Author Topic: Postseason Predictions from the National Media  (Read 982 times)

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Offline PC

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Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Topic Start: October 04, 2012, 07:50:09 PM »
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/20452646/cbssportscom-experts-playoff-predictions

At CBSSports, there are six "experts" making picks.  Danny Knobler has us losing first, to the Braves in the Divisional Series.  C. Trent Rosecrans and John Heyman has us winning in the NLCS and advancing to the World Series.  Heyman has us winning it all over the A's with Bryce Harper as the MVP.

If you click on the link above, there is a link to their preseason picks and Heyman also is the only one who picked us to make the playoffs by winning the NL East.

Offline zimm_da_kid

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #1: October 04, 2012, 08:40:47 PM »
i was about to post that! 

I'd love a nats-A's world series.

Offline PC

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #2: October 04, 2012, 09:17:50 PM »
Quote
The no-fluke Nats have the most talent and will win the World Series
By Jon Heyman

The Nationals will win the World Series. It is the year of the Cinderella, after all.

By now, they are the forgotten Cinderella. They've played so well, and for so long, folks forget that nobody expected them to be here.

The Nats are so well-regarded now that nobody mentions them alongside the A's and Orioles, two upstarts that started OK but finished better.

But remember, the Nats were great from start to finish. They played better, and more consistently, than anyone else.

Sure, it's a loss that their most talented pitcher Stephen Strasburg won't pitch in the postseason. But the rotation still may be better than anyone else's. Nats general manager Mike Rizzo aimed to build around pitching and defense, and he carried out that plan magnificently.

The Nats are the first Washington-based baseball team to reach the postseason since 1933. But this was no fluke.

The Orioles and A's are marvelous stories. But you still wonder how they got here. With the Nats, it is no mystery.

The slogan writers will have you believe it's their NATITUDE. But people around baseball understand that's just a fun bunch of bunk.

They were in first almost from start to finish, not because they had any special aura or mojo or chemistry -- though, they may have all those things, too. It's pretty simple. On talent, they are tops.

Their rotation is still maybe the best in the league, even without the wunderkind Strasburg. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson, Ross Detwiler and maybe even the just-remembered John Lannan makes a very solid quintet.

The bullpen, for years a strength, got better with the return of closer Drew Storen. Overall, the Nats' team ERA was 3.33, best in the NL.

Look around the field. They have a solid to very good player at every position. First baseman Adam LaRoche is their MVP among everyday players, but Ryan Zimmerman is a star, and so is Ian Desmond.

To view Bryce Harper as only a future star would be to underestimate him. Turns out the high school catcher solved the Nats' long-running center field issue. Turns out, too, he's blessed with awesome speed to go with his extraordinary power.

The Nats weathered the season-ending injury to their fine young starting catcher Wilson Ramos, and injuries to three more catchers. They weathered an early injury to their closer Drew Storen, then a meltdown by replacement closer Henry Rodriguez. They weathered the injuries to Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Jayson Werth.

They don't have a ton of experience. But they showed their fortitude, if not their Natitude, with all the issues they overcame. The loss of Strasburg is just one more issue to overcome, and they will.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/20456799/the-nofluke-nats-have-the-most-talent-and-will-win-the-world-series

Offline tomterp

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #3: October 04, 2012, 09:23:13 PM »
The better the Nats get, the smarter Heyman gets.

 :P

Offline loshjott

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #4: October 04, 2012, 09:34:55 PM »
That's a spot-on,  no nonsense column by Heyman. The Nats have been so consistent all year that everyone forgets that they are a Cinderella story along with A's and O's. I think the consensus was the Braves and Marlins would push the Phillies in 2012 but the Phils had at least a year left in them. Some pundits may have gone out on a limb to pick the Nats 2nd in the East and a WC winner, but they've so outperformed expectations all year that everyone forgets that.


Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #6: October 04, 2012, 11:35:07 PM »
I see 5 picked us to win and 3 others to win the NL.  Is that count right?

Offline PC

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #7: October 05, 2012, 01:34:16 AM »
I see 5 picked us to win and 3 others to win the NL.  Is that count right?

Yes and 10 (TEN!) losing to Atlanta in the DS.

Offline Jedgi

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #8: October 05, 2012, 02:25:49 AM »
5 game postseason series are so inaccurate [often times]. In my ideal fantasy land. the regular season gets cut down to 142 games and playoffs are (7 in wild card round?) 9 game series. Baseball is fairly random, best team will win more in 9 game series. Other sports with less regular season games shouldn't be having more playoff games, in my opinion.

Offline Tyler Durden

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #9: October 05, 2012, 07:14:40 AM »
Is Jaime Garcia not healthy?  I think he'd be a better choice than Lohse to start the wild card game against the Braves.

I can't believe Joe Saunders is the best option Baltimore has to start this game.  How the hell did they win 90+ games?

Offline PC

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #10: October 05, 2012, 02:44:30 PM »
Mitch Williams just picked the Nationals vs. Rangers in the World Series.

Offline JMW IV

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #11: October 05, 2012, 02:58:21 PM »
Paul Swydan hates this thread

Offline zimm_da_kid

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #12: October 05, 2012, 03:46:55 PM »
millar thinks we lose in the nlds to the braves.  Rose thinks we lose in the nlcs to the giants.

Offline PebbleBall

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #13: October 05, 2012, 03:57:45 PM »
millar thinks we lose in the nlds to the braves.  Rose thinks we lose in the nlcs to the giants.

Now I'm worried!

Offline PC

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Re: Postseason Predictions from the National Media
« Reply #14: October 08, 2012, 12:55:28 AM »
Quote
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Ken-Rosenthal-postseason-prognosticating-after-first-four-games-are-played-picking-division-and-world-series-winners-100612

NATIONALS VS. CARDINALS

So, what can we expect to see in this series, a 400-foot infield fly?

Actually, the matchup is fascinating: The Cardinals are an experienced postseason team with an inexperienced manager, Mike Matheny. The Nationals are just the opposite, an inexperienced postseason team with an experienced manager, Davey Johnson.

It’s possible the Nats will turn into the 2010 Reds and experience stage fright. But the more realistic question is whether the Cardinals are turning into some kind of indestructible playoff force. We saw it again in the wild-card game when they fell behind the Braves, 2-0 on the road. Nothing fazes St. Louis, and yes, such poise matters.

The rotations are more even than you might think. The Nationals led the NL with a 3.40 rotation ERA, but now they are without Stephen Strasburg. The Cardinals finished third at 3.62, and they again feature Chris Carpenter, who has made three starts since returning from nerve irritation in his right shoulder.

The bullpens are not as close statistically — the Nats rate a considerable edge — but the Cardinals’ Lance Berkman thinks the St. Louis bullpen has evolved into a strength, and much hinges on whether Nationals setup man Tyler Clippard returns to form. I prefer the Cardinals’ offense, simply because of the way their hitters grind at-bats. But the Nationals are explosive and score in a variety of ways.

I don’t see this being quick, whatever happens.

Cardinals in 5.