postseason

Stat-urday, 10/2/2021

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Robert Andino with the Orioles in 2011. Photo by Keith Allison via Wikipedia.

This past week, the Orioles celebrated the 10th anniversary of their last-day-of-the-season come-from-behind victory over the Red Sox that eliminated the Boston from the 2011 postseason — what has become known as the Curse of the Andino. And how did they celebrate? By winning 2 of 3 games against the Boston Red Sox.

The O’s certainly enjoyed the role of spoiler that year, as they had been eliminated from playoff contention already. Of course, in 2010, the O’s were the first team to be eliminated– on August 29. So that got me wondering? What are their stats for being eliminated?

In the past 10 years, the Orioles have made it to the postseason three times (2012, 2014, and 2016), but have been mostly pretty bad. In 2018, they set the record for the earliest team to be eliminated from postseason contention – EVER (well, in the Divisional Era, i.e. since 1969). (Let’s just call that the Curse of Trading Manny.)

Here are their elimination stats:

  • 2012 – lost to the Yankees in the American League Division Series
  • 2013 – eliminated on September 22
  • 2014 – swept the Tigers in the ALDS; swept by the Royals in the American League Championship Series
  • 2015 – eliminated on August 28
  • 2016 – lost the Wild Card game to the Blue Jays
  • 2017 – eliminated on September 23
  • 2018 – eliminated on August 20
  • 2019 – eliminated on August 23
  • 2020 – eliminate on September 22
  • 2021 – eliminated on August 28

Happy Stat-urday!

~ baseballrebecca

The Next Postseason

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2020 KBO League.png
Korean Baseball Organization logo, courtesy of Wikipedia

Welcome to the postseason! The Dodgers may have won the MLB World Series, but there’s still a Japan Series, Taiwan Series, and Korea Series to be played. In Japan, the regular season of the Nippon Professional Baseball League is winding down and the championship series, the Japan Series (or Nippon Series), is scheduled to start this weekend. The Chinese Professional Baseball League is currently in the midst of their playoffs. The first half champions, the CTBC Brothers, are playing the second-half champs, the Uni-President Lions, in the 2020 Taiwan Series. As of yesterday, the Brothers were leading the best-of-seven series 2 to 1.

The Korean Baseball Organization playoffs will be shown on ESPN2 (with some games on ESPN News) networks. The postseason began on November 2 with a Wild Card game between the LG Twins and the Kiwoom Heroes. The postseason scheme for the KBO is quite interesting. The top five teams participate in the postseason (see standings below). The fourth- and fifth place teams kick things off with a 2-game Wild Card series. The fourth place team is given an 1-0 advantage, so if the fourth place team wins the first Wild Card game, it advances to the Semi-Playoff Series and if the fifth place team wins the first game, the winner of the second game advances. This year, the fourth place Twins beat the Heroes 4-3 in one Wild Card game.

The next step of the KBO post season is the Semi-Playoff Series. The winner of the Wild Card Series plays the third-place team in a 3-game series, which began this morning:

  • Wednesday, Nov. 4: LG Twins vs. Doosan Bears, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Thursday, Nov. 5: LG Twins vs. Doosan Bears, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Saturday, Nov. 7: LG Twins vs. Doosan Bears, midnight (ESPN2), if needed

The  winner of the Semi-Playoff Series advances to the Playoff Series against the second place team. This 5-game series begins on November 9:

  • Monday, Nov. 9: Twins-Bears winner vs. KT Wiz, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Tuesday, Nov. 10: Twins-Bears winner vs. KT Wiz, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Thursday, Nov. 12: Twins-Bears winner vs. KT Wiz, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Friday, Nov. 13: Twins-Bears winner vs. KT Wiz, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN News), if needed
  • Sunday, Nov. 15: Twins-Bears winner vs. KT Wiz, midnight (ESPN News), if needed

The winner of the Playoff Series will play in the Korean Series against the first-place NC Dinos, beginning on November 17:

  • Tuesday, Nov. 17: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 18: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Friday, Nov. 20: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
  • Saturday, Nov. 21: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, midnight (ESPN2)
  • Monday, Nov. 23: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2), if needed
  • Tuesday, Nov. 24: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2), if needed
  • Wednesday, Nov. 25: Korean Series: TBD vs. NC Dinos, 4:30 a.m. (ESPN2), if needed

So, there’s a lot of baseball left to be played. Next week, we’ll focus on the winter leagues!

~ baseballrebecca

KBO 2020 Standings

RankTEAMGAMESWLTiedPCTGB
1NC Dinos144835560.6010.0
2KT Wiz144816210.5664.5
3Doosan Bears144796140.5645.0
4LG Twins144796140.5645.0
5Kiwoom Heroes144806310.5595.5
6Kia Tigers144737100.50713.0
7Lotte Giants144717210.49714.5
8Samsung Lions144647550.46019.5
9SK Wyverns144519210.35734.5
10Hanwha Eagles144469530.32638.5

October Baseball

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Juan Soto and Victor Robles of the Washington Nationals, who will play the NL Wild Card game tonight

Sadly, baseball season has ended, but at least we still have the playoffs and World Series. Did your team make it? Will you be watching?

Here’s the MLB post-season schedule, at least as far we know it:

WILD CARD GAMES:

  • 10/1: Brewers at Nationals, 8:08 p.m., TBS
  • 10/2: Rays at A’s, 8:09 p.m., ESPN

DIVISION SERIES:

National League (NLDS) – all games on TBS:

  • 10/3: NL Wild Card Winner at Dodgers
  • 10/4: NL Wild Card Winner at Dodgers
  • 10/6: Dodgers at NL Wild Card Winner
  • 10/7: Dodgers at NL Wild Card Winner (if necessary)
  • 10/9: NL Wild Card Winner at Dodgers (if necessary)

 

  • 10/3: Cardinals at Braves
  • 10/4: Cardinals at Braves
  • 10/6: Braves at Cardinals
  • 10/7: Braves at Cardinals (if necessary)
  • 10/9: Cardinals at Braves (if necessary)

American League (ALDS):

  • 10/4: AL Wild Card Winner at Astros, FS1 or MLBN
  • 10/5: AL Wild Card Winner at Astros, FS1
  • 10/7: Astros at AL Wild Card Winner, FS1 or MLBN
  • 10/8: Astros at AL Wild Card Winner, FS1 (if necessary)
  • 10/10: AL Wild Card Winner at Astros, FS1 (if necessary)

 

  • 10/4: Twins at Yankees, FS1 or MLBN
  • 10/5: Twins at Yankees, FS1
  • 10/7: Yankees at Twins, FS1 or MLBN
  • 10/8: Yankees at Twins, FS1 (if necessary)
  • 10/10: Twins at Yankees, FS1 (if necessary)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES:

National League Championship Series (NLCS):

  • 10/11: Game 1, TBS
  • 10/12: Game 2, TBS
  • 10/14: Game 3, TBS
  • 10/15: Game 4, TBS
  • 10/16: Game 5 (if necessary), TBS
  • 10/18: Game 6 (if necessary), TBS
  • 10/19: Game 7 (if necessary), TBS

American League Championship Series (ALCS):

  • 10/12: Game 1, FOX or FS1
  • 10/13: Game 2, FOX or FS1
  • 10/15: Game 3, FOX or FS1
  • 10/16: Game 4, FOX or FS1
  • 10/17: Game 5 (if necessary), FOX or FS1
  • 10/19: Game 6 (if necessary), FOX or FS1
  • 10/20: Game 7 (if necessary), FOX or FS1

WORLD SERIES:

  • 10/22: Game 1, FOX
  • 10/23: Game 2, FOX
  • 10/25: Game 3, FOX
  • 10/26: Game 4, FOX
  • 10/27: Game 5 (if necessary), FOX
  • 10/29: Game 6 (if necessary), FOX
  • 10/30: Game 7 (if necessary), FOX

 

Enjoy!

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who to Root for this Postseason

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708px-Jonathan_Schoop_on_September_26,_2013

Jonathan Schoop, 2013 (photo by Keith Allison, via Wikipedia)

So, the National League Division Series (NLDS) begins today. And the American League Division Series (ALDS) begins tomorrow. Even though my favorite teams might not be playing this postseason, I can always pretend.

For starters, if you’re an O’s fan looking for an excuse to root for the Brewers (and former Oriole Jonathan Schoop), the two teams share a common lineage. The Orioles were, in fact, “born” in Milwaukee. The 1901 Milwaukee Brewers, who finished eighth in the American League that year, moved to St. Louis in 1902 and became the St. Louis Browns. Five decades later the team moved again, this time to Baltimore, where they became the Baltimore Orioles. (Of course, the current Brewers team started out as the Seattle Pilots before moving to Milwaukee after the Milwaukee Braves departed in 1965 for Atlanta (after first moving from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953).

If that’s too complicated, just think about all of the former Orioles who will be playing in the NLDS. The series features the Dodgers v. the Braves and the Brewers v. Rockies. How many former Orioles will be playing? Quite a few, actually:

  1. 13 - Machado 2Matt Albers, P, Brewers
  2. Wade Miley, P, Brewers
  3. Jonathan Schoop, IF, Brewers
  4. Manny Machado, IF, Dodgers
  5. Justin Turner, IF, Dodgers
  6. Brad Brach, P, Braves
  7. Kevin Gausman, P, Braves
  8. Ryan Flaherty, IF, Braves
  9. Nick Markakis, OF, Braves

And let’s not forget about my other favorite team, the Washington Nationals. The Brewers have two former Nats, including one of my all-time favorite pitchers, Gio Gonzalez (the other being Matt Albers, who also is listed above as a former Oriole). In addition, the Dodgers have Ryan Madson, the Braves have Kurt Suzuki, and the Rockies have Ian Desmond.

For the ALDS it will be the Indians v. the Astros and the Red Sox v. the Yankees. A handful of former Orioles will be playing (Eduardo Rodriguez, former Orioles minor leaguer; Steve Pearce; Andrew Miller; and Zach Britton), as well as a few former Nats (Sandy Leon, former Nats minor leaguer; Oliver Perez; and A.J. Cole).

Even if you aren’t an O’s or Nats fan, you can use the same logic to determine which teams to root for this postseason if your favorite isn’t in the running. If that doesn’t work, you can always fall on classic reasons like rooting for a city you like, the team with the best uniform colors, the underdog, or even the team with the best players, best record, etc.

So, if your favorite teams aren’t playing this postseason, you have options for finding another team to root for.

Happy postseason!

~ baseballrebecca

Postseason Decisions

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This year, it won’t be hard for me to choose who to root for in the postseason (Go O’s!!  Go Nats!!).  For others, there are several things to consider in their postseason support decisions. Major news outlets, naturally, are full of opinions on this topic.  So, if, for some reason, you aren’t rooting for the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, here are some helpful tips:

Lamenting the absence of the New York Yankees in the postseason, The New York Times discusses who to root for in the post season (of course, I think the O’s and the Nats should be much higher on their list):

Which Baseball Team Deserves a Title? Consult the Suffering Index

Not to be outdone, The Wall Street Journal also has rated the postseason contenders with their “Hateability Index.” On that scale, the O’s and Nats should be lower:

The 2014 Baseball Playoffs Hateability Index

NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk joined the game with their reasons for and against rooting for the AL and NL teams:

Who to root for in the postseason

Whomever you root for (pick the O’s) this posteason (pick the Nats), may you enjoy every game!

Happy postseason, y’all!

~ baseballrebecca