NLDS: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals

go buccos

Pirates

thou i think St. Louis is the better team

fuckin day games

STL is the only thread on ilx i didn't subscribe to this yr bc fuck STL

Yay day games! (sorry) - I've got an early flight on Friday, so Thursday's games finishing about 1am suits me fine, and Friday's game will be on about 6pm for some Friday evening drinks.

I'm off on Friday for watching games, going to the NYFF, and shaving.

a lot of pressure on cards to win 1st two with liriano looming.

best signs for cards: starters are all trending up and holiday/adams have been crushing it. plus beltran is always possessed in playoffs. worst sign: 2 free outs at back of lineup to pitch around big innings.

my guess is home field holds serve x5

NLDS: Karate Kid vs. Angry Blonde Bully Johnny Lawrence

I'm far from a STL fan but you have to give them credit for losing one of the best players in the game to free agency and still making the playoffs in spite of that.

Rooting Bucs.

My only real grudge against the Cards is Molina. I was at the game where he went off on a (completely terrified, submissive) umpire like a rabid pitbull, spitting all over him. I'll never forget that; I've never seen anybody as frightened on the field before.

BP advance scouting on McCutchen:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21919

i think we can all agree that the cardinals fans are the best in baseball, as well as in the history of sports. we applaud for things like tagging up from 2nd to 3rd, or a particularly long at-bat that runs up the pitch count. we cheer for good plays by the opposing team, even if that play results in a cardinals loss and death of innocent people. we dutifully watch each game, even though our tv broadcasting team's brain stems are exposed to the october air and half-eaten by insects.

for all of those reasons i vote STL

lol

also, if you take the streetcar leaving New Busch after a victorious game: deathly Midwestern quiet.

there's not much time for talking when we're all dutifully checking our st. louis cardinals team all-time statistics resources to see what changed

anyway, go cards, but yeah, if you're not a cardinals fan already you should obviously be visiting for the pirates! if they do end up beating the cardinals, i'll definitely be cheering for them all the rest of the way.

you should also be cheering for the pirates, in addition to visiting...for them.

woooooooo

― mookieproof, Sunday, April 28, 2013 6:32 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I am going to save my counter-woooooo until the day the bucs inevitably fall below .500 in mid-august

― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Sunday, April 28, 2013 7:26 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that was mean

i didn't say which year!

lol, also as the full exchange reveals:

woooooooo

― mookieproof, Sunday, April 28, 2013 6:32 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I am going to save my counter-woooooo until the day the bucs inevitably fall below .500 in mid-august

― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Sunday, April 28, 2013 7:26 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

― mookieproof, Sunday, April 28, 2013 7:30 PM

anyway i've always liked the cardinals (tho tlr made it difficult), *love* carlos beltran, best uniforms in baseball, great organization

kinda tired of their ubiquity, don't really like yadi, will leitch sucks, throb with hate for z s and bnw

anyway pirates of course, although they shouldn't be wearing the black jerseys ffs

Rooting for the Pirates.

are they going to wear the '71 unis at any point?

they've been wearing them at home on sundays, so maybe game 3

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

matheny determined the game 3 starter: joe kelly. big mistake. (game 4, if we make it that far, is either shelby miller or michael wacha).

where did you see that? kelly has regressed to his mean a bit but he could steal one. lynn still makes me most nervous. too reliant on high heat which guys like mccutchen destroy.

i'd bullpen kelly and throw wacha game 3 since everyone has resigned it to a loss.

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2013/10/3/4797498/the-pirates-versus-the-cardinals-how-the-teams-match-up

and yeah, lynn makes me nervous too. kelly makes me nervous. miller used to make me confident, but now he makes me nervous. even wainwright makes me nervous!

i thought liriano was the game 4 starter, but you're right, he's game 3. in that case, sure, throw kelly at him!

Since Busch Stadium III opened, the Cardinals are 0-4 in each of their first NLDS home games. *barf*

anyone else watching this via mlb.tv? i just had to dish out an extra $5 to view the LDS and LCS, and then all you get is something they try to sell as a choice of tons of camera angles, but what it really means is that you get a bunch of camera angles and no overlay graphics, no balls/strikes/outs indicator on the screen, nothing. so when the announcers talk about the lineup and it makes the whoooooooooooosh noise that indicates that a graphic is supposed to be flying in front of your face, you don't actually see anything.

uhh

on top of that, there's no way to just pick the camera mode that normally used during games - switching to different angles automatically, as appropriate. instead, you can either A) pick a single camera that never changes, so when the ball is hit you can't really tell what's going on, or B) use the default "quad mode", which gives you four angles at once, and between pitches 1-2 of the cameras will wildly zoom in and out and focus on other things. also some of the cameras are out of sync with each other.

sigh

oh wait, i finally realized that i'm supposed to be using the online mode to supplement the television that i don't have

http://www.viplivesports.eu/baseball/181347/1/nlds-game-1:-st-louis-cardinals-vs-pittsburgh-pirates-live-stream-online.html

soooooo much better. thanks mookie!

Loving this herky-jerky camera work. Thanks, TBS!

thx (if I was home)

I can seldom get more than one postseason.tv frame running at the same time

Awful tbs

there was a sweet sweet period of time where my office's firewall did not block vip streams. =(

i loved the mention of "dave kozma" just then

"And..." -- Dick Stockton

niiiiiiice

wow beltran

senor october

Boom! Dude wants a World Series bad

tied with babe ruth for most postseason HRs

shiiiiiit matt adams can't get hurt. who replaces him with craig out as well?

RIP

burnett's all over the place

and his pitch count is already ~60

jesus get him out of there

AL AJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmHeP9Sve48

what is hurdle doing

Yikes

as much as I'm rooting for the Pirates, AJ is the only one I feel any malice towards. so this is acceptable.
go rest-of-the-pirates!

what did AJ do?

ditched my hometown half-way through his contract to go play for the Yankees for +$$$

BB, Single, HR, Double, HBP, BB, BB, single

That is an astounding sequence to have allowed 1 pitcher to have in the postseason

@matthewpouliot: Highest postseason OPS, min 100 PA.
1. Beltran - 1.275
2. Ruth - 1.211
3. Gehrig - 1.208

fortunately i turned it off after the hr

not to mention the first BB was to a pitcher!

also (not to rub in in) most of the balls were waaaaaaay off the plate

it's not like he was nibblin'

@matthewpouliot: Highest postseason OPS, min 100 PA.
1. Beltran - 1.275
2. Ruth - 1.211
3. Gehrig - 1.208

4. Delmon Young - 1.20799999999999999999999999999999999999

I managed to persuade my local pub to show it (it's late, there's no football) which I was enjoying, except for folks asking me the rules. Then I left in a huff after the third inning.

does alvarez have to hit a HR every time he plays the cardinals? even in a game like this it's super annoying

f u

i'm sorry, i'm sorry

you'll feel fine after tomorrow, believe me. i can see lance lynn choking a million miles away

Closed-caption translation of Stockton saying "errors": "hours"

at least the penguins are winning

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

tied with babe ruth for most postseason HRs

now I know you know why that is A STUPID STAT

i was gonna be like YEAH IN 15X THE ABs but beltran has less :x

ruth did it in 41 games/167 pa, beltran in 35 g/153 pa

Nah because the Babe hit his HR's in the WORLD SERIES against the best competition of the time and Beltran hit his in the PLAYOFFS rounds #1-58a.

Not that Beltran's postseason stats aren't great, but it's not the same thing.

not that Babe Ruth could make the Cardinals if we had a time machine, but the point stands

(maybe the 2006 Cards, grumble grumble)

wacha flocka game 4 nod

RIP shelby miller

i guess they're trying to limit his innings for the year. best case scenario is that he's an extreeeeemely good relief pitcher this postseason

yeah there wasn't really a wrong choice besides starting westbrook. i'd probably go miller over kelly and pitch him game 2. he has bad numbers vs 'rats though.

http://www.viplivesports.eu/baseball/181348/1/nlds-game-2:-st-louis-cardinals-vs-pittsburgh-pirates-live-stream-online.html

thanks! now that i have been shown the ways, i went to the link just before you posted it.

it's funny how everyone is just taking it as a given that liriano will win his game. it's probably true, though

i predict that lynn will catastrophically fail today.

Not really a Costas fan but would be overjoyed if he replaces Buck. Obviously wants to be there, doesn't get overexcited.

/lowered expectations

i haven't heard costas call a game in forever, it's a pleasure

c'mon, Buck sez "the new metrics" all the time rite

also http://hockeynight.org/channel14.php if the other is blocked at work

wow, haven't seen a yadi play that bad before!

i know the english on the ball is crazy on popups for the catcher, and the wall was there, but...he just always makes plays like that, without exception.

MLBN doesnt bleeve in pitchfx box, huh

kinda wondered why yadi didn't take off his mask, but whatever

el toro

seriously, if he doesn't hit one every game against the cardinals the world would explode

fwiw the stltoday commenters are proposing trading lynn for tulowitzki >_> we knowledgeable bro

nice 2 know beltran hasnt lost the ability to be froze solid in a big spot

2 lopsided not so exciting games. guess we got the time slot we deserved

http://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/4d41e4a4bac34d18a1f20c3189d5c90b/tumblr_mu603n4lm41qzniimo1_400.jpg http://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/362e35ccbb825c524de68353521832b5/tumblr_mu607k9wIN1qzniimo1_500.jpg

baseball is so pretty

It's an errah on Kozma slop.

quite a strike zone in effect here

i believe russell martin has defied bud selig by wearing a neo-stargell star in the midst of his shirt's P

phew, i'm back

i got suckered into watching This is the End, and after finally seeing satan's balls from 6 different angles i ran back to my place to watch the game. 20+ pitches from liriano this inning, that's good to see

pete kozma: unstoppable

i've been saying it all year - pete kozma is a great asset. give him a multiyear deal!!!

(he is the second-worst. his offense is abysmal but at least he can field. his occasional replacement, daniel descalso, managed to combine poor offense with poor defense to result in even more negative WAR than kozma this season)

both of those strikes to holliday were waaaay off the plate

Beltran is a beast.

wow how did cutch get around on that

wtf cutch

not a huge fan of carlos martinez pitching here. he's got a ton of talent, but this is one of the most high leverage innings of the entire season. he should be on mop-up/blow out duty this postseason.

wowwwww @ clint trying a squeeze with martin batting

cunning plot to kill yadi

should I watch the archive of this when LA-Atl is over? which innings?

the ones with scoring?

best game so far. Terrible umpires all around. 'Rats out risp'd us. Beat Siegrist, hit a fly off Maness. Things not easily done.

But Wacha & Waino could throw two shutouts. Matt Carpenter, pls call home.

https://twitter.com/BestFansStLouis

(i don't at all pretend that fans are better/different in pittsburgh or anywhere else, but jeez)

lol that's awesome

wacha cruisin

For real. 1 hit allowed over his last 13 innings.

(Actually maybe even more innings than that - not sure how he pitched at the end of the game before his one-hitter)

I guess I flee to sports bar at 5:30 to see end

o shit a baserunner

Still pitching well through seven.

bomb

Grrrrr

Thank God.

Wait, did I just hear Martinez is warming up? Fuck! No!

Why. Why.

someone tell dick stockton how to pronounce tabata

^yes this

also tell josh harrison how to slide

thanks to the cs, cutch is now up fourth in the 9th

Wacha <3. Game making me nauseous..

@EliasSports - Michael Wacha's no-hit bid was longest by a rookie in postseason history. Previous long: Jeff Tesreau, 1912 (5 1/3)

the stage is set for him

...

good sitch

Ball 7

yeah

i can't watch on wednesday

it's probably just as well

Time to be decided by dodgers/braves?

i'd guess dodgers-braves would be the late game, if it happens? i dunno

btw all three cards pitchers today are 22 years old

that's pretty awesome/ridiculous

guy who drafted Wacha was in my little bros high school class. His first pick!

PECOTA pegs Cards as 65% likely winner tonight.

scouting Cole

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22009

I'd advise Cole not to give up any runs

jeez this is movin faster than a Stargell-Bench era game

dang

thought cole was out of this inning on the 2-2 pitch to jay but i guess it was low

who is the 5th estate

christ if the cards win ugh

i don't think there's ever been a team they've eliminated that i wasn't rooting for more, they are the ultimate playoff buzzkill

Excellent catch by Marte.

Z S fave Kozma, keerist

hey, Cards had a bad half-inning

Ugh this can't be happening

guh

Yeah thanks for removing your best player

cmon Pedro

what a bizarre hit

wow what was that

just got in; predicted cards up 3-1

Baseball gods shit there *pukes*

curb your expulsiveness

pete kozma is hitting .375/.444/.500; don't talk to me about baseball gods

tahbahtah

Defensive replacements......

Christ

smh

safe

Uhh

umps like to take the spotlight

that wasn't even motherfucking close to out

Shame because that now gets focus if cards win

agree

as opposed to before when the focus was "no one wants the fucking cardinals to win this series ugh"

looked safe by a mile in real time, but replay showed him safe, no?

'interesting,' said dick stockton

i think he slid in slow motion or something, because he was out

it's true he was out by a couple inches

That shot made it a lot closer, not sure ball was in glove fully?

Fuck you, baseball.

f u western pennsylvania's matt adams

welp

fuck the division series

Smash Atoms :)

why wouldn't you spell it "Smash Adams", his name is "Adams"

GOD I HATE THE CARDINALS

sorry mook; something to build on next year.

help us, Obi-wan Melvin, you're our only hope.

K'd the killer. Awesomeness

Hey, missed the game in its entirety but just read the recap. Who wants to talk to me right now!??!

i'm sorry. i just know we're so bad and hated right now and i don't know what else to say.

congratulations, i hope you beat the Dodgers!

why are the cardinals so bad and hated

yeah i was gonna ask that too, i didn't/generally don't watch a lot of NL, is it just because they're successful?

@BigRaguSports: Remember the popular kid who you knew had to be a jerk but turns out to be great and somehow that makes you dislike them more? Cardinals.

"best fans in baseball"
La Russa
Red State
John Ashcroft?

they're really good, they've been good for a long time, they have a good farm system, and don't do stupid things like giving alfonso soriano $40 billion space bucks, so they're going to be good for a long time.

also some dumbass started a meme calling their fans the best fans in baseball, so now we are so bad and hated just because we appreciate a goddamn groundball to the right side that moves the runner over

its seems like they generally have a lot of kinda boring conservative type guys on their roster, not a lot of personality

http://www.mlbgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/JoeKellyEdwardMujicaDancing.gif

http://www.mlbgifs.com/2013/06/this-gif-of-joe-kelly-and-edward-mujica-dancing-in-the-outfield-will-be-useful-at-some-point/ :/

"best fans in baseball"
La Russa
Red State
John Ashcroft?

― brand nubian wafers (bnw), Wednesday, October 9, 2013 11:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

first one is otm, don't care about the last 3

also:
-getting into the playoffs with shitty records bc lol NL Central and then basically being really great at playing spoiler... in the playoffs, against better and inevitably more interesting teams
-forever the most boring team on earth (and i say that as someone who loved boring old pujols)
-seriously this is maybe the first team since the edmonds/rolen peak years that actually feels remotely like a "world series team", but fuck that after 2006 and 2011, come on now

i feel like i want to say how good Beltran and Freese usually are in the playoffs. so if someone could please shout at me about small sample size and clutch myth bust; that would be great.

beltran obvs well known as one of the greatest postseason players ever, how much of that has to do with small sample size and also just expected via him being one of the best position players of his generation anyway who knows, i mean however you wanna slice it dude has played well when it's mattered most

lol just looked at his numbers and they're even more ridiculous than i remembered, in 38 games dude is hitting .355/.464/.783 with 16 HR, has stolen 11 bases and never been caught, 28 walks and 19 strikeouts

ya. it's crazy.

he's two shy of Reggie Jackson's post-season hr total and has played half the games.

i have never seen anyone as completely fucking locked in as he was in the '04 playoffs

why are the cardinals so bad and hated

― lag∞n, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 11:14 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

they're fucken shitbirds.

ugh, now I'm rooting for the goddamned dodgers because I can't stand another 'World Series Champions' year here in the 314 (they'll probably put fireworks on every street corner, sponsored by InBev), at least Vin and I can be 100% on the same page for a few games

im rooting for the dodgers. thats how much i hate the shartinals, tony la russa, chris carpenter, fan favorite david eckstein, stan musial and roger hornsby yes they deserved to die and i hope they burn in hell, no it doesnt matter theyre not even on this years team

the greatest damn fans on the world. so much baseball smarts. they appreciate pure baseball, not the entartete Schlagball that the other 29 teams play. this organization... their whole existence is a shrine to Everything Good About Baseball and Doing Things The Right Way

Congratulations to Cardinals fans! I guess I'll be rooting for whoever wins tonight's game now.

my Card hate purely boils down to championship fatigue, the Herzog '80s, and the 2006 Mets.

also fuck a 1:07 start on Friday

ooooh - i can listen at work! :D

actually, you can't bcz I was looking at the schedule above!

No start times yet for the LCS on either mlb.com or espn.com.