By definition, 60 per cent of teams feel that baseball is cruel even before the postseason begins. That number rises to 73% less one week later and then to 87% the week after. When it’s all over, 96.666 percent of baseball teams and their fans know the truth about baseball: It’s a hideous, soul-gargling, demon sport. Only one team will think everything is just super when it’s all over.
It’s hot dang!
The Mariners and their patient, long-suffering fans may disagree with this decision at the moment. The Astros came back. Again. On a late-inning Yordan Alvarez home run. Again.
Here’s a rewind of the sixth day of MLB postseason action, which reduce to one game thanks to rain in New York.
Houston vs. Seattle: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t — the Yordan Alvarez conundrum
It is much easier to understand the postseason when you can blame someone else. A manager, an umpire, or a player can all be blamed for the postseason. Scott Servais, manager of the Mariners tried to find a creative way to use a pitcher as a closer in Game 1. After allowing five home runs to the 29 batters he had seen in October, the starting pitcher was called into the game. The cause of the heartbreaking loss can be easily understood by pointing a finger at the television.
That sort of easy explanation doesn’t exist for Game 2. The Mariners did many things rightThis goes all the way back as far as trading for Luis Castillo, because he looked like the type of pitcher that, if needed, could make a very strong team look terrible in the postseason. It was a smart, innovative and forward-thinking deal. Mariners achieved their success by doing many things right.
