MLB Baseball NL: Playoffs coming!

[havefunkc]

Time for the senior league...

NL East:
The Senators...I mean Nationals: I thought at the beginning of the season they 'might' do something. I don't think anyone thought they would put together a season like this. Gio has been a huge pickup and Boy Wonder Strasburg has been more than decent. Good for them!
Braves: win one for the Chipper! Well, at least playoff bound one more time anyway.
Metropolitans: I'll be the first to admit, while not playoff caliber, they have outperformed admirably.
Miami: NL disappointment #2 in my book. This team should be been knocking on the door for the East pennant. Only the Red Sox had a worse team chemistry than Miami this year.
Phillies: They may do enough to not finish last, but disappointment #1 in the NL - by far! The lineup was/is not the greatest, but that pitching staff should dominate. No playoffs in 2012. Let's see if they put it together next year.

NL Central:
Cincy: Yep - the Reds! And Mr. Votto hasn't been the one that carried them here. It's been - gulp - pitching. Who would have thought?! Decent pitching in Cincinnati? Nice to see.
Cardinals: Great offense/suspect pitching in the first half. Second half, flip it: Good pitching/vanishing offense. Can't make the playoffs with that... They still have a shot and squeezing in Wild Card #2, but I don't think so...
Pittsburgh: No matter what, Clint Hurdle is THE NL Manager-of-the-Year. What he's done with a bunch of nobodies is amazing. Too bad they can't sustain for a full 162 games... Miss the playoffs and maybe even continue record of losing seasons. Pitiful.
Cubs: Did the boys from the North Side even play ball this year? 30 games out of 1st place. Thank goodness for the Astros. This franchise SO deserves a winning team, this century!
Astros: so long to the Colt 45's/Astros. Your last year in the NL has been - well the same as the last few years in Houston - AAA has played better. Even Roger Clemens can't save this team. How can one MLB team be so bad? Enjoy the AL next year!

NL West:
San Fran: I'll admit - I'm impressed. With one of the weakest lineups in all of baseball and The Freak coming back down to earth (really - the most losses in the NL this year?), it is truly a testament to the Giants to be in first place, and probably playoff bound.
LA Dodgers: While FINALLY riding themselves of the fecile matter ownership, Don Mattingly has been doing everything in his power to get the Dodgers across the finish line. Missing-in-Action all-planet, All-Star Matt Kemp has been painfully felt for most of the season. (Didn't he say 50-50 this year in spring training?) They could slip in the back door for #2 Wild Card over the Cardinals...
Arizona: The teams goes as Ian Kennedy goes... And he won't be getting votes for Cy Young this year. No playoffs.
Padres: Nice to see they won't finish in the cellar, but they play like it...
Rockies: No "last 30 games" magic this year. It's time to rebuild in Denver. Tulo can't do everything, even when he is playing.

NL Playoffs:
- Dodgers @ Atlanta for Wild Card (Atlanta wins)
- Atlanta @ Washington Rd 1 (Nats easily win)
- Giants @ Cincy Rd 1: in a 5 game instant classic, Reds win with Matt Latos over The Freak in game 5
- Reds @ Washington for NL Pennant: As much as I WANT to say the Reds, the Nats pitching shuts them down and DC gets to play in it's first World Series since 1933. (Come on Reds - prove me wrong!)

[AppSt94]

Did the Nats decide to ride Strasburg or are they sticking to the plan to shut him down? If they decide to have him pitch in the postseason then I agree that they are the team to beat. They are still good, but I think there psychy is different if Strasburg isn't pitching. I like the Reds to go to the World Series.

[AtlantaMountaineer]

In prior years, two teams from the same division would not play each other in the first round, meaning Atlanta would not play at Washington in the first round. Has that changed with the new wild card playoff?

[eggers76]

I told you to watch out for those Giants in the preseason. I admit I am surprised though. After Cabrera went out I figured they were toast. Buster Posey is a very good one, happy he plays for the Giants.

[havefunkc]

In prior years, two teams from the same division would not play each other in the first round, meaning Atlanta would not play at Washington in the first round. Has that changed with the new wild card playoff?

Yep - Wild Card changes a lot starting this year. Assuming Atlanta is one of the two Wild Cards, then they could play the best record team - this year: it looks like Washington. It's possible for Atlanta to play Wild Card game on Monday, then (assuming win), could play Washington on Tuesday for Round 1...

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... 4&c_id=mlb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[havefunkc]

Did the Nats decide to ride Strasburg or are they sticking to the plan to shut him down? If they decide to have him pitch in the postseason then I agree that they are the team to beat. They are still good, but I think there psychy is different if Strasburg isn't pitching. I like the Reds to go to the World Series.

Yep - Wonder Boy is officially 'done for the season'... http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/3037 ... -strasburg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Davey Johnson advised him after his last (short) outing. While some may think it's horrible to bench him, it's the right thing to do. He has been showing signs of trailing off. He's body has never gone a full season of 162 games as #1 starter. There is some speculation he might be brought back in 2nd round of playoffs, but Washington is protecting their investment (as they should) for the future.

While I wish nothing ill against Strasburg, I hope this is just enough for the Reds to take them in the NL championship. I SO would love to see the Reds in World Series, but Washington (aka Expos) finally making it would be nice to see too...

[ZTABabyMtnr]

Ah, but don't count the Phightins out of the WC yet... they're still in the hunt! (and who would have guessed that not so long ago?)

[havefunkc]

Ah, but don't count the Phightins out of the WC yet... they're still in the hunt! (and who would have guessed that not so long ago?)

Only 6 games left... Is it time to write the Phils off this season?

[ZTABabyMtnr]

Well, it was nice while it lasted. I'll be over on the AL thread now.

[appdaze]

Honestly, I don't think they will make it, but I'm pulling for Chipper and the braves to win it all. Rarely do you see guys like Chipper in sports anymore. I'm glad he already has a ring because I'd hate to see such a dedicated team player and future HOF'er go down without one after such a long career. At least he didn't go the way of K. Griffey Jr.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/84271 ... pper-jones

[havefunkc]

Well, it was nice while it lasted. I'll be over on the AL thread now.

The Reds!! Gotta pull for the Reds...

[havefunkc]

Honestly, I don't think they will make it, but I'm pulling for Chipper and the braves to win it all. Rarely do you see guys like Chipper in sports anymore. I'm glad he already has a ring because I'd hate to see such a dedicated team player and future HOF'er go down without one after such a long career. At least he didn't go the way of K. Griffey Jr.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/84271 ... pper-jones

Nice storyline indeed, but it is the Braves. They made a franchise out of making the playoffs... I don't see them moving on again - even for Chipper. An I do agree - good for Chipper he got his ring ('95). Funny you mentioned Jr. Others have looked at the greatest players in baseball not to win a World Series. Amazingly, Jr. didn't even make the top ten. And the top three shocked me as well.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-11040358

[appdaze]

Honestly, I don't think they will make it, but I'm pulling for Chipper and the braves to win it all. Rarely do you see guys like Chipper in sports anymore. I'm glad he already has a ring because I'd hate to see such a dedicated team player and future HOF'er go down without one after such a long career. At least he didn't go the way of K. Griffey Jr.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/84271 ... pper-jones

Nice storyline indeed, but it is the Braves. They made a franchise out of making the playoffs... I don't see them moving on again - even for Chipper. An I do agree - good for Chipper he got his ring ('95). Funny you mentioned Jr. Others have looked at the greatest players in baseball not to win a World Series. Amazingly, Jr. didn't even make the top ten. And the top three shocked me as well.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-11040358

Thats unbelievable that Jr didn't make that list. A guy who was probably one of the best athletes of any sport in the last 25 years. Always the big what if but we all know that story, could have been the greatest HR hitter ever.

Baseball in the south really is going to be a different world with out Larry though.

[havefunkc]

Agreed - a little surprising about Griffey. Especially given some of the others on the list. History will probably change that eventually. Great player, but his time in Cincinnati probably will not be remembered fondly...

[ZTABabyMtnr]

Well, it was nice while it lasted. I'll be over on the AL thread now.

The Reds!! Gotta pull for the Reds...

Nope. All caught up in that Orioles Magic.

While a Beltway Series would be cool, I've come to dislike the Nats, so I'm not pulling for them. I don't care who the NL produces as long as they lose to the O's in the Series!