1. Game 7 of the World Series — who do you want starting? Top result: Jacob deGrom, Mets (33.9% of the vote) Runners-up: Max Scherzer (17.2%), Justin Verlander (13%), Sandy Alcántara (4.8%), Max Fried (4.8%) Also receiving multiple votes: Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Julio Urías, Logan Webb, Luis Castillo, Shane Bieber, Shane McClanahan, Walker Buehler, Yu Darvish, Zac Gallen On Verlander: “How can you not say Verlander? He’s as good as ever. And I’ve faced him in Game 6 and Game 7 and I know what it’s like. He’s done it. Who else has done it like him?” “I mean, the guy’s 40 and he’s still throwing absolute rockets and he’s still spinning the hell out of it.” “I’ve never faced Verlander, but I just feel like he’s not intimidated by anything.” 2. Game 7 of the World Series — who do you want closing? Top result: Edwin Díaz, Mets (44.5% of the vote) Runners-up: Josh Hader (10.3%), Emmanuel Clase (9.7%), Jhoan Durán (7.3%) Also receiving multiple votes: Camilo Doval, Craig Kimbrel, Daniel Bard, Félix Bautista, Kenley Jansen, Liam Hendriks, Ryan Helsley 3. Game 7 of the World Series, game on the line — who do you want at the plate? Top result: Aaron Judge, Yankees (15.5% of the vote) Runners-up: Paul Goldschmidt (11.9%), Luis Arráez (8.3%), Mike Trout (8.3%), Freddie Freeman (7.7%), Mookie Betts (7.1%) Also receiving multiple votes: Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson, Jeff McNeil, Jose Altuve, José Ramírez, Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Manny Machado, Matt Olson, Miguel Cabrera, Rafael Devers, Shohei Ohtani, Steven Kwan, Trea Turner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Xander Bogaerts 4. Most intimidating atmosphere during the postseason? Top result: Yankee Stadium (43% of the vote) Runners-up: Dodger Stadium (13.8%), Minute Maid Park (10%), Fenway Park (8.4%) Also receiving multiple votes: Rogers Centre (Blue Jays), Truist Park (Braves), Busch Stadium (Cardinals), Wrigley Field (Cubs), Oracle Park (Giants), Citi Field (Mets), Citizens Bank Park (Phillies) Several players took issue with the phrasing of this question, claiming that they weren’t intimidated by any away environment. Said one player: “I don’t think any place is intimidating; I might change the question to ‘most exciting.'” Fair enough. Despite that, a large number of players did name a crowd they’d find most menacing in a playoff situation, and the resounding winners were the Bleacher Creatures who call the Bronx home. Some responses had less to do with the crowd itself and more to do with a home-field advantage built into the stadium — players cited the noise level inside of a closed-roof Minute Maid Park as a major factor in its fearsomeness, for instance. On Minute Maid Park: “Just because it gets so loud with the roof closed.” “The closed-roof places get really loud.” 5. Who will win the World Series? (besides the team you play for) Top result: Los Angeles Dodgers (39.5% of the vote) Runners-up: Atlanta Braves (21.7%), New York Mets (14.5%), Houston Astros (10.5%) Also receiving multiple votes: St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees On the Astros: “This is anonymous, right? I don’t want anyone to know I picked Houston to win the World Series. I hate them so much.” “Astros’ arms are so good, and I think that’s what wins in the postseason, that and timely hitting and power. And their combo of that is the best.”
Dylan Cease's final line is 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, and only 5 K. ERA now sits at 2.20, WHIP up to 1.11. Cannot get the win. This bodes well for Verlander's Cy Young chances. Despite the historic streak, I think last night ended any longshot chance Valdez had at stealing the Cy Young. McClanahan has also slowed down. One person who I could see stealing the Cy Young from Verlander is Manoah. Manoah has more starts, IP, and total K (though Verlander still has a better K/9), but last year showed us that voters don't care about volume, hence, Burnes beating out Wheeler for the NL Cy Young. Ohtani is another one, he has been pitching very well down the stretch, and of course, there's agendas pushed by the media/writers. Verlander should finish #1 in the AL in Wins, ERA, and WHIP, and still has a very respectable K rate (9.3/9 IP) despite being a little lower than what it was in 2018/19. I still think he wins it.
Yankees pulled Severino from a no-hit bid after 7 innings and 94 pitches. Feel bad for him. Team is locked into the 2 seed and he isn't going to pitch again until the 11th, and even that would only be if they brought him in as a reliever. More likely he'll start the 3rd or 4th game of the ALDS, so plenty of time to recover if he threw 120 pitches. If it was for a perfect game, I'd be very upset. Have to chase history, IMO. That isn't universal, but if it was similar situation.
https://theathletic.com/3661889/2022/10/06/wild-card-predictions-picks/ World Series Winner Astros 34.6% Dodgers 30.8% Braves 15.4% Blue Jays 7.7% Mets 7.7% Padres 3.8% Rays/Guardians/Mariners/Cardinals/Phillies/Yankees 0% Andy McCullough (Dodgers): They are the best team. Again. Steve Berman (Astros): I assume most will name the Dodgers here, but the loss of Walker Buehler and a fair amount of uncertainty at the backend of LA’s bullpen makes it seem wiser to pick the Braves to win the National League pennant. So, yes, I’m expecting a World Series rematch, with the Astros emerging victorious thanks to a rotation that’s elite and deeper than the rest. I’ve thought all season (or at least since May) that Houston had MLB’s most complete team; the only concern is whether Dusty Baker can steer them correctly and avoid some of the bad luck that’s plagued him in prior postseasons. C. Trent Rosecrans (Astros): Viva La Dusty! Dan Connolly (Astros): The Dodgers should be the easy answer, I just get a feeling they may be derailed this year. And the Astros have zero holes. Levi Weaver (Dodgers): The Dodgers are obviously the heavy favorites, but that’s the fun of the postseason: the team that should win isn’t always the one that does. (But … they probably will.) Jon Greenberg (Astros): I’m rooting for Dusty Baker. Katie Woo (Braves): To put it simply: The Braves are good. Scary good. Jim Bowden (Dodgers): Dodgers over Braves in NLCS. Astros over Yankees in ALCS. Dodgers win the World Series. Rob Biertempfel (Braves): The most complete team in the game right now, and they’re buoyed by their fantastic surge at the end of September. Andrew Baggarly (Astros): Astros over Dodgers. But make Jose Altuve take his shirt off, just to be sure. Nando DiFino (Mets): If the Mets can stay healthy, they can win four games every series with deGrom and Max Scherzer. That leaves a lot of room for error from the other pitchers. They have big bats and a manager who could use a WS win just to break that stigma of being the guy before the guy with eventual champs. https://theathletic.com/3661651/2022/10/06/mlb-postseason-tiers-teams/ Tier 1: World Series front-runners Dodgers Braves Astros — While our panel was splitting hairs with the Dodgers and Braves, they were unanimous in tabbing the Astros as the best AL club going into the postseason. “They can beat you in a lot of different ways,” an NL player said. “They can hit the three-run home run. They can string together hits. Their starters are really good. They have just enough in their bullpen.” The Astros have created a winning culture, stocking their roster with homegrown talent and bringing in good pieces to supplement it. Justin Verlander is winning the battle against Father Time and Lance McCullers Jr. is back after missing four and a half months because of a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm. “The Astros often get overlooked with everything that’s going on with the Yankees and Dodgers, but they’re a really good team,” a coach said. Tier 2: Will the hype pan out? Cardinals Yankees Mets Tier 3: Sleepers Guardians Mariners Blue Jays Tier 4: Not enough mojo? Phillies Padres Rays
World Series Predictions: Expert Picks Entering the MLB Postseason Tom Verducci Prediction: Dodgers over Astros in seven games Stephanie Apstein Prediction: Dodgers over Astros in six games Emma Baccellieri Prediction: Astros over Braves in seven games Claire Kuwana Prediction: Braves over Astros in six games Will Laws Prediction: Braves over Mariners in six games Matt Martell Prediction: Braves over Yankees in seven games Nick Selbe Prediction: Dodgers over Astros in seven games https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/10/06/world-series-predictions-as-playoffs-begin Go Emma!
That's probably a good thing for the Yankees although if the game is a blowout, they can't use his arm to save others.
Astros are in the same range with Yordan, Altuve, and Bregman all signing team friendly extensions. I will be very surprised if they don’t sign at least one player (my money is on Javier) to an extension this offseason. I’d like to see Houston extend both Javier and Framber. I think Tucker is going to be intent on reaching free agency. That Albies extension was straight theft. The league should not have allowed that deal.
What do you think it would take to extend Javier + Framber? Also agree that Tuck is going to bet on himself and test FA.
