Playoffs discussion 2020

From Jeff Passan, who predicts the Dodgers will face the Rays in the WS:

Who are the greatest threats to the Dodgers and Rays?

Atlanta and Minnesota.

The Braves can really, really, really hit. In 26 September games, they scored 173 runs -- nearly 6.7 per game. Take out the 29 runs they dropped on the Miami Marlins, and it's still 5.8 runs per game, a huge number. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna led the NL in home runs and RBIs and finished 14 batting average points shy of an outright Triple Crown ... and he wasn't the best hitter on his team. Freddie Freeman is the NL MVP favorite -- with good reason. Here's the list of first basemen in history with a triple-slash of at least .341/.462/.640, which Freeman put up this season: Lou Gehrig (seven times), Jimmie Foxx (twice) and Albert Pujols, Todd Helton, Carlos Delgado and Norm Cash (once apiece). That's some company.

We haven't even talked about Acuña or the phenomenal Travis d'Arnaud or Dansby Swanson or Ozzie Albies or Adam Duvall. Not to mention a severely underrated bullpen. All anyone wants to talk about with the Braves is their paucity of starting pitching. Yeah, it's real, and with league series this October featuring no off days, that might prove to be a problem. Compared to others' issues, though, it isn't necessarily a killer.

.......

What's the best wild-card series?

Give me Braves-Reds. In baseball's one-year, 16-team experiment, the 2-7 series looks a lot like a 5-12 in the NCAA tournament -- ripe for upset.

Yes, a few hundred words ago, I was singing the Braves' praise. Yes, a few dozen words ago, I was pointing out that over 60 games, the Reds batted .212. Here's the thing: Cincinnati will start the deserved NL Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer, in Game 1, follow with Luis Castillo (September: 32⅔ IP, 22 H, 9 BB, 37 K's, 2.20 ERA) and, if necessary, close with Sonny Gray.

Even though the Reds can't hit, they walked more than any other team in the National League and finished behind only the Dodgers, Braves and Padres, three swatalicious teams, with 90 home runs. In fact, 59.7% of the Reds' runs came via the long ball -- by far the highest in baseball history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. (The previous best: Toronto in 2019, with 53.2%.)
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Giolito was perfect for 6 plus innings. White Sox looking good.
Astros scrapped together a run and tied it up. Minnesota has left a bunch on the bases considering how low scoring this one is.
 
Astros grab a 2-1 lead. An inning ending groundout by Springer turned into a throwing error from Jorge Polanco. Romo walks in the go ahead run.
 
The Twins and A’s, the only two teams with a recent run of postseason futility that could rival our own, both lost game 1 and are on the verge of elimination. Not sure if that does anything for the hopes that we can get the monkey off of our back.
 
They just released the rest of our schedule, Thursday's game is also at noon, Friday's game if necessary is at 3.
 
Buxton not in the lineup for the Twins today. For as important as they say he is to their team, him not being a starter in an elimination is strange. He was never concussed after taking a pitch to the head over the weekend. Not sure what’s going on.
 
striker42 said:
I would feel sorry for the Twins for their insane post season losing streak had they not cheated in 1991.
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CyYoung31 said:
The Twins and A’s, the only two teams with a recent run of postseason futility that could rival our own, both lost game 1 and are on the verge of elimination. Not sure if that does anything for the hopes that we can get the monkey off of our back.
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Technically our problem is the NLDS. I dont see the curse ending until we get passed that hurdle.
 
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