series just because a baseball game is so interminable for the average viewer. i was just thinking in terms of competitive fairness

Jeffster81 · Post #63 » by **Jeffster81** » Sat Oct 3, 2020 11:23 pm

Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

Brock and Gibson in the same year is a tough blow for Cardinals fans. Throw in Tom Seaver....just man.

dice · Post #64 » by **dice** » Sat Oct 3, 2020 11:39 pm

Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

gibson's ERA went from 1.12 that season to 2.18 the following season and 3.12 the year after that. pretty remarkable

ERA+ adjusts for ballparks and league averages. here are its best seasons ever (min 175 innings pitched):

Pedro Martinez+ (28) 291 2000 (217 IP)
Dutch Leonard (22) 279 1914 (224)
Greg Maddux+ (28) 271 1994 (202)
Greg Maddux+ (29) 260 1995 (209)
Walter Johnson+ (25) 259 1913 (346)
Bob Gibson+ (32) 258 1968 (304)

Dresden · Post #65 » by **Dresden** » Sat Oct 3, 2020 11:55 pm

dice wrote:
Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

gibson's ERA went from 1.12 that season to 2.18 the following season and 3.12 the year after that. pretty remarkable

ERA+ adjusts for ballparks and league averages. here are its best seasons ever (min 175 innings pitched):

Pedro Martinez+ (28) 291 2000 (217 IP)
Dutch Leonard (22) 279 1914 (224)
Greg Maddux+ (28) 271 1994 (202)
Greg Maddux+ (29) 260 1995 (209)
Walter Johnson+ (25) 259 1913 (346)
Bob Gibson+ (32) 258 1968 (304)

If I'm not mistaken, they lowered the mound in 1969 in part because of Gibson. Overall, they just felt pitching was getting too good, so to even things up they made the mound slightly lower in '69, along with splitting the leagues into divisions and added another round to the playoffs. Before that, you had to win the pennant, in order to make it to the WS.

ImSlower · Post #66 » by **ImSlower** » Sun Oct 4, 2020 12:07 am

Jeffster81 wrote:
Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

Brock and Gibson in the same year is a tough blow for Cardinals fans. Throw in Tom Seaver....just man.

I was able to serve both men, and will never forget either moment. Gibson came up and curtly ordered a drink, no smiles in sight. Awesome. Brock and his family I served at a fancy restaurant, and he was an absolute pleasure. Of note, his mother was an absolute riot - ancient at the time, but was making cracks throughout their meal. She passed away that year (had to have been, oh, 2004 or something). We were forbidden to acknowledge any celebrities other than standard service, but I did manage to tell Lou that my family considered him a hero, and shook his hand.

Dresden · Post #67 » by **Dresden** » Sun Oct 4, 2020 2:14 am

ImSlower wrote:
Jeffster81 wrote:
Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

Brock and Gibson in the same year is a tough blow for Cardinals fans. Throw in Tom Seaver....just man.

I was able to serve both men, and will never forget either moment. Gibson came up and curtly ordered a drink, no smiles in sight. Awesome. Brock and his family I served at a fancy restaurant, and he was an absolute pleasure. Of note, his mother was an absolute riot - ancient at the time, but was making cracks throughout their meal. She passed away that year (had to have been, oh, 2004 or something). We were forbidden to acknowledge any celebrities other than standard service, but I did manage to tell Lou that my family considered him a hero, and shook his hand.

Wow, awesome story. Esp. Brock's mom!

Jeffster81 · Post #68 » by **Jeffster81** » Sun Oct 4, 2020 6:20 am

ImSlower wrote:
Jeffster81 wrote:
Dresden wrote:Another one of the true greats passed away- Bob Gibson. What a pitcher he was- I don't think there was anyone tougher to face when he was in his prime. That season he had in 1968 was one of the best ever by a pitcher.

"Gibson was famous for finishing what he started. Of his 528 career starts in MLB, 255 were complete game outings. In 1968, Gibson pitched 13 shutouts and finished with a sparkling 1.12 ERA that is considered the modern-era standard."

Brock and Gibson in the same year is a tough blow for Cardinals fans. Throw in Tom Seaver....just man.

I was able to serve both men, and will never forget either moment. Gibson came up and curtly ordered a drink, no smiles in sight. Awesome. Brock and his family I served at a fancy restaurant, and he was an absolute pleasure. Of note, his mother was an absolute riot - ancient at the time, but was making cracks throughout their meal. She passed away that year (had to have been, oh, 2004 or something). We were forbidden to acknowledge any celebrities other than standard service, but I did manage to tell Lou that my family considered him a hero, and shook his hand.

Not surprise about Gibson. He was a mean ole cuss for everything I read. Not a bad guy but not a friendly guy either.

Post #69 » by **dougthonus** » Sun Oct 4, 2020 12:44 pm

dice wrote:i'm all for creative solutions in terms of giving the clearly better team more of an advantage in a postseason series. whether that be making the home/road split more lopsided or a longer series or whatever. starting the series 1-0 doesn't sit well with me, though. nor does giving the better team EVERY game at home, just because it's nice to have the inferior team's fans a chance to root them on in person as a reward for a good season (variety in atmosphere is good for the the viewer as well)

i guess there's an issue with lengthening series just because a baseball game is so interminable for the average viewer. i was just thinking in terms of competitive fairness

I actually like the idea of making games more neutral and giving the "better" team less of an advantage other than being the better team. I'd hate to limit the number of upsets as that is what makes sports so exciting.

I do get the problem in baseball though that what are you playing 162 games for if not some type of advantage, but that advantage can merely be seeding and home field IMO. One interesting spin on this would be the highest seed could be allowed to pick their opponent.

Post #70 » by **Michael Jackson** » Sun Oct 4, 2020 1:05 pm

Jeffster81 wrote:
ImSlower wrote:
Jeffster81 wrote:
Brock and Gibson in the same year is a tough blow for Cardinals fans. Throw in Tom Seaver....just man.

I was able to serve both men, and will never forget either moment. Gibson came up and curtly ordered a drink, no smiles in sight. Awesome. Brock and his family I served at a fancy restaurant, and he was an absolute pleasure. Of note, his mother was an absolute riot - ancient at the time, but was making cracks throughout their meal. She passed away that year (had to have been, oh, 2004 or something). We were forbidden to acknowledge any celebrities other than standard service, but I did manage to tell Lou that my family considered him a hero, and shook his hand.

Not surprise about Gibson. He was a mean ole cuss for everything I read. Not a bad guy but not a friendly guy either.

Gibson was like Ty Cobb mean he was no nonsense.

gardenofsound · Post #71 » by **gardenofsound** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:24 pm

Read on Twitter

I wasn't expecting this.

The Sox job has to be one of the better situations. The Sox should (hopefully) have their pick of the litter.

Did I just hear a trash can bang?

Dresden · Post #72 » by **Dresden** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:13 pm

Renteria got the axe now too.

Dresden · Post #73 » by **Dresden** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:16 pm

Baseball lost another legend with the passing of Joe Morgan. A two MVP at only 5'7". He was a huge part of that Big Red Machine in the 70's.

Just in the last few months, baseball has now lost Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Lou Brock, and now Joe Morgan. And I might be forgetting someone.

Dresden · Post #74 » by **Dresden** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:20 pm

Ive really been enjoying the MLB playoffs this year. As opposed to basketball, where you know Lebron is always going to make it to the finals, and more than likely some super team is going to win it all, it's really refreshing to see unheralded teams like Tampa and Atlanta beating some of the big boys. It was awesome watching the might Yankees, with all their big boppers, lose to Tampa, which are now up 2-0 on HOU and all their sluggers. And Atlanta shut down the Dodgers last night, holding them to just 1 run with good pitching and great defense.

It seems like in baseball, more so than other sports, just having a good all around team that plays good fundamental baseball, often can succeed over a team with a lot of high priced free agents. And that's great to watch.

Post #75 » by **fleet** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:42 pm

Garrett Crochet has the dreaded flexor strain. Not the ulnar ligament yet. But often the precursor to ulnar injury. If I understand it correctly, Chris Sale soldiered through for awhile with the flexor strain before his surgery. Too bad, but they say Crochet will be ok for spring training. Hope for the best, but you gotta believe he won’t start next year for the Sox while they try and stretch up his arm. Late inning guy maybe.

Ben Wilson25 · Post #76 » by **Ben Wilson25** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:51 am

Paul Sullivan speculating in the Tribune that Reinsdorf may force Kenny and Hahn to hire LaRussa to make up for firing him in 1986 (he’s always said it was his biggest baseball regret). I hope it’s not true, that would be a disaster. I like Tony but the last thing this young team needs is a 76 year old who hasn’t managed in 9 years and hit his prime in the 90s.

Dresden · Post #77 » by **Dresden** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:56 am

HOU refuses to go away. It's now 3-2 Tampa. Can the Astro's become the second team in MLB to come back from down 0-3?

Jeffster81 · Post #78 » by **Jeffster81** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:10 am

Dresden wrote:HOU refuses to go away. It's now 3-2 Tampa. Can the Astro's become the second team in MLB to come back from down 0-3?

There is a reason why a 0-3 deficit has ever been completed once in the history of MLB. Houston is not about to be team #2.

Dresden · Post #79 » by **Dresden** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:48 pm

Jeffster81 wrote:
Dresden wrote:HOU refuses to go away. It's now 3-2 Tampa. Can the Astro's become the second team in MLB to come back from down 0-3?

There is a reason why a 0-3 deficit has ever been completed once in the history of MLB. Houston is not about to be team #2.

They're only down 2-3 now though, and that deficit has been overcome many times. I'm rooting for TB, but HOU is a tough out.

Dresden · Post #80 » by **Dresden** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:53 pm

The Braves are really a fun team team to watch. Before the playoffs started, the only guy on the Braves I could have named was Freddie Freeman. But they are dismantling the powerful LA Dodgers with all their big names. A 20 year old rookie out pitched Clayton Kershaw last night, as the Braves rebounded from a 15-3 shellacking to win 10-2 and go up 3-1 in the series. They have a lot of young, exciting players, and their pitching for the most part has been able to hold down LA's powerful lineup.

You just don't see stories like this in basketball, where you can just about bet on Lebron being in the finals each year. Although I'll admit, Miami had that sort of feel to them this year. But for the most part, it's dominated by the superstars, and whichever team has managed to gather up the most of them. Or in football, which seems to be determined by who has the best QB more often than not.

But in baseball, it's often a fine mix of clutch hitting, power, defense, great pitching, and good fundamentals. And teams with all the superstars, like the Yankees and the Dodgers, don't often manage to get it right, and a team like Atlanta or Tampa Bay can win it all. I like that element of fairness in baseball- any team has a chance. Tampa has a payroll that is a fraction of the Dodgers or the Yankees.