Baseball 2015 (page 2)

[Brian]

Page 1 of the "Baseball 2015" thread can be found here.

With less than a third of the season remaining, the Dodgers still hold onto first place in the National League West.  This morning, they're two and a half games ahead of the Giants.  My preseason hope that the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies would also do well this year was dashed long ago.

The Dodgers have surprised me.  The Giants just scare me, as usual.

The top three teams in the Central Division own the highest winning percentages in the National League.  The poor Cubs -- who've won as many games as the Dodgers and lost two fewer -- are eight and a half games behind the Cardinals, who've been the best team in both leagues virtually all season.  But the Cubs would face the Pirates if the wild card playoff was held today.

The East, where only the Mets and the Nationals float above .500, has been the weakest division.

Only seven teams have a chance to win the 2015 National League pennant. There are five paths into the postseason.

[Brian]

Anni and I were at Dodger Stadium with our old friends -- and occasional Montrose Peace Vigil participants -- John and Justeen on Wednesday to witness a game against the Giants widely described as pivotal.  Clayton Kershaw threw all nine innings to win 2 to 1 and sweep the Giants, who are now six and a half games behind the Dodgers in the National League West.  Yet another one-run win achieved by historically brilliant pitching by Kershaw, Cy Young Award leader Zack Greinke and closer Kenley Jansen along with timely phenomenal home runs by the entire batting order.  I'd probably enjoy this season more if I could just stop holding my breath.

If the Dodgers only win half their games for the rest of the season, the Giants would have to win 21 out of 29 just to tie them.

Aug 10, 2015 23:19:29 GMT -8 Brian said:

Only seven teams have a chance to win the 2015 National League pennant. There are five paths into the postseason.

The National League race has tightened in the past three weeks.  The Cardinals, Dodgers and Mets still lead their divisions, and the Pirates and the Cubs-- who both have better records than every team except the Cards -- would face each other in the one-game wild card playoff if the season was over today instead of October 4.  The Giants and the Nationals are a daunting seven games back in the wild card standings.

[Brian]

The magic number for the Dodgers is 10 with 17 games to play.  Any combination of 10 Dodger wins or Giant losses means that Los Angeles takes the National League West.  I've been feeling relieved and relaxed all month, with the Giants always seven or eight games behind.  They're down even lower in the wild card standings, ten games back.  The only drama remaining is whether the Dodgers will get home field advantage -- right now, they're two games ahead of the Mets in the loss column.

The five postseason contenders are virtually set in the National League, so my attention has turned to the American League much earlier in September than I remember.  I followed both leagues when I was younger, even attended a lot of Angels and A's games in the 1980's.  I'm not aging well, because I resent the designated hitter rule more every season.  After 45 years, I should be used to it by now.  But only the National League still plays the game of my youth, as God intended.

If I want the heat of a pennant race, I have to go to the dark side.  At least nine teams still have a chance for the five American League postseason slots -- including the Anaheim Angels.

[Brian]

Chase Utley was suspended for his late slide in Game 2 that broke Ruben Tejada's leg.

Baseball is not a totally nonviolent sport, I know, but I love it nonetheless.  If Tejada had not been hurt, no one would still be discussing that collision in the seventh inning of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the Mets.  Utley may be forced to watch two postseason games at home on TV if he loses his appeal.  Tejada won't be able to play again until 2016.

After Tejada was wheeled off the field, the Dodgers scored three more runs before the last out in the seventh, taking the lead.  They went on to win the game, tying the Mets in the five-game series.  The next two games in New York could be a lot nastier.

[Brian]

The end of the Dodgers' postseason Thursday night in Game 5 of the National League Division Series was merciful.  I won't have to watch the team limp through the seven game Championship Series with two and a half starting pitchers and an ever changing lineup that hasn't hit well for a month.

Now I can wholeheartedly root for the Cubs.

My Cubs story:  My grandmother, who raised four children in Chicago, was offered two tickets to the World Series at Wrigley Field in 1945, but she turned them down.  When my uncles objected, she told them, "Don't worry, you can go next year."

[Brian]

That's our Congressman Adam Schiff singing the Mets' theme song on the floor of the House of Representatives last Friday. When the Dodgers lost the National League Division Series, Schiff lost a bet with Rep. Steve Israel of New York. The Mets had already swept the Cubs in the Championship Series by the time Schiff paid up.

The World Series starts today.