Wild Card Round: game thread

[SomewhereInTime]

47 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

End of season collapse didn’t stop Tigers from advancing 

 

It should have.  A division winner's season should not come down to a 3 game series vs 6th place.

[Brewluver]

That Dansby Swanson kid is Amazing - cheeeeeeese

[Underachiever]

Are the Padres slow? Swanson can dribble the ball between his legs, check his email, and still get the out at first

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Dialing myself back to zen about us playing the Cubs. It's 3-5 baseball games. None of the emotional narratives really mean anything in the end. 

If I have to watch the games on mute to remember that, I will.

[Brewluver]

Best game of the entire WC Series coming up.

Red Sox @ Yanks !!

This one I'm excited for !! (I got the Sox)

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

This has been a nervy Cubs-Padres game. The difference is a bloop hit and a walk. And some great defense from Chicago.

Otherwise, not a lot of confidence from either team. Cubs have left a lot of runners out there, Padres haven't hit with RISP all series. 

I'll say this: I think it's better to face the Cubs than the Dodgers.

 

[Brewluver]

1 minute ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

This has been a nervy Cubs-Padres game. The difference is a bloop hit and a walk. And some great defense from Chicago.

Otherwise, not a lot of confidence from either team. Cubs have left a lot of runners out there, Padres haven't hit with RISP all series. 

I'll say this: I think it's better to face the Cubs than the Dodgers.

 

Bush just hit a HR 3-0 Cubs

[Fear The Chorizo]

Both of these teams begging to have what happened to CLE with all the pitching changes.

 

Crooked number just waiting out there for somebody

[Fear The Chorizo]

Seems like the Pads pen ran out of gas finally

[owbc]

I didn't think the Cubs pitching would pull them through in a short series against that top-heavy SD bullpen, but you have to get enough out of your starting pitching to get to your high leverage arms. 

[Brian]

40 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

Are the Padres slow? Swanson can dribble the ball between his legs, check his email, and still get the out at first

I said the same thing Padres are loafing, ready for the beach I guess. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

Just now, owbc said:

I didn't think the Cubs pitching would pull them through in a short series against that top-heavy SD bullpen, but you have to get enough out of your starting pitching to get to your high leverage arms. 

Sure helps that the Pads seem to suck at hitting, too - at least up to these last 6 outs the Cubs need to get.  Lot of key relievers already burned through on the Cub side today, too

[trwi7]

Glad Cleveland is out.  They're brutal to watch.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Tatis just put up one of the worst ABs I have seen in the playoffs.

[adambr2]

26 minutes ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Dialing myself back to zen about us playing the Cubs. It's 3-5 baseball games. None of the emotional narratives really mean anything in the end. 

If I have to watch the games on mute to remember that, I will.

Yup. Don’t be afraid of it. Lean into it. Two huge regional rivals who have never met in the playoffs before. Former manager on their side and a tightly contested season series. 

Baseball doesn’t get better than this. Go play your game and earn it.

[Brewluver]

3 minutes ago, trwi7 said:

Glad Cleveland is out.  They're brutal to watch.

Why didn't the Dallas football team have to change their name ??

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

From a matchup perspective, I feel like the consensus is the Cubs are worse for the Brewers. There's something to that. They play great defense. The Brewers don't hit many homers. It's hard to score when your opponent takes away a lot of hits. And, on the other side, the Cubs hit the ball out of the yard a lot (6th in baseball). I think this holds mostly true, and I'll bet Chicago will be a betting favorite, by more than you'd think given the public money.

On the bright side, the Cub arms are not in the same category as the Padres. And they've had to cover three pretty close games. Maybe Drew Pomeranz comes in and dominates, but you'd rather see him trailing by a run in the 8th than Mason Miller.

I don't know. I'm don't have a lot of confidence in winning this series, but maybe that's just self-protection. I'd be surprised if it ends after 3 games. Other than that, who knows?

[Frisbee Slider]

Important missed call

[82brewcrew82]

Cubs a gift strike away from being in big trouble here.

[markedman5]

Abs system can’t help Padres in the 9th……..man that was bad

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Just now, Frisbee Slider said:

Important missed call

Real, real bad. And now O'Hearn got HBP. Should be 1st and 2nd, nobody out.

[HarveysWBs]

I think regardless of the opponent, but especially if it is the Cubs, winning Game 1 is of paramount importance. With how evenly matched the teams are, needing a 3-1 stretch in order to advance feels like a really tall order. If the Crew wins out of the gate, and we need only a split to advance, I'd take those odds.

But Freddy needs to be at his best, the home crowd needs to be at its best, and the bats need to sequence their hits.

[82brewcrew82]

I take the Cubs over the Padres.  Bring it baby bears.

[Brewluver]

Wow, he pinged 2 batters !!

[markedman5]

1 hour ago, SomewhereInTime said:

It should have.  A division winner's season should not come down to a 3 game series vs 6th place.

It’s fine…..every playoff format in any sport allows wild card teams to beat division winners…..and it’s not changing.