Baseball 2025

[CheeseHead]

Blue Jays and Tigers choking away their long-standing leads in their respective divisions, in the last week of the season 

[KingsX]

As one Detroit Tiger or another once said, “you can’t play baseball with both hands wrapped around your neck”.

 

I’m in Washington state while various of my buds are texting about cheap tickets, expensive beer and a GREAT series at Progressive Field. 
 

(I’ll get mine back texting from the Buckeyes-Huskies game Saturday. By which time Detroit’s season should be disconnected from life support.)

[CheeseHead]

Yep, you can probably put a fork in the Tigers, there's no coming back from that kind of collapse. Even Skubal looked well ruffled by the Guards, almost felt sorry for him!

[CheeseHead]

Blue Jays AL East champs 

and #1 seed in the AL 

[KingsX]

Guards come back from 8-5 down in the 10th to win 9-8 and clinch the AL Central. And from 15-1/2 games back - the largest gap ever made up in the divisional era. They were ELEVEN games out in SEPTEMBER.

 

I stand by my prediction that this was/is a third place squad. They just don’t seem to know it!

 

A team with 3x the payroll, and one-tenth the guts and team spirit, will likely eliminate them. Easy to love my club, but harder and harder to love MLB.
 

But they still have life and I still have hope.

[Jordan]

On 29/09/2025 at 09:49, KingsX said:

A team with 3x the payroll, and one-tenth the guts and team spirit, will likely eliminate them.

Not taking anything away from Cleveland’s September as it was an incredible run, but maybe you should have been less worried about the big payroll bogeymen and more concerned about the Detroit Tigers.

[spacemunky]

Jays and Yanks 

[Jordan]

41 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

Jays and Yanks 

Let’s do this @spacemunky @CheeseHead! 😄

[CheeseHead]

3 hours ago, Jordan said:

Let’s do this @spacemunky @CheeseHead! 😄

Not confident about this, especially with Bo Bichette out. But it's baseball - anything can happen and probably will!

[NJFox]

Got drawn in the Phillies ticket lottery, picked up two seats for Game 2 on Monday!  £280 for two lower level seats in the seventh row. 

 

Have been to several playoff games over the years, including the Halladay no-hitter in 2010. Live playoff baseball is a special kind of atmosphere. Also grateful it’s not an elimination game.

[KingsX]

4 hours ago, Jordan said:

Not taking anything away from Cleveland’s September as it was an incredible run, but maybe you should have been less worried about the big payroll bogeymen and more concerned about the Detroit Tigers.

I am 100% sure they gave everything they had against the Tigers.  They simply cannot afford any depth, and no matter how they strive and overachieve, it ends like this.

 

The big payroll bogeymen that buy players, then buy depth, and then buy more guys to paper over their mistakes, constitute most of the clubs that make the League and World Series, and will going forward. I see that as a big problem.

[Jordan]

3 hours ago, KingsX said:

I am 100% sure they gave everything they had against the Tigers.  They simply cannot afford any depth, and no matter how they strive and overachieve, it ends like this.

 

The big payroll bogeymen that buy players, then buy depth, and then buy more guys to paper over their mistakes, constitute most of the clubs that make the League and World Series, and will going forward. I see that as a big problem.

I disagree on the extent to which payroll inequality is a problem. I see it as a small problem, but not a crisis.

 https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/96115/veteran-presence-of-inequality-mobility-and-salary-caps/

 

I see the risk of a protracted labor stoppage in 2027 when the owners try to force their way to a salary cap as a much bigger problem. 

[spacemunky]

Great opening game for the Jays 

[CheeseHead]

Yanks 1 Blue Jays 10 let’s go!! One down

[Jordan]

On 03/10/2025 at 16:11, CheeseHead said:

Not confident about this, especially with Bo Bichette out. But it's baseball - anything can happen and probably will!

 

On 03/10/2025 at 12:36, Jordan said:

Let’s do this @spacemunky @CheeseHead! 😄

On second thought maybe let’s not do this 😂

[CheeseHead]

Scenes at the Roger’s Centre!

[spacemunky]

Great performance from Yesavage, who I'd never heard of until today 

[CheeseHead]

Yesavage a rookie in only his 4th start, 0 hits, 11Ks, astonishing performance. He was in the minors for most of the season, often talked about, but nobody could ever have imagined he would have that kind of impact this season

[spacemunky]

Vladdy 

[CheeseHead]

12 hours ago, spacemunky said:

Vladdy 

6-1 up but couldn't hold on to that in Yankee stadium. Two more cracks at it, the 2nd in Toronto if it gets that far..

[spacemunky]

2 hours ago, CheeseHead said:

6-1 up but couldn't hold on to that in Yankee stadium. Two more cracks at it, the 2nd in Toronto if it gets that far..

Was disappointing, but have to regroup for game 4 tonight.

 

I heard there's no starting pitcher available and it'll be a collection of guys used for us.

[CheeseHead]

48 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

Was disappointing, but have to regroup for game 4 tonight.

 

I heard there's no starting pitcher available and it'll be a collection of guys used for us.

Yes it’s a bullpen day. It worked last time out but not so sure about Yankee stadium tonight! I’m bracing for a game 5 at the Rogers Centre

[KingsX]

Well done Jays! A joy to see the clincher happen in the Bronx.

 

Let’s just hope Yankees management and their shameless media apologists keep Cashman and Boone in their jobs. They are the Great Equalizers keeping the club good, but never great. 16 years without a championship with their resources (and Aaron Judge) takes some doing.

 

Now hoping the Brew Crew can keep it going in the NL.

[Jattdogg]

Yesssssss bluejays baby!

[spacemunky]

Just now, Jattdogg said:

Yesssssss bluejays baby!

Great series!