PhantomWarrior
Well-Known Member
I blame Banister for a lot of things. The moment Edwin Encarnacion hit that Home run in extra innings against the Orioles, I knew we were probably not going to advance. The banny rooster is such a dumb fuck. Did he pay attention to last year? These guys came back from down 2-0 and crushed the hopes and dreams of every Rangers fan. Their propensity to draw walks and get big hits is a terrible match up for a pitching staff who walks guys in a casual manner and is prone to the home run.
I remember it well. Last year, the Royals were limping into the playoffs. They were losing a lot of games at the end of the season after clinching the AL central. The blue Jays clinched the AL East and were firmly locked into the #2 seed with a good chance to catch the royals if they won some games. Gibbons took one look at things and decided he would rather play the Rangers then fight for the #1 overall seed. I kept monitoring the situation and hoping that the jays would pass the royals, but Gibbons put 3 triple A line ups out there against a bottom feeder and let them win to ensure the Jays didn't move up.
The playoffs are typically about who you play rather then where you play. Granted, home field is nice, but I guarantee you we would have performed much better against the Indians (who we usually beat) and the Red Sox ( who we play pretty even matched games with). You could also make the point that in a 7 game series, home field advantage isn't as important because there are more games. The underdog only needs to win 1 out of 4. Home field is much stronger in the Best of 5 format.
Rooster was in a similar situation to Gibbons last year. He made the stupid choice of getting home field instead of a matchup with a decent chance of success against either Boston or Cleveland. I apologize if I came across as a troll this past week, I was just trying to tell you guys to not get your hopes up so you wouldn't be as disappointed when things go awry.
NC pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage even if that is sweet tea. Raise it for an exciting season.
Pitchers and catchers report to ST on or about 28 February. Good news Lucroy will be there from the beginning.