Right now, Major League Baseball is the parity king. A strong final week secured New York’s home-field advantage for this game, while the Astros staved off the Angels for the final spot in the American League.
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Right before the 2015 Major League Baseball postseason is set to start, there is a report from the Boston Globe that indicates changes could be in store for the playoff format.
“I felt the pressure of so many other women and I wanted to make sure I did well”.
JONAH KERI: Thanks for having me. The Cubs were 14-1 with Arrieta on the mound in the second half, so it is no surprise that he will be called on for the Wild Card game in Pittsburgh. So why is no one questioning why a baseball player is coaching or analyzing softball when the reverse happens? While every playoff series deserves a detailed analysis of team-wide stats and trends, the Wild Card round provides the benefit of focusing on a single game and make a quick prediction while prioritizing the probable starting pitchers. It’s an elimination game.
Unlike the Yankees, the Astros’ bullpen doesn’t have the raw firepower that can be taken advantage of with bountiful days of rest in the playoffs.
Will the Astros continue their hot streak?
The Cubs and Pirates will play each other on Wednesday, October 7 at 8 p.m. EDT at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
If form holds and the top four teams advance, the championship series would be the Cardinals vs. Royals and the Cubs vs. Pirates. Jake Arrieta and Gerrit Cole crash in this particular winner-take-all National League Wild Card game experience.
KERI: Yeah, what a beauty of a matchup.
“That doesn’t seem fair”, Jones argued two weeks before he and the Braves lost.
MLB.tv subscribers can watch all of the NL playoff games and the entire World Series with their subscription, but only with an additional authenticated login through a handful of providers.
I’ve gone back and forth on this multiple times, but my answer is that I think the Royals should root for the Yankees. When star pitcher Yu Darvish was declared out for the season due to Tommy John surgery, the Rangers were largely written off. Now they’re headed into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in baseball. He’s great for the Cubs.
Obviously. I mean, duh!
Mendoza has been with ESPN since 2007, working as an analyst for the Women’s College World Series – she is an alumna – and on Baseball Tonight, a recap of the day’s action. The Cubs haven’t won since 1908 – a drought far longer than Boston’s old Bambino-cursed period – and their transition from lovable losers to unbearable could be even more sudden. It’s hard to imagine a casual fan not rooting for the team that wins that game.
KERI: Yeah, absolutely. These are two very likable ball clubs. You become invested and root for the person nearly as if they were a family member.
Aside from St. Louis, none of the aforementioned playoff teams have won the World Series since at least 1988 (and in the case of the Cubs, you have to subtract another 80 years from that to find their last championship). Perhaps they don’t see his Merlot drinking is all that attractive. However, the Cubs and Pirates, both of which finished a few games shy of 100 wins, would have advanced to the Division Series, while the Mets and Dodgers played the Wild Card game. How do the Cards keep doing this? You look at the Giants. And they do an excellent job.
The one prominent bat that will be featured in the playoffs is that of Yoenis Cespedes, the trade deadline acquisition of the New York Mets.
DG: Baseball that really matters.
The two-team Wild Card scenario must also frustrate another team and its fan base: the St. Louis Cardinals, who will face the victor of Tuesday nights’ game. The Royals showed 2014 was no fluke and made it back for the second season in a row.
KERI: You know, it’s quite possible. The Royals won the pennant a year ago. And all that stuff was happening.
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Were either of these teams to play in any other division in the National (or American) League, they’d have won their division by a mile.
