MLB: ***OFFICIAL 2014 MLB Postseason Thread***

I went to bed after the As scored. Woke up this morning and was instantly bummed that I went to bed when my roommate told me the royals came back and won. Postseason is off to a great start.
 
One of the best baseball games I have ever watched last night. Stayed up until the end and I am not even a fan of either team...

I'm a slight fan of KC just because of proximity to the metro but I agree on the game. It is really high on my list of the best game I've ever seen.
 
Best game I have ever seen in person by far! Hell, probably just the best baseball game I've ever seen.
 
If Ryu gets healthy enough to pitch more than a couple of innings, I like the Dodgers chances. They finally starting hitting the last month of the season, a damn good time to get hot!!!
 
I love Ventura. He's probably the guy I'd want to throw a Game 2 in a playoff series for the Royals. But he's absolutely not a guy I'd put in a game in that situation. I cant wait to hear Ned's reasoning for that move.
For a manager who claims to always "stick to the plan" Yost sure veered off the plan a lot yesterday. I cannot imagine a scenario where the Roayls plan was "if we run into a situation where we have Butler on first and Hosmer on third, we should try a double steal to get the run home." I would ASSUME that the plan was to get 6 innings out of Shields then roll through their standard bullpen plan in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Two batters into the 6th Yost wet his pants and reverted back to his Brewers ways, where he always felt like he had to "do something" if things weren't going exactly as planned. Yanking Shields after 88 pitches just for allowing a few guys on was a complete panic by Yost. Period. Disturbingly prophetic statement by Yost in August 18th interview: ""I always felt in Milwaukee there was something more I could be doing," Yost said. "When things were going wrong, it was my fault. What can I do to make it better? When things aren't going well, there's a reason for it, and nine times out of ten it's not because I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing." Nice that he realized that he used to overmanage situations. Not nice that he reverted back to his worst habit as a manager. Glad that KC won this game DESPITE their manager.
 
For a manager who claims to always "stick to the plan" Yost sure veered off the plan a lot yesterday. I cannot imagine a scenario where the Roayls plan was "if we run into a situation where we have Butler on first and Hosmer on third, we should try a double steal to get the run home." I would ASSUME that the plan was to get 6 innings out of Shields then roll through their standard bullpen plan in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Two batters into the 6th Yost wet his pants and reverted back to his Brewers ways, where he always felt like he had to "do something" if things weren't going exactly as planned. Yanking Shields after 88 pitches just for allowing a few guys on was a complete panic by Yost. Period. Disturbingly prophetic statement by Yost in August 18th interview: ""I always felt in Milwaukee there was something more I could be doing," Yost said. "When things were going wrong, it was my fault. What can I do to make it better? When things aren't going well, there's a reason for it, and nine times out of ten it's not because I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing." Nice that he realized that he used to overmanage situations. Not nice that he reverted back to his worst habit as a manager. Glad that KC won this game DESPITE their manager.
I'll agree that was really, really odd. Shields is one of the most reliable, workhorse pitchers I've seen in a long time.
 
I'll agree that was really, really odd. Shields is one of the most reliable, workhorse pitchers I've seen in a long time.
I was SHOCKED when he took him out. I figured he would come out to visit to settle him down, give the old "just keep the ball down and let your excellent defenders turn a double play for you" speech and stick to the plan of getting through 6 innings. Even if KC gives up a run or two in that situation, they were still OK. Getting to the 7th on schedule all but assured that Oakland would be done scoring for the night and would give KC three more innings to tack on a few more runs if Shields gave up a few. Instead, Yost loses his mind and Oakland hangs a five spot on him like a dunce hat.
 
I was SHOCKED when he took him out. I figured he would come out to visit to settle him down, give the old "just keep the ball down and let your excellent defenders turn a double play for you" speech and stick to the plan of getting through 6 innings. Even if KC gives up a run or two in that situation, they were still OK. Getting to the 7th on schedule all but assured that Oakland would be done scoring for the night and would give KC three more innings to tack on a few more runs if Shields gave up a few. Instead, Yost loses his mind and Oakland hangs a five spot on him like a dunce hat.

Agreed, Yost got bailed out last night from his boneheaded decision.
 
I'll agree that was really, really odd. Shields is one of the most reliable, workhorse pitchers I've seen in a long time.

I thought it was a good move. It's a fact that pitchers get worse the 3rd time through the order, and I thought it was the right time to pull him, considering the bullpen was rested and loaded with arms. Putting in Ventura was surprising to me, and I wouldn't have put him in a new situation like that, but I didn't think it was a terrible move at the time.

I hate Yost for other reasons, though. I think he's a dunce.
 
I'm kinda surprised not more people are taking the Orioles. I think they'll win it this year. That team can hit bombs every single night. They lost Davis and Machado but Davis wasn't doing much this season anyway and Machado has been well replaced. Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis, and Adam Jones along with a couple other solid bats (JJ Hardy and Steve Pearce) will power through Detroit and the Angels 14th ranked pitching ERA and make it to the series.

Give me the Orioles over the Cardinals in 6
 
I thought it was a good move. It's a fact that pitchers get worse the 3rd time through the order, and I thought it was the right time to pull him, considering the bullpen was rested and loaded with arms. Putting in Ventura was surprising to me, and I wouldn't have put him in a new situation like that, but I didn't think it was a terrible move at the time.

I hate Yost for other reasons, though. I think he's a dunce.

I scratched my head at first, too, and then I looked at Shields' numbers and realized he surrenders a lot of long balls, so I could see why Yost didn't want him tossing to the A's DH in that scenario, especially when Ventura's less likely to give up a homer. Of course, it backfired in the worst way imaginable...
 
For a manager who claims to always "stick to the plan" Yost sure veered off the plan a lot yesterday. I cannot imagine a scenario where the Roayls plan was "if we run into a situation where we have Butler on first and Hosmer on third, we should try a double steal to get the run home." I would ASSUME that the plan was to get 6 innings out of Shields then roll through their standard bullpen plan in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Two batters into the 6th Yost wet his pants and reverted back to his Brewers ways, where he always felt like he had to "do something" if things weren't going exactly as planned. Yanking Shields after 88 pitches just for allowing a few guys on was a complete panic by Yost. Period. Disturbingly prophetic statement by Yost in August 18th interview: ""I always felt in Milwaukee there was something more I could be doing," Yost said. "When things were going wrong, it was my fault. What can I do to make it better? When things aren't going well, there's a reason for it, and nine times out of ten it's not because I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing." Nice that he realized that he used to overmanage situations. Not nice that he reverted back to his worst habit as a manager. Glad that KC won this game DESPITE their manager.

Amen. I have no problems with taking Shields out. Yes, we have seen him nut down and grind it out, but bullpen was stacked. But pitching "rookie" Yordano with men on in huge pressure situation was asinine. Finnegan (L), Duffy (L), or Davis would have all been better choices. Would have been fine to burn Davis and then give Duffy or Finnegan the seventh, slide KH to eighth, and Holland to close.

Oh well, best Royals game of the year. So happy for Perez's redemption. What a class act.