World Series (formerly ALDS/NLDS...)

Barring one of the largest comebacks in postseason history, the Dodgers will be representing the NL this year.

I have no horse in the race but I hope the antiKershaw talk calms down now, pitched well, not great, but well in an elimination game, dudes a sure fire hall of famer, let's calm down on saying he's awful.

I'd take 2 kershaw pitched 2017 world series games like tonight's.

WCTYSON said:

Will the Dodgers have the services of Corey Seager for the World Series?

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it's probably too early to tell as there are a few more days left to make that decision.

bstanwood said:

I have no horse in the race but I hope the antiKershaw talk calms down now, pitched well, not great, but well in an elimination game, dudes a sure fire hall of famer, let's calm down on saying he's awful.

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Never.

I'd rather have 1 Kershaw (sure hall of famer) on my team than 5 overrated Yadier Molinas (shouldn't be a hall of famer - who is not even half as good as Ivan Rodriguez was offensively & defensively). Kershaw is the best pitcher of our modern era. Yadier Molina is not even the top 10 best catcher of all time. Now go get rid of all of your Molina cards & try to upgrade your collection by getting some Kershaw's.

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Lost Angeles said:

I'd rather have 1 Kershaw (sure hall of famer) on my team than 5 overrated Yadier Molinas (shouldn't be a hall of famer - who is not even half as good as Ivan Rodriguez was offensively & defensively). Kershaw is the best pitcher of our modern era. Yadier Molina is not even the top 10 best catcher of all time. Now go get rid of all of your Molina cards & try to upgrade your collection by getting some Kershaw's.

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Ah-hahahaha.

Stupid noob.

Hahaha. Delusional loser!!!

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The truth hurts doesn't it. Get-out-of-here Molina.

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Lost Angeles said:

The truth hurts doesn't it. Get-out-of-here Molina.

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The only difference in Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina's accrued value lies in Pudge's huge advantage in playing time. By rate they're almost exactly identical. When you start adding in the new research into framing (something Pudge wasn't great at and Molina is) then the gap narrows and Yadi pulls ahead on a rate basis.

What's the more interesting match up?

Dodgers vs. Yankees

or

Dodgers vs. Astros

All three remaining teams are deep and whoever plays against the Dodgers will make for an interesting series.

WCTYSON said:

What's the more interesting match up?

Dodgers vs. Yankees

or

Dodgers vs. Astros

All three remaining teams are deep and whoever plays against the Dodgers will make for an interesting series.

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Hoping for Dodgers & Astros but it'll probably be Dodgers/Yanks. Either way it should be a good series. I just really wanted to see a Kershaw/Verlander matchup.

gt2590 said:

Astros in 5, Cubs in 6, Astros in 6.

Book it!

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Nailed it!

Would be cool to see my guy Sonny Gray start a Game 7...

WizardofOz1982 said:

The only difference in Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina's accrued value lies in Pudge's huge advantage in playing time. By rate they're almost exactly identical. When you start adding in the new research into framing (something Pudge wasn't great at and Molina is) then the gap narrows and Yadi pulls ahead on a rate basis.

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As a Cardinals fan, I'm sure you want that to be true but no. Take a look at their peak seasons for an objective view. Molina gets a lot of love in baseball but he is currently 35 and his play is likely to decline rapidly, as it did with Ivan. Where his numbers currently stand, I'm not sure he is a HOF'er but probably more like a fan favorite.

gt2590 said:

Nailed it!

Would be cool to see my guy Sonny Gray start a Game 7...

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CC listed now as Game 7 probable starter...

WCTYSON said:

As a Cardinals fan, I'm sure you want that to be true but no. Take a look at their peak seasons for an objective view. Molina gets a lot of love in baseball but he is currently 35 and his play is likely to decline rapidly, as it did with Ivan. Where his numbers currently stand, I'm not sure he is a HOF'er but probably more like a fan favorite.

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I'm a Pudge fan too. Always have been. I'm not even that tied to Yadi as a Cards fan. I was hoping they'd let him play out next season and then hand the reigns to Carson Kelly but instead they blocked Kelly with an aging vet just like they did Yadi with Matheny.

When you look at the numbers for their careers, on a rate basis Yadi is just as good. I'll do the math if you want but it isn't hard to see. Pudge caught a little over 20,000 innings. Yadi is a shade over 14,000 right now. Pudge has a shade over 10,000 At Bats and Yadi has 6,700. Pudge was a slightly better hitter (104 wRC+ to Yadi's current 100) but with framing in the mix (and the framing dataset goes back to 1988 so it includes Pudge's whole career) Yadi is substantially better defensively. Pudge had a longer offensive peak but at their peak season values aren't much different. Pudge peaked at 6.8 fWAR. Yadi peaked at 6.1. Neither of those figures includes framing data and Bill James is more than comfortable giving Yadi 2-3 WAR a year for framing and defense that isn't measured. I've never heard him put a definitive yearly value on Pudge's WAR bump for framing but Pudge was a league average or a bit above framer so it won't be nearly as much as Yadi's. When you dig into the advanced metrics for catching the sheen comes off of Pudge's defense a bit. He is still a great defensive catcher but he isn't at the top of the list anymore.

gt2590 said:

CC listed now as Game 7 probable starter...

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*not necessary

Bring me your Bickford, Ryan McMahon, Senzatela and Peter Lambert cards

How deep can JV go?

I like the Stros, but I want the Yankees to win a blowout tonight. Not sure it will happen, but it would be fun.

I think it will go 7.

I fondly remember the 81 WS as a young Dodger fan. I watched that entire series religiously, probably the most dedicated time watching the game of baseball as I have ever been (aside from the 84 NLCS). My favorite player Garvey didn't do a whole lot to excite, but the Dodgers won and that was all that mattered in the end. I would like to see a rematch of that 81 WS, but it would be extremely hard for me to watch if the Yankees played well and were to look like winners. Watching the Dodgers blow out the Yankees may be boring, but on the flip side, it would be epic to see the Dodgers crush the Yanks one more time.

I still think Houston in the AL is weird (Dodgers beat them in 81 to start their trip to the WS), so I am hoping to see the Yankees take the ALCS.

WCTYSON said:

As a Cardinals fan, I'm sure you want that to be true but no. Take a look at their peak seasons for an objective view. Molina gets a lot of love in baseball but he is currently 35 and his play is likely to decline rapidly, as it did with Ivan. Where his numbers currently stand, I'm not sure he is a HOF'er but probably more like a fan favorite.

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Ivan Rodriguez - .296 avg (2,844 Hits, 1,354 Runs) 311 HR 1332 RBI .798 OPS 127 SB (68.4 WAR - 28.7 dWAR) 21 Yrs Service Time *1 MVP, 13 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers
Yadier Molina - .284 avg (1,730 Hits, 601 Runs) 126 HR 785 RBI .739 OPS 56 SB (35.4 WAR - 22.1 dWAR) 14 Yrs Service Time *8 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger

If you were to multiple Molina's counting stats by x1.5 in order to give him the same service time as Pudge he'd still have roughly 250 hits, 450 runs, 40 stolen bases & 120 home runs fewer than him. The two have comparable career batting averages & OBP but Pudge appears superior in all other offensive categories & the two have similarly elite defense.

If going solely on advanced metrics, Yadier is not a HOF caliber player (50 WAR = potential HOF career/60 WAR = HOF bound/80 WAR = 1st rounder), just a very good player. If looking only at traditional offensive stats, it paints a similar picture but his defense is amazing & if he were to make it some day, his defense & fan favorite personality is what will ultimately get him there.

Personally I have nothing bad to say about Yadier, I like the guy and believe he's been the best defensive catcher in the game for nearly a decade now. Before checking out his career stats I assumed he'd make the HOF but now that I've seen them, I'm not so sure. I still think he's got a shot because he's a well liked player with elite defense but if he does it'll probably be after 10 or so eligible years or a Veterans Committee vote-in.