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MLB 2023
- Thread starter Gaolee
- Start date
Don't mess with the undead.
The Mariners sure are making things interesting. They lost to Oakland, fer chrissakes. Three players went down. Kirby got sick before the game, Rodriguez has a pinched nerve or something in one of his feet, and France too a baseball off of the wrist that's been injured before. I hope this is a speed bump in the roll that they are on and no more.
Don’t panic. My Braves had a total meltdown at Oakland too. Can’t go undefeated. But you guys are deadlocked! Sorry. But it’s the exciting division to watch now. Good luck.
I don't think the Braves have much to worry about. At this point, the Mariners seem to be on track for the playoffs, barring a complete choke. They don't seem to have much quit in them this season. The odds of a choke are non-zero, but not much more than that. It's more a matter of whether they finally oust the Astros from the championship in the west, yield it to the Rangers, or seize it as their own. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if all three teams made it into the playoffs. The Rangers seem to have gone through their mandatory bad stretch.
I think they’re ahead of Rays and Stros by virtue of one fewer total loss and head to head. Yes, AL West is the gang to watch for “every game matters” now. It’s going to be an exciting September.
Cleveland and TB aren’t done yet. Ok Cleveland maybe.
Braves magic is below 20 for division and 13 or 14 (?) playoffs so not worried there.
That is what I’m hoping!! But this team is so inconsistent. I don’t have a ton of faith in them right now.
Has Kikuchi done is patented end of season flameout yet? He had huge potential but only put it together for about half of a season. Then it all fell apart for him. Teoscar Hernandez has been streaky, but having a hot streak is better than some of the Mariners' recent hitters. Those guys went on a cold streak that lasted all season. Last season, pitching carried them as far as they went. This year, they are putting up runs and still have the hitting at this end of the season. It took as season for them to start hitting, but finally, they are doing it. This will be a fun month.
Kikuchi has actually been very good this year. Just consistently solid. Depending on if you prefer bWAR of fWAR, he's been either the second or third best starter on the Jays this year (and as a team they rank quite well across the board as a pitching staff!) I can't recall a single blow-up from Kikuchi this summer. Pretty sure he's gone at least 5 innings in all of his starts. Pretty incredible considering how last year he was an absolute disaster and finished the year as a mop-up guy in the bullpen. This year he is pitching with confidence and he has been effective. I love to see it. I think the pitch clock has helped him a lot. I feel like he used to get in his own head a lot last year. No time for that stuff when you're on the clock between pitches. He appears more focused.
I miss Teoscar a lot and I've been happy to see him have some good moments with the M's this year. That trade seems to have worked out nicely for both teams so far. Swanson has played a pretty important role at times out the 'pen for the Jays.
Good to hear that Kikuchi is finally putting it together. Teoscar is working out well so far in Seattle. Both sides won that trade so far. Can't beat that. Irony would be Teoscar facing Kikuchi in a playoff game with the game on the line. Odds of that are non-zero, but not a whole lot more than that.
Wow, good on you Ronald Acuna, Jr. For most guys "just" getting married is normally a full day in itself. Then to go out and play in a MLB game . . . and then become first ever player to steal 60 bases and hit 30 HR's . . . and to get that 30th via a GRAND SLAM . . . that's just style points on top of style points. Never say never, of course, but I think that 30/60 club is going to be a mighty exclusive one for a long, long time - like maybe forever.
And now, with a day off, I await the Cubs/Reds DH. Might even jump on the L to take in 1 of them.
And now, with a day off, I await the Cubs/Reds DH. Might even jump on the L to take in 1 of them.
obtw, astros have 9 games left vs. the a's and royals. rangers have 7 games vs. the mariners ~
I dunno about that. Julio Rodrigues is a 25/25 guy for the second straight year, and that's after two slow starts. 30 home runs is well within his reach. I don't know about 60 stolen bases, though.
The Mariners are killing me! They had to come to earth, and they did. Now they are tied for first with the Astros. This is how baseball should be at this time of year. The exquisite agony of watching a pennant race is even more fun than the exquisite agony of watching the Mariners get into the playoffs last season. I could get used to this.
The best part is that the season ends with ten games against Texas and Houston. The gods of baseball are giving us a treat this season if it goes down to the wire.
And now the Mariners have fallen to second place, a game behind the hated Astros. I love/hate this time of year, especially when there's a good pennant race like this going on.
The Jays find themselves (just barely) in a WC spot again, 0.5 games up on the Rangers (and only 0.5 back of the M's!)
Jays are 7-3 in their last 10. Playing bad teams really helps, but you still have to win the games. One more this afternoon in Oakland, then they go back home for three games vs. Kansas City. And then the Rangers come to Toronto for what could be a very pivotal four-game series. No messing around now, guys. Take care of business against the A's and Royals, and then please please please beat up on those Rangers.
Jays are 7-3 in their last 10. Playing bad teams really helps, but you still have to win the games. One more this afternoon in Oakland, then they go back home for three games vs. Kansas City. And then the Rangers come to Toronto for what could be a very pivotal four-game series. No messing around now, guys. Take care of business against the A's and Royals, and then please please please beat up on those Rangers.
Yes, please, please, please beat up on the Rangers. I will be a die hard Blue Jays fan for three days or so pretty soon. Today, I want the Rangers and Astros to both find a way to lose at the same time, in the same game. Since they can't, I want the Rangers to beat the Astros, and the Mariners to win, which will at least pull the Mariners back into a first place tie. They won the season series over the Astros already, meaning they hold the tie-breaker.
Wow, the Rangers are down bad lately. And it's happening at a great time in terms of helping the Jays get back into a WC position!
Texas in their last seven games: 1-6, outscored 64-29 in total by their opponents. They got swept by Houston and the games were all blowouts. The Astros tallied 13, 14, and 12 runs in those three games
Next up, they play Oakland... Maybe that will help them right the ship a bit... but then they travel to Toronto for four games. The Jays better do some damage in those games!
Texas in their last seven games: 1-6, outscored 64-29 in total by their opponents. They got swept by Houston and the games were all blowouts. The Astros tallied 13, 14, and 12 runs in those three games
Next up, they play Oakland... Maybe that will help them right the ship a bit... but then they travel to Toronto for four games. The Jays better do some damage in those games!
