Better Off With 6 Seed Than 5 Seed

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, notin said:

Cleveland has been on a ridiculous tear.  Granted, the bulk of it was against a struggling Tigers team, a useless White Sox team, and an AAA team wearing Twins uniforms.  But they did win.

The Yankees 8 game winning streak looks good, but they also beat up on 2 last place teams for those wins.

Boston didnt look as impressive down the stretch, but they were playing against teams fighting for postseason spots, and did manage to do pretty well against them.

Guardians and Yanks are both good teams. Guardians pitching staff is going really well right now and could be a worse matchup maybe? IDK. It's also just a better storyline to play NYY. 

[Maxbialystock]

As for the OP, I'd rather the Sox were going to Toronto where the Sox took 2 of 3 less than a week ago.  The Yankees are hot and will be starting their 2 best against the Sox Tues and Wed.  

When the Sox recently took 3 of 4 at Yankee Stadium, Anthony was playing and hot.  

I'm not saying the situation is hopeless.  If Crochet has a great game Tuesday and the Sox can score 2 or 3 runs, they could win.  

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, Maxbialystock said:

As for the OP, I'd rather the Sox were going to Toronto where the Sox took 2 of 3 less than a week ago.  The Yankees are hot and will be starting their 2 best against the Sox Tues and Wed.  

When the Sox recently took 3 of 4 at Yankee Stadium, Anthony was playing and hot.  

I'm not saying the situation is hopeless.  If Crochet has a great game Tuesday and the Sox can score 2 or 3 runs, they could win.  

If the Sox beat NYY, they'll be going to TOR.

[notin]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If the Sox beat NYY, they'll be going to TOR.

And if Detroit knocks off Cleveland and Seattle, the Sox head back to Fenway!

But that might be getting a little ahead of ourselves…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Can hardly wait to see Babe, Bucky and Boone on my TV, and no sign of Papi, Eovaldi and Brock Holt. 

Can also count on clips of Pedro throwing Zim by his head, and Tek feeding ARod his mitt, but no vid of Zim and ARod charging them first.

If we're really lucky, we'll get to see Jeter catching a pop-up and then running the length of a football field before diving on his face into a chair.

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, notin said:

And if Detroit knocks off Cleveland and Seattle, the Sox head back to Fenway!

But that might be getting a little ahead of ourselves…

Seems unlikely considering the stretch DET is on. 

[notin]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Seems unlikely considering the stretch DET is on. 

Thats only because they finished the year going 3-12 in their last 15 games…

[notin]

33 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Can hardly wait to see Babe, Bucky and Boone on my TV, and no sign of Papi, Eovaldi and Brock Holt. 

Can also count on clips of Pedro throwing Zim by his head, and Tek feeding ARod his mitt, but no vid of Zim and ARod charging them first.

If we're really lucky, we'll get to see Jeter catching a pop-up and then running the length of a football field before diving on his face into a chair.

And maybe Pedro drilling Karim Garcia!  I could watch that again and again…

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

And maybe Pedro drilling Karim Garcia!  I could watch that again and again…

Who are you, Karim Garcia, to try and test Pedro Martinez, a proven player for 10 years?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Wait, Roger just threw a high pitch over the plate, a yard-stick away from Manny, who charged the mound and yelled anyway:

"I thought it was the ball!"

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

Well, I guess that means Cora is going to be banned yet again from MLB because Saturday, after gaining the postseason Friday night, he didn't start a bunch of regulars--Story, Bregman, Duran, and Gonzalez--and the Sox lost.  What he did was obviously much worse than stealing signals or betting against the Sox.  How dare he rest players and disturb the competitive balance of MLB?  

I think you have to strike a balance.  You have to make some effort to win the game to be fair to other teams, but you also have to look out for your own team's best interests. 

[dgalehouse]

A baseball game is more unpredictable than most sporting events.  We should know by now that anything can happen. The post season is no different in that regard. I do think, and have stated all along, that the Red Sox are very capable of beating any of the top teams.  There should also be no disputing that the Yankees are clearly a better team than the Guardians or the Tigers. Anyone who knows anything about baseball has to know that. 

[mvp 78]

35 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Wait, Roger just threw a high pitch over the plate, a yard-stick away from Manny, who charged the mound and yelled anyway:

"I thought it was the ball!"

The Manny charge has always been kinda funny.

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I think you have to strike a balance.  You have to make some effort to win the game to be fair to other teams, but you also have to look out for your own team's best interests. 

If he was really throwing the game, he would have put Wong in rather than Narvaez on Saturday. Plus, a lot of those guys were nursing hangovers. We don't know who was hitting the Advil really hard that morning and needed a sub.  

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

A baseball game is more unpredictable than most sporting events.  We should know by now that anything can happen. The post season is no different in that regard. I do think, and have stated all along, that the Red Sox are very capable of beating any of the top teams.  There should also be no disputing that the Yankees are clearly a better team than the Guardians or the Tigers. Anyone who knows anything about baseball has to know that. 

The Jays started Gausman to get the edge on the bye, but he ended up pitching poorly and was taken out early. Baseball be weird sometimes. 

[dgalehouse]

All is fair in love and war. But if you enjoyed Pedro throwing 97 at or near a guy's head, you really should not complain about Machado taking out Pedroia. 

[mvp 78]

Just now, dgalehouse said:

All is fair in love and war. But if you enjoyed Pedro throwing 97 at or near a guy's head, you really should not complain about Machado taking out Pedroia. 

Which player's career did Pedro end? 

[Bellhorn04]

12 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

All is fair in love and war. But if you enjoyed Pedro throwing 97 at or near a guy's head, you really should not complain about Machado taking out Pedroia. 

Pedro was a bit of a headhunter at times, I guess.  It's nothing I would approve of.

Seems like there aren't really any pitchers who are notorious for that any more.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Pedro was a bit of a headhunter at times, I guess.  It's nothing I would approve of.

Seems like there aren't really any pitchers who are notorious for that any more.  

He was more of a handhunter, like when he put both Soriano and Jetes in the hospital to start a game (protecting a teammate for earlier Yankee flagrance). 

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

He was more of a handhunter, like when he put both Soriano and Jetes in the hospital to start a game (protecting a teammate for earlier Yankee flagrance). 

Yes I remember that.

[dgalehouse]

Pedro was no fool, however. He had no problem drilling batters, but he kind of backed off when Gary Sheffield warned him. Sheffield was not someone you want to mess with. 

[Kimmi]

On 9/28/2025 at 10:01 AM, dgalehouse said:

It leads to suspicion that teams might intentionally dump games to obtain what they feel is a more favorable playoff position. This is something that the gamblers would certainly pick up on.  And anything that casts doubt on the integrity of the games is obviously bad for the sport. 

My Yankees-fan friend (oxymoron?) swears that the Rays tanked their final series against the Jays.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

FanGraphs has posted their odds for the WC round.

 

Yankems winning in 2 has the highest percentage. Not giving Crochet much respect. And also disrespecting the best back-end relievers in the AL 

Fk Fangraphs.

[Kimmi]

On 9/28/2025 at 5:01 AM, king koji said:

The fundamental flaw in MLB's Playoff system is apparent, due to not re-seeding after each round a la NFL.

If we win  today and "earn" the 5-seed we have to play better win percentage NYY/Tor rather than worse percentage Det/Cle if we lose and get the 6-seed.

This is THEN followed by having to play better win percentage 1-seed Tor/NYY than worse percentage 2-seed Seattle in the Division Round..

The ONLY possible advantage to being a 5 over a 6 that I can see is if these 2 teams get to the ALCS Final. Then you'd be glad to have home field in a 7-game series. Seemingly a small chance of this happening though and not enough of a gain to overcome the advantage of getting to play two "lesser" teams on the way up the ladder.

I would actually call this a serious problem for MLB.

Anyways, in my view,, as today goes, LOSE BABY LOSE!

I went back and forth on this several times throughout the game.  I would have preferred not to play the Yankees in the first round.  However, I really could not pull for the Red Sox to lose, nor could I pull for the Yankees to win the division.

I hate to think of any team trying to lose a game on purpose for whatever reason.  Ideally, everyone plays their best baseball and let the chips fall where they may.  I understand resting players and not having your strongest team out there. but beyond that, teams should be trying their best to win.

[Kimmi]

On 9/28/2025 at 2:28 PM, dgalehouse said:

I don't know.. I don't care.  Check out DeLeon's numbers in AAA. The point is; is it acceptable to try to lose a game in order to get a lower seed . Notin replied that you should play to win. I agree with that. 

I don't think starting DeLeon was an attempt to lose the game.  It sounds like this is the guy who Cora thought could give him the most length.  Cora took him out of the game at the appropriate time and, IMO, managed the game to win.

[dgalehouse]

12 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

My Yankees-fan friend (oxymoron?) swears that the Rays tanked their final series against the Jays.

Astros fans were complaining that the Rangers dumped a game to the Guardians. 

[Kimmi]

1 minute ago, dgalehouse said:

Astros fans were complaining that the Rangers dumped a game to the Guardians. 

As I said, I hope that teams are not purposely throwing games.  But, we have no way of knowing for sure.

I'm not unhappy about the Astros missing the playoffs.

[dgalehouse]

11 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Yankems winning in 2 has the highest percentage. Not giving Crochet much respect. And also disrespecting the best back-end relievers in the AL 

Fk Fangraphs.

Fangraphs opening odds are seldom on target. They will always revise them when it becomes obvious they were wrong. I don't think they have much credibility. 

[notin]

28 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

My Yankees-fan friend (oxymoron?) swears that the Rays tanked their final series against the Jays.

Yankee Fan Paranoia.  Very common.

Back in 1995,  the Yankees beat the Red Sox in game 161 to clinch the AL East , leaving Boston with the sole wild card.  In game 162, the Yankees trotted out their B Team and lost.

The problem was the Yankees had won the AL East but not home field.  They needed to either win their final game or for the Angels to lose to the Rangers. 
 

The Rangers, managed by ex-Yankee skipper Buck Showslter - not a Steinbrenner fan at all - trotted out his own B Team and lost, giving the Angels home field against the Yankees.

As he was still alive at that point, George Steinbrenner went on an absolute tirade, blasting Showalter and going on about the importance of respecting the game for other teams that still have stakes.

Given that the Yankees didn’t take their own game seriously- and they did control their own destiny - was Steinbrenner right in this instance?

 

[Kimmi]

27 minutes ago, notin said:

Yankee Fan Paranoia.  Very common.

Back in 1995,  the Yankees beat the Red Sox in game 161 to clinch the AL East , leaving Boston with the sole wild card.  In game 162, the Yankees trotted out their B Team and lost.

The problem was the Yankees had won the AL East but not home field.  They needed to either win their final game or for the Angels to lose to the Rangers. 
 

The Rangers, managed by ex-Yankee skipper Buck Showslter - not a Steinbrenner fan at all - trotted out his own B Team and lost, giving the Angels home field against the Yankees.

As he was still alive at that point, George Steinbrenner went on an absolute tirade, blasting Showalter and going on about the importance of respecting the game for other teams that still have stakes.

Given that the Yankees didn’t take their own game seriously- and they did control their own destiny - was Steinbrenner right in this instance?

 

Good stuff Notin.

The Yankees made the mistake of relying on another team to take care of the Yankees' business for them.  That's on the Yankees, not anyone else.  I understand wanting to rest players, but you have to weigh which is more important, rested players or home field advantage.

The Blue Jays started Gausman yesterday in a successful attempt to win the division, rather than holding him out for a possible wildcard game.