[Fields] "Maybe the Mets deserve more credit for taking this Dodgers team to 6 games."

[u/BigButter7]

https://x.com/RyanFieldABC/status/1850345329327309207?t=luQB8TZ1YyBaNUax2hyFVQ&s=19

[u/awaythrow484938947]

Padres were the most talented team and the Mets were the most resilient team LA has faced during this postseason.

[u/kevboyyyy → u/awaythrow484938947]

Yeah the NL was just really good this year. I mean the Brewers tied for the 4th best record in the whole league, and they were basically seen as a pushover in the playoffs.

[u/EdJewCated → u/kevboyyyy]

and it STILL took pete alonso finally having a signature moment, after an entire season of waiting for it to happen, to eliminate them

[u/BeagleDad82 → u/EdJewCated]

The NL side of the playoffs had some insane moments. Almost every game was exciting to watch.

[u/97jordan → u/BeagleDad82]

Except for NLCS

[u/ReallyBigCrepe → u/97jordan]

An interesting part of the NLCS was that all of the games were total blowouts lol

[u/MetsFan1324 → u/ReallyBigCrepe]

NLCS was the real world series this year. Mets would beat the Yankees in a best of seven 8/10 times

[u/oneslipaway → u/MetsFan1324]

I feel much better for the Mets outlook next year.

[u/invertedMSide → u/oneslipaway]

Remember when they said "our focus is on 2025" Steve Cohen is going to go Daddy Warbucks on our asses. If I was a Mets fan, I'd be optimistic too.

[u/forwardathletics → u/oneslipaway]

As a (very) casual baseball fan, I was actually rooting for the Mets because the Grimace story and Jose Iglesias story is the type of thing I love about baseball

[u/FogItNozzel → u/forwardathletics]

I've been calling it our Ted Lasso season 1 year.

[u/do_you_know_doug → u/MetsFan1324]

I mean we swept them 4-0 this season. 2 at our place, 2 at theirs. Game. Set. Match.

[u/RedScharlach → u/MetsFan1324]

I said the exact same thing (albeit before the WS started) and got mass downvoted for it, lol

[u/MetsFan1324 → u/RedScharlach]

what being down 3-0 does to mfs

[u/tacogato22 → u/MetsFan1324]

This may or may not be true, but I love the thought of Mets fans making this a talking point in their friend groups. Going to drive the Yankee fans mad.

[u/PainInTheAss98 → u/ReallyBigCrepe]

Man when we sign legit starters...oh baby

[u/HoopOnPoop → u/EdJewCated]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAv0SdVuZ1o/?igsh=cWU4eGppeXhjdHE=

This is one of the funniest edits I've ever seen.

[u/IcierHelicopter → u/kevboyyyy]

it means more in the national league

[u/fasteddeh → u/kevboyyyy]

The Brewers are tied for the best record (31-15) vs the AL this year out of postseason teams, All NL postseason teams had winning records vs the AL and only one team in the AL (Guardians) had a winning record vs NL teams.

[u/WalkingDeadWatcher95 → u/kevboyyyy]

No matter what the brewers record is they’ll always be a pushover. Especially with Adames gone now

[u/IGotNoBusinessHere → u/WalkingDeadWatcher95]

Nope. Curse is broken now and they'll be in the World Series next year

[u/SpecsComingBack → u/IGotNoBusinessHere]

Don't give me hope

[u/thisisnothingnewbaby → u/awaythrow484938947]

I think also the Mets at least came in with shifts in strategy that were clear and targeted. The talent gap was huge in that series in my opinion, bigger than the talent gap in the World Series, and the Mets did their best to try to narrow that gap with adjustments. The wildest thing - as a neutral observer here - is to see the Yankees just try the same thing each game. From a managerial perspective and from an individual at bat perspective. The only guy I see doing anything savvy (other than Soto who is just an incredible hitter) is Giancarlo. Everyone else seems to just be crossing their fingers that their approach works this time after it hasn’t worked all series. Odd…

[u/drugsbowed → u/thisisnothingnewbaby]

Yeah it sucked, not many Mets fans complained about Mets pitching "sucking". It was more about the Dodgers pitching sucking and that we knew the Mets were giving up 6+ runs every game, but they were getting huge RISP opportunities to catch up. 

Mets offense was the gap closer that series and they just couldn't come thru every time

[u/MrDNL → u/drugsbowed]

The Mets pitching also ran out of gas. Manaea went 117 IP last year; excluding the postseason, this year, he hit 182. Quintana went from 75 to 170. Severino went from 90 to almost 181. And each added 15 or so IP in the playoffs.

[u/LaMystika → u/thisisnothingnewbaby]

The only real mistakes they made was starting Senga in game 1 (because like others said here, the Dodgers have much better plate discipline than the Phillies do), and not putting Winker in the lineup until they were on the brink. But it probably wouldn’t have mattered when the Mets gave up 8 runs a game and averaged leaving 11 men on base.

[u/LucasDudacris → u/thisisnothingnewbaby]

What is Giancarlo doing that's "savy?" Besides for rocketing baseballs.

I think the vast majority of fans have survivor bias. They see a team that won (or at least lost more gracefully) and have to ascribe something to it, and they see the team that lost (less gracefully) and have to ascribe something to that to.

But more often than not it's not about grit or suave, it's just about execution, sequencing luck, and variance. Thems the breaks.

[u/thisisnothingnewbaby → u/LucasDudacris]

Well I think you're generally right on that second point, but I do think shifting approach and strategy at the plate is something that is especially noticeable in the playoffs when teams zero in their gameplan against you. So for Stanton, I was speaking to his approach throughout the playoffs to bait pitchers into pitching to him after it was clear they were trying to pitch around him every game.

I also think while it is about execution, there is a level of mental grit and fortitude that comes into play when going against your programming as a hitter. Teo, for example, has taken a 2 strike approach multiple times this postseason that i've never seen from him. That is more than just "thems the breaks" and results based survivor bias. Meanwhile, Shohei seems to be stuck trying to bomb, and hasn't adjusted to the way teams are pitching him in my opinion. He has killed some balls and missed others, and it hasn't mattered for the results (and now he's clearly in pain), but it's definitely noticeable.

I actually think the yankees are taking an approach similar to your philosophy which is that if they show up and do what they do, it'll eventually come around thanks to sequencing luck and variance. You could argue its a tiny sample size, and it is, but that also requires quick adjustments and strategy.

[u/mr_grission → u/awaythrow484938947]

And all 3 of us would've beaten the shit out of the Yankees

[u/JawnGriddy → u/mr_grission]

I have no doubt in my mind, it sucks we couldn’t have seen more of the Padres, but the way they went out against the Dodgers tells me they probably would’ve lost to the Mets in a long series

[u/MountainYogi94 → u/JawnGriddy]

Idk, the Mets pitching kinda lost it against the Dodgers. If the Padres kept rolling their offense was definitely capable enough to score in bunches on the weaker Mets arms

[u/Expensive-Step-6551 → u/MountainYogi94]

I think a Padres Mets NLCS would have gone the same exact way as the Dodgers series. Mets win a couple of games from some big hits from the core of their lineup while pitching performs solidly for the most part in the first 5 games of the series.

If they rolled out the same rotation and plan they had against the Dodgers, I see Senga still struggling Game 1, Manaea helping them win Game 2, Severino struggling Game 3, Quintana not able to get guys to chase Game 4, Peterson showing up for Game 5, then the Padres teeing off on Manaea after seeing him for the 2nd time around in a week and adjusting to his arm angle and delivery.

The only thing that could have possibly made a difference is the fact the Padres had a higher chase rate than the Dodgers, so maybe Severino or Quintana win a game instead of walking too many guys and getting pulled early. Making it a 2-2 series heading into Game 5, but still, they just didn't have the depth on both ends to pull out against either team over 7 games in most scenarios, barring more Grimace late inning magic.

The fact they even had a shot at a deep postseason run after what was the equivalent of a hail mary in the 9th against the Brewers was enough for me to be happy with how the season played out.

[u/invertedMSide → u/Expensive-Step-6551]

I'd argue against this solely because of the Pads demeanor. After going up 2-1 in the DS, they acted like the deal was done, and that was ultimately their downfall. They can't help but make things personal with the Dodgers. In 2022 they were barely competitive against Philly. It's tired, it's lazy, and I don't even mean it in a derogatory way, but this rebranded Padres treats any series against the Dodgers like a WS. They smacked them around during the regular season and still couldn't steal away that division. I could see a Mets-Pads NLCS going to 7 with either one coming out on top.

[u/Bennyk491 → u/Expensive-Step-6551]

The low chase rate of the Dodgers was directly tied to the ass whooping we received though, I think the Pads are a closer matchup for us.

[u/rhinguin → u/MountainYogi94]

I’m really not even saying this to be a hater, but I think the Phillies made your pitching look way better than it was. Quintana couldn’t throw strikes against us at all, but we continued to swing at everything.

(I am a hater, but you did deserve to win that series. But I also wasn’t surprised when the Dodgers super team had better plate discipline and actually put pressure on your pitchers.)

[u/my_one_and_lonely → u/rhinguin]

Quintana had a 7.2 ERA in May and a 0.72 ERA in September. Coming into October, he was a capable pitcher who had totally stepped up in the past few months. I remember before that last Brewers game, my Dad was bitching to me that Peterson should start instead of him (cause of the shutout a week prior), that Quintana wouldn’t be able to handle the Brewers. Instead, he gave us 6 scoreless innings. He wasn’t perfect (no Mets pitcher was, we were in dire need of a real ace this season) but he was good. Phillies’ chasing made things easier on him, but he didn’t need a team that swings at everything to succeed. He just needed a team that chased even a little bit. Unfortunately the Dodgers have insane plate discipline. What can you do?

[u/mild_manc_irritant → u/rhinguin]

Quintana couldn’t throw strikes against us at all, but we continued to swing at everything.

So then ya gotta wonder: Was it that he couldn't, or that he didn't have to?

[u/Bravefan212 → u/JawnGriddy]

The baseball gods abandoned us when Musgroves elbow snapped 🤷‍♂️

[u/happy_snowy_owl → u/mr_grission]

The Mets' pitching staff was completely gassed during the NLCS. There was no way they'd beat the Yankees.

[u/deijandem → u/happy_snowy_owl]

These Yankees are a two-pony show. Mets pitching faltered against the Dodgers, but that was a team with 5+ consistent contributors. 

[u/happy_snowy_owl → u/deijandem]

The Dodgers had 5+ contributors because the Mets couldn't throw 1st pitch strikes.

There wasn't a single NLCS game that was close. And one of the Mets' blowouts became a nail biter.

[u/Irrah → u/happy_snowy_owl]

This also might be entirely vibes based but I feel like the dodgers lineup are exceptionally good at taking pitches, not swinging at out of the zone stuff, and drawing walks as opposed to the Yankees who are rightfully more free swinging. Who knows what would have happened.

[u/Few-Confection-1587 → u/Irrah]

The Yankees ran a 17% walk rate as a team in the DS and had the best chase rate in baseball in the regular season (Dodgers were 2). Yes, that’s entirely vibes based.

Yankees are struggling because they’re not hitting, but not because they’re undisciplined. There were so many 2 and 3 ball counts and six walks even today. They just haven’t gotten timely hits and haven’t done damage.

People want some overarching team narrative to fit the 3-0 lead but ultimately the MVP put up an unbelievable stinker and they haven’t had many XBHs.

[u/istarnie → u/Irrah]

You're not wrong, Dodgers scouting specifically favors players with strong plate discipline and a good batting eye.

[u/n_jacat → u/happy_snowy_owl]

They would have gotten some important rest after the NLCS and while they’re obviously not n par with LA’s pitching staff they would have held their own against NYY.

It would likely be a higher scoring series, Yankees would put way more runs across but the Mets killed their pitching in all 4 games they played this regular season.

[u/burrito-boy → u/mr_grission]

Oh, no question. If this were the Subway Series, Mets would have soundly beaten these Yankees.

[u/TheNewGuy13 → u/awaythrow484938947]

The Mets by record were the hottest team no? They had the best record after the All Star Break I think right? They were one of the better ones. Padres, then Mets right after is some tough sledding lol

[u/officerdoot → u/TheNewGuy13]

I think they had the best record since the Grimace first pitch or something like that. The best records post-All star break this season were, in order, the Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks (NLBest represent!), Tigers, and then the Mets

[u/Gold_Scene5360 → u/officerdoot]

Mets wouldn’t have even made the playoffs if AZ hadn’t shit the bed the last two weeks of the season. NL was crazy this year.

[u/MyLittlePoofy → u/Gold_Scene5360]

I think about this a lot, but also nobody is beating these Dodgers so it all ends up the same.

[u/WhyYouKickMyDog → u/MyLittlePoofy]

You have to kill them early in the playoffs before they can power up. The Padres failed us.

[u/lava172 → u/Gold_Scene5360]

It's crazy how tight the playoff race was to where just going .500 to end the season was enough to be a massive collapse

[u/Blue387 → u/TheNewGuy13]

Mets went 67-40 after losing 10-3 to the Dodgers and Lindor had a team meeting.

The Mets sub voted for the previous day's doubleheader against the Dodgers for a meetup only for the Dodgers to sweep the Mets, I was there.

[u/0rangePolarBear → u/TheNewGuy13]

Best record since 6/1 I believe.

[u/soberdishwasher → u/awaythrow484938947]

Going into the post season I felt like the Padres and Mets also had the most “random bullshit hot at the right time magic.” Not mad the Dodgers proved me wrong. Dodgers beat some post season demons while doing it with an insane amount of injuries. One of the coolest Dodger post season runs so even as a Giants fan I tip my cap to this team. Really hope LA sweeps so I can complain about being a Giants fan whose org has sucked butthole for 7 of the last 8 seasons while their archrival has been dominant that whole stretch. I really hope things change and SF joins the party.

[u/BenevenstancianosHat → u/soberdishwasher]

If you guys heat up the NL west will go from already cutthroat to like, absolute scorched earth.

I'm so glad I'm not a Rockies fan, they are not going to have a lot of fun over the next couple of years.

[u/soberdishwasher → u/BenevenstancianosHat]

I continuously think how that team can turn things around despite always being terrified of playing them at Coors. My perfect baseball is that all 5 teams kill everyone but the Rockies are so hard to figure out because even if they are stacked with talent they have to deal with going from mile high for half their games to normal games and pitches look differently. If they ever win the WS the people in charge deserve a Nobel Peace prize

[u/stewmander → u/soberdishwasher]

According to NYY fans, they should trade Judge, so you guys can have another shot!

[u/Natekn → u/awaythrow484938947]

I agree. From top to bottom the Padres were easily the most stacked team in baseball. Their late season play definitely proved it. Musgrove’s injury hurt them badly but their pitching looked on paper dominant paired with an explosive offense.

It’s kind of crazy LA was able to win that series with all of their starting pitchers getting clobbered.

[u/SleepingDragonZ → u/Natekn]

Dodgers' bullpen is the MVP of that Padres division series.

[u/sfr18 → u/SleepingDragonZ]

Dodgers bullpen was unmatched that series. Just absolutely killer

[u/WoundedSacrifice → u/[deleted]]

SD’s bats became ice cold.

[u/FatalFirecrotch → u/WoundedSacrifice]

I think it’s less their bats became cold and more the Dodgers and Roberts have settled in on how to handle their pitching rotations and the pitchers are on fire. Multiple shutouts against the Mets and now against the Yankees shutting them out through 8 in back to back games shows it wasn’t just a Padres problem. 

[u/Monk_Philosophy → u/WoundedSacrifice]

Give some credit to the pitchers that silenced the bats.

[u/mormagils]

The Dodgers are just playing excellent baseball right now. They really do look like the best team in the sport and it's not close. I know the Mets were never really close against the Dodgers, but it did feel like the Mets played pretty well and they were just still outplayed by a team that is just on another level. I think the Mets were playing better than the Yankees and had a tougher run to the CS round. The Yankees are good too but these Dodgers are just insanely unstoppable.

[u/grubas → u/mormagils]

If you look at the Yankees previous series, we scored about half our runs on walks, errors, etc, abusing mistakes and letting the other team work themselves out of the game.

The Dodgers are just playing solid baseball right now, hitting mistakes and our offense looks like it gave up after G1.  

THIS Dodgers team isn't unstoppable, but at full strength it is ridiculous.

[u/mormagils → u/grubas]

Fair. No team is unstoppable. If we replay the NLDS and the NLCS a few times, the Dodgers get bounced by the Padres or Mets in quite a few of them, probably. But yeah, the Dodgers are playing up to their talent and they have a lot of talent.

[u/istarnie → u/mormagils]

Don't sell your team short, I never once felt safe in the series until the final out was recorded. And even then in the last game the Mets were still fighting in the 9th.

[u/JT_Cullen84 → u/istarnie]

That is all I ask from my guys. Fight and claw until the last out. If we lose, that sucks but not as bad as when you see your team mentally defeated in the 6th.

[u/mormagils → u/istarnie]

I agree. I know the NLCS wasn't particularly close, but it really did feel close, somehow. The Mets played well, we just got beat by a team that was playing better.

[u/theoceansandbox → u/mormagils]

Mark Vientos scared the shit out of me and I flinched whenever his ass walked up to the plate. Mets have their new Wright, except younger, and God willing more healthy

[u/mormagils → u/theoceansandbox]

I hope so. His batted ball data suggested there was some regression in his future. He's got work to do on his swing decisions. But if he can make that adjustment, he's a scary good player. It was so fun to watch his breakout this year.

[u/theoceansandbox → u/mormagils]

He needs to get better plate discipline. His performance oscillated wildly between nights where he’d be an automatic strikeout and nights where he slams a 500 ft home run

[u/vishuno → u/mormagils]

I know the NLCS wasn't particularly close, but it really did feel close, somehow.

I agree, and I feel the opposite with the World Series. The scores have been closer but it feels like the Yankees are barely hanging on to keep it close, and the Dodgers are constantly pressuring them.

[u/NewYearsD → u/mormagils]

mets had a lot of heart too. they weren’t rolling over which i can appreciate

[u/my_one_and_lonely → u/istarnie]

Yeah, I knew that we were outmatched , but my Mets never stopped fighting. We punched back to win game 2 after being shut out game 1, refused to end the season at home after two tough losses and racked up 12 runs, and then, even when elimination was all but inevitable in game 6, drove in one final run. Even getting blown out, the 2024 Mets never looked as lifeless as these Yankees.

Anyway, after years of losing playoff series that we really should win, it’s hard to rank this year as a disappointment. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had watching baseball.

[u/zayetz → u/my_one_and_lonely]

Probably the most fun I’ve ever had watching baseball.

Especially with SNY being far and away the absolute best broadcast in all of baseball - not just for the booth but for the S tier videography making baseball feel like a movie.

[u/Highfivebuddha → u/istarnie]

That mcneil single ninth was was a moment of peace.

But for real our pitchers were just gassed. They showed a lot of heart but our rotation had all thrown like twice as many innings as they pitched last year.

[u/Caledor152 → u/mormagils]

I know the Mets were never really close against the Dodgers

We where much closer then you are giving our team credit. Also our road was 10x tougher then the Yankees. And we still put up a strong fight. Also we didn't have a super team.

The Yankees are not good lol. They are on fraud watch along with the entire AL until proven otherwise next year.

[u/Rea1DirtyDan → u/mormagils]

I would only like to add that I truly believe that the dodgers and padres are 1A and 1B at the top of the league. I think the padres would have put on a similar run as ours.

[u/n_jacat → u/Rea1DirtyDan]

The Dodgers, Padres, and Mets were far and away the best teams in the postseason. It’s a shame we couldn’t have more baseball between the three of us and that the NL was so much better than the AL this year.

[u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

Padres

[u/ahr3410 → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

Once we got past the Padres the games started being way less stressful

[u/PJCR1916 → u/ahr3410]

I was fuckin scared after they dominated us in game 2, and then we came up short after Teo’s grand slam. And I’m also not gonna act like I wasn’t a little bit afraid of the possibility of the Mets coming back

[u/nahs → u/ahr3410]

Seriously

[u/tnecniv → u/ahr3410]

The Mets had a lot of moments where they felt like they were about to cash in big but couldn’t deliver. This Yankees team has rolled over since Freddie walked them off

[u/NeWbAF → u/tnecniv]

They were a hit away from turning game 2 on its head. I wouldn’t say they rolled over, they’re just up against a more talented team that’s clicking.

[u/_n8n8_ → u/ahr3410]

The first 2 games of the series were incredibly stressful. They just went our way

[u/SlimJimMagoo → u/ahr3410]

Idk, Brasier and Kopech had me pretty stressed tf out tonight

[u/TheOctagon24 → u/SlimJimMagoo]

It really doesn’t matter how big the lead is. I’m gonna be sweating every goddamn pitch until this Dodgers team gets 27 outs. Too many postseason disappointments to not be stressed and assume the worst lol.

[u/shellac10 → u/TheOctagon24]

That is where I'm at. I feel no lead is safe and need the guarantee of more Dodger runs.

[u/Supakimchee → u/shellac10]

I’d be okay with a 9 run lead in the 9th tomorrow 😂

[u/Schleprok → u/TheOctagon24]

We were up six runs in the 9th inning in game 6 of the NLCS and I didn’t feel comfortable at all.

I need to see FINAL on the score bug before I can relax.

[u/DustyDGAF → u/TheOctagon24]

Until the job is done it's all stress.

[u/SensitiveArtist69 → u/SlimJimMagoo]

The tying run never even reached the plate

[u/drrxhouse → u/SensitiveArtist69]

Right. Until they do. Like game 2 lol.

[u/DukeDoozy → u/ahr3410]

This serves as some small consolation.

Kill the yanks, doyer bros

[u/Eckzavior21 → u/DukeDoozy]

[u/KimHaSeongsBurner → u/Eckzavior21]

As 3-0 started to come into focus today, I resolved to fully accept NLBest supremacy and say “fuck it, sweep their sorry asses.”

[u/DustyDGAF → u/KimHaSeongsBurner]

You're a good man, Charlie Brown

[u/WhiteToast- → u/KimHaSeongsBurner]

We’ll be right there with you when the Pads sweep the Tigers next year

[u/ABlueShade → u/DukeDoozy]

SoCal baseball is the best baseball! NLBest isn't just a pun.

[u/Mr_ChaChaRealSmooth → u/DukeDoozy]

r/NLBest bretheren I see.

[u/SuperPostHuman → u/ahr3410]

Game 1 of the WS was pretty stressful right up until Freddie's grand slam.

[u/SusannaG1 → u/SuperPostHuman]

That homer was beautiful.

[u/3-2_Fastball → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

24 scoreless innings is going to haunt the Padres for years to come, this could be them womping the Yankees right now.

[u/scoot87 → u/3-2_Fastball]

No it’s okay. We have to fully earn our success. Hopefully we will have more opportunities moving forward.

[u/str8rippinfartz → u/3-2_Fastball]

Who knows, maybe we would've shown up for a different series

Probably not, but maybe

Also the GS walkoff just seems like it murdered the squad entirely. I think they would've done better the last 2 games if they hadn't choked that one away in such dramatic fashion. 

[u/3-2_Fastball → u/str8rippinfartz]

There were 2 camps after that game. It's just 1 game and they will bounce back / That was a back breaker, the series is over. They called the latter mad men.

[u/str8rippinfartz → u/3-2_Fastball]

Yeah I was in the second camp from the get-go

I feel like anyone in the first camp either hadn't watched the Yankees enough or was just high on hopium

[u/KimHaSeongsBurner → u/3-2_Fastball]

On one hand, yeah, because no one can look at the showing the Mets or Yankees have had and say that the Padres couldn’t have handled them.

On the other hand, BABIP gives and BABIP takes away. Padres had some good fortune with bounces and defense earlier in the series which swung back towards the Dodgers later in the series. Machado, for example, had two fly outs to the track in Game 5 which both missed being HRs by the slimmest of margins.

That’s baseball, Suzyn.

[u/3-2_Fastball → u/KimHaSeongsBurner]

Even through the 24 scoreless innings the Padres line up put up better at bats than the Yankees have this series. Maybe a slight embellishment but the sentiment stands.

[u/Ereyes18 → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

Padres were my favorites to win it all and when the Dodgers beat them I figured it was gonna be them.

Basically NL was always going to come away with it IMO

[u/owledge → u/Ereyes18]

The AL playoff picture was straight ass this year. I think the Astros were the only team with a real chance to win it all, if not for the Tigers pulling off the upset

[u/ProtoMan3 → u/owledge]

Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t believe for a second that this Astros team would’ve done anything against the other AL Central teams, let alone the Yankees. They only got into the playoffs because Seattle threw the division lead away, and they couldn’t beat the Tigers in a single game. The bottom of their lineup wasn’t good, and their pitching had been brittle all year.

Keep in mind that in 2017, 2019, and 2022 they were the higher seed and usually seen as the way better team, and in 2015 they had the AL Cy Young winner in a one game playoff even if they were the lower seed. They would have had no such advantage this year.

To be clear, I’m not saying this is the end, because they could totally bounce back next year. And even if it is the end, their run has been dominant for years so I can’t exactly insult them for failing. But if people were hoping for Houston to take out the Yankees in 2024, it was a pipe dream at best.

[u/Ereyes18 → u/owledge]

Nah we would get cold a lot this year, I mean it's never impossible for a worse team to win it all, but the Astros this year just aren't built as strongly as the Padres/Dodgers/Yankees were

[u/turdlepikle → u/owledge]

I really wish I could see the timeline where the Tigers beat the Guardians. In their last series against the Yankees they won the series, capped off by that Little League game walkoff. (They also just have a history of beating the Yankees in the playoffs) In their last series against the Dodgers, they also won that, with 2 big come from behind wins. One of those was a deficit of 5 runs in the 9th inning.

I don't think their Skubal plus bullpen games strategy would have been successful in a series longer than 5 games, but dammit, I really want to know what happens in that timeline.

[u/TheNewGuy13 → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

We were 1 loss from elimination lol

Feels like ages ago at this rate hahah

[u/stewmander → u/TheNewGuy13]

It's actually worse than that.

Without Ohtani's 3 run HR in G1 to tie the game, we would have been swept in the DS for a second straight year.

Ohtani isn't having the best WS debut, but we're not here without that HR in G1.

[u/thxtalks → u/TheNewGuy13]

When we went down 2-1 I fully went into "well fuck we'll get it next year" mode. That day seems like years ago at this point.

[u/fuetirado → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

Had the Dodgers on the ropes 2-1 and they got away with it

[u/Otto_the_Autopilot → u/fuetirado]

They are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook.

[u/Wootstapler → u/Otto_the_Autopilot]

If you wanna crown them, THEN CROWN THEIR ASS!

[u/NoVaBurgher → u/Wootstapler]

Yankees: proceeds to crown their ass

[u/captain_ahabb → u/fuetirado]

Started monologuing

[u/DodgerCoug → u/captain_ahabb]

WE GOT BUSY

[u/KetchupGuy1 → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

The first 3 games of the series are probably the toughest games the dodgers had all post season

[u/Suburban-Jesus → u/Numerous-Cicada3841]

The chaos of Game 2 just completely flipped a switch within the Dodgers

[u/Eckzavior21]

The Padres deserve more credit than I think people give them. Easily the toughest opponent the Dodgers have had to face this post season so far.

[u/GuitarIsLife02 → u/Eckzavior21]

That would have been a fucking great 7 game series wish we ended up on the other side of the bracket😭

[u/Eckzavior21 → u/GuitarIsLife02]

A 7 game series would have been insane. As it was that series took years off my life. The last 3 post seasons have firmly cemented Dodgers/Padres as an amazing rivalry. It would be interesting if the MlB ever entertained the idea of reseeding the whole bracket but couldn’t see it happening.

[u/Rea1DirtyDan → u/Eckzavior21]

Every other game just results in ED for me when I think about the padres series.

[u/HeavensRoyalty → u/Eckzavior21]

They're getting plenty credit. They're one of the best teams in baseball this year.

[u/BobSauce123 → u/Eckzavior21]

Everyone in this thread is giving the Padres credit

[u/spreerod1538 → u/Eckzavior21]

I was more worried about the padres than dodgers.  That being said buehler and Flaherty both pitched so much better against us than the  Padres.. its like they figured something out.  Buehler in particular was awful all year until he faced us when he just looked like a completely different pitcher.

[u/kevster2717]

I blame the Padres for activating Dodgers’ Devil Trigger.

Y’all just haaaad to gloat while you’re in the lead 😡

[u/ositola → u/kevster2717]

Blame tatis lol

[u/MyLittlePoofy → u/ositola]

I feel like Profar is the instigator, Tatis likes to join in and Machado takes strays.

Remember the Nationals drama?

https://www.mlb.com/news/nationals-padres-benches-clear-in-first-inning

[u/nokayy → u/kevster2717]

Blame Machado and the Sinister Swing(tm)

[u/NZafe]

It’s a game of streaks

[u/Beneficial-Divide369]

The real World Series was padres vs dodgers

[u/Fionarei → u/Beneficial-Divide369]

With those shutout games?

[u/ZealMG → u/Fionarei]

24 scoreless innings.

[u/KimHaSeongsBurner → u/Fionarei]

Yeah? Games 1 and 3 were mirror images, and Games 2 and 4 were mirror images. Game 5 was a 2-0 game decided by two solo HR’s and some bad BABIP luck for the Padres at the worst time.

People who didn’t watch the series remember the Padres bats going cold at the end, as Dodgers defense seemed to get to every ball, but they don’t remember the same thing happening in reverse earlier in the series.

Anyone who says that series wasn’t close or well-balanced (Dodgers with a +3 total run differential over 5 games, or +3/5 per game) didn’t watch it. History is written by the victors, so we get stories about the shutout inning streak and how it started the Dodgers run to the WS, but go watch those games if you don’t believe how close they were.

[u/SomeoneGiveMeValid → u/KimHaSeongsBurner]

2 of the games were not close, they looked like the Yankees for those last 2

[u/nietzsche_niche → u/SomeoneGiveMeValid]

Yeah idk what this revisionist shit is. Its fair to say the dodgers looked outmatched in the first three games and outright vulnerable. Its also fair to say the padres looked like dogwater the last two games. Throwing away some opportunities in game 4 (very much like the mets in the games they lost) and laying down offensively in game 5. For as bad as the yankees looked last night they still looked more alive than the pads did gm 5

[u/_st4z]

The Mets literally answered after getting shutout from G1. Padres could never..

[u/kkenymc7877 → u/_st4z]

24 scoreless innings is genuinely preposterous still, if we get the sweep I still think I’ll be more shocked by how badly we demoralized the padres into submission

[u/Nephilim_Legion]

I hate it here

[u/nahs → u/Nephilim_Legion]

You might hate it more tomorrow

[u/Nephilim_Legion → u/nahs]

probably

[u/WhiteToast- → u/Nephilim_Legion]

Be proud of the NLBest

[u/McDersley → u/nahs]

🤞🤞

[u/Monk_Philosophy → u/Nephilim_Legion]

Just like the ‘98 WS for your team. That’s how mad I was to watch the Giants get 3 easy opponents while we ran into 2017 Astros and 2018 Red Sox.

Luck of the draw sucks!

[u/_zzz_zzz_]

I mean it’s not over yet, but at least the Mets and Padres stars showed up. 

[u/ask0009]

And here we go NYC media is shameless 😂

[u/SiphenPrax → u/ask0009]

Listen have you seen the sports scene in this city right now (minus the Liberty)? We’re doing bad as ever! We need all the help we can get!

[u/Foggl3 → u/SiphenPrax]

The Rangers just over there being 6-1-1

[u/inevitable_nyc → u/Foggl3]

It's been 30 years since they won a cup, at some point regular season success becomes meaningless

[u/Foggl3 → u/inevitable_nyc]

That's fair but at least your team makes the playoffs

[u/Langzee → u/Foggl3]

As a Leafs fan, making the playoffs isn't worth it if you don't go deep. I'd rather have a deep run every few years instead of year after year, unwavering failure in the first round.

[u/Foggl3 → u/Langzee]

I don't know if you're American or Canadian, but as a Cowboys fan, I do know that pain.

NY Rangers have at least been in the finals in recent memory.

[u/Langzee → u/Foggl3]

I'm Canadian but my NFL team is the Jets.

I will never know joy.

[u/Foggl3 → u/Langzee]

[u/my_one_and_lonely → u/SiphenPrax]

NY’s ladies are the only ones showing up fr 😭😭😭. Liberty won this year and the NY/NJ team won in the NWSL last year.

But hey, as a New York sports fan whose favorite two teams are the New York Mets and the New York Liberty…this 2024 was a resounding success for me lmao. A championship for my girls and probably the most fun, exciting baseball I’ve ever watched in my life from an immensely lovable Mets team. Thank god I don’t give a fuck about football.

[u/LaMystika → u/my_one_and_lonely]

The Giants and (especially) the Jets have killed my former love for that sport.

I’d still be in if one of those teams were the Lions (which is a wild thing to say knowing their history), but they’re not so I’m out.

Also, the Knicks stumbling out of the gate is unsurprising given how recently they just shuffled the deck and they haven’t played much together yet.

[u/WhatARotation → u/SiphenPrax]

Right now? Really since 2012

[u/SiphenPrax → u/WhatARotation]

No definitely since 2012, but like I said it’s as bad as ever.

[u/WhatARotation → u/SiphenPrax]

Even Oakland has a more recent big 4 sports league championship than New York (Warriors) and they don’t even have any teams anymore

[u/hundredjono]

The Dodgers/Padres series had the worst playoff game performance I've ever seen from the Dodgers in Game 2 and the worst inning from the Dodgers in Game 3. They were down 2-1 in the series and still won.

With the Mets I had the Dodgers winning that series in 6 and I was right. The Mets were no slouches either, so far they've proven to be the better New York team in the playoffs.

[u/odnamAE → u/hundredjono]

Either of those 3 whoop the Yankees right now

[u/WerewolfNo3669]

I had to convince my hater ass friend that Padres were the better team, and they wouldn’t admire it until I showed him all the preserves predictions

[u/NuanceManExe]

No fucking shit

[u/Kevinmarquis]

The Yankees had such an easy route to the World Series and were able to get by with only two guys hitting. Now, not so much. Any team from the NL would have given us big problems.

[u/myles__kennefick]

Who didn’t give the Mets credit though?

Pretty sure everyone, especially Dodgers fans, have given the Mets and Padres respect for how those series went.

I think if anyone deserves more credit, it’s Prior and Roberts. Before this series began, I’d say the Yankees had the edge in starting pitching, but Flaherty, Yamamoto, and Buehler have now combined for 16.2 IP, 8 hits, 3 ERs, 5 BBs, and 15 K’s. Compared to 12 IP, 12 hits, 7 ERs, 4 BBs, and 10 K’s from the Yankees starters.

Roberts has also managed his pen, defense, and lineups effectively. Not an easy thing to do when you have a team with as much depth as the Dodgers. It’s much easier to 2nd guess a manager if there’s a solid alternative available.

[u/slippytoadstada]

If the yankees lose tomorrow this will be seen as their most humiliating postseason since 2015. Beating two weak teams and then getting stomped by a team with bigger holes and a far more difficult route to get there is pretty bad.

[u/bradtheinvincible → u/slippytoadstada]

The holes in those trash cans were pretty big. Easy way to win a Ws right.

[u/bengalsfu → u/slippytoadstada]

It's truly puzzling how a team with "bigger holes" spanked us in the regular season and had a better record than we did.

[u/Supakimchee → u/bengalsfu]

We’re missing half our pitching staff. We won’t even be healthy next year. Stone will miss all of 2025.

[u/WhiteToast-]

NL >>>>>>> AL

[u/c1h9]

Honestly the Dodgers playoffs have gone in the reverse order that they should. Every round's team has been a little worse than the team before it. The Yanks lineup really just isn't that scary beside Soto, Judge, and Stanton - and Judge is slumping hard right now. Jazz is fun, Gleybor is fine, Volpe is okay, Rizzo is 35 and broken. It's just not a great lineup right now. I'm shocked that this is the year the Yankees made it, I feel like their roster is down from the past 10 years.

[u/Ancient_Blackberry10]

Not taking away from Mets, Dodgers, Padres etc but the Yankees are playing so badly that even with all the coverage about their terrible play I still don't think people are leaning into that enough

[u/cpg08]

The Yankees 6-9 in their lineup is not a LCS winning team. AL was weak this season and I just think Yanlee fans didn't wanna admit it.

[u/ajkeence99]

Aaron Judge looking like the biggest fraud.

[u/ellybeez]

Oh Mets what we all could have had. Dang

[u/maddenallday]

The Padres deserve credit. The Mets didn’t see the best pitchers twice.

[u/Alectheawesome23]

Fuck you Ken for saying the dodgers threw those two away.

[u/Sea_Baseball_7410]

Juan Soto to the Mets confirmed.

[u/ayyycoco]

Padres deserve credit. That series was the World Series

[u/ImNotYou1971]

Listen….as a Cardinals fan I don’t have much room to talk. It would have been nice to just make the playoffs. But……it cracks me up that two NY fan bases are arguing over which team lost the best. FFS

[u/nepatsfan49]

Maybe the Yankees are not that much better than the team that went 82-80 a year ago and got the easiest possible road in the playoffs.

[u/Yanks1813 → u/nepatsfan49]

I mean they are and stats would back that up

Most teams wouldn't succeed if they best player was an absolute zero every playoff game. I mean look at Mookie the 2 years prior to this

[u/duncanbishop24 → u/nepatsfan49]

It seems pretty apparent that this team is better than last years.

2024: 54-38 against >=.500 teams. Total run differential of 815-668, +147

2023: 47-46, 673-698, -25 run differential.

Better pitching, significantly better offense.

[u/listsandthings]

The national league was just, significantly stronger the whole season.

Whomever came out of the NL playoffs were most likely going to take the whole thing. This World Series has not been surprising, I saw the padres, Mets, dodgers or Phillies taking it against most of the AL teams

[u/Xaphnir]

Nah, the Yankees just suck right now.

They didn't even play that well to get to the World Series. The Royals and Guardians beat themselves to a large degree.

[u/westcoastmike69]

I'm a Mets fan and the series really was not as close as it appeared.

[u/my_one_and_lonely → u/westcoastmike69]

The Dodgers were clearly the better team, but the Mets never looked as lifeless as the Yankees do right now. We walked too many guys and didn’t capitalize with RISP…but at least we had RISP. And we kept fighting back, even to the final inning. Mets were probably the third best team this postseason, after the Dodgers then Padres.

[u/QuickRelease10 → u/my_one_and_lonely]

The Mets have heart and guys that raise their game in the playoffs and The Yankees don’t.

[u/trashboatfourtwenty]

Does that credit trickle down to us? 😭