A's get it done!

[Outshined_One]

A's win game 7 of the WS with a 9th inning sacrafice bunt and sac fly. . . . hendry totally forgets about obp. . .. .

 

Remember the 1999 NLCS? Please tell me again how the Braves advanced to the World Series. I'll refresh your memory. :D

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Haha, I bet the Yankees wish that Kenny Rogers had pitched yesterday and not the one who did pitch yesterday.

[ConstableRabbit]

A'S A'S A'S A'S A'S

good fot the A's- i'm a little depressed now tree- that picture is really the last time i remember being happy as a Cub fan and that was what...3 FREAKIN years ago- what a tragedy our Cubbies have become-

 

http://www.rockfordima.com/cubs/index.html[/url]

 

How the hell did we go from that to this?

[RichHillIsABeast]

Looks like Jim Hendry can no longer use "The A's never advanced in the playoffs!" excuse.

 

Man, if the A's win the WS, maybe that'd finally get Jimbo to buy into OBP.

 

The A's rank 7th in the AL in OBP.

 

It's more pitching and defense this year, which is what Hendry claims wins games.

[Guest]

Looks like Jim Hendry can no longer use "The A's never advanced in the playoffs!" excuse.

 

Man, if the A's win the WS, maybe that'd finally get Jimbo to buy into OBP.

 

The A's rank 7th in the AL in OBP.

 

It's more pitching and defense this year, which is what Hendry claims wins games.

 

maybe hendry will expand foul ground.

[NCCubFan]

Haha, I bet the Yankees wish that Kenny Rogers had pitched yesterday and not the one who did pitch yesterday.

Or else this Kenny Rogers.

[RynoRules]

Good point by RH Is A Beast. I was going to post the following but didn't want to have a chair thrown at me: I think the A's will win the WS this year b/c, for the first time since they started their current run of playoff apperances, they have the best overall pitching staff of any of the playoff teams, IMO. (though I admit to being impressed by what the Tigers did) Their lineup is pretty weak actually. Reminds me of (gulp) the 05' Sox.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

05 Sox, eh? I thought of the 03 Cubs and some of the Astros teams of late. There are a lot of teams that got deep into the playoffs on great pitching but some awful offense.

[Outshined_One]

I think the A's will win the WS this year b/c, for the first time since they started their current run of playoff apperances, they have the best overall pitching staff of any of the playoff teams, IMO.

 

And yet, out of all the recent A's playoff teams, this one is probably the weakest, both in terms of pitching and offense.

 

Go figure.

[Bruno7481]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

[Guest]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

the A's advanced because of hitting w/risp. its still a crapshoot.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I don't think anyone has really said it's because of Beane/OBP, etc. this year. In fact, people have noted the A's team this year hasn't been as good as most of their other playoff teams and that their OBP isn't that great this season.

[UK1679666180]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

Stitch is right, it's a crapshoot. Of course, I believe getting to the post-season as often as Oakland with their lack of payroll is worthy of respect, especially with those who try to diminish that argument by mentioning the lack of a post-season series win (before this one) and the hype surrounding a book (which is dumb to begin with). The same respect should be given to those who have been able to get to the post-season with lesser payroll (Minn. and Ryan/SD and Towers), but I don't know of any that have done it with the frequency of Oak. over the last few years. In a similar circumstance, it's what makes the Braves the greatest dynasty as well as Schuerholz and Cox the best GM/manager combo of my lifetime.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I think what the A's advances proves is just what everyone has said all along. The playoffs are still a crap shoot. Getting there is the goal. Beane critics have said his methods won't win in the playoffs. They were wrong. His methods have just as good a chance to win as any other methods in the playoffs. This year just verifies that. It validates that in this crapshoot, his methods have validity.

 

It's not proving the playoffs aren't a crapshoot, but in essence is an answer to the critics who never believed the playoffs were a crapshoot in the first place.

[Magnetic Curses]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I don't think anyone has really said it's because of Beane/OBP, etc. this year. In fact, people have noted the A's team this year hasn't been as good as most of their other playoff teams and that their OBP isn't that great this season.

 

pitching pitching pitching.

 

can we get some pitching, please?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I don't think anyone has really said it's because of Beane/OBP, etc. this year. In fact, people have noted the A's team this year hasn't been as good as most of their other playoff teams and that their OBP isn't that great this season.

 

pitching pitching pitching.

 

can we get some pitching, please?

 

The Padres have pitching and look where they're at.

[soccer10k]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I don't think anyone has really said it's because of Beane/OBP, etc. this year. In fact, people have noted the A's team this year hasn't been as good as most of their other playoff teams and that their OBP isn't that great this season.

 

pitching pitching pitching.

 

can we get some pitching, please?

 

The Padres have pitching and look where they're at.

 

The A's had good to great pitching from 2001-2003 and they didn't win anything when they got to the postseason.

[Pinktermite]

Hence the crapshoot? It was no crapshoot that these teams have good pitching and made it to the playoffs, the crapshoot begins IN the playoffs, am I correct here?

 

So luck is spread out over less innings, thus making it more remarkable that the Yankees can dominate over the long haul, and have their weaknesses esposed hideously by Jim Leyland and a spunky Tigers team.

 

If the Cubs had great pitching, clearly they would have beat the Cardinals out for the division. That's why spending ALL their off season money on the pitching is the most important thing they can do...and maybe trade for ONE hitter...or sign one...

[soccer10k]

Hence the crapshoot? It was no crapshoot that these teams have good pitching and made it to the playoffs, the crapshoot begins IN the playoffs, am I correct here?

 

So luck is spread out over less innings, thus making it more remarkable that the Yankees can dominate over the long haul, and have their weaknesses esposed hideously by Jim Leyland and a spunky Tigers team.

 

If the Cubs had great pitching, clearly they would have beat the Cardinals out for the division. That's why spending ALL their off season money on the pitching is the most important thing they can do...and maybe trade for ONE hitter...or sign one...

 

Both the Tigers and Yankees had very good teams. The Tigers happened to get the best of the Yankees in this one series. We wouldn't be having this conversation if the Yankees had hammered the Tigers, averaged 6+ runs per game and won the series. It's one series. Four games. Small sample size. The Cubs swept the Cardinals TWICE this year. Does that make the 2006 Cubs a better team than the 2006 Cardinals? Absolutely not. The Tigers happened to get the better of the Yankees in one short series.

 

The Padres had the second best ERA in the ML this year but they were 26th in runs scored. How did they do in the postseason? They scored 6 runs in 4 games and were eliminated. You must have both solid pitching and hitting to be successful. It doesn't have to be great, but both must be respectable. One dimensional teams either don't make the playoffs or get eliminated quickly.

[goonys evil twin]

Hence the crapshoot? It was no crapshoot that these teams have good pitching and made it to the playoffs, the crapshoot begins IN the playoffs, am I correct here?

 

So luck is spread out over less innings, thus making it more remarkable that the Yankees can dominate over the long haul, and have their weaknesses esposed hideously by Jim Leyland and a spunky Tigers team.

 

If the Cubs had great pitching, clearly they would have beat the Cardinals out for the division. That's why spending ALL their off season money on the pitching is the most important thing they can do...and maybe trade for ONE hitter...or sign one...

 

This doesn't make any sense.

 

The crapshoot idea, and luck spread over less innings does not make it more remarkable that the Yankees lost. It's not odd at all for them to lose 3 of 4.

 

It's absurd to spend all the money on pitching, utterly absurd. The best bet is to be both very good at pitching and at hitting. The Cubs suck at both, and need to improve both.

[Warren Brusstar]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I think what the A's advances proves is just what everyone has said all along. The playoffs are still a crap shoot. Getting there is the goal. Beane critics have said his methods won't win in the playoffs. They were wrong. His methods have just as good a chance to win as any other methods in the playoffs. This year just verifies that. It validates that in this crapshoot, his methods have validity.

 

It's not proving the playoffs aren't a crapshoot, but in essence is an answer to the critics who never believed the playoffs were a crapshoot in the first place.

 

Not exactly. As Baseball Between the Numbers Discovered, power pitchers, defensive efficiency, and a great closer win in the playoffs. It's not entirely a crap shoot.

[goonys evil twin]

Not exactly. As Baseball Between the Numbers Discovered, power pitchers, defensive efficiency, and a great closer win in the playoffs. It's not entirely a crap shoot.

 

It's a crap shoot about which power pitchers, efficient defenders and great closers will show up in the playoffs.

[Magnetic Curses]

Someone explain this to me please.

 

When the A's don't advance in the playoffs, the whole "postseason is a crapshoot" argument is made.

 

When they do advance it is because of Beane, OBP, SABR, Moneyball, etc.

 

Can you really have it both ways?

 

 

I"m not sure who to root for in the AL, I'd be happy with either team.

 

I don't think anyone has really said it's because of Beane/OBP, etc. this year. In fact, people have noted the A's team this year hasn't been as good as most of their other playoff teams and that their OBP isn't that great this season.

 

pitching pitching pitching.

 

can we get some pitching, please?

 

The Padres have pitching and look where they're at.

 

The A's had good to great pitching from 2001-2003 and they didn't win anything when they got to the postseason.

 

and they got outpitched. small sample sizes are a you-know-what.

[Guest]

by definition if you lose you got outpitched. likewise you got outhit.

[goonys evil twin]

by definition if you lose you got outpitched. likewise you got outhit.

 

Not true. You don't necessarily get outpitched if you lose. It's relative to the lineup you are facing. If two similar pitching staffs face each other, and one team has a great lineup and the other has a mediocre lineup. The team facing the great lineup might actually outpitch the other team, and still lose. Likewise, if you give up a couple seeing eye singles, and the other guy gives up a bunch of line shots right at guys, you might lose after having outpitched the opposition. A win and a loss does not mean outpitch.