SonofaRoache

Yesterday was tough to handle because of the anticipation and excitement. Hopefully Sox fans have moved on and can take a deep breath knowing we will probably lose at least 25 more games. The extra 3 playoff spots affords us a week to figure things out. Hopefully the boys can bring one home this afternoon.

The Stros aren't winning 100 games. Take them off the likely list lol.

Yeah someone said earlier he hits Berrios well. It was probably a fluke or when he actually could hit.

Let's not forget the Twins can hit, except against the Yankees. If you make mistakes, you will pay. And we made plenty of them and paid. Thankfully, we have a real offense now.

I'll give him a pass this time around. But he needs to locate moving forward.

Trout is on the shelf?

I'll chalk that up to a fluke. He and Engel would be lucky to get one hit tonight anyway. Give me the defense in that scenario, unless we actually need Nickys bat later in the game. If we were playing the Indians, Tigers, or Royals I may think differently. But Minnesota gets the ball in the air and into the outfield a lot.

Not sure why Nicky is playing. He can't hit and neither can Engel. Against the Twins I am more concerned about outfield defense than maybe getting a single from one of those two. I would assume that position is going ofer and would take the great defense.

I think you have to factor in a game 1 upset. The 100 win team is in BIG trouble if they slip up in game one. The pressure turns on quickly as they face elimination.

If the Yankees couldn't beat the Tigers with three home games in a playoff atmosphere, they don't deserve to compete further.

Anywho, congrats to all of you for making it through this tough time and staying positive. Keeping the board active and fun with no baseball is no easy feat, especially during a pandemic. I look forward to this amazing journey that is about to begin for our Sox.

I just bought two cases of the white sox goose island beer and will go to town this weekend. Thanks to expanded playoffs, I may be going to town after the season is over.

Nope. You won't see as many bad players in the games and tank strategies. Now the cream will still rise to the top, just less of the intentional garbage. The second half of last year the Sox could have fielded a much better product out there, but since they were half tanking they didn't.

Yeah but teams will play try to play their best ball from day one. Can't take any days off this year, so teams will have better records.

Itll take 30 now, maybe even 29.

Exactly. This is the best thing that could've happened for the White Sox. It won't be 8 next year when we can win the division outright. Expanding the playoffs this year to 8 gives us a real chance to get our guys into the post season a year early. That experience will hopefully prepare them for next season's playoffs.

I think the criticism of the 3 game series stems from game 1 of the series. Let's say the Sox get the 8th seed and Yankees get the 1. If Giolito has a great game and outduels the Yankees best, which is very possible, the Yankees are in trouble. They face elimination because they got beat by a team with a great ace. Now the Yankees have to win game 2. A five game series and to a bigger degree, 7 game series, takes a lot of the fluke out of it.

There are more elite teams in CBB. One giant might lose in the first or second round but at the end of the day, the best teams are there at the end. Basketball is also a more personal sport and an individual can impose their will on the game every minute. Whereas in baseball, Mike Trout gets 5 chances to score per game, and can only make defensive plays if the ball bounces his way. Baseball isn't consistent from one game to the next, that is why a CBB style playoff would suck. Baseball relies on things averaging out over 4 to 7 games.

I can see them shortening the season to 150 to increase the playoffs. The first round would be best of 5. The rest of the rounds best of seven.

I'm all for difficulty if they make teams actually try to win.

Yep and this doesn't negatively impact our playoff odds as the Yanks/Ray, Twins/Indians, and Astros/A's were making the playoffs anyway.

Its amazing how many fans believe adding more playoff teams will water down the game. I think it will be the opposite. The problem with baseball is that if you aren't a top 5 ish team in your league you are tanking and rebuilding. Then, you lose all of that talent you acquired to the big spenders. Adding more playoff teams will make teams actually try, which improves the quality of the game. It also means teams will try to keep their stars because they have more of a chance year in and year out. Right now we see the same 7 teams over and over again and everyone else is rebuilding or tanking. Even the middle of the pack teams are in and out of rebuilds and retools on the fly. My preference is top two seeds get a bye for having great seasons. The four other wild cards play a best of 5. In this scenario, the top teams actually get a reward for their hard work, and talented teams get a shot to extend their seasons.

They should have done best of 5 first two rounds and best of 7 last two rounds.

Yeah but Detwiler can actually get people out, even if he sucks as a starter. Fulmer is just nothingness.

You sir are correct. A lot of baseball is seeing if things work, tanking, sunday lineups, waiting for things to get better, and knowing you have 162 games. Now, teams know they have 60, they know there will probably be 8 playoff teams, and they know they must try to win each game. I think all playoff teams will be worthy this season.