Special Event: 2019 MLB baseball playoffs
October 6, 2019 2:50 PM - Subscribe
The serieses have started, so come on in and discuss and livewatch!
Not clear to me if I’m just too busy or whatever, but my prior workarounds for MLB lockout despite being an MLB.TV subscriber have exceeded my time-budget tolerance, so... see ya, baseball.
posted by mwhybark at 7:38 PM on October 6, 2019
posted by mwhybark at 7:38 PM on October 6, 2019
I discovered that YouTube TV carries a lot of sports networks and *might* cover all of the games I'm likely to watch next season. This, combined with everything else it offers and MLB.TV not carrying postseason games (which wtf?!), suggests to me MLB.TV may not be long for the Cheeses household.
In other news, this WAS a good year to have decided to become a Twins fan -_-
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:45 AM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
In other news, this WAS a good year to have decided to become a Twins fan -_-
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:45 AM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had resigned to skipping the postseason after Cleveland failed to catch up to a pretty impressive run by the Rays. Then I was thinking, gee, I could root for the Nationals against the Dodgers! That was last night and within minutes the Dodgers had surged ahead and scored, like eight runs in the sixth inning. I am so, so sorry, Washington.
The whole MLB.tv thing is amazingly bad. The only thing I can conclude is that there are huge, huge baseball fans out there (pay-for-play fantasy leaguers?) who are happy to pay for games of teams nowhere near them. And then also subscribe to a traditional cable service for the postseason. These customers also apparently have never seen Netflix or they wouldn't realize how clunky and painful every MLB site and app is to use. We get it as part of our T-Mobile phone plan, but there's no way I'd pay $120 a year for it. And yet, two years ago MLB sold its streaming operation to Disney for $1.5 billion US dollars. That is not a typo.
posted by wnissen at 3:41 PM on October 7, 2019
The whole MLB.tv thing is amazingly bad. The only thing I can conclude is that there are huge, huge baseball fans out there (pay-for-play fantasy leaguers?) who are happy to pay for games of teams nowhere near them. And then also subscribe to a traditional cable service for the postseason. These customers also apparently have never seen Netflix or they wouldn't realize how clunky and painful every MLB site and app is to use. We get it as part of our T-Mobile phone plan, but there's no way I'd pay $120 a year for it. And yet, two years ago MLB sold its streaming operation to Disney for $1.5 billion US dollars. That is not a typo.
posted by wnissen at 3:41 PM on October 7, 2019
And yet, two years ago MLB sold its streaming operation to Disney for $1.5 billion US dollars.
Does this mean that MLB.tv may cease to exist once Disney+ drops?
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 4:03 AM on October 8, 2019
Does this mean that MLB.tv may cease to exist once Disney+ drops?
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 4:03 AM on October 8, 2019
The Nats force a Game-5, playing through the rain. Back to LA on Wednesday. I have no dog in this fight, as I'm a fan of both clubs. And, holy crap, the movement on Dustin May's fastballs was insane...in the rain!
posted by Thorzdad at 5:54 AM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 5:54 AM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Twins have tied the record for postseason futility, going 0-16 since 2004. That's the record for all major North American professional sports -- they share the record with the 1975-1979 Chicago Blackhawks, in an era when 12 of 18 of NHL teams made the playoffs.
posted by Etrigan at 7:33 AM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 7:33 AM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
CheesesOfBrazil, no, MLB is still using the technology, sort of like how American Airlines sold off their SAABRE flight booking software but still uses it.
posted by wnissen at 1:06 PM on October 8, 2019
posted by wnissen at 1:06 PM on October 8, 2019
Tom Boswell on Ryan Zimmerman's game-changer of a home run in Game 4:
The oft-injured Zimmerman, 35, has been unseen for months at a time this season. Years removed from his turn as Face of the Franchise, he has been consigned by many to the sport’s scrap heap. But in the fifth inning, with the Nats clinging to a 2-1 lead in an elimination game against the august Los Angeles Dodgers, Zimmerman blasted a monstrously high flyball that momentarily disappeared from sight at light-tower level. The drive seemed to hang, blocked and battered by a flag-snapping crosswind from left to right field that should have knocked it down into a fielder’s glove. But when Zimmerman’s three-run blast landed well onto the center field batter’s-eye grass, it was the Dodgers who were knocked to the deck, trailing 5-1 and on the way to a 6-1 loss that forced a decisive Game 5 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
posted by Cash4Lead at 2:15 PM on October 8, 2019
The oft-injured Zimmerman, 35, has been unseen for months at a time this season. Years removed from his turn as Face of the Franchise, he has been consigned by many to the sport’s scrap heap. But in the fifth inning, with the Nats clinging to a 2-1 lead in an elimination game against the august Los Angeles Dodgers, Zimmerman blasted a monstrously high flyball that momentarily disappeared from sight at light-tower level. The drive seemed to hang, blocked and battered by a flag-snapping crosswind from left to right field that should have knocked it down into a fielder’s glove. But when Zimmerman’s three-run blast landed well onto the center field batter’s-eye grass, it was the Dodgers who were knocked to the deck, trailing 5-1 and on the way to a 6-1 loss that forced a decisive Game 5 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
posted by Cash4Lead at 2:15 PM on October 8, 2019
I wasn't GOING to watch this STL-ATL game, but I tuned in midway through the first inning and WHAT THE FORKING FORK
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:01 PM on October 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:01 PM on October 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
well that’s one way to have fewer tomahawk chop chants
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:43 PM on October 9, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:43 PM on October 9, 2019 [3 favorites]
This is Howie do it
posted by exogenous at 9:36 PM on October 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 9:36 PM on October 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
If the Nats insist on pulling victory from the jaws of defeat at every single stage of the playoffs... I will be completely gray by the end of the month
posted by Cash4Lead at 10:02 PM on October 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Cash4Lead at 10:02 PM on October 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
Well, that'll teach me not to fall asleep before the 8th inning starts. Good grief.
A Cards/Nats series is gonna be...interesting? Certainly not a match-up I would have expected.
...............
that’s one way to have fewer tomahawk chop chants
Gods, yes. That stupid racist chant is the main reason I refuse to watch any Braves home games if I can at all help it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:02 AM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
A Cards/Nats series is gonna be...interesting? Certainly not a match-up I would have expected.
...............
that’s one way to have fewer tomahawk chop chants
Gods, yes. That stupid racist chant is the main reason I refuse to watch any Braves home games if I can at all help it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:02 AM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
They started that chant at a game I attended a about three years ago here in DC (we always have a bunch of fans of the visiting team for reasons*), including one guy right in front of me. I started my own chant at the same time using the baseball chant cadence: YOU'RE A RACE-IST 👏👏 👏👏👏 They guy, stopped, half turned and smiled as if in acknowledgement.
*(1) a lot of folks living here are from somewhere else and don't expect to stay long, so they retain former allegiances; and (2) the team is young so that almost nobody grew up a Nationals fan (exacerbated by 1 as parents raise their kids to support other teams even through they live in the area)
Anyway I am so happy for the Nationals. They really showed a different spirit towards the end of the regular season when they clawed back to win a wild card spot. I was at this September game and keeping score. Down 10-4 in the ninth, I had been chatting with my friends between pitches and taking notes on TV they recommended, telling them that the info was probably the most important thing in the scorebook. But we stayed at the stadium, as did a lot of people. The Nats were just relaxed and a comeback wasn't out of the question. And then this. They have been playing like they have nothing to loose, which is pretty much true - a big difference to other postseason appearances when they were favored and played brittle under the pressure.
posted by exogenous at 5:47 AM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
*(1) a lot of folks living here are from somewhere else and don't expect to stay long, so they retain former allegiances; and (2) the team is young so that almost nobody grew up a Nationals fan (exacerbated by 1 as parents raise their kids to support other teams even through they live in the area)
Anyway I am so happy for the Nationals. They really showed a different spirit towards the end of the regular season when they clawed back to win a wild card spot. I was at this September game and keeping score. Down 10-4 in the ninth, I had been chatting with my friends between pitches and taking notes on TV they recommended, telling them that the info was probably the most important thing in the scorebook. But we stayed at the stadium, as did a lot of people. The Nats were just relaxed and a comeback wasn't out of the question. And then this. They have been playing like they have nothing to loose, which is pretty much true - a big difference to other postseason appearances when they were favored and played brittle under the pressure.
posted by exogenous at 5:47 AM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Well, that'll teach me not to fall asleep before the 8th inning starts.
I fell asleep for a bit in the middle there, but woke up just in time for the 8th inning which was perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:27 AM on October 10, 2019
I fell asleep for a bit in the middle there, but woke up just in time for the 8th inning which was perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:27 AM on October 10, 2019
Mr Mitten pointed out that we saw Michael Taylor - the Nats player who made a great catch at the end of the game - hit a home run in the high-A minor leagues, like seven years ago. So I feel like we've really contributed to this series win.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:48 PM on October 10, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:48 PM on October 10, 2019
This entire postseason is wrong wrong wrong. Cubs not in it? Bad. Yanks beat Twins? Bad. Astros beat Ray's? Bad. Cards beat Braves? Bad.
The only thing I've liked so far even a little is the Nationals beating the Dodgers.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:35 AM on October 11, 2019
The only thing I've liked so far even a little is the Nationals beating the Dodgers.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:35 AM on October 11, 2019
Ok the game tonight was great, I’m in — go Nats!
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:38 PM on October 11, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:38 PM on October 11, 2019
If I had known the Astros would win as soon as I went to bed I could've saved us all those 2 extra innings. Anyway, I guess I'll have to see if I can replicate this result. Game 4 in the afternoon could be a challenge.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:10 AM on October 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:10 AM on October 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Wow, I generally have no beef with watching the Cards lose, but this has been a horribly lopsided set of games. I feel for ya, Saint Looie.
posted by mwhybark at 5:31 PM on October 15, 2019
posted by mwhybark at 5:31 PM on October 15, 2019
They're back in the game! Though before the game started, the excellent Nationals radio announcers pointed out that in postseason history, 29 of 37 times a 3-0 series wound up a sweep, and that only one team has ever come back and gone on to win the series.
Assuming the Nats get it done tonight, it will be interesting to see if the week-long rest cools them down.
posted by exogenous at 6:49 PM on October 15, 2019
Assuming the Nats get it done tonight, it will be interesting to see if the week-long rest cools them down.
posted by exogenous at 6:49 PM on October 15, 2019
🎉 WOO THE NATS WON THE PENNANT WOO 🎉
posted by Cash4Lead at 6:21 AM on October 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Cash4Lead at 6:21 AM on October 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Nationals are going to the World Series — and a city’s baseball scars have healed
And another city's scars have opened right back up again.
The heartache of previous Nationals teams is fresh in the minds of so many who crowded in Tuesday night. But the angst that goes back generations here is rooted not only in baseball failures but, worse, baseball’s absence.
Heartache, huh? Absence? Tell me more about that.
Love,
An Expos fan.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:39 AM on October 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
And another city's scars have opened right back up again.
The heartache of previous Nationals teams is fresh in the minds of so many who crowded in Tuesday night. But the angst that goes back generations here is rooted not only in baseball failures but, worse, baseball’s absence.
Heartache, huh? Absence? Tell me more about that.
Love,
An Expos fan.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:39 AM on October 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
Take heart, Capt. Renault: if you're lucky, you might get half a baseball team next year.
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:30 AM on October 16, 2019
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:30 AM on October 16, 2019
First in war, first in peace, first in the National League!
Congratulations, Nationals. I'll be pulling for you.
posted by Fukiyama at 10:49 AM on October 16, 2019
Congratulations, Nationals. I'll be pulling for you.
posted by Fukiyama at 10:49 AM on October 16, 2019
Yankees forgot how to field last night, what a performance on the field.
posted by Carillon at 12:10 PM on October 18, 2019
posted by Carillon at 12:10 PM on October 18, 2019
Oh man oh man oh man, ... and then Altuve!
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]
Altuve will briefly consider you before you casting you into the void. There is no appeal. Only home runs. Walk off home runs.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 12:25 AM on October 20, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 12:25 AM on October 20, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is fucking nasty: Report: Astros Assistant GM Yelled "Thank God We Got Osuna" At Female Reporters After ALCS Win
(Relief pitcher Roberto Osuna was suspended for 75 games last year for domestic violence.)
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:33 AM on October 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
(Relief pitcher Roberto Osuna was suspended for 75 games last year for domestic violence.)
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:33 AM on October 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
I was going to try to defend the guy, but he’s described as “a former fantasy baseball expert and investment banker”, so never mind.
If there’s anybody you shouldn’t trust, it’s the kind of guy who wins your fantasy baseball league.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:27 AM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
If there’s anybody you shouldn’t trust, it’s the kind of guy who wins your fantasy baseball league.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:27 AM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
this astros shit is just the logical next step in the wall street-ification of a baseball team. of course they're going to acquire "distressed assets," of course they're going to enable this kind of behavior, of course they're going to adopt the big wet president's press playbook
So now I root for the division rival Nationals.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2019
So now I root for the division rival Nationals.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2019
The series begins tonight, so I put up a new World Series post!
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:18 PM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:18 PM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Fukiyama at 5:47 PM on October 6, 2019