Playoff Push

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

(I think my earlier reply should have read "it doesn't hurt", rather than "it does hurt"... damn typos and such..)

The one saving grace with Oakland still playing as well as they have is that it's kept Texas honest.. they're still playing meaningful games and can't risk having the A's leapfrog ahead of them for the division lead. Considering the remaining games that Oakland and NY have I think I'm pulling for the A's to thump the yankees and then lose enough games to the Rangers that we're atleast assured of the higher WC seed.

I'd love to see the Blue Jays and Red Sox play spoiler for the Yankees, but I'm not gonna count on it. I'm just gonna hope that we get enough wins on those two teams and that when the yankees face them directly after us that they're ticked off enough to show some backbone and pride and want to beat up on someone.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

(I think my earlier reply should have read "it doesn't hurt", rather than "it does hurt"... damn typos and such..)

The one saving grace with Oakland still playing as well as they have is that it's kept Texas honest.. they're still playing meaningful games and can't risk having the A's leapfrog ahead of them for the division lead. Considering the remaining games that Oakland and NY have I think I'm pulling for the A's to thump the yankees and then lose enough games to the Rangers that we're atleast assured of the higher WC seed.

I'd love to see the Blue Jays and Red Sox play spoiler for the Yankees, but I'm not gonna count on it. I'm just gonna hope that we get enough wins on those two teams and that when the yankees face them directly after us that they're ticked off enough to show some backbone and pride and want to beat up on someone.

My thoughts exactly. From the looks of it, our schedule should be VERY manageable from here on out. The Yankees have the A's and then their schedule gets extremely weak. If Oakland can do us the favor of knocking the Yanks down a peg or two (and then subsequently shit themselves against the Rangers), I would be very happy with our chances at the division. I desperately do not want to get saddles with the second WC and have to travel out to Oakland for a game (fuck that ballpark, seriously) and then travel back to B-more.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

You know, when I step back for a second and look at the whole scenario, it's amazing that I feel used to even talking about playoff positioning. You'd think I'd just be content that they're likely making the playoffs... but NO! I think they can achieve more! Gotta love this feeling.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

You know, when I step back for a second and look at the whole scenario, it's amazing that I feel used to even talking about playoff positioning. You'd think I'd just be content that they're likely making the playoffs... but NO! I think they can achieve more! Gotta love this feeling.

I said the exact same thing over on the Rangers board. Said that I should be happy with a winning record, but I would be seriously disappointed if we didn't make the ALDS (at least).

 

[Taz_Hokie]

Mother Fucking Athletics suck. In the 13th inning of game 2, they go up 9-5 only to give it right back to the Yanks. Fucking pathetic.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

Even though we didn't play today, this day could not have gone better. A's lost, Angels lost, and with half an inning left, Toronto is smacking around New York 6-0. Even if the Rays win tonight, they'll be 3 games back with 6 games to go.

 

[jeffro151]

Even though we didn't play today, this day could not have gone better. A's lost, Angels lost, and with half an inning left, Toronto is smacking around New York 6-0. Even if the Rays win tonight, they'll be 3 games back with 6 games to go.

 

[jeffro151]

Updated playoff chances according to ESPN:
TEX- 99.9%
NYY- 99.4%
BAL- 87.3%
DET- 87.1%
OAK- 80.4%
TAM- 19.1%
LAA- 13.8%
CWS- 12.9%

 

[Taz_Hokie]

(Bump for the second page)

Orioles
BoSox(3), @Rays(3)

Yankees
@Jays(3), BoSox(3)

Rays
@White Sox (3), O's(3)

Athletics
M's(3), Texas(3)

Angels
@Texas(3), @Seattle(3)


FINAL TWO SERIES!!!!

 

[Taz_Hokie]

You have to think that Texas isn't out of the woods yet. Their final two series are against teams that are in the playoff hunt and you have to figure both the A's and Angels will play them hard.

And our final two will not be a cake walk. I'm sure Boston would love nothing more than to repay us for knocking them out of the playoffs last year (and they showed they can keep it close in Boston) and Tampa Bay is ridiculously hot right now. We're only a game behind NY, hopefully Toronto or Boston can do us some favors.

 

[jeffro151]

We are in! Thanks to Texas' win over Anaheim, Texas, NYY and Baltimore all clinched a spot.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

Congratulations, O's fans!

Tampa Bay is up next and, good news for us, David Price already pitched on sunday to earn his 20th win, the first pitcher for their franchise to do so. They've won 10 of 11, winning handily at times vs the red sox and blue jays, and helped kick Chicago down. They still need to win out, however, AND need the Rangers to sweep Oakland. And the Rangers would like very very much to win atleast one to assure that they win the division.

It's an interesting next few days for us.. any position in the postseason can be had, depending on circumstances. This is pretty damn exciting!!

But for tonight... enjoy! We're back in the postseason! After a long, long, long time, we are finally back!

HELL YEAH!!

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

The A's have won the first game of their 3 game set vs the Rangers, so after our loss at TB and NY's win vs Boston the standings are as such

NY - 93-67
Bal - 92-68

Tex - 93-67
Oak - 92-68

If I'm doing the math right, our chance of getting home-field through the playoffs is now gone, as both Texas and Oakland have better head-to-head records against us.

 

[jeffro151]

The A's have won the first game of their 3 game set vs the Rangers, so after our loss at TB and NY's win vs Boston the standings are as such

NY - 93-67
Bal - 92-68

Tex - 93-67
Oak - 92-68

If I'm doing the math right, our chance of getting home-field through the playoffs is now gone, as both Texas and Oakland have better head-to-head records against us.

Yeah it looks like we are going to have to take the long road if we are going to get to the WS. No big deal though, as we have the best road record in the AL, and tied for 3rd best in MLB.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

The worst case scenario that I see right now is if we end up tied with the Yankees for the Division and the A's for the Wild Card. We would play in Tampa, Baltimore, Oakland (if we lost the tiebreaker) and Baltimore again in a 5 day period. We have to cheer for the O's, Red Sox and Rangers to give us leads in both the division and over the second Wild Card.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

At this point, I'm really hoping the Rangers can pull it together vs Oakland. Two very realistic scenarios have us going to Oakland for the playoff game. Considering our strength is the homerun, this is not an ideal scenario for us.

 

[jeffro151]

Buck and the players aren't too happy with Valentine and the blow sox for basically trotting out the AA lineup yesterday.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

Buck and the players aren't too happy with Valentine and the blow sox for basically trotting out the AA lineup yesterday.

Loved the line from School of Roch.. School of Roch: Orioles only worried about themselves

The Red Sox rolled over again, like a puppy begging to have its belly rubbed. They're not exactly rallying around embattled manager Bobby Valentine. Instead, they're holding the door open and giving him a shove.

He's the only guy they can get out these days.