NLDS: Nationals vs Dodgers

[Cooder 37]

I think he was being facetious. 

In my defense, you never know with him.

[shnsajax 3591]

3 hours ago, Pig Bellmont said:

The Cardinals are really good. Nats only went 2-5 against them in the season, buuuut it’s October so 🤷‍♂️

4 of those games came at the end of April and beginning of May, which doesn't mean much with how the Nats season has gone. Also the Cubs went 7-0 vs the Mets in 2015. 

[WBT 20669]

11 hours ago, Helobious said:

This. It needs to go back to just one wild card team. The current format leaves more teams/fanbases engaged in the playoff hunt towards the end of the season, which is bad for the sport. 

Hooray for more shitty teams with a chance to luck into a World Series.

[Pig Bellmont 8738]

lol this kid has no pulse. He’s a robot

[C-Man 27262]

12 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

I’ve been his biggest defender, but tonight, he earned the moniker of playoff bust.

Genuinely feel bad for the guy. He's a Highland Park guy and I know a bunch of younger guys that are his age and are buddies with him. Aside from him almost going to aggy, he seems like a great dude. Just hasn't gotten it done in the postseason. He's like the anti-Bumgarner.

12 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

Nats win a playoff series immediately after that overrated fuck Harper leaves lmao. 

Nats/Cards will be fun.

C'mon man. He is a douchebag and perhaps he's overpaid but overrated? I don't know if I'd say that. His MVP year at age 22 is among the best seasons anybody has ever had. Slow start in Philly this year but wound up with some great numbers. It is a little ironic, however, that the Nats win after he leaves and Phils don't make playoffs. Dodgers probably win last night if Roberts doesn't do dumb things with his relief.

11 hours ago, shnsajax said:

This may have already been covered but why the hell do managers (my biggest issue with Joe Madden as well) win 106 games in the regular season only to abandon it all in the playoffs and throw a starter in as a middle relief on short rest and expect to always win it? Why do you give up on your formula that won you 106 games during the season, only to repeat many examples of past failures over and over again?

Frustrating. It's one thing if you're putting in vintage 2000/01 era Pedro Martinez in relief but not a guy who has a very iffy/checkered playoff resume. That was an extremely dumb call by Roberts. Perhaps dumber was not using Kenley Jansen earlier in the game. What a waste. 106-win season down the toilet.

[Vic Mackey 47151]

4 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Genuinely feel bad for the guy. He's a Highland Park guy and I know a bunch of younger guys that are his age and are buddies with him. Aside from him almost going to aggy, he seems like a great dude. Just hasn't gotten it done in the postseason. He's like the anti-Bumgarner.

C'mon man. He is a douchebag and perhaps he's overpaid but overrated? I don't know if I'd say that. His MVP year at age 22 is among the best seasons anybody has ever had. Slow start in Philly this year but wound up with some great numbers. It is a little ironic, however, that the Nats win after he leaves and Phils don't make playoffs. Dodgers probably win last night if Roberts doesn't do dumb things with his relief.

Frustrating. It's one thing if you're putting in vintage 2000/01 era Pedro Martinez in relief but not a guy who has a very iffy/checkered playoff resume. That was an extremely dumb call by Roberts. Perhaps dumber was not using Kenley Jansen earlier in the game. What a waste. 106-win season down the toilet.

I mean that is the epitome of being overrated. He leaves the Nats. They are now in the NLCS immediately. He goes to the Phillies and they don't do much. Good player and puts up stats but how valuable is he really to his respective team? Nats didn't miss a beat when he's gone. I know baseball is a different animal than other sports because of how the sport is but still. And he's waaaay overpaid for the value he actually brings to his teams.

You could have this same discussion with Trout as well.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Vic Mackey

[TornACL 7722]

If you don't trust your players in the postseason, they'll prove you right.

 

 

[C-Man 27262]

14 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

I mean that is the epitome of being overrated. He leaves the Nats. They are now in the NLCS immediately. He goes to the Phillies and they don't do much. Good player and puts up stats but how valuable is he really to his respective team? Nats didn't miss a beat when he's gone. I know baseball is a different animal than other sports because of how the sport is but still. And he's waaaay overpaid for the value he actually brings to his teams.

You could have this same discussion with Trout as well.

I dunno. But he was the best position player on some Nats teams that won 95+ games. His post-season stats aren't spectacular either. The Phillies starting rotation was a mess this year and the Nats had a front three of Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin -- all three better than Aaron Nolin this year. I honestly didn't really follow baseball at all this year -- "three outcome"-heavy games are fucking boring IMO -- so don't know if the 2019 Nats would cite a better clubhouse environment with Harper gone or not. I do know he had the dugout dust-up with a teammate a few years back so maybe there's something to it.

[spystud13 2371]

16 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I honestly didn't really follow baseball at all this year

Then don’t post now. The Stars’ thread is that way. Why in the goddamn world would you decide to interject on an MLB topic when you admittedly don’t know shit? 

Fucking shit, this ain’t the Startle-gram anymore. 

[C-Man 27262]

“I love you,” said Rick Honeycutt, who has guided Kershaw since he debuted at 20 in 2008. “You always give everything you’ve got. Sometimes it don’t work out.”

Kershaw burst into tears. He carries each of his playoff failures with him, a sharp pain that occasionally catches him off-guard on the golf course or in the weight room.

This is a tough read:

Quote

LOS ANGELES — Two hours after the greatest pitcher of his generation again cost his team a chance at a championship, the only pitching coach he has ever known found him.

The NLDS was finished. It had been emotionally finished since Clayton Kershaw, entering the eighth inning with a two-run lead, allowed home runs on consecutive pitches to tie the game. And now it was literally finished, after the Nationals hit a 10th-inning grand slam to win Game 5, 7–3.

The men in red spilled out of their dugout and dogpiled behind the mound, celebrating the franchise’s first postseason series win since 1981, when they were the Montreal Expos. The men in blue stared vacantly, then staggered out of the dugout and into winter. The Dodgers had won 106 games, the most in team history. They had spent the season dreaming of glory after losing in two straight World Series. But here they were, on Oct. 9, finished.

“I love you,” said Rick Honeycutt, who has guided Kershaw since he debuted at 20 in 2008. “You always give everything you’ve got. Sometimes it don’t work out.”

Kershaw burst into tears. He carries each of his playoff failures with him, a sharp pain that occasionally catches him off-guard on the golf course or in the weight room.

There have been so many. His ERA is 2.44 in the regular season and 4.33 in October. In the deciding Game 6 of the 2013 NLCS against the Cardinals, Kershaw allowed seven runs in four-plus innings. A year later, in Game 1 of the NLDS against St. Louis, he took a 6–2 lead into the seventh inning, then surrendered six runs. In ’16 he was all but heroic until the deciding Game 6 of the NLCS against the Cubs, when he gave up five runs in five innings. In Game 5 of the ’17 World Series against the Astros, staked to a 4–0 lead in the fourth inning, he promptly allowed four runs. A year later, he took the loss against the Red Sox in Games 1 and 5 of the World Series.

And now there was another. No matter that this one was barely his fault, that an aging starter shouldn’t have been in the game at all, not with a bullpen full of true relievers sitting idle. His manager had fallen in love with the pitcher he used to be, the one with 95-mph heat and a biting slider. And Dave Roberts had failed to notice the pitcher he had become, the one who tops out at 91 and struggles to make his breaking ball dance.

“Clayton, it's not about analytics,” said Roberts afterward. “It's about, he's one of the best pitchers in the game and for him to go out there and throw four pitches and to go back out there and get two hitters, I felt really good about that. So it's more of, I don't think it was an analytic question. It's a guy that I believe in and I trust, and it didn't work out.”

No matter that his teammates did not blame him. “We win as a team, we lose as a team,” said closer Kenley Jansen, one of the relievers Roberts felt he could not trust in that eighth inning. Game 4 starter Rich Hill choked up when he heard of Kershaw’s annual self-flagellation.

“No,” he said. “We wouldn’t be here without him. No. He’s …” He paused to collect himself. Twenty seconds later, he continued, “I have ultimate respect for him. This means so much to everybody in this locker room. That’s the tough part. People say it’s just a game. It’s a lot more than that.”

 

In the clubhouse afterward, his eyes red-rimmed and vacant, Kershaw could not see that nuance. He holds an even less forgiving view of himself than do most fans: He believes that he possesses incredible talent, and each time he fails to fulfill it, he has committed an affront against the God who gave it to him.

He could not stop replaying the scene: He had trotted in from the bullpen in the seventh, tasked with getting three outs in relief of a brilliant Walker Buehler. Kershaw had struck out the first hitter he saw to close the frame. To open the next one, he had let an 89-mph fastball drift inside to Washington MVP candidate Anthony Rendon. And then he’d hung an 89-mph slider to 20-year-old phenom Juan Soto.

Kershaw hung his head. He did not protest when Roberts trudged to the mound and asked for the ball.

He has done this so many times. He has watched his teammates fight to win a playoff game he has already lost. He has watched opponents celebrate a victory that he was certain would be his. He has sat in front of his locker and stonily accepted condolences from teammates and coaches. He has replied in a whisper barely audible above the sound of packing tape sealing cardboard boxes and a failed season. He has stood in front of a dozen cameras and said some version of what he said on Wednesday night: “That’s the hardest part every year. When you don’t win the last game of the season and you’re to blame, it’s not fun. … Everything people say is true right now about the postseason. I understand that. Nothing I can do about it right now. It’s a terrible feeling, it really is.”

 

How many more times will he do this? He is 31. The Dodgers have won seven straight division titles and still have nothing to show for it. Kershaw has spent parts of each of the last four seasons on the injured list with back pain and left-shoulder inflammation. In this series, for the first time since 2009, he did not serve as Game 1 starter. He refuses to discuss his professional mortality, but he feels it.

He showered and returned to his locker. Slowly he dragged himself into his street clothes: an orange T-shirt and a pair of gray shorts. He slid on his right sock. Then he stopped. He stared blankly at the wall, his phone, the air. The clubhouse cleared out around him. Still he sat there, lost in thought, his season over, his left foot bare. 

 

https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/10/10/dodgers-lose-clayton-kershaw-postseason-struggles

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

34 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I dunno. But he was the best position player on some Nats teams that won 95+ games. His post-season stats aren't spectacular either. The Phillies starting rotation was a mess this year and the Nats had a front three of Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin -- all three better than Aaron Nolin this year. I honestly didn't really follow baseball at all this year -- "three outcome"-heavy games are fucking boring IMO -- so don't know if the 2019 Nats would cite a better clubhouse environment with Harper gone or not. I do know he had the dugout dust-up with a teammate a few years back so maybe there's something to it.

Some DC radio sports guys surmise the best part of last night’s win .. after the win, itself .. is Harper not being part of it. I’ve not heard anyone suggest he’s missed, not once all season long. Good riddance.

Losing Rendon this winter will be much more hurtful. He is genuinely liked .. terrific icing for a great all around player. 

[C-Man 27262]

11 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

Then don’t post now. The Stars’ thread is that way. Why in the goddamn world would you decide to interject on an MLB topic when you admittedly don’t know shit? 

Fucking shit, this ain’t the Startle-gram anymore. 

Surly would be a lonely place if you eliminated comments from people who "admittedly don't know shit."

So what if I didn't follow baseball as closely this season as I have in the past? I don't particularly like how the game is played these days and my local team is painfully mediocre with no real path or direction to being really good anytime soon. Don't get me started on the new stadium. The only positive I can say is that the summer heat will be somewhat mitigated with a dome and A/C. But I'm tuning back in as the playoffs get further along.

Not sure what I said that was controversial. Harper can be a dickbag but the mother fucker can also rake with the best of them. But the Nats didn't want to pay what Harper's market value. Probably helping their decision was the knowledge that phenom Juan Soto was sliding into Harper's slot in the batting order. Trout got his monster deal and Machado got his. Harper went and got his money (again, I can't remember what the Nats had offered -- or were rumored to -- prior to his departure but I don't think it was even close to what he got). Can't blame him for that. I don't think anybody expected the Phillies to contend for a title in 2019. Starting pitching was really thin and the lineup isn't great beyond Harper and Hoskins.

[spystud13 2371]

I don’t know shit about Dallas BBQ joints. Not coincidentally, I don’t post about them. One may be great, one may suck, I don’t fucking know. 

You don’t know shit about 2019 MLB, step away from the keyboard. 

[torre 1286]

15 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

 

Losing Rendon this winter will be much more hurtful. He is genuinely liked .. terrific icing for a great all around player. 

Rendon is a class act.

Enjoyed seeing him play vs Texas during his Rice career.      Great player and person in victory or defeat.

[shnsajax 3591]

1 hour ago, Vic Mackey said:

I mean that is the epitome of being overrated. He leaves the Nats. They are now in the NLCS immediately. He goes to the Phillies and they don't do much. Good player and puts up stats but how valuable is he really to his respective team? Nats didn't miss a beat when he's gone. I know baseball is a different animal than other sports because of how the sport is but still. And he's waaaay overpaid for the value he actually brings to his teams.

You could have this same discussion with Trout as well.

What?

[spystud13 2371]

Vic’d. 

[TornACL 7722]

1988.  lulz.

 

[Pig Bellmont 8738]

Harper is and will continue to be good. Soto just happens to be statistically one of the best 20 year olds to ever play the game. happy to see the team break through after 3 game 5 failures. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, however.  Fuck the Phillies and their garbage fans - I hope they never make the playoffs 

[Beau Vine 54429]

53 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Some DC radio sports guys surmise the best part of last night’s win .. after the win, itself .. is Harper not being part of it. I’ve not heard anyone suggest he’s missed, not once all season long. Good riddance.

 

Well that's just fucking mind-numbingly stupid.  The best part of last night's win is winning the series and moving on to the next round.  Every guy in the clubhouse will tell you that. 

[Beau Vine 54429]

35 minutes ago, shnsajax said:

What?

Technically, you could have that same discussion with Trout.  And it would make exactly as much sense.

[Fudge Nuggets 19224]

1 hour ago, torre said:

Rendon is a class act.

Enjoyed seeing him play vs Texas during his Rice career.      Great player and person in victory or defeat.

Rice Owl represent.

[Vic Mackey 47151]

[Surly Bevo 25150]

I got home from work tonight and Dave Roberts still has a job and I'm not sure I understand why.  He's an over managing choker....the end.

[C-Man 27262]

20 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

I got home from work tonight and Dave Roberts still has a job and I'm not sure I understand why.  He's an over managing choker....the end.

Gabe Kapler is available.

[C-Man 27262]

On 10/10/2019 at 1:43 PM, spystud13 said:

I don’t know shit about Dallas BBQ joints. Not coincidentally, I don’t post about them. One may be great, one may suck, I don’t fucking know. 

You don’t know shit about 2019 MLB, step away from the keyboard. 

[Pimphand 5889]

My buddy who works for the Nationals and is a huge Yankee fan always said Harper was a bitch and that he absolutely wanted no part of the Yankees signing him. That went away once they traded for Stanton and so their corner outfield positions were set but when the Astros were thinking about getting him at the deadline last year he texted me a reminder of some Harper stories and I was glad we didn't give anything up to get him.

If the Phillies *ever* win the Fall Classic with him on the roster I will be shocked.  Not to say it can't happen but I certainly expect it wont.

The end of that contract will be an albatross

[Gut Wagon 8087]

A friend says he doesn't know much about Harper except he once went to a game and watched him play catch with kids in the stands between innings. He thus concluded Bryce was a "really good guy."

Well, guess what, bud. Hitler loved animals, too. So there.

[WBT 20669]

I feel bad for Kershaw.  Joe Kelly should buy him a steak for taking all the heat.

[DoobieWah 1460]

On 10/10/2019 at 1:43 PM, spystud13 said:

I don’t know shit about Dallas BBQ joints. Not coincidentally, I don’t post about them. One may be great, one may suck, I don’t fucking know. 

You don’t know shit about 2019 MLB, step away from the keyboard. 

 

 

Bad analogy. You can look at a photo of some sliced brisket and still know it's dry as fuck.

You can read an interview with the trendiest and hippest pit master in Dallas and as soon as he says "Marinate your brisket overnight in Liquid Smoke" you can form an opinion.

While I appreciate your posts, (wink wink say no more), your take on this is just wrong and frankly a bit heavy handed given the circumstances.

Lighten up Francis.

CMan didn't claim to know everything - he did the opposite of that.