2015 ALDS - Rangers v Blue Jays

voting rangers. triumph of hope over experience

got no gripe with either team. voted blue jays bc the rangers got to two world series in a row recently, but certainly wouldn't be mad to see them advance.

I'd like to see the Rangers win one year to make up for that nightmarish WS loss a few years ago. This is not that year.

Pulling for the Jays.

Rooting Jays overall, but also for Mitch (local guy) Moreland.

Blue Jays

Jays, and a couple broken legs for Cole Hamels

Really, thanks a lot.

http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t427/sayhey1/jays_zpstfgg6map.jpg

(As if that isn't bad enough, they also pick us to win.)

anyone remember when SI picked the cleveland indians to win the WS? that was funny

(tbf the jays do have a reasonable chance to get there imo)

Thanks for the jinx, SI. If Price breaks his leg during warmups then I'm hunting down Verducci.

Jayson Stark also picked em, he has a terrible history

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Funny interview clip on the radio this morning. A reporter was (I'm paraphrasing) asking Donaldson if he was worried that the regular season was a fluke, that the Jays offense might sputter in the playoffs. Donaldson, with just the right amount of incredulity, sarcasm, and impatience: "Have you seen our lineup?"

i've got the butterflies! made it clear to my boss I'm a write off after 3:30 and will *not* be attending the 4:30 meeting!
managed to land a great seat at tomorrow's game - but I'm in court in the morning, so I'm hoping to god I can get my thing heard early.

I'm nervous too, for an odd reason: how relatively few close games we played during the season. I completely understand that lack of close games is a sign of strength, not weakness (obviously, if you win them, I mean). But the playoffs inevitably come down to close games more often than not.

"Since the All-Star break, the Blue Jays have been the 1927 Yankees"

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-alds-preview-rangers-blue-jays-astros-royals/

Whoa, you have tickets to tomorrow's game Thermo? How?

I got high friends in places.

like in the cn tower?

after this game, you will know everything you need to know about the Turf.

also, crap, rooting for the Jays but very sad to see Beltre go this way. Hope it's just a one game precaution.

Beltre would have had that.

After seeing Donaldson's hair, 100% certain that Trout deserves the MVP.

Donaldson hurt?

Ooooh this is bad this is bad this is bad

This is all very troubling...If Donaldson went out for the half-inning after the play (I was in transit), hopefully this is just precautionary.

Ezequiel Carrera still likes the head-first slide into first.

Too bizarre that it would be Beltre/Donaldson, both because of DP balls around second.

Might want to take Kela out of there.

homers ahoy

Im just glad theres not a third consecutive shutout

Between Price and Donaldson, this city's about to experience a psychic meltdown over the next 18 hours.

Batista injured too? The SI jinx lives on like a motherfucker.

or the taylor swift jinx

or the toronto's sports franchises jinx

or the teams wearing blue cannot win a world series jinx (last time? 1993!) (and no i don't count navy or teal)

do u guys know about the stars at night?

they're big and bright

@based_ball
David Price's team has lost all 6 of his playoff starts. tied for second-longest streak ever. upside: longest streak of 7 is Randy Johnson's

I've already formulated a theory for this series: we're reliving '85 against the Royals. We were facing a team that had come close a number of times, at a point where they were somewhat forgotten. We were already looking ahead to the Series. I can see similarities with Texas. If they were to beat us, I wouldn't be shocked if they went on to win everything. Anyway, at least Donaldson/Bautista are back tomorrow.

Rangers only had five hits in the game, but they were all scorched.

fuckin pete rose on fox sports broadcast.. crazy.. ibanez seems pretty solid too.

AND DONTRELLE WILLIS????

not sure if he's the best guy to talk about mechanics tho lol

This looks pretty textbook...

http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4bd5ec0d8d8d9/images/Dontrelle_Willis-2.jpg

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

Beltre out, Donaldson and Bautista in lineup

lotta pressure on Marcus Earl Stroman

he's gonna be okay

@BMcCarthy32
A gentle reminder, as my brain was dying and in need of immediate medical intervention, I passed a concussion test.

@keithlaw
Pete Rose wants to know why you didn't want the complete game

just went back and watched the bottom of the seventh -- wow what a choke job by the rangers. i almost felt bad for hamels

https://twitter.com/Benn2Ns/status/654432041224810496

Still wired and watching some highlights ... there are all sorts of crazy things I'd already forgotten about, such as:

-- Pompey's questionable slide into home causing yet another long delay
-- a player getting ejected who wasn't even on the active roster (Cecil)
-- Revere somehow getting thrown out on Donaldson's run scoring fielders choice to the outfield
-- fans losing their minds and not even catching Bautista's HR ball

Apparently Buehrle was ejected at some point too, so that's two inactive players getting ejected.

Lots of credit goes to the umps for somehow keeping the game relatively civil and professional.

It was Beuhrle, not Cecil--he was in the dugout in the 8th or 9th and they corrected that.

Goins was a blank with the bat the whole series, but man he was great in the field tonight. Hoping he's ready to break out offensively.

Gotta single out that one play by Donaldson too (I think it was on DeShields, and there was a runner on). I thought it was a great play right away; seeing how the ball hopped and changed directions on the replay, it became an amazing play.

Really wish I stuck around the pub to watch the celebrations.

got to a bar just before The Throw! Lunacy.

f u Hamels

I still like Hamels!

you wouldn't if you were a Mets fan.

When Dyson patted Tulo on the ass i thought we were through the looking glass.

Did that seriously lead to the benches clearing for a second time? How did I not even catch that?!

they were in the process of cutting to commercial, i had to rewind it here

on reflection bautista's bat flip is one of the sickest things that has ever happened

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4PVRxyhm--/1474221851389384998.gif

damn

dyson said something afterwards about bautista needing to respect the game more

shave yr clown beard and stfu, fool

that is an all time bat flip

didn't see the game. was there bad blood leading up to that?

After the game, Dyson was asked what was said on the field that brought both teams out to home plate as the inning ended.

"I told him Jose needs to calm that down," Dyson said. "Just kind of respect the game a little more."

Bat flipping has been a huge issue all season long, one that has led to batters being thrown at on several occasions.

That did not happen on Wednesday, but Dyson hopes Bautista gets his point.

"He's a huge role model for the younger generation that's coming up and playing this game," Dyson said. "He's doing stuff that kids do in Wiffle Ball games and backyard baseball.

"It shouldn't be done."

i think about seeing that bat flip on tv for the next 22 years and i kinda wish it was more joe carter-y.

there wasn't just bad blood, there was a near-riot by Canadians.

How did I not even catch that?!

So you've missed the neighborhood play and the assplay?

Near riot is pushing it a bit. It was nothing compared to, say, when ARod slapped at the ball during the bloody sock game. There were police on the field until the game ended in that one. Still, I'm not sure when exactly Blue Jays fans started turning into Phillies or Oakland Raiders fans.

I have never understood the mentality of throwing garbage onto the field though. I have no clue why anyone would want to do that. Getting drunk isn't an "excuse" either, nobody gets drunk in a bar and starts throwing full glasses of beer across the room.

The most amazing thing Bautista's HR is that I wasn't expecting it at all. It was the same with Carter's HR in '93 -- we'd just blown the lead, and I was hoping we could score in the 9th while at the same time dreading a Game 7 the next day. I was NOT thinking about the possibility of winning the WS during that at-bat, and it took a moment's hesitation until I realized what had happened. It was the same thing last night, we'd given up the lead, somehow tied the score without getting the ball out of the infield, but were about to blow a chance at yet another big inning. I was looking for a run while imagining how the game might play out if we didn't score (especially if we went on to lose), I definitely wasn't expecting or hoping for a HR. Then it happened and I basically lost my shit.

i recommend today's BP podcast where they draft moments from the inning

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=27690

“I didn’t say a word to him,” Dyson said. “I just tapped him on the butt. That was it. He just told me not to touch him. And then things kind of escalated from there.”

Bat flipping has been a huge issue all season long, one that has led to batters being thrown at on several occasions.

lol @ this sentence

if you ask me the only issue is there aren't enough of 'em

what's funny is that i used to do the bum pat to guys on the other team once in a while when i played ultimate, just to mess with them. as i share a name with said pitcher, i guess that behaviour maybe ingrained in my genetics!

>I'm not sure when exactly Blue Jays fans started turning into Phillies or Oakland Raiders fans.

i can pinpoint exactly when this happened. right after we got the TFC. i noticed a change instantly – all of the sudden there was a small subset of fans who had decided acting like soccer hooligans was a fun thing they should be doing at Jays games.
and i say this realizing it sounds like kind of an idiotic theory, but i'm convinced that's what it was.

also, as i have tickets for game 6 in the 500s – I *really* hope they don't turn that section dry again.

Obviously, I loved the bat flip and don't fault Bautista a bit. He's earned it--a guy that had been given up on, who was the resident star on a floundering team, etc. A pure, spontaneous, cathartic reaction, not directed at Dyson at all, I don't think. (Maybe a little.)

I don't blame Dyson for what he said about Bautista. Just words from a heartsick player, meaningless.

I do blame Dyson for his interactions with Encarnacion (how did he misunderstand Encarnacion's intentions? seemed clear as could be) and, especially, Tulowitzski (although I would like to know what he said to Tulowitzski).

The issue with the Martin play with everyone I've spoken to at work seems to be the umpire calling the play dead. I'm not sure what the rule book says about that. I've been saying that there was no way the Jays were going to make that play anyway, but maybe they need to take a look at how to handle a play that's ruled dead.

The umpire calling time/dead doesn't mean anything, really. Because in these series they want to get the rules right. Except for takeout slides.

OK, what's the TFC?

soccer club

kudos to harold reynolds, btw -- he knew right away that that ball was/should be live. i don't really expect him to know anything about canada, but he was right on top of that one.

and to rougie for taking home and forcing the issue.

Interesting theory about the TFC. Toronto fans were never known for being rowdy even when they had sellouts every night in the 80's and 90's, so it's not that you have more noise because there are more people.

My theory (purely speculation though) is that the Raptors and Leafs have sucked for so long and the city has been waiting impatiently for a winning team to rally behind. There was a silent majority of hardcore fans who weren't going to the games as often because the team wasn't going anywhere. As soon as the Jays became competitive those people came rushing back and swept half the city with them. This also explains why Jays fans have suddenly turned up in huge numbers at road games -- that *never* used to happen.

Exactly - look what's happened in Kansas City

Of north american major league sports events I've been to the MLS games have been the most gentile tbh

Dudes (and it will definitely have been dudes) throwing shit yesterday were probably single-digit years old last time the jays were in the playoffs, hard/futile to compare historic fan behaviour with current - different generation.

Pressure + Triumph = Exuberance.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2015/10/15/jose-bautista-does-not-need-to-calm-that-down-and-respect-the-game/

the most gentile

guilty lol

Lol autocorrect

I don't know, people throw shit on fields everywhere no? I remember it happened at Turner Field during the wild card game (2012) during the infield fly rule controversy. The TFC idea smells of 'ah... europeans' but it most certainly could be right.

was not blaming europeans at all there.

lindbergh with all cylinders firing on hilarious with an "oral history" of the 7th inning http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-rangers-alds-game-5-seventh-inning-oral-history/

that is amazing.

More:

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/blue-jays-rangers-seventh-inning-jose-bautista-bat-flip-russell-martin-throw/?cid=eref%3Anbcnews%3Atext

A lot of writing will come out of last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB-rdG4u_zU

lest we forget

I had forgotten about him--had to check, but ended his career with the Jays.

Angell:

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/wild-north

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/10/16/tom-lawless-not-ready-to-pass-bat-flip-title-to-jose-bautista

adrian beltre played the second half of the season with a torn thumb ligament

he hit .318/.376/.509 in the second half

i finally watched this and this post upthread resonated w/me:

The most amazing thing Bautista's HR is that I wasn't expecting it at all.

that is the incredible thing about home runs, they take all the multiple branching possibilities you've been toying with, eking out, working towards and just flip them all in the air, reset. that whole inning was such an epic ball-ache of niggles and misunderstandings and bases won 90 feet at a time in the ugliest fashion imaginable that bautista's HR came like a fucking cleansing rain. just amazing, what a roar from the crowd.

i watched this inning again, it ruled again

unbeliveable that andrus misplayed the ball 3 times in a row, just utterly mad

also had forgotten that bannister tapped two fans in blazers to get thrown out of the game after the bautista dinger! i never read any follow-up about who they were. they looked like well-connected assholes.

The one dude is, apparently, a senators husband and despite that quite respected for some other reason. Don't think he got kicked out either.

that bautista's HR came like a fucking cleansing rain. just amazing, what a roar from the crowd.

Yes, if they'd scratched out another run in that inning or later in the game, it would have gone down as a monumental choke job by the Rangers rather than a big win for the Jays, but Bautista's bomb validated the win in a way that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. The Rangers had their shot with the tying run at the plate in the eighth, and Osuna shut them down.

This game won't be any less legendary even with the ALCS loss.