Cubs or Padres? Why?

[Playing Catch]

8 hours ago, nate82 said:

Bregman is like a Yelich/Braun just a guy in the clubhouse.  They don't bring the clubhouse down but also not the leader of the clubhouse.  

 

Dansby is the same as Bregman.  He isn't going to kill a clubhouse just not a leader of the clubhouse.

It's a widely-held belief among MLB folks that Bregman is one of the more impactful "clubhouse" guys in the league. He gets artificial bumps for being on a team that *won a World Series*, and for being a Red Sox/Cubs FA signing, but to a person, Bregman is one of the most respected players in baseball.

Feel free to disagree, of course. None of us can prove such a thing, one way or another.

[homer]

Looking forward to booing Manny Machado.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

22 hours ago, homer said:

I'm not sure post-season success has all that much to do with the manager.

<ducks head>

Yeah, I find that whole conversation pretty comical. The old guy on the dugout steps isn't providing any wild fluctuations in a best of 5 or 7. The manager's role is very important, but I think his on-field, gameday impact is way, way, less than what people think. In terms of managing the clubhouse, making most of the guys happy to be at work stuck together for 6-7 months, I think his role is tremendously undervalued by the general population. Even when it comes to what most perceive to be critical choices (which pitcher to bring in during certain situations) those are all predetermined by the geeks backstage. They've all gotten together countless times and gone over scenarios and which guys give you the best chance.

It doesn't take a lot for a leader to make the workforce miserable. That is where Murphy shines. MLB history is littered with dopey managers (think Dusty Baker) who players loved playing for. That's what the job really is.

[long ball]

Listening to some preview podcasts this morning. I’ll preface this by saying j don’t actually care what podcasters are predicting. 
 

seems like many of the national folks are either picking the brewers to win the World Series or lose to the padres. Not a lot in between. 

[markedman5]

Every broadcaster and player who is asked says Yelich is the unquestioned leader…..that doesn’t mean other guys aren’t leaders as well  but Yelich is that guy….no matter what fans might think.

Turang, Mitchell, Sal and Murph have all said it starts with him…..from very early on when young guys get their first taste of spring training…..

[owbc]

9 hours ago, SF70 said:

Besides the advantage the Padres have over our top 2 relievers, they have Rodriguez, who has been nails for an extended period of time and is a massive multi-inning weapon. Dotting the corners with his nasty stuff is going to be a problem.

Game 3 of our last series with them was a good demonstration of the two bullpens going toe to toe. 

[wiguy94]

3 hours ago, owbc said:

Game 3 of our last series with them was a good demonstration of the two bullpens going toe to toe. 

I'd hardly agree with that because Uribe was hurt and unavailable in that series. In game 3 May turned the game over to the bullpen in the 8th inning with a 1 run lead and Chad Patrick came into pitch. 

[BruisedCrew]

My post mortem on this subject now that the DS is over. 

I wanted the Padres instead of the Cubs, and the fact that it worked out that way opened the door to one of the most memorable sporting events I’ve ever attended..

One of my daughters who lives out of state was in town last weekend to run in the lakefront half marathon with one of her sisters who lives in town. A few weeks ago, I asked her if she would want to go to one of the NLDS games  and her response very simply was “sure, but not if they’re playing the Cubs“. 

I couldn’t commit to tickets anyway until we knew the game times because it had to be something that fit with the marathon schedule. She obviously wouldn’t want to go to a 7:30 PM game the night before having to get up at 5 AM to run 13 1/2 miles. But 3 PM on Sunday worked nicely. So, we ended up going to the Sunday game which resulted in something we will always remember. 

If the Cubs had been the opponent that day we probably wouldn’t have gone, and even if we had it would have been a significantly different experience with 5 or 10 thousand Cubs fans letting everyone know they were there.

We saw several small groups of Padres fans, but only enough to be barely noticeable when their team did something good. They rose to the level of a decent golf clap  There were no large knots of visiting fans spread throughout the park making sure everybody knew who they were rooting for and reaching over you to high five some of their compatriots. It would have really been unpleasant if the Cubs had won or even if they had led for the entire game until the last pitch like the Padres did on Sunday.

Leaving the game on Sunday the fans were obviously euphoric. We did pass a couple groups of Padres fans and I did not see anybody saying anything to them. if the Cubs had been the opponent, I suspect that walk would’ve been a lot different with varying degrees of trash, talking, and taunting that would have tainted the overall good feeling of the experience.

A World Series against the White Sox would be something else again. I think I could take that.

[BruisedCrew]

My daughter pulled out her phone and took this video seconds after the winning runs crossed the plate

[AKCheesehead]

Well, I wanted the padres because I thought we’d beat either team but I always want the cubs to lose. So they lost before we even had to beat them. Less success and revenue for the cubs. Plus, screw em. Basic stuff. How people in this thread forgot to root against the cubs in all ways at all times is beyond my comprehension.