The Hunt for a Red October 2014 - The Playoff Thread

[Kevrock]

The ones saying they're tired of this DC way of thinking must not be fans of the Caps, Wizards, or Redskins. You would know better. The Nats already proved they're similar with that ridiculous blown lead against the Cards last go around. I do think they'll be the first team to break the curse if there is going to be a team to do it. The Caps could have been the ones , but they kept McPhee around too long.

The real interesting thing is going to be if the Nats indeed win the World Series...

They could supplant the Redskins as the no.1 team in the area. 

1. Some of us just don't believe in curse fairies or jinx fairies or whatever. The Caps choking has no affect on the Nats.

2. The Nats will not supplant that awful football team as number one sports team in the area no matter what they do.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

1. Some of us just don't believe in curse fairies or jinx fairies or whatever. The Caps choking has no affect on the Nats. 

How is that kind of thinking any different from your belief that the Giants and Cardinals that have some kind of franchise voodoo that makes them do well in the postseason?

[whytev]

1. Some of us just don't believe in curse fairies or jinx fairies or whatever. The Caps choking has no affect on the Nats.

2. The Nats will not supplant that awful football team as number one sports team in the area no matter what they do.

I think outside of New York football beats baseball everywhere. It's just more popular.

[Kevrock]

How is that kind of thinking any different from your belief that the Giants and Cardinals that have some kind of franchise voodoo that makes them do well in the postseason?

I respect that they have a recent culture and tradition of winning and deep playoff runs, not franchise voodoo. Some franchises just know how to win when it's on the line.

I think we're better than the Giants, but I would have rather faced the team that has never won a playoff series over the Giants. That's all. Tonight doesn't exactly disprove my stance.

See you clowns Friday.

[Kevrock]

I think outside of New York football beats baseball everywhere. It's just more popular.

Boston obviously. Atlanta has world class baseball fans as well, they never have problems selling out

[RobDibblesGhost]

Boston obviously. Atlanta has world class baseball fans as well, they never have problems selling out

St. Louis is probably another city where baseball is king.

[whytev]

Boston obviously. Atlanta has world class baseball fans as well, they never have problems selling out

Oh yeah Boston. Although the Patriots are very popular.

[sportsfan882]

Adam Kilgore ‏@AdamKilgoreWP  45s46 seconds ago
Madison Bumgarner kind of spills the beans on ESPN, says "we got Peavy and Huddy going." Presumably he meant in Game 1 and Game 2.

Grant Paulsen ‏@granthpaulsen  33s33 seconds ago
Looks like Stephen Strasburg will take on the guy who he grew up admiring in San Diego, Jake Peavy, in game-1 on Friday. Pretty cool matchup.

Official:

Andrew Baggarly ‏@CSNBaggs  22s22 seconds ago
Bochy doesn't dispute Bumgarner. Peavy and Hudson in Games 1-2.

[sportsfan882]

Getting nervous again. The Giants are acting so confident like they know they are going to kick the Nats' ass. Sandoval and Posey are lethally dangerous. And Belt  and Crawford can hurt you too. And we don't have the LH starter to counteract them.

[Clever]

 

[eddiejc1]

This is the new postseason picture:

[eddiejc1]

We won't have to face Bumgardner until game 3 in San Francisco. The Nats need to take full advantage of this.

[spidernat]

Getting nervous again. The Giants are acting so confident like they know they are going to kick the Nats' ass. Sandoval and Posey are lethally dangerous. And Belt  and Crawford can hurt you too. And we don't have the LH starter to counteract them.

Nice skirt SF. 

[KingHarper]

We need to win both games at home. San Fran is one of those mentally clutch teams that can come up big at the end.

[PC]

Please... 

The Nationals are better than the Giants EVERYWHERE! LF, CF, RF, 3B, 2B, 1B, SS and every position in the rotation.  Bumgarner is the only one who's even close.

[Jordanz Meatballz]

The Nats need to win 3 out of 5 against the Giants. That's not so scary.

By the way, if you go by splits, Gio Gonzalez is by far the superior Nationals starter against the Giants. I kind of want to give him the ball in Game One after reading it:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_/id/28962/gio-gonzalez

[aussienatsfan]

I'm nervous, it's the playoffs - but I am also confident in our team go nats

[sportsfan882]

The Nats need to win 3 out of 5 against the Giants. That's not so scary.

By the way, if you go by splits, Gio Gonzalez is by far the superior Nationals starter against the Giants. I kind of want to give him the ball in Game One after reading it:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_/id/28962/gio-gonzalez

Start him vs Bumgarner in game 3. hmm

[Jordanz Meatballz]

Start him vs Bumgarner in game 3. hmm

That might be the least risky option.

For those who don't want to click around, the Giants' players have a .514 OPS against Gio, whereas the other starters have closer to a .700 OPS.

In order from low to high it's Gio>>>Fister>Strasburg≈Zimmermann>>Roark

[sportsfan882]

Strasburg-Zimmermann at home. Gio game 3, Fister game 4?

[Jordanz Meatballz]

I would go Zimmermann-Strasburg-Gio-Fister-Zimmermann

[sportsfan882]

http://deadspin.com/madison-bumgarner-drinks-four-beers-at-once-while-cel-1641589450

[CALSGR8]

One day at a time.   No predictions.  No stats.  Just play the game and GO NATS!

[Tokeydog]

Some locker room board material here...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2014/10/02/tim-hudson-on-nationals-giants-what-do-you-have-between-your-legs/

“Obviously they have a talented group over there, there’s no question,” Hudson told The Post’s Barry Svrluga. “They have some great pitching. But come playoff time, talent can take you a long ways, but what do you have between your legs? That’s going to take you real far. And I think we’ve got a group in here that really has some of that.”

[HalfSmokes]

That might be the least risky option.

For those who don't want to click around, the Giants' players have a .514 OPS against Gio, whereas the other starters have closer to a .700 OPS.

In order from low to high it's Gio>>>Fister>Strasburg≈Zimmermann>>Roark

Over what time frame?