MLB 2022

[Number1ChanseyFan]

mr_pika!! How are you?! Amazing to see you, it’s been a long time!!

So… I’m super excited for the start of the playoffs today. Cleveland did an awesome job this year, in a season that supposed to have zero expectations, and it was supposed to be all about seeing what we had in the minor leagues, and who could be a part of the major league team going forward. I was only hoping that they would be competitive and fun to watch, had no idea that they were actually going to win the Central… we totally took control of the division in September though, going 10-2 in our series’ against Minnesota and Chicago, and winning 24 of our last 30 games overall. I’m curious to see how we do in the playoffs, I think we have the potential to surprise, we are playing more old school baseball, and it has paid off in the regular season. We are the hardest team to strike out, not many home runs, but we have a ton of base stealers, we have guys that can beat the shift and aren’t afraid to bunt for a hit. It’s been a really fun season, and they play hard. I know Tampa is going to be a challenge. We did win both regular season series against them, but no game was decided by more than 3 runs. Tampa Bay is always a hard team to get a read on, they are a little similar to Cleveland. The are hard to get a read on though, because they don’t play conventionally and aren’t afraid to try different things too. They are probably going to use their entire roster, especially their pitching staff. I’m thinking that they may be one of those teams that are better to face in a longer series after you have seen everything that they have. On a side note, I am fine not having the first round bye this season. Who knows how it will play out this year or in the following years, but we are hot right now, and sitting for almost a week would not benefit us. We have had enough time to set our pitching for this round… and while our rotation may be off if we make it to play the Yankees, I don’t worry much about it, we don’t quite have the dominant rotation of years past, so it’s not like it would be a huge advantage for us, we can throw a decent pitcher out on any night who will probably give us a chance to win… and yeah, we have the best closer in MLB… sorry Mets

I watched “Major League” last night, so I’m ready to go!!

[mr_pikachu]

mr_pika!! How are you?! Amazing to see you, it’s been a long time!!

Too long, Christen. It's great to see you! I'm doing pretty well; how have you been?

I was excited for the playoffs as well. Then the Cardinals' historic collapse in Game 1 happened, and fanbase and players alike still seemed deflated throughout Game 2. Just like that, the Redbirds' season was over, as were the careers of Pujols and Molina. I'm weirdly relieved that both of them got hits in their last plate appearances, as there's something poetic about that, but it's still sad that their magical last ride ended so quickly.

If nothing else, though, I'm glad that Cleveland made it past Tampa Bay. At least my wife's team made it past the Wild Card Series. Hopefully they make a deep run this year!

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Too long, Christen. It's great to see you! I'm doing pretty well; how have you been?

I was excited for the playoffs as well. Then the Cardinals' historic collapse in Game 1 happened, and fanbase and players alike still seemed deflated throughout Game 2. Just like that, the Redbirds' season was over, as were the careers of Pujols and Molina. I'm weirdly relieved that both of them got hits in their last plate appearances, as there's something poetic about that, but it's still sad that their magical last ride ended so quickly.

If nothing else, though, I'm glad that Cleveland made it past Tampa Bay. At least my wife's team made it past the Wild Card Series. Hopefully they make a deep run this year!

I'm doing pretty good, still buried under a mountain of student loan debt, but maybe finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel haha. Survived my bout with covid right after the holidays, ended up getting it anyways despite my best efforts not to. Ohio was a hot mess from December-February.

Sorry that the Cardinals season ended on a disappointing note, especially since it also spelled the end of the careers of Pujols and Molina. I remember going to an Interleague game in Cleveland when St. Louis was in town in Pujols' rookie season... we ended up losing that game thanks to a John Rocker meltdown, I think we kept Pujols under control in the game, but I still remember the buzz over what he was doing at such a young age. Still, sad to see the end of the road come. Philadelphia was surprising in that series, although having 2 good starting pitchers in this new format makes a team very dangerous... and they are giving Atlanta fits now. I remember feeling a little weird in 2016, it was awesome sweeping Boston, but it felt a little weird knowing that we were ending David Ortiz's career in the process.

After a convincing defeat in the ALDS opener, Cleveland responded with an extra inning win, finally able to play their style of small ball, making some contact and running the bases. It was so big to prove that we could win in Yankee Stadium, we just may have a series afterall.

Which team is your wife pulling for? Seeing the playoff field always makes me think about old TPMers that used to post here, I remember SupremeChampion and his Phillies, and TyranitarMaster loving the Braves. Wonder how they are all doing? Guessing SupremeChampion is a little happier right now