Division Street: Threading the LDSes

[G-Fafif]

The big story: League Division Series! Game One!

Cardinals! Beltran!

Dodgers! Kershaw!

Pirates? Braves? Losers!

Friday? American League gets underway! National League Game Two! Four games! Starts at one! Ends late!

Mets? Not playing! Still!

[Gwreck]

Burnett totally crapped the bed for Pittsburgh. Two scoreless innings, and then he starts the third by walking the pitcher. Two batters later, it's Carlos Beltran. And well, we all know what Beltran does in the postseason. Holliday doubles, followed by a hit batter, and then two walks to load the bases and force in another run. One more single and it's all over; 7 runs in.

Pirates relief corps did fine afterwards but that was just a terrible job, AJ.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Was trying to listen to that Pittsburgh game on radio but Rick Sutcliffe prevented me from doing so. He's got to be the very worst.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Was trying to listen to that Pittsburgh game on radio but Rick Sutcliffe prevented me from doing so. He's got to be the very worst.

The worst, he whispers so low at times you can't hear him, which in itself is not a bad thing .....Ripken on the telly is useless.

[Frayed Knot]

Sutcliffe just Never. Stops. Talking.
Definitely one of those who's under the impression that he's paid by the word.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Pirates have an early lead in Game Two! Arrrrrrr.....

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Pirates have a late lead in Game Two, thanks to rookie Gerrit Cole (6 IP, 3 baserunners, 1 ER) and one particular Flushing refugee, who's 1-3 with a double, walk, and two runs scored so far. (Also, the guy with the mohawk and the misdirectedly-bitchy fanbase has a homer and a double.)

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Lester struck out the first 4 batters at Fenway, retired the fifth batter easily, and was working on another strikeout when Sean Rodriguez went off script and homered over the Green Monster. Tampa Bay with a one-run lead in the 2nd.

[Zvon]

So, was the Pirate game pay per view only?

[Frayed Knot]

Zvon wrote: So, was the Pirate game pay per view only?

MLBN

[Zvon]

Frayed Knot wrote: Zvon wrote: So, was the Pirate game pay per view only? MLBN

I'll take that as a yes.

[Gwreck]

All of the first round games are on cable.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Pirates win their first postseason game since Tuesday, October 13, 1992.

[Frayed Knot]

Zvon wrote: Zvon wrote: So, was the Pirate game pay per view only? MLBN I'll take that as a yes.

MLBN is no more of a 'pay-per-view' channel than TBS or ESPN or the NFL network

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Red Sox score 5 runs on 6 hits after batting around in the 4th. Tampa Bay's defensive miscues (no official errors awarded) and a passed ball contributed greatly to the rally.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Not sure how this doesn't get called an error.

[Frayed Knot]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Not sure how this doesn't get called an error.

That's on the 'nobody touched it' theory.

You figure the Rays play at Fenway often enough that they wouldn't look as bad as they have on balls off the Monster.
Again, no official errors but certainly some less than perfectly played balls off the LF wall have allowed the notoriously slow Sox to scamper around the bases.

[Frayed Knot]

And, in typical Sawx fashion, they're in the 5th inning despite being well past the 2 hour mark.

[MFS62]

Michael Kay sounds totally disinterested on radio broadcasting the A's/ Tigers game. And Aaron Boone who shares the radio booth with him (I'll be kind) might never get a nomination to the broadcaster's wing of the HOF.

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Scherzer dominates for 7 innings, Tigers pitchers strike out 16... and the A's STILL almost steal one.

Almost.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Because he can be so shrill and terrible when left to his own devices, it's easy to forget how excellent Olbermann can be when focused and sharp, like he is on the TBS studio show.

Heck, the whole crew-- including Pedro, of course -- has been solid to superlative (although Hayhurst maybe needs to decaffeinate a little).

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Why on a Saturday afternoon in October are there no MLB playoff games being played? There were afternoon games yesterday when fans were at work. There will be afternoon baseball games tomorrow so they can go head to head with the NFL. But the most opportune time to play October baseball is shunned and we have to wait for two night games tonight. I'm going to blame this scheduling guffaw on the after-effects of holding the stupid Bud Selig Coinflip Classics earlier in the week.

[Zvon]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Why on a Saturday afternoon in October are there no MLB playoff games being played? There were afternoon games yesterday when fans were at work. There will be afternoon baseball games tomorrow so they can go head to head with the NFL. But the most opportune time to play October baseball is shunned and we have to wait for two night games tonight. I'm going to blame this scheduling guffaw on the after-effects of holding the stupid Bud Selig Coinflip Classics earlier in the week.

I agree W.P.
6 and 9. Bullshit. These games should be 2 and 4. Or one mid afternoon and the other at night. But two games in the sun would be preferable. Someday in the future baseballs gonna look around and wonder where all their fans went.

[Frayed Knot]

There were games Thursday and Friday afternoon because they had three or four games to get in and they want as little overlap as possible. With only two games on tap for the weekend days, today's are at 5:30 and 9:00 while Sunday's are at 4:30 & 8:00 so there's not a ton of difference between the two.

The answer as to why they're not even earlier has nothing to do with the either the scheduled play-in games or the TX/TB tie-breaker; this format is all quite intentional and has everything to do with television. TV execs know that more eyeballs are tuned in later in the day than earlier so they insist on later start times. If MLB wants the games played during the afternoon they'd have to be willing to take checks with fewer zeros in them from the networks in order to do so.
The only sporting event I know of that takes less money in order to dictate their terms to TV instead of the other way around in The Masters.

[Zvon]

Frayed Knot wrote: There were games Thursday and Friday afternoon because they had three or four games to get in and they want as little overlap as possible. With only two games on tap for the weekend days, today's are at 5:30 and 9:00 while Sunday's are at 4:30 & 8:00 so there's not a ton of difference between the two. The answer as to why they're not even earlier has nothing to do with the either the scheduled play-in games or the TX/TB tie-breaker; this format is all quite intentional and has everything to do with television. TV execs know that more eyeballs are tuned in later in the day than earlier so they insist on later start times. If MLB wants the games played during the afternoon they'd have to be willing to take checks with fewer zeros in them from the networks in order to do so. The only sporting event I know of that takes less money in order to dictate their terms to TV instead of the other way around in The Masters.

Well, duh. Of course it's TV. Maybe in the future they won't even need stands. We'll all pay to sit and watch em from home.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

If the play-in games didn't exist, the real playoffs would start earlier and then a four-game day could coincide with a Saturday.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I did goof because I thought tomorrow was a four game day but its actually Monday. So there's afternoon baseball on Friday and Monday but not on the weekend. And don't give me your patented Frayed Knot condescending asshole attitude. Do you seriously think there's more money in having 4 games on Friday or Monday rather than on a weekend?

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

It's not like Tampa Bay never plays in Fenway Park, but more defensive miscues have contributed to Boston's 5-1 lead in the 5th.

[Frayed Knot]

Y'know Willets, I was going to answer your first response with an explanation about how the multiple weekday games still would have existed had the play-in games not been a factor (just would have been on a different day) and about how the networks prefer the lesser competition of weekday day games to the greater competition of college or pro football on the weekends.

But after reading your second response I'm just going to go with 'Fuck Off!
There was nothing in my answer that was in any way condescending nor deserving of the junior high school insults. And if this were the first time or if I were the only target here of such unwarranted rants whenever you get into a mood I'd likely be more likely to attempt to talk it out. But I'm not, and it's not, so Fuck Off.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Yes, if the division series started on Tuesday instead of the Coin Flip games, there would be day games on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon instead of Friday and Monday. Since most people work on weekdays and have weekends off it would be logical to adjust the schedule to have as large a potential audience as possible. I know I certainly would have liked to watch four games today instead of yesterday. That was all I was saying.

In real game news, the Rays get two runs back against a shaky-looking Lackey. 5-3 Boston in the fifth.