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Anyone following the playoffs? NLDS have been all about the pitching while ALDS have been all about the hitting. I feel like Dodgers vs Giants is the series to watch. It’s been really exciting to follow. But Braves vs Brewers and Rays vs Red Sox are cool as well. I haven’t watched any of the White Sox vs Astros yet. Anywho, it’s been a good playoffs so far. Just sucks that our Jays aren’t part of it

Edited by Beary Sweet
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I can’t believe how far Yelich and Bellinger have fallen since their MVP days. I thought last year was just an anomaly, with the shorten season, but these two are barely passable MLB players, the way how they’re slugging.

 

 

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16 hours ago, Beary Sweet said:

Anyone following the playoffs? NLDS have been all about the pitching while ALDS have been all about the hitting. I feel like Dodgers vs Giants is the series to watch. It’s been really exciting to follow. But Braves vs Brewers and Rays vs Red Sox are cool as well. I haven’t watched any of the White Sox vs Astros yet. Anywho, it’s been a good playoffs so far. Just sucks that our Jays aren’t part of it

I'm following and am firmly on the Rays / Brewers bangwagons....

 

The important thing is that the Yankees are gone, but seeing the Red Sox and Dodgers kicked to the curb as well would take some of the sting out of the Jays missing the playoffs....

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7 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

I'm following and am firmly on the Rays / Brewers bangwagons....

 

The important thing is that the Yankees are gone, but seeing the Red Sox and Dodgers kicked to the curb as well would take some of the sting out of the Jays missing the playoffs....

Agreed, it’s hard to cheer for a division rival, but seeing Tampa do well with a low payroll is admirable.

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59 minutes ago, shiznak said:

Go Giants @Gollumpus!
 

How can you not cheer for them? They’re a bunch of old smucks, all playing like they’re in their prime years.

Well, for the most part this is true, even a lot of their "young guys" are old(er)..

 

A lot of credit has to go to the coaches/management who got the core guys (as well as the newer players)  to buy in to some changes in how they play, while supporting the core with some additional talent. This has (in part) resulted in the major improvements seen in their hitting (grip, swing, stance, patience). There's a lot of positive attitude which has brought this group together (maybe Casey Stengel was whispering, Yah gotta' believe!" in their ears). Also, a lot of these guys are playing for a new contract, and/or realize that this could be their first/last/only chance at winning a World Serious.

 

Positives:

 

- most of the team is injury free. Quite a few Dodgers regulars appear to be a bit banged up which could impede their performances.

 

- reasonably good replacements/bench strength which has shown that they can come through in tough situations (pinch hitters/injury replacements/etc)

 

- attitude, "next man up", never say die (let alone even say "ouch"). They know they lost the last game, but that was last game. Win the next two and move on to the NLCS.

 

- the Giants did win the NL West and had the best record in MLB with a roster that screamed "not making the playoffs". They also have guys left over from the 2010, 12 and 14 World Serious championships, so that counts for something.

 

- hitting is one of the strengths of this team, even without a lot of power hitters (only a couple of guys got 20+ HRs), and only a few had a batting avg. over 300. They just had timely hits, from various guys all season long.

 

- fielding is perhaps the other pillar holding up this team. They made very few errors, and could be relied upon to make most of the normal plays without throwing errors and the like. They also seemed to complete a greater than average number of spectacular defensive plays in the infield. 

 

- starting pitching can be amazing.

 

- "usually" reliable bullpen.

 

- while the SF field coaching staff is new, Roberts has made quite a few questionable calls in his time as the Dodgers coach (some of which, arguably, has cost his team). Maybe he'll make some more.

 

 

Where the problems are:

- current injuries with guys like Belt (more for on the field attitude - replacement fielding has been pretty good, and hitting hasn't been bad, but not as good). Other guys who are trying to return from injury but aren't in pre-All-Star break form eg. Cueto, Wood, Longoria and even Gausman (among others) are leaving the roster a bit stretched.

 

- the attitude that the "next man up" will get the job done, works great, if the next man up does get the job done. What is the plan if that guy doesn't succeed? 

 

- the Dodgers also have a winning attitude. There isn't (currently) any reason for them to really question their chances. Losing game 2 would have given them doubts.

 

- the Dodgers were the second best record team in all of MLB, and they are last season's World Serious champs. Up until last season they have been perennial losers and want to change that perception. This counts for something.

 

- hitting has been usually reliable, and there have also been games where it seems like their bats have icicles. This season, just in the last few weeks of the season, the Giants won a game 2 - 0 against a much lesser team. The Giants scored the runs in the 1st inning. There were multiple walks in the game (for both sides), so it was a lucky break, and good fielding for the Giants, that allowed them to win that game. There have also been 3 games series vs lesser clubs, where the Giants' offense would score in double figures in the first and third games, while only scoring a couple of runs in the middle game. The irony would be that the starting pitcher for the Giants would be the ace, while the pitcher for the other club had a wet noodle for an arm.

 

- Dodgers' hitting can be seen to be as good (or better) than the Giants' hitting. It all depends on whether the pitching.

 

- starting pitching for the Giants can be amazing... or not (see above). The starting pitching is suspect. Outside of Webb, I have reservations about the starting rotation and the bullpen. Sometimes the starters look like top of MLB, other times they can barely get past the 3rd inning.

 

 

- Or, the starter will be doing great, only to have the game turned over to the bullpen who can't hold the line. It's kinda' like a few years ago when the Giants still had Bumgarner. He would pitch 8 innings of scoreless ball, and leave the game in the 9th, with a 3 - 0 lead. The Giants would lose the game 4 - 3, and there would be zero outs....

 

- Dodgers' pitching looks to be better than the Giants', starters or bullpen.

 

- LA coaching has more experience than the SF coaching staff. While I do believe that Roberts has made mistakes in past playoff games, that experience counts for something.

 

 

TL;DR

I think there's a good chance (maybe even better than 50/50) that the Giants will lose this series. I'm hoping not, but I won't be surprised if the wheels fall off.

 

                                                 regards,  G.

 

 

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routing for the Red Sox. Series against the Rays is really fun to watch because of the crowd at Fenway park. Unreal atmosphere and noise . Fans  are electric and really cheer for their team. This is going to be a tight series. Rays have some weapons and some depth , but Red Sox are also very balanced and experienced, especially with the addition of Kyle Schwarber. Nick Pivetta, born in Victoria, BC with an unreal pitching performance won the game for the Red Sox.

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I like the result.

 

                                  regards,  G.

 

PS - in other news, I'm not impressed by how the various TV/video services have been treating the Giants. They'd show games with teams out of the playoff hunt rather than show a Giants game (even the last series with the Giants and the Dodgers going head to head). 

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On 10/12/2021 at 6:12 AM, Gollumpus said:

Brandon Crawford - "Yeah, I did that... no biggie."

 

                                  regards,  G.

fingers crossed for your Giants against the Dodgers tonight. Even if the Giants are down in the 9th innning - don't stop believin, Gollumpus. I expect a tight game. Giants hold the home advantage and are due for a bounce back after the loss in L.A.

Hope for a World series Giants vs. Boston Red Sox. Would be an insane series.

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2 hours ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

fingers crossed for your Giants against the Dodgers tonight. Even if the Giants are down in the 9th innning - don't stop believin, Gollumpus. I expect a tight game. Giants hold the home advantage and are due for a bounce back after the loss in L.A.

Hope for a World series Giants vs. Boston Red Sox. Would be an insane series.

i wonder if Steve Perry will be at the game....:unsure:

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6 hours ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

fingers crossed for your Giants against the Dodgers tonight. Even if the Giants are down in the 9th innning - don't stop believin, Gollumpus. I expect a tight game. Giants hold the home advantage and are due for a bounce back after the loss in L.A.

Hope for a World series Giants vs. Boston Red Sox. Would be an insane series.

Thanks for the positive waves. I figure that the game is still a 50/50 proposition as to who wins.

 

In any event I shall be well lubricated by the end of the game.

 

                              regards,  G.

 

If the Giants do lose, I shall be drowning my sorrows to some Majiko. She can make even a happy song sound sad.

 

 

On a more positive note, in the case of a win it will Band Maid, Hump Back and Drop's.

 

 

 

 

 

                     

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2 hours ago, Gollumpus said:

 

 

                                                         regards,  G.

As the lead singer of every band I've ever played in, Steve Perry has always been my hero (along with Freddie Mercury)....

 

"Don't Stop Believin'" is the song everyone talks about, but it's well down the list for me. "Lights" is my all time favorite, along with "Wheel in the Sky"....

Edited by RUPERTKBD
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Well, if being bummed out about how this last Giants' game of the season turned out is the worst thing for me to be bummed out about, then I'm living a pretty good life.

 

Wait'll next year....

 

                                             regards,  G.

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3 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

As the lead singer of every band I've ever played in, Steve Perry has always been my hero (along with Freddie Mercury)....

 

"Don't Stop Believin'" is the song everyone talks about, but it's well down the list for me. "Lights" is my all time favorite, along with "Wheel in the Sky"....

Well, yeah. That's why I picked it. Everybody knows it's your fave. Word gets around.  :) 

 

The irony of this song (from what I recall) is that Perry wrote it about LA, prior to joining Journey. When he got offered the chance to do vocals for Journey, he did some quick re-writes, and the rest is history.

 

Go Sox. Go Braves.

 

                                                  regards,  G.

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