Willets Point

Bottom of the 8th in tense, scoreless game. There's a highly localized bank of fog around home plate but it's sunny in other parts of the ballpark. I guess that's just Seattle?

Well, the Mets and the Braves split their season series as evenly as possible, each won 101 games, and each one just one game in the postseason. They're evenly-matched as possible. Maybe that'll carry on to their offseason golf game.

The way I see it, the Pennant and the World Series champions are awards for two different things. The Pennant is the award for sustained excellence over the regular season by winning the most games, or at least it was from 1876 to 1968. I think it should be restored as the award. Remember, the Pennant was once highly-regarded on its own as a high achievement, such as in 1954 when New York City gave the New York Giants a ticker tape parade for winning the Pennant. The World Series Championship on the other hand is an award for winning a post-season tournament among the best teams in baseball in that regular season. That tournament has grown from 2 to 4 to 8 to 10 to 12 contestants but it has always been true that the team with the best regular season record frequently does not win the World Series Championship. If that doesn't make it clear, consider this parallel: European Football. In domestic leagues, the championship titles are given to the team that wins the most games in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, et al. That's the Pennant. But the best teams in Europe also compete in the Champions League. That's the MLB Postseason (and sometimes the Champions League winner doesn't even win their domestic league, such as Chelsea in 2021). Winning a domestic league and winning a Champions League are both highly-desired and celebrated awards. That's what I want for the Pennant and the World Series Championship.

Damn!

You just couldn't say those things too loud or you might end up with a highway routed through your house.

Edgy MD wrote: I also associate the Phils with mullets. Lots and lots of mullets. It's surprising that Rod Beck never played with the Phillies considering his massive mullet and Germanic surname. Maybe if he was "Ryod" Beck?

I also think the team with the best record should get a bye straight into the league championship series but don't know how to pull that off without having that team sit idle for an excessively long time.

My grandfather, a NYC employee, had unpleasant things to say about Robert Moses.

Padres up 2 games to 1 with a chance to clinch tonight. Perhaps the Padres are actually a good team and losing to them was not a rage-inducing humiliation or a sign that the Mets "gave up" that some Mets fans have insisted upon.

This is why I argue that the pennant should be awarded to the team with the best record in the league as it was up until 1968. Too many great teams have been treated as "failures" because of the fluky nature of a postseason tournament.

Disappointing finish, but this feels like 1985 to me, winning a shitton of games but not enough to win the division, and a sad finish. Hopefully will lead to a dominating 2023.

Not for nothing, but Musgrove was an Astro in 2017.

Frayed Knot wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: This is going to look bad for Buck/Mets if this search doesn't turn up something. Worse than losing the WC series? It'll look like: 'we can't hit him so he must be cheating' It looks to me like his ears are covered in a thick fluid and his spin rate is off the chart, so maybe he is cheating and it behooves the manager to check.

Willets Point wrote: Good bit of gamesmanship by Buck if nothing else. But apparently nothing is good enough to shake Musgrove and/or inspire the bats to wake up.

Good bit of gamesmanship by Buck if nothing else.