2016 MLB Postseason Thread

[LongTimeListener]

Release the times!

Adam Rubin ESPN Staff Writer
Game 1 of Cubs-Mets (or Cubs-Giants) in the division series will be Friday at 9:15 p.m. ET (8:15 p.m. CT) at Wrigley Field. Game 2 is Saturday at 8:08/7:08 in Chicago.

 

[LongTimeListener]

For the love of God, southern/dome teams will never agree to this. They don't want to give up summer games for some in April. And teams don't want to start put with a bunch of road games.

Yep. There is decidedly less excitement around a "home opener" than there is around Opening Day.

By the regional plan you'd be saying the (among others) Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies, Indians, Reds and Tigers never open the season at home. That's not gonna fly.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Yep. There is decidedly less excitement around a "home opener" than there is around Opening Day.

By the regional plan you'd be saying the (among others) Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies, Indians, Reds and Tigers never open the season at home. That's not gonna fly.

Fine then, alternate between years. Or just mix it up every year. In the northern cities, means there will be some postponements or game played in crappy weather that first week. I'd just rather see that happen in games 1,2 or 3 of the year, rather than games 4, 5 and 6 of the frickin' World Series.

 

[MTM]

Times through Sunday

MLB playoffs 2016: TV schedule, game times, bracket for baseball's postseason
Thursday, Oct. 6:

ALDS A: Game 1 - Orioles/Blue Jays at Rangers, 4:38 p.m. | TV: TBS
ALDS B, Game 2 - Red Sox at Indians, 8:08 p.m. | TV: TBS

Friday, Oct. 7

ALDS A, Game 2 - Orioles/Blue Jays at Rangers, 1:08 pm. | TV: TBS
ALDS B, Game 2 - Red Sox at Indians,4:38 p.m. | TV: TBS

NLDS A, Game 1 - Giants/Mets at Cubs, 9:15 p.m. | TV: Fox Sports 1
NLDS B, Game 1 - Dodgers at Nationals, 5:38 p.m. | TV: Fox Sports 1

Saturday, Oct. 8

NLDS A, Game 2 - Giants/Mets at Cubs, 8:08 p.m. | TV: MLB Network
NLDS B, Game 2 - Dodgers at Nationals, 4:08 p.m. | TV: Fox Sports 1

Sunday, Oct. 9

ALDS A, Game 3 - Rangers at Orioles/Blue Jays, 7:38 p.m. | TV: TBS
ALDS B, Game 3 - Indians at Red Sox, 4:08 p.m.| TV: TBS

 

[Songbird]

Dear Nats fans,

Good luck and let's have some fun.

Sincerely,
Dodgers fan

 

[LongTimeListener]

Fine then, alternate between years. Or just mix it up every year. In the northern cities, means there will be some postponements or game played in crappy weather that first week. I'd just rather see that happen in games 1,2 or 3 of the year, rather than games 4, 5 and 6 of the frickin' World Series.

How many postponements have there been lately? Just on a quick search, I found what looks like the last one in 2011, adding an extra day between Games 5 and 6 in St. Louis. It would have been Oct. 26.

Doesn't seem like an outlandish problem now that I look at it more. It would be nice if they didn't play when it's below 40 degrees, but I don't think anything we're talking about will make a big difference. There aren't a lot of places that have a significant drop in average temperature between the weather of Oct. 24 and Nov. 1, not enough to affect the odds in this way in any case.

 

[RubberSoul1979]

Cubs over Sox. Couldn't ask for a funner series for obvious reasons.

**** both of those teams, especially the latter. **** their fans, especially the latter.

 

[User 11148]

... I found what looks like the last one in 2011, adding an extra day between Games 5 and 6 in St. Louis.

Which meant Carpenter could pitch Game 7. You had to bring that up ...

 

[LongTimeListener]

Ah, c'mon dq. You know Bob Gibson could have pitched that game left-handed and destiny would have taken care of it.

On the matter of the cold and weather, the one thing I'd really like to see is MLB/Fox willingness to move the game up if playing it at night is going to be so miserable. I know that's too much to even dream, but it is by far the easiest solution.

 

[Justin_Rice]

Dear Nats fans,

Good luck and let's have some fun.

Sincerely,
Dodgers fan

Our best offensive player hasn't seen the field in ages. Our second best offensive player is a rookie. Our supposed-to-be-our-best-player has been pretty mediocre all year. The best offensive catcher in baseball is lost for the year.

Our second-best pitcher is basically done for the year, leaving Scherzer and Roark, who have been very average the last few weeks.

And then after that .... you either get Gio, who isn't satisfied unless it takes him 90 pitches to get through four innings, or one of a host of rookies who occasionally look good, but mostly meh.

Oh, and we're talking about a D.C. sports team, which means collapse is inevitable.


Dodgers in four.

 

[Songbird]

And the Dodgers have not been to the World Series in 28 years.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

How many postponements have there been lately? Just on a quick search, I found what looks like the last one in 2011, adding an extra day between Games 5 and 6 in St. Louis. It would have been Oct. 26.

Doesn't seem like an outlandish problem now that I look at it more. It would be nice if they didn't play when it's below 40 degrees, but I don't think anything we're talking about will make a big difference. There aren't a lot of places that have a significant drop in average temperature between the weather of Oct. 24 and Nov. 1, not enough to affect the odds in this way in any case.

Fair enough on recent history. But just because we've been fortunate enough to have it not have been an issue, doesn't mean we can't look for ways to make sure it's never an issue. Or one day, we'll see a three or four day weather front come through some city and game 6 or 7 will pushing the second week of November.

 

[RickStain]

A couple of pages late but:

Cherry picking an arbitrary endpoint like "last 16 starts" pretty transparently tells me that Arrieta was much better in any endpoint other than that exact one. His season would have made him a top-2 pitcher on most teams. It was not a bad season. It was a long way down from last season because last season was something only peak Pedro Martinez and Bob Gibson could touch. He was still well above-average.

And he will be going third for the Cubs behind Hendricks and Lester.

 

[LongTimeListener]

He'll be going against Bumgarner. He loses.

 

[old_tony]

The only real way is to go to 154. I doubt the PA and owners are going to want to do that.

Either that or they could schedule eight doubleheaders for each team each season. Doubleheaders used to be scheduled regularly on Sundays. The problem is that games are now 3-plus hours rather than the 2 hours they used to be.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The ESPN exclusivity window would kibosh Sunday doubleheaders. As Tony says, three hour games mean that a doubleheader is close to seven hours in elapsed time. Many nightcaps (do miss that word) would bleed into ESPN's broadcast game. They could do some holiday doubleheaders. Days are longer for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day, and there'd be no broadcast contract conflict.

 

[RickStain]

He'll be going against Bumgarner. He loses.

The guy with the 4.15 career ERA in the NLDS?

Fair enough, as good a way as any to execute the gentleman's sweep

 

[MTM]

Never will happen, but they can do like college baseball and make the doubleheader games seven innings each

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

The Rangers are double-screwed. Day games at home for Games 1 and 2. And Joe West is the umpire crew chief.

 

[LongTimeListener]

A couple of pages late but:

Cherry picking an arbitrary endpoint like "last 16 starts" pretty transparently tells me that Arrieta was much better in any endpoint other than that exact one. His season would have made him a top-2 pitcher on most teams. It was not a bad season. It was a long way down from last season because last season was something only peak Pedro Martinez and Bob Gibson could touch. He was still well above-average.

And he will be going third for the Cubs behind Hendricks and Lester.

Whether you go to 18 or 20 starts (which makes him look slightly better but still over 4.00) or go generally by months or split the season into thirds, it's clear he hasn't been a very good or a particularly long-lasting pitcher. Doesn't it seem far more likely that the Arrieta of June through September shows up rather than the Arrieta of April and May?