Eliminated

[Elster88]

With the Met win, the Phillies are the first team mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Either a Metly win or Phillie loss would've done it but the Met game ended first so that's when it became official.

9/9

[Zvon]

9/9

______________________[fimg=300]http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hozc3QP-kLw/maxresdefault.jpg[/fimg]

[Benjamin Grimm]

"I'll have some! A nice cold glass eliminate!"

[Benjamin Grimm]

Milwaukee and Cincinnati had previously been eliminated, and Colorado is on the brink.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Milwaukee and Cincinnati had previously been eliminated, and Colorado is on the brink.

not from the Wild Card.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Good point. I forgot about that.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

And the Phils formally whack Ruin Tomorrow Jr.

[Gwreck]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: And the Phils formally whack Ruin Tomorrow Jr.

We're so sorry to see you go. Johnny, tell us about the parting gifts!
Well, as a lovely gift for the Phillies from Ruben, let me tell you about the $35 million dollars you still owe to a player who has a net -- yes, that's right -- net WAR of negative 1.8 over the past 5 years! He's still under contract for 2016!

[MFS62]

Who that be?

Later

[Gwreck]

Ryan Howard

[MFS62]

Gwreck wrote: Ryan Howard

Snicker.

Anyhow, the Phillies have been eliminated - like a turd.
How appropriate.

Later

[Elster88]

I'm really enjoying this.

9/10	9/9

[Zvon]

Elster88 wrote: I'm really enjoying this. 9/10 9/9

Wow________________________________[fimg=300]http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hozc3QP-kLw/maxresdefault.jpg[/fimg]

[Elster88]

The Cubs swept a double header from the Phillies, and that knocks the Reds out of the wild card race.

And the Rockies lose the next day to get kicked out of both races.

9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Elster88]

Washington knocks the Marlins out off the NL East race 5-0. The Brewers are in danger today too but other than them it'll be a few days before we lose another team.

And the Brewers lose to the Pirates in 11. Out of the wildcard.

9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Ceetar]

San Diego is at 1 and Arizona at 2 for elimination. Then it's only the Nats and the Giants waiting for the axe, meanwhile no American League teams have been mathematically eliminated.

[Elster88]

The Padres lose 7-4 to the Rockies and are done in the NL West. Arizona lives to fight another day with a win but have no margin because the Dodgers won. An A's loss or an Astro win will make the A's the first AL team to lose, and they're playing each other this weekend. Oakland won the opener to stay alive today.

And the Athletics are done. 10-6 to Houston.

9/19	9/18	9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Elster88]

The D'backs lose to the Giants 5-1 and are out of the NL West. It'll be a few days before any more teams are done.

9/20	9/19	9/18	9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Elster88]

Houston beats Texas. Combine that with the White Sock loss to the Yankees and the Tiger loss to Twins and both those teams are out of the wild card.

Oh and the Nationals are out.

Rays lose. Then the Astros win again and the Rays and Mariners are eliminated simultaneously.

9/27	9/27	9/26	9/26
9/26	9/20	9/19	9/18	9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Elster88]

The Orioles lose, so the Astro win knocks both the BoSox and the O's out.

9/28
9/28	9/27	9/27	9/26	9/26
9/26	9/20	9/19	9/18	9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

So long, Orioles.

Disappointing year for them, and they've got a rebuild ahead.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

As a part-time Red Sox fan it's sad to see them gone, but on the other hand the way that they played earlier this season it's a credit to them for lasting as long as they did.

[Benjamin Grimm]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: So long, Orioles. Disappointing year for them, and they've got a rebuild ahead.

I'm grateful to the 2015 Orioles for their September sweep of the Nationals. It came at a perfect time and kept things from getting scary in the NL East race.

[Frayed Knot]

As a part-time Red Sox fan it's sad to see them gone, but on the other hand the way that they played earlier this season it's a credit to them for lasting as long as they did.

Sawx are 30-22 since August 1st. And while it's easy to say that they're only good because they've got nothing to lose, this season did serve towards getting their OF set-up for next year and beyond as well as being well-positioned at SS & 2B.
If they can just get something reasonable out of Panda & Hanley (who will only be 29 & 32 next season) for the next few years they may be OK. They'll almost certainly never get enough to justify what they're paying for either of them, but they're going to need something better than the sub-.300 OBAs with middling power and bad defense that they got this year.
Ramirez is signed thru 2018 w/a vesting option for '19; Sandoval thru 2019 with a club option for '20.

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: So long, Orioles. Disappointing year for them, and they've got a rebuild ahead. I'm grateful to the 2015 Orioles for their September sweep of the Nationals. It came at a perfect time and kept things from getting scary in the NL East race.

It also helped trigger the emotional implosion of the Washington team. And who'd've guessed they'd make a closer of Darren O'Day.

Buck Showalter may not have won the big one, but Baltimore fans are behind him coming and going. I hope the rebuild isn't too painful. They've got some big decisions coming up, with regard to re-signs.

[Elster88]

That was anti-climactic. 8-0 Dodgers beat the Giants. CG for Kershaw.

9/29	9/28
9/28	9/27	9/27	9/26	9/26
9/26	9/20	9/19	9/18	9/13
9/13	9/12	9/11	9/10	9/9

[Zvon]

Elster88 wrote: That was anti-climactic. 8-0 Dodgers beat the Giants. CG for Kershaw. 9/29 9/28 9/28 9/27 9/27 9/26 9/26 9/26 9/20 9/19 9/18 9/13 9/13 9/12 9/11 9/10 9/9

_________________________________________________________________[fimg=300]http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hozc3QP-kLw/maxresdefault.jpg[/fimg]

[Benjamin Grimm]

Why are we laughing at teams that have been eliminated? You must have noticed that this happens to the Mets virtually every year.

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Why are we laughing at teams that have been eliminated? You must have noticed that this happens to the Mets virtually every year.

But NOT THIS YEAR, BABY.

[Frayed Knot]

Giants being eliminated ensures that MLB will have its 15th consecutive year without a repeat champion, something that has never happened before.
The previous record had been the 14-year streak from 1979 until 1992.

I tend to think this is more fluke than some sort of proof that parity nirvana has been achieved even though I'm sure this is going to be touted in places as just that (it's a prominent story on the MLB site). This span, after all, does have two 3-time champs (Giants & BoSox) and one 2-timer (Cards) meaning that three teams have won more than half of the championships during these years.
But, in general, I think MLB is in a good place as far as competitive balance goes. Certainly much better than the 15 year span that preceded this latest one when a huge explosion for certain markets in local media money made the income gap between teams so lopsided that it was as if some teams weren't playing by the same rules as others. Things are also a lot more balanced now as compared to the so-called 'golden age' of the sport which only seemed to be golden for those who lived in NYC but not so much for anyone else.