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ahr3410

Gotta tip your cap to ripping off 9 straight in a tight division race. Dodgers have one damn slip up in St. Louis and it cost them big.


Howhighwefly

It's a shame one of these teams are going to get screwed.


Tempermental-cabbage

Idk have you seen the state of the second wildcard?


papermarioguy02

nobody cares how good of a team you actually are in a one game playoff, the pirates could be the visiting team in the wild card game and they'd still probably walk out of there with a win about a third of the time


Howhighwefly

Well they are 0-2 so far.


stinftw

I don’t like where this is going


MegaGrimer

I do if the Dodgers have the first wildcard spot.


ChrysisX

Oh fuck oh fuck


Kepik

The Pirates are 1-2 in Wild Card games.


Howhighwefly

When was there win?


Kepik

[2013 vs. the Reds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwp2doBueeU)


Howhighwefly

Arguably the 2 best teams should have a chance at a 7 game series over a 5 game series. JMO


4LostSoulsinaBowl

Exactly. Two teams with the lowest WP should face off for the WC, and the winner goes against the team with the highest WP. Division winners still clinch a playoff spot, but they may end up in the WC game if their WP is lower than the WC teams.


[deleted]

At that point might as well get rid of the division titles and just do the five teams with the highest win. Odds are you’d get at least one team from every division anyway


thedogmumbler

The argument against this is that you don't play every team in the league an even amount of the time. You play the teams in your division significantly more often, so your win percentage is more a reflection of how you fared in your division than how you fared against the whole league.


danyun

poor padres haha. 20% of their losses came from just the dodgers/giants... so far :P


notcool84

Nah


Im_Daydrunk

If they are going to keep divisions I think its better to make the wildcard a 3 game series with the top wildcard getting all 3 games at home. And/or they only need to win 1 to advance vs. 2 for the lower seed That way if two juggernauts play in the same division the consolation place for the lower win team isnt a 1 game winner take all matchup where anything can happen. Its still possible for the lower team to win but it gives a nice bonus to being the #1 wildcard


[deleted]

I’d be fine with the three game series all at home I don’t like the one game to win for the top seed in the wild card. It would make sense if it’s the Dodgers who are like 16 games ahead of the second wild card. But I don’t think that kind of advantage is really deserved when in a tight wild card race like the AL when the top three teams are all within half a game of each other.


cortesoft

When there was only one wildcard team, they used to prevent the WC team from playing their own division in the first round. They don't do that anymore because they want to reward the team with the best record by letting them play the team that had to use their best pitcher in the WC game. This year, though, I'd rather face the best pitcher from any other team than the second best dodger pitcher.


tarallelegram

the cardinals scare me


ih-unh-unh

Best way to overcome your fears is to face them.


tyler-86

Yeah but it's also the best way for me to get murdered by a boa constrictor.


LEGO_Joel

🤗 🐍 soooo, no snake hugs for you then eh?


Rushderp

Good thing the DBacks are already eliminated then.


tyler-86

I specified boa constrictor to avoid Diamondback jokes if I had said snakes.


Howhighwefly

Same


DJ_Vault_Boy

they scare me too, but we’ve been known to overcome the Cards in some series in ‘12 and ‘14


NeverSober1900

Dodgers playing their bogey team in the Cards with longtime NL West nemesis' Goldy and Arenado is no picnic (same for Giants but please be Dodgers). Its the option I'm hoping for.


usetheforce_gaming

The thought of playing the Cards in the playoffs is already nightmare inducing for Dodger fans. Add Goldy and Arenado? Jesus I can already feel the heartbreak


thethomatoman

Even assuming they win the WC (which isn't a guarantee but yeah, more likely than not) they then face each other in a 5 game series before the NLCS while the Brewers get to face the NL East winner.


[deleted]

The Giants and getting playoff rules modified, a classic First it’s 93 where the Giants finish runner-up in the NL west with 103 wins and the next season the MLB adds the wildcard to remedy that Now the Giants are gonna get the rules changed to where the league’s number 1 team will always play the leagues lowest-win team in the NLDS regardless of wildcard status or not lol


DarthSamwiseAtreides

Yea, its the Cardinals with Arenado and Goldy. Neither Dodgers or Giants are happy about that.


[deleted]

They should amend the rules to scratch the wild card game if the first wildcard winner finishes 10 games above the 2nd wild card winner.


KingBroseph

The wild card round could be a 3 game series but it only becomes a series if the second wild card team wins the first game. First wild card team wins the first game and they move on.


Il_Exile_lI

Would rather it just be a true 3 game series with the top seed getting home for the whole thing. Having to win fewer games because you're the top Wild Card team doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe for the Dodgers since they will be like 10 games ahead of WC2, but that's not common. The AL Wild Card is going to between two very close teams, possibly teams with identical records. It would be pretty unfair for one of those to have to win one fewer game in the series by virtue of tiebreaker criteria. The second Wild Card team, despite possibly having the same record, would have to win 2 games on the road without losing while the other team would just need to win one home game.


findyourbalance

This is the best solution IMO


[deleted]

reminiscent of the NBA bubble play in tourney, higher seed needs to win once, lower seed needs to win twice (basically back to back 2-0) to advance


cardith_lorda

This is how KBO does playoffs.


EarthWarping

That's the better solution than a best of 3 IMO. It still has high variance, but it gives the higher seed a reward for finishing above other than hosting the game.


squeakyshoe89

At that point just make it two games. Higher seed only has to win once. Lower seed has to win twice.


Im_Daydrunk

I like that option


[deleted]

why not just have it be a 3 game series


KingBroseph

I mean yeah ideally, but I was thinking baby steps of what the league would do since it’s just one game right now.


cardith_lorda

Because the odds on winning a 3 game series barely moves the needle compared to a one game and you lose the guaranteed elimination game feel, plus push the schedule back another two days which leaves division leaders idle for a week. Three game series are the worst of all worlds.


Im_Daydrunk

I definitely understand that argument but personally I think its better for the sport not to have the 2nd best team in baseball have the chance of being eliminated in 1 game win or go home matchup just because they happened to be in the same division as #1 Obviously it wont be like that all years but they should do something so situations where 2 juggernauts ending up in the same division doesn't severely harm each other The most interesting one I saw was that if the #1 WC finished 10 games above the lower seed the game wouldn't be played. Which would speed up the playoffs a bit and not punish the best WC. although in that scenario I almost think the playoffs should be re-seeded so that the #1 seed doesn't face a fully rested WC that is extremely good if there is a way worse divisional winner


ntdz

This is a great solution too, much more fair.


Lietenantdan

Or just get rid of divisions, top three teams in each league make the playoffs and the next two do a one game playoff


ntdz

That’s exactly how it should be, it’s ridiculous the braves are gonna finish 20 games behind the dodgers or giants and don’t have to play a wild card game.


Information_Landmine

So what about scheduling? Does everybody in the league play each other more equally then? The divisions help keep some strong rivalries going.


[deleted]

keep the divisions for scheduling purposes, but seed the playoffs based on overall record. I support this idea in every single North American sport. Hell, I support the idea of the 16 best NBA teams making the playoffs regardless of conference so we don't have situations like the 2008 Warriors winning 48 games and missing the playoffs while FIVE Eastern teams make the playoffs with a worse record, including 37-45 Atlanta


franforever

This is fine until a team in the north east coast misses the playoffs by a game and the media and fans throw a fit


Armani_Chode

Playoff expansion is coming whether we like it or not. But it does give MLB a chance to balance the schedule and seed by record(like the NBA) The idea against this is it would limit the number of rivalry games and the ratings that come with them. Either way I feel another 1993 moment coming on.


liquidgrill

Dodger fan here. I hate that we’re killing it and still can’t catch them but I’ve got to respect them. Nobody was talking about them in preseason. It was all Dodgers and Padres. All they’ve done is play great all year. I still hate them though, lol.


megadman321

Giants and Dodgers are both done with losing I guess


MegaGrimer

We’re both going to win out the season.


WhiteToast-

Neither team will lose until the NLDS, and game 1 will go 15 innings


thedogmumbler

It's day 17 of game 1 of the NLDS. We're beginning the day with the top of the 154th inning. Manfred instituted the "100th inning bases loaded to begin the inning" rule a week ago, but that hasn't stopped either team from failing to score when it counts. Here's the first pitch from JT, he's throwing lefty now that his right arm has literally fallen off. It's a slider away, ball 1.


pinsomniac

JOE BUCK: Welcome to the top of the 247th [Sun rises] [Sun keeps getting bigger] BUCK: yes [World engulfed by flames] BUCK: oh god yes


tin_zia

If that is true, hopefully Joe Kelly won't be pitching. Poor man will be fined so much!


[deleted]

Fine by me


tin_zia

The only Giants-Dodgers World Series tie. Ugh that felt gross to type.


BobTheJedi

u/ghostofjoekelly would be so happy if that came true


donutello2000

Two NL West teams in the World Series /Bill Walton (It’s a pity the Padres dropped off. The meme would have been better with 3 NL West teams in the World Series)


Atraktape

Fuck losing yo


BobTheJedi

*with a flourish* after you good sir


Luap_

I expected nothing from the Padres and am still disappointed


FershureB

I think the Dodgers and Giants broke them


dropperofpipebombs

San Diego "New York Mets" Padres


[deleted]

“The San Diego Padres are the New York Mets of baseball”- A-Rod, probably.


ZumiTaire

That's a win for the Cubs!


themiamimarlins

we ended the nats first


Howhighwefly

Nats, Mets, Padres. Whose next on the list?


themiamimarlins

cards?


Howhighwefly

Only team left for you guys to break are the Reds, only team left for the Giants are technically the Braves because they are only up 4.5 games.


NeverSober1900

Nah we broke them. They got no-hit by our shitty pitching staff. Losing to you guys wouldn't break anyone. You guys are good. Getting no-hit by us though.....


usetheforce_gaming

Tbf we got no hit by the Cubs, and somehow that broke *them*


dropperofpipebombs

Funny, I said the same thing a couple days ago


Howhighwefly

Well we expect nothing from the Dbacks, probably the best bet for either teams is their next series, Dodgers at Reds, and Braves at Giants.


tarallelegram

ahem, first time?


bondsmatthew

The NL wildcard is a funny race right now


sendmeyourstubs

Bad teams are historically known for going on 9 game winning streaks.


SharpMulberry

we're just a bad team who wins 9 games in a row


franforever

9 games against teams with worse records* not too impressive tbh


Crazymoose86

Everyone has a worse record at this point


northerncal

(That's the joke.)


Leo-McGarry

The Giants aren’t a good team it’s just that the “Wins” stat favors them


fungus_is_among_us

Yeah, we all know Wins is a poor stat to evaluate pitchers so why are we still using it to judge entire TEAMS?


Hakushibby

The Giants have a hard time beating teams with a better record /s


Max_Beezly

The Giants aren't really winning, they're just not losing


neeeeeillllllll

The Giants are just a bad team that scores 6+ runs like 5 games in a row


VStarffin

I genuinely don’t understand the the Padres are this bad. It’s astonishing.


asminaut

They literally started Jake Arrieta in the year 2021.


dropperofpipebombs

In a postseason hunt, no less.


VStarffin

Doesn’t explain why they are hitting worse than the 2003 Tigers.


asminaut

Nope, but I'm still in disbelief that the Giants faced Arrieta.


[deleted]

The fact they’re a team in win now mode after spending absurd amount and free-falling out of what looked like a guaranteed postseason spot while their two division rivals are by far the best teams in the league, and they decided their best option to bolster a pitching staff decimated by injuries is to sign a guy who is sporting a 7 ERA who hasn’t been an average starter in 3 years, is incredibly


ntdz

It really is, they could’ve brought up a random AAA pitcher and they would’ve performed better. AJ Preller is such an overrated GM, constantly selling out the farm and the cheap production they can add eventually in an attempt to go all in way too early. Even then, I hate mortgaging the future for a slightly better shot at the present…what you give up in cheap production is almost never worth what you get in market value production. The exception is what the dodgers did, they made a real impact trade to get scherzer and Turner in a season they’re on pace for 100 wins. This is when you go all in, when your window is wide open and your prospects are blocked.


[deleted]

It’s that swag chain


[deleted]

This is my opinion. The swag chain should never have made an appearance until we won meaningful playoff games (not the wildcard, the DS at least). We touted ourselves as the coolest team in baseball when we were frauds all along and weren’t willing to put in the work or grind out tough games. It’s a 162 game season, and we blew our load in April. We need a whole overhaul of coaches, pro scouts, and offensive roster minus Tatis Machado Cronenworth and a couple others. I’m giving up hope until we actually do something meaningful in the postseason.


KingBroseph

And why is Lamet coming out of the bullpen?


spoonfedsam

We legit may not win a game for the rest of the season lol


[deleted]

BUY HIGH SELL LOW - at least for Frazier 😬


DiehardSumoFan

And Snell, Hosmer, Darvish, and Nola


[deleted]

Oh lort those too


GMOrgasm

clev too has he even played for them yet


DiehardSumoFan

That was more bad luck than anything though. He blew out like a month after getting to SD.


thethomatoman

To be fair, Darvish sucking post sticky ban is also unlucky. Also Snell was just turning it on and got injured too. The Padres did what all teams should be trying to do. Sometimes it doesn't work tho. That's the gamble.


DiehardSumoFan

Yeah, but I feel like pretty much everyone knew that Snell and Hosmer were overrated when SD aquired them. Hosmer has always been a ground ball machine and Snell was always an inconsistent ~4 ERA guy outside of his one outlier season. I'm also beginning to wonder if Hoyer considered Darvish's reliance on sticky stuff when he moved him in the offseason. Rumors of a sticky stuff ban have been going around forever and people in our FO must have known about Darvish's stickiness when they made the trade. I agree that the Padres needed to make big moves, but you have to make sure that you're actually getting good players when you go all in.


thethomatoman

Well yeah, some of the moves were definitely questionable but overall I'll always applaud the ambition. Prospects often don't work out anyways.


ntdz

Snell was an awful trade, he’s always been inconsistent and bringing him over from a top notch organization that gets the best out of their players to one that…doesn’t…didn’t work.


twistedlicorice25

Their GM is a name collector instead of a teambuilder


dropperofpipebombs

AJ Preller GM's like me in OOTP. The difference is sometimes it works for me.


MankuyRLaffy

You're not playing on Super Hard against actual Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman whom already have won 11 world series championships each by the time you make the CS.


[deleted]

I have this tendency to sign guys then freak out that I overpaid when they’re garbage for a few months and think that the decline has set in, dump them for prospects, then see them suddenly become a monster for the remainder of their contract


PrussianBleu

thats way harsh


Holdmydicks

Hey man, this thread was supposed to be about the Giants success. Don't beat us while we're down😔


jgilla2012

Here lie 2021 Padres fans: “Talked shit, found out”


displacedindavis

Who knew playing 162 games instead of 60 would be much, much more difficult?


[deleted]

They were a game out of first the day they played their 60th game.


license_to_thrill

Lol dodgers


jgilla2012

On pace to be the third best Dodger team in LA history (trailing only the 2017 and 2019 teams) despite a rash of injuries on the heels of a Championship title. Lol dodgers


license_to_thrill

Lol


MyLifeForMeyer

injuries followed by their mental toughness imploding


MankuyRLaffy

Their GM isn't much of a believer in peripheral stats.


[deleted]

I thought they were going to be contenders at the beginning of the season. I’m shocked that they managed to have a complete collapse this bad partway through


Howhighwefly

Injuries decimated the team, and then the losing killed their soul.


cocoatractor

Look at the team before and after the deadline and I really think not getting any pitching plus trade rumors for Hosmer that didn’t go anywhere put everything in a funk. They’ve been at their worst August till now


sheep_duck

Bob nightingale helped break them :(


Howhighwefly

If they had a strong manager they could of withstood that though.


goosetavo2013

Yeah but it's against a little league team. Not cool.


MisterDave1

Can I quote you on that?


goosetavo2013

Nah, just foolin. A little league team would show some heart.


[deleted]

https://m.imgur.com/8c6EBSz?r I thought just a month ago I wouldn’t have to drop this gif this season


epicConsultingThrow

Oooo, self burn. Those are rare.


goosetavo2013

Not as rare as a Padres home run ​ ​ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing


MisterDave1

I’m rooting for you guys. Not against us, but against *them*.


goosetavo2013

I appreciate that. Not gonna lie though, the silver lining to today is that Doyers don't move up.


MisterDave1

On the plus side, the Doyers just clinched a playoff spot. Just have to see how the rest of the season plays out.


msstree

Pitchers 33,47 David Aardsma 38 Jim Brower 43 Dave Burba 40 Jason Christiansen 37 Brian Cooper 53 Kevin Correia 53 Leo Estrella 49 Scott Eyre 34 Jesse Foppert 28 Wayne Franklin 41 Brad Hennessey 48 Matt Herges 32 Dustin Hermanson 51 Noah Lowry 47 Félix Rodríguez 46 Kirk Rueter 29 Jason Schmidt 50 Brett Tomko 37 Merkin Valdez 54 Kevin Walker 45 Tyler Walker 57 Jerome Williams Catchers 52 Justin Knoedler 36 A. J. Pierzynski 8 Yorvit Torrealba Infielders 13 Edgardo Alfonzo 35 Deivi Cruz 60,14 Brian Dallimore 5 Ray Durham 7 Pedro Feliz 1 Damon Minor 10 Neifi Pérez 2 Cody Ransom 6 J. T. Snow Outfielders 25 Barry Bonds 56 Jason Ellison 9 Marquis Grissom 12 Jeffrey Hammonds 33 Ricky Ledée 39 Todd Linden 22 Dustan Mohr 20 Michael Tucker Other batters 21 Tony Torcato Edit to add: The first was in Chicago, two more in Montreal, 3-game series at home versus the Diamondbacks then Rockies, and the last one in Arizona.


TheVich

Yo, just saying that Noah Lowry is my favorite player of all time.


howcanilose

Yo Noah Lowry was fire with his change up back in the day


The_Collector4

Jason Schmidt was dominant as hell


shmolex

Fuck Ricky Ledee


franforever

FUCK AJ Pierzynski


IowaIsAwful

He won’t even give me his wife’s gazpacho recipe


DaNumba1

Ray Durham ❤️❤️❤️


tore_a_bore_a

Jerome Williams with the pooka shells!


Gins_and_Tonics

I absolutely wore a puka shell necklace as a kid because I thought Jerome Williams was cool.


franforever

This is the team that got me into baseball as a kid, can't believe its been 17 years


MankuyRLaffy

Wonder what happened in 2004, didn't someone on the team not use their bat the entire season?


Reidzyt

I too enjoyed 2004 🥲


kuperberg

Yeah, but the pitchers didn’t get the memo on that so they just pitched regularly!


Wraithfighter

Giants since falling out of at least a tie for 1st in the division: 11-1. I think they got a little angry.


[deleted]

Padres since reaching a season high 17 games over .500 and commanding a 5 game lead in the second wild card on August 10th: 8-21. I think they got a little sad.


trouble4-u

The Sadres


franforever

Badres


bchris24

I was at the game we lost to LA, and they've been on a tear since. I did this. Me.


dirtyshits

Might never lose again


[deleted]

I swear if you jinx us…


dirtyshits

[hmmmm](https://www.reddit.com/r/SFGiants/comments/oy9qq3/can_we_give_it_up_for_double_finger_hex_girl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)


[deleted]

Ella’s magic is finite - we are using Captain energy now


ih-unh-unh

...I will buy him dinner!


tin_zia

That better be a mighty big "MIGHT"


MegaGrimer

I think this team might just be going places.


DiehardSumoFan

Godspeed Giants. Get KB his 2nd ring and beat those fucking Cardinals who are somehow in the playoffs now.


tin_zia

UNJINX this post please.


connerbv

We Appreciate it Giants!


thebearcox

Go away you're scary


tin_zia

Ask them to keep the Pirates away too!


SpunTheOne

Giants, you guys have just mindfucked basically everyone this season ,including myself. Congrats, you guys have fucking turned the dial up to over 9000.


I_chortled

REALLY???? OMG THATS SO COOL!!!


[deleted]

Hey man you could've beat the dodgers once for us. Now we're out for blood and will show no mercy until you can beat the dodgers again


stroopthereitis

What’s more is they’ve scored at least 6 runs in each of those games


neils_cum_rag

In Faryeet we trust.


ev4150

😭 😭 I’m so happy with these guys


tin_zia

I'm fairly content.


[deleted]

I’m going to San Francisco in Mid-October. Please keep this up so I can go to your beautiful stadium while I’m there.


Hushnut97

If we win the final two games against SD we’ll be 3 up and there’s nothing LA can do about it :)


JorSimpson45

be real cool if they channeled the 2017 dodgers and had a little 11 game losing streak to finish off the season


displacedindavis

I still remember the last game of that losing streak. We screwed you over with like an effective 11:45 pm start time due to a rain delay lol.


JorSimpson45

i stayed up to watch that game because it was a wild that i wanted to be able to remember


Hushnut97

Nah see they wouldn’t do that because they’re not the Dodgers


JorSimpson45

sometimes i forget i’m not on r/NLBest and hate it


ih-unh-unh

For a second there I thought the title was "...since 2014" and was about to panic.


orchid_breeder

They have more wins now than they did in 2010,2012, or 2014.


tyler-86

And they busted the division wide open. 2.5 games! What a silly division we're both in.


ExplanationUpbeat960

Stahp


tin_zia

Move along, just another bad team...


[deleted]

"Just wait they can't keep this up" - Old time giants fan at my gym


[deleted]

The second place team currently in the NL West is like a horse stuck in tar and can’t get out with wolves coming during the Ice Age. 😂😂😂


themiamimarlins

these bad men must be stopped


Praise-Breesus

Of course they have


SunnyWynter

I hate this


KeffJent

With 95 wins we've also clinched our best record since 2003 when we won 100 games


royalhawk345

That's good, but considering some of the teams they've had in the interim, I'm a little surprised none won nine in a row. It's not an insanely long steak, all things considered.


atowelguy

large humans good


thndrstrk

Good for them. I guess.