Baseball

[CrazyMatt]

Always seem to have a season of two halves, often you guys make a run late

Other way around this year. Started like a house of fire.......trade Cespedes.......total collapse.

Not saying that's the sole reason, Lester has been a fantastic pickup for them, but the offence revolved around Cespedes, with him gone it's non-existent.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Have you just discovered this whole 'new' section of the forum ?

Yep. I feel like I've been living in a cave. I only really just stuck to the General discussions part because I thought the rest of the forum had little to no traffic. Good to see I was wrong.

Hahaha don't worry Matt, I was the same.

 

[deano the p]

I've only ever watched one game of baseball but would consider myself a Yankees fan, purely because I know who they are.

 

[HaroldBishop]

I've only ever watched one game of baseball but would consider myself a Yankees fan, purely because I know who they are.

I went to a game when I was in Minnesota in 1991, can't remember who the Twins were playing though. Great atmosphere, quite enjoyed it actually. I don't watch it on TV though.

 

[deano the p]

I went to a game when I was in Minnesota in 1991, can't remember who the Twins were playing though. Great atmosphere, quite enjoyed it actually. I don't watch it on TV though.

This is one of the main reason I want to go to America they are so full on into their sport I'd love to go over there and go to basketball, baseball and grid iron games.

 

[HaroldBishop]

This is one of the main reason I want to go to America they are so full on into their sport I'd love to go over there and go to basketball, baseball and grid iron games.

Great facilities there but I guess they have the population to justify it.

 

[Littleshark]

This is one of the main reason I want to go to America they are so full on into their sport I'd love to go over there and go to basketball, baseball and grid iron games.

Don't forgt nascar

 

[CrazyMatt]

Hahaha don't worry Matt, I was the same.

It's like stepping outside for the first time......

 

[CrazyMatt]

For **** sake. That's the second time in a row that Shark has given the A's 8 shutout innings and the bullpen blows it. The Great Collapse continues.....

 

[fitz]

I played grade for many years here in Sydney... Petes, Bears and Waves. Played centre-field and hit off at 3.

Favourite teams - White Sox and Yankees in that order. Have been known to wear a Dodgers cap and go to some of their games too.

I love the mythologisation of baseball in media and entertainment.

I've been writing a book for many, many years that compares and contrasts baseball movies to each other and their themes, plots, ethos and visual narratives. It's largely to do with baseball as a symptom of American ideals but also a driver at the same time.

Favourite baseball moment was watching Australia win the Intercontinental Cup (the real World Series) v Cuba in 1999.

 

[sharkafar]

I've never really liked baseball. Some movies about the game have been ok. Many years ago, I went to Summer camp in the U.S. and worked in a camp near Dyersville, Iowa where they filmed the movie 'Field of Dreams'. The house and the baseball diamond carved out of the cornfields are a popular tourist attraction where you can have a pitch and swing a bat for a while. I still didn't really get it. It just seemed so dull as a game. Being a cricket nut probably didn't help.
Recently, I flew to Chicago to spend a week with my brother who was in the city for a conference. We decided to go to Wrigley Field to watch a Cubs game, for the experience more than anything. We are now both completely hooked. Wrigley is a proper baseball ground. 100 years old, it practically oozes history. The people there made us feel incredibly welcome, we sat in right field, drank a beer or two with a hot dog (they really do throw the hot dogs to you) and just soaked it all up. What's more, the Cubbies won - a 4-2 victory over the Brewers and both of us now are Cubs fans for life. I'm already planning for the day when I can take my son to watch a game there in the next few years. Just beat the Reds 3-1 today. Go Cubs Go!

 

[CrazyMatt]

Alright guys, regular season is over! Sonny Gray's shut out of the Rangers secured Oakland's spot in the wildcard: Here are the playoff brackets

American league:
Wildcard game (1 off game for a spot in the AL Divisional series

Kansas City Royals (Likely starter: James Shields) vs Oakland Athletics (Likely starter: Jon Lester)

To say the A's have limped into the playoffs is an understatement with one of the biggest collapses ever seen, they head to Kansas City to face a highly underrated Royals team which has exceeded expectations this season. Although the A's regular season form is some cause of concern, everybody knows everything changes in the playoffs, with a lot more focus on pitching. The A's have one of the most feared pitching rotations in the game (Jon Lester, Jeff Samardzija {The Shark}, Sonny Gray, Scott Kazimir and Jason Hammels, plus Drew Pomeranz as backup starter). Shields vs Lester is a top tier match up right there, this game should be low scoring and tight all the way to the finish.

AL Divisional Series (Best of 5):

Los Angeles Angels vs Wildcard winner
Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers

AL Championship Series (Best of 7):

Winners of AL Divisional Series

Winner is declared American League Champions and progress to the World Series


National League:

Pittsburgh Pirates (Likely starter: Edinson Volquez) vs San Francisco Giants (Likely starter: Madison Bumgarner)

These two finished well ahead of the rest in the wildcard, so this match up has been known for quite some time. Two in form teams and potential to do a lot of damage in the playoffs, while the pitching match up hasn't got the same quality of the AL WC, both of these guys are still top line pitchers and should give each other's lineups plenty of problems, I'm tipping the Pirates by 3 runs.

NL Divisional Series (Best of 5):

Washington Nationals vs Wildcard winner
St Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Championship Series (Best of 7):

Winners of NL Divisional Series

Winner is declared National League Champions and progress to the World Series.

Who you guys tipping? As much as I'd like to see the A's have a fairytale run, I don't think they can get past the Angels in the Divisional Series. I think it will be an all LA World Series. Angels and the Dodgers. Angels to win the World Series.

 

[Littleshark]

Woeful season from the redsox, compunded by some aweful trades. Enjoy Lester hope he takes the a's a long way

 

[CrazyMatt]

Woeful season from the redsox, compunded by some aweful trades. Enjoy Lester hope he takes the a's a long way

Yep he's the trump card. Wish we still had Cespedes though. I think your probably going to get Lester back next season anyway. Hopefully the A's at least put in a qualifying offer so we'll at least get a draft pick for him.

 

[CrazyMatt]

Sorry it's late, but for anyone interested, here's the wildcard results

American League:
Kansas City 9
Oakland 8
(13 innings)

Heartbreaking loss for the A's. Their season is over, but my god they went out kicking and screaming! A 13 inning epic in front of a raucous Kansas City crowd was what it took to end the A's promising season. In the end, the A's inability to close out big games cost them the game, giving up a 4 run lead late. Kansas City showed how clutch they are. They now face the Angels in the Division series.

National League:

Pittsburgh 0
San Fransisco 8

Complete opposite to the AL game, Pittsburgh season ends with barely a whimper in front of their disappointed home fans. Bumgarner was superb, pitching a 4 hit, full game shut out to shut down the Pirates offence.

We now head to the Divisional series. (Sort of like Semi Finals)

American League (Best of 5)

LA Angels vs Kansas City Royals
Game 1: @Anaheim
Game 2: @Anaheim
Game 3: @Kansas City
Game 4 (if needed): @Kansas City
Game 5 (if needed): @Anaheim

Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers (Best of 5)
Game 1: @Baltimore
Game 2: @Baltimore
Game 3: @Detroit
Game 4 (if needed): @Detroit
Game 5 (if needed): @Baltimore

National League:

Washington Nationals vs San Fransisco Giants (Best of 5)
Game 1: @Washington
Game 2: @Washington
Game 3: @SF
Game 4 (if needed): @SF
Game 5 (if needed): @Washington

LA Dodgers vs St Louis Cardinals (Best of 5)
Game 1: @LA
Game 2: @LA
Game 3: @St Louis
Game 4 (if needed): @St Louis
Game 5 (if needed): @LA

 

[CrazyMatt]

Giants fans should be lining up to suck off Bumgarner. That dude single-handedly just won them the World Series.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Nice work if you can get it.

Owner Jeffrey Loria confirmed on Monday that the Miami Marlins and the 25-year-old two-time All-Star slugger have reached a 13-year, $US325 million deal ($A351.65 million), and a formal news conference will take place on Wednesday.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/giancar...-deal-with-miami-marlins-20141118-11ornq.html

 

[CrazyMatt]

Nice work if you can get it.

Yeah I thought Cabrera's deal last season was insane.....this one just threw a grenade in the river and blew it out of the water. What the hell are the Marlin's thinking???

 

[Littleshark]

I think it started with puyols to LA that started with players other than pitchers getting megabucks

 

[BlackWhiteBlue]

I played grade for many years here in Sydney... Petes, Bears and Waves. Played centre-field and hit off at 3.

Favourite teams - White Sox and Yankees in that order. Have been known to wear a Dodgers cap and go to some of their games too.

I love the mythologisation of baseball in media and entertainment.

I've been writing a book for many, many years that compares and contrasts baseball movies to each other and their themes, plots, ethos and visual narratives. It's largely to do with baseball as a symptom of American ideals but also a driver at the same time.

Favourite baseball moment was watching Australia win the Intercontinental Cup (the real World Series) v Cuba in 1999.

baseball movies are brilliant. as a kid i loved rookie of the year, field of dreams is an all time fave of mine. major league was great too. even the movie where the kid from the wizard's pop dies and gives him the twins to own isnt ****. moneyball was a good watch.

baseball is a sport that goes above the sport. its like cricket to americans i guess. its just a hige deal.

my bucket list includes watching an nba, mlb and nhl game in the states. in different cities. my 7 year old also added one the other day when watching a crissy movie.......a christmas in new york she wants....christmas day nba game