2015 ALCS Toronto Blue Jays VS Kansas City Royals

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by kmart

All started with the ump issuing a warning after the Royals pitcher Volquez threw near Donaldsons head. Then it happened twice afterwards, once with Volquez, but the ump didn't throw anyone out. Afterwards, Sanchez threw and hit a Royals batter at the legs and got thrown out of the game.

Ned Yost, Royals manager, then went on to tell the media that nothing the Royals did was intentional and that Aaron Sanchez's actions were intentional on a 2-0 count, even though one of the balls was straight down the middle of the plate. Bautista then tweeted he lost respect for Ned Yost.

After the game, the Volquez (who is also starting game one) called Donaldson "a crybaby" and Donaldson replied saying he didn't want Volquez out of the game and that he was "good hitting."

Then out of nowhere Yordano Ventura, who will also be pitching this series, went on a Twitter tirade about Bautista being a nobody, accusing him of stealing signs, and warning Bautista about the next time they meet. That's went Gregg Zaun did his Sunday roast on Ventura.

Also worth mentioning that it was the last game of a 4 game set where Donaldson had roasted KC for a bunch of hits, one of which was a walk off. The Royals felt he was "pimping" his big hits and that's why Volquez through at him his very first at bat.

I don't forsee KC doing anything stupid off the bat but they are a very old school team that had brawls with the White Sox and at least one other team that's escaping me right now this season. Given that and the Jays penchant for pimping their home runs regularly I believe this series will get out of hand by game 4.

As someone who's heart almost gave out yesterday afternoon I don't know how I'll handle this one, it's going to be great baseball with a nasty side.

[Party Elephant]

Can someone explain to us less hardcore baseball fans why Buehrle isn't on the roster in the playoffs? And are there any other players from the regular season that are no longer on the roster?

[kmart]

Honestly, the "pimping" is way too overblown. That HR Donaldson hit was huge, it's one of those things that are in the moment. If he's singlehandedly pimping out the pitcher or the Royals' as a collective thats a different story, but when you win you've got to celebrate in ways that are not robotic.

Bautista's again was also in the moment, however old heads will always think that it's being "pimped." I would be surprised if anyone wasn't ready to express themselves emotionally and jogged the base-paths with no expression, especially after that seventh inning. If KC wants to lose their cool after being "pimped" then they are going to walk out of this series as the losers just like the series at the Rogers Center.

I also think the entire unwritten rules of baseball needs a new modern touch to it. There is a declining interest for the game because of these unwritten rules, players are just expected to be robotic in their ways. What Bautista did to finish off that seventh inning was unbelievable, the raw emotion shown through the bat flip was the icing on the cake. You want to draw interest to baseball, people in baseball need to let go of how Dyson, Zaun, or the Kansas City Royals think and start letting the Puigs, Bautistas, and Harper's play with the passion they play with.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Party Elephant

Can someone explain to us less hardcore baseball fans why Buehrle isn't on the roster in the playoffs? And are there any other players from the regular season that are no longer on the roster?

As a starter he's not used to coming in for relief appearances on short notice with limited warm-up. Plus he suffered severe arm fatigue at the end of the season and really wasn't very effective

[kmart]

Originally Posted by Party Elephant

Can someone explain to us less hardcore baseball fans why Buehrle isn't on the roster in the playoffs? And are there any other players from the regular season that are no longer on the roster?

25 man roster only allowed for each series and usually four starters are enough for a team to get through a series. Buehrle has not pitched well to finish the season. He's hardly been a reliever throughout his career and doesn't have the strongest splits against lefties, which if he was a reliever he would be expected to face lefties.

He'd have to be a starter or a long man (pitcher who pitches when the starter struggles early in a game). I assume they like Hendriks more as the long man at the moment.

[Roof-Daddy]

Yeah, it's kind of crazy that Buerhle and Hutchison, who combined for 28 wins this season (28-13 collectively) aren't on the roster in the post season.

It's too bad really, but part of the game and to be expected when you add Price and Stroman to the rotation, combined with the 2nd half performances of Buerhle and Hutchison when compared to Dickey and Estrada, who were lights out.

[bluejays]

Buerhle himself said at his last game he wasn't feeling right towards the end of the season. Shame because I really like the guy when things aren't going so well for the starter, but at the same time he really hasn't played well at all leading up to that last game. Hutchison has to go back to relearn pitches to be effective, so he's out. I just hope nobody else gets injured for the rest of the playoffs, because brining in either of those guys would really be a last resort.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Yeah, it's kind of crazy that Buerhle and Hutchison, who combined for 28 wins this season (28-13 collectively) aren't on the roster in the post season.

It's too bad really, but part of the game and to be expected when you add Price and Stroman to the rotation, combined with the 2nd half performances of Buerhle and Hutchison when compared to Dickey and Estrada, who were lights out.

Well, the ALCS roster isn't yet set until tomorrow AM, so it will be interesting to see what, if any, changes Gibby makes.

Sounds as if Loup will be available, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

I think it's ideal for the Jays to get on the road for game 1. Allows them to get out of the crazy city and spotlight and thus little more focused than in Toronto, and less chance of the hangover/letdown home game after the intense game on home turf yesterday. On the otherside, I'd expect of a let down from the Royals trotting back on home turf after last night. So, get a split in KC, or even just take Game 1, and with the 2-3-2 format, KC will be pretty tight for game 2 as almost a must win.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by Trojan97

It's a 2-3-2 format for those not aware. It goes without saying that you need at least a split in KC, but if you can steal both there's a great shot to win it in 5 or less at home.

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I wish hockey would adopt that format. Less travel, and home advantage means more with 2 elimination games instead of just game 7

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

They did once.

The away team seemed to win every series in 5 that year and they switched back.

Too bad,they should have been more patient

The NBA did this format for the finals for 29 years. They switched back to the traditional format last year. Owners and players did not like the idea of a team getting three consecutive home games.

[browna]

Originally Posted by hwy19man

The NBA did this format for the finals for 29 years. They switched back to the traditional format last year. Owners and players did not like the idea of a team getting three consecutive home games.

Hockey did that too, as mentioned already in the thread. I think in the mid 90's IIRC occasionally? Only if there was an Eastern time zone team (may have still been when Leafs were in West, Wings the other team) having to play a West (Pacific time zone) coast team like SJ or LA, to prevent a lot of travel after Game 4. I think the team that had more points had the option.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by getbak

And we'll never be Royals.
It don't run in our blood,
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz.


Let's go Blue Jays!

Forgot about that song, I always hated it. For some reason the part that always got me the most annoyed was that "...and we'll never be royals! [background singers: Royy-alls!]" part.

Thanks for giving me even more fuel to hate on the Royals over the next few days


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by kmart

Honestly, the "pimping" is way too overblown. That HR Donaldson hit was huge, it's one of those things that are in the moment. If he's singlehandedly pimping out the pitcher or the Royals' as a collective thats a different story, but when you win you've got to celebrate in ways that are not robotic.

Bautista's again was also in the moment, however old heads will always think that it's being "pimped." I would be surprised if anyone wasn't ready to express themselves emotionally and jogged the base-paths with no expression, especially after that seventh inning. If KC wants to lose their cool after being "pimped" then they are going to walk out of this series as the losers just like the series at the Rogers Center.

I also think the entire unwritten rules of baseball needs a new modern touch to it. There is a declining interest for the game because of these unwritten rules, players are just expected to be robotic in their ways. What Bautista did to finish off that seventh inning was unbelievable, the raw emotion shown through the bat flip was the icing on the cake. You want to draw interest to baseball, people in baseball need to let go of how Dyson, Zaun, or the Kansas City Royals think and start letting the Puigs, Bautistas, and Harper's play with the passion they play with.

I really loved the bat flip. Any Jays fans would. Any other MLB fan might not, and I understand that too. It was the 7th inning, not the bottom of the 9th. I heard one guy suggest the hockey equivalent would be an over the top celebration of a goal to take the lead in the 7th game of the first round of the NHL playoffs... with 10 minutes left to go in the game. I don't think anyone, except maybe Oil fans, would be on board with that.
That said, I agree that there is too much of a traditionalist unwritten rule mentality in hardcore baseball fans.

[Finger Cookin]

Eh, some people in hockey consider the fist bump fly bys at the bench as excessive celebrations after any goal. Some people are just going to be grumpy about things at times.

Long live the bat flip.

[V]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

I really loved the bat flip. Any Jays fans would. Any other MLB fan might not, and I understand that too. It was the 7th inning, not the bottom of the 9th. I heard one guy suggest the hockey equivalent would be an over the top celebration of a goal to take the lead in the 7th game of the first round of the NHL playoffs... with 10 minutes left to go in the game.

If it was the bottom of the 9th there would be the whole weird crazy thing they do at the plate trying to rip the guy's clothes off. Somehow that's okay. I guess I just don't understand the hardcore baseball traditionalists, but I'm the same way with hardcore hockey traditionalists. Let the players show some emotion.

I loved the bat flip. It wouldn't have made sense in many other situations, but that moment was as charged as I've ever seen in sport.

[dustyanddaflames]

Should be a great series - I remember that Sunday game against KC, once it was done I told my friend, this is the LCS that I want to see. KC has a really good team, not a lot of thunder in the middle of that lineup, but they are great at manufacturing runs. The club they have built suits their home field perfectly, speed added to a large outfield. This series is not going less than 6 games, IMO.

It is going to be a challenge for Blue Jay pitchers keeping that speed at bay. But if there ever was a time to support the Russell Martin signing, it would be for this series alone.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Walks will be key in this series. Kansas has the best base running team in baseball in my opinion, and if the Jays give them away a free base every inning or so, it's going to be a huge problem. Because of that, Sanchez out of the bullpen really scares me in this series.

[Jiggy_12]

Game 1 lineup:

1. Revere
2. Donaldson
3. Bautista
4. Encarnacion
5. Colabello
6. Tulowitzki
7. Navarro
8. Pillar
9. Goins

[SuperMatt18]

No Martin...that seems surprising.

Edit: Nevermind forgot that Estrada was starting tonight and that he pitches better with Navarro.

[Roof-Daddy]

nm

[Scornfire]

Here's a pretty good article regarding the Estrada/Navarro battery

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb...ing-to-ignore/