The Dodgers have been heavy favorites in the postseason over the past four seasons. Many outlets have predicted the Dodgers would win the World Series and look how that went. This year however the Dodgers are actually the preemptive favorite due to their 104-58 record. That’s the best in baseball this season. Not to mention the Dodgers broke the franchise record for most wins at home. They have home field advantage throughout the World Series. If they get that far.
Yet I still see many people on social media that are scared of the Arizona Dbacks. No question the Snakes played the Dodgers tough in 2017. Yet the Dodgers still finished 11 games ahead of them in the standings. Despite the Dodger’s record breaking regular season, there are still many affiliates who think the Dbacks will beat the Dodgers in the NLDS.
One of them is OOTP (Out of the Park Baseball) They recently ran their annual postseason simulations and well….it’s not good. They have the Dodgers losing to the Dbacks in four games.
OOTP doesn’t even believe the Dodgers will take the series to five games. No, they think they’ll win the first game and then lose three in a row. But look at their predictions for the wild card games. They’re eerily close.
They had the Yankees beating the Twins 6-5, with Aaron Judge hitting a home run. The Yankees beat the Twins 8-4 and Judge hit a home run. They had the Snakes outslugging the Rockies 10-7. In real time the Dbacks defeated Colorado 11-8. They had each club hitting three long balls. Each team actually hit two home runs. Uh-oh.
OOTP does predict that Kershaw pitches 8 shutout innings in game 1, leading to a Dodger’s win. However the predictions call for Arizona to win the next three by scores of 11-6, 1-0, and 3-2. Apparently Zack Greinke will beat the Dodgers in game 4, with J.D. Martinez hitting a home run. Gross!
The simulations have the Astros beating the Cubs in the World Series in seven games. With Jason Heyward of all people winning the World Series MVP. Seriously no. OOTP was also showcased on MLB Network. Check out the video clip and press release below.
According to Out of the Park Baseball 18, the 2017 Major League Baseball playoffs will unfold as follows:
American League Wild Card: The Yankees beat the Twins 6-5, coming back from a 4-3 deficit by scoring 3 runs in the 7th on an Aaron Judge home run.
National League Wild Card: The Diamondbacks outslug the Rockies 10 to 7. Both starting pitchers exit before the fifth inning, when Arizona takes a 7-6 lead that holds up to the end. Each team hit 3 home runs.
American League Division Series #1 (Indians vs. Yankees): The Indians advance to the ALCS by beating the Yankees 3-1. The Yankees took game 1 behind a good C.C. Sabathia performance and a Judge HR, but it was all Cleveland afterwards, winning the next three games 6-4, 8-4 and 10-7. José Ramirez dominated the series, hitting .500 with 2 HR and 5 RBI.
American League Division Series #2 (Red Sox vs. Astros): This series went the distance, with the Astros beating the Red Sox in game 5 by a score of 3-2 in 10 innings in dramatic fashion, thanks to a Brian McCann walk-off home run against Craig Kimbrel. José Altuve has a great series, hitting .450 with 2 HR and 3 RBI.
National League Division Series #1 (Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers): Arizona continues to be a thorn in the Dodgers side this season, winning the NLDS 3 games to 1. Clayton Kershaw wins game 1 with 8 shutout innings and 9 K’s, but Arizona wins the next three games, 11-6, 1-0 and 3-2 to clinch with Zack Greinke allowing just 2 ER in 8 IP to go along with a J.D. Martinez 2-run HR. –NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
National League Division Series #2 (Cubs vs. Nationals): The Cubs return to the NLCS for the third year in a row, ousting the Nationals 3 games to 1. Chicago storms back from a 1-run deficit to steal Game 1 6-5, only to fall to a strong Stephen Strasburg in Game 2 2-1. Jake Arrieta and José Quintana combine to win Games 3 and 4, and the Nationals are once again eliminated early in the postseason.
American League Championship Series: The Indians’ magic late-season run comes to an end, as the Astros win 4 games to 1, despite another huge performance by José Ramirez (.524, 4 HR). The Astros win both of Justin Verlander’s starts, as he allows just 2 runs in 14 innings pitched. George Springer wins the ALCS MVP with 3 HR, 6 RBI and a .348 AVG.
National League Championship Series: The Cubs advance to their 2nd straight World Series, beating the Diamondbacks 4 games to 1. Cubs pitching holds Arizona to just 10 runs in the 5 games, and José Quintana wins MVP honors after going 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in 15.1 IP (16 K’s, 4 BBs). Anthony Rizzo hits .350 with 2 HR and 5 RBI.
World Series: The Houston Astros defeat the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 3 in a classic World Series, winning the first title in franchise history in front of their home fans.
The Cubs win the opener thanks to a complete game win for Jake Arrieta. Houston wins the next two, but then Chicago roars back to win the next two and take a 3-2 series lead back to Houston.
World Series Game 6 has the Cubs up 4-2 and ready to celebrate in the 9th inning – until disaster strikes. Yuli Gurriel hits a home run off Wade Davis, followed by back-to-back doubles by George Springer and Alex Bregman. That set the stage for a walk-off José Altuve single to win it for Houston and send it to Game 7.
In that seventh game, Houston goes up 5-1 early as Lester only lasts 3 innings. The Cubs start clawing back, however, to close the score to 5-4 heading to the 9th. Ken Giles shuts Chicago down, striking out Ian Happ to end the game and the World Series for Houston. Dallas Keuchel gets the win in game 7 (6 IP, 3 ER) while Alex Bregman and José Altuve (each 3 H and 2 RBI) provide the offense.
The Cubs’ Jason Heyward wins the World Series MVP in a losing effort, hitting .481 (13 hits) with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Jake Arrieta goes 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA in 17 IP for the Series. Houston’s bats stayed rather cold, with José Altuve only hitting .250 with 6 RBI.
“It’s a huge thrill to have the MLB Network reveal our postseason predictions,” said OOTP CMO Richard Grisham. “We are huge fans of the network and watch every day. The baseball postseason is simply the best month of the year. We can’t wait to see how closely Out of the Park Baseball’s simulation engine matches the actual outcome.”
Out of the Park Baseball 18 is now available worldwide on Steam and the Out of the Park Developments website for $39.99. The follow-up to the acclaimed Metacritic 2016 PC Game of the Year includes several exciting new features and a treasure trove of deep improvements to its award-winning game play.
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out-of-the-park-baseball/
Ease up on the Dodgers, OOTP.
Have to say that AZ does worry me – the Goldy, JDM, Lamb, Pollock quartet looks very menacing.
Greinke didn’t pitch well though, and they used Ray meaning they both might not start either of the first two games which would be a huge advantage.
Got the nerves building already…
Watford
I am right there with you!
I heard that that may have been Ray’s day in the pen, so that may not change anything about his start.
Hi Watford, nice to see you.
We caught a break with the DBacks using Greinke and Ray. Their bats are red hot but I think we are up to it but we have to get to their bullpen. I generally think we have a better chance against Greinke in Chase Field. Ray is a major problem for us. Our power is from the left side, our hitters are prone to strike out and Ray is a strikeout pitcher.
I hope Cranke does start for the Dbacks Friday, he is very vulnerable lately. Better yet would be if we don’t in fact have to face Ray until at least Game 3, Ray has not been vulnerable to the Dodgers, he in fact has been Cy Young against the Dodgers. The way the game last night played out, really changes the odds for the Dodgers, I think it helped the Blue obtain a edge in this series. Remember good pitching shuts down good hitting, every time. Now if someone would just communicate this idea to our bullpen and have them not take a gas can to the mound this series. Again, I say, this series will be about run production, since the beginning of September, this issue is THE Dodgers issue. They solve that, they win the series easy, if they don’t this is going to be a real grind.
So bring it on Cranke, you’ve got to face the man on Friday.
There’s no way Greinke starts game 1. Either him or Ray could be game 2 starters however as they only pitched a few innings. I would rather face Greinke in Chase Field.
I think I will come down to defense and who avoids making errors. And there lies the worry. Grandal blocking balls in the dirt, Seager back handing the ball, Turner constantly letting the throw from the outfield get past him, can Taylor patrol CF like Pollack?
Now if we hit the ball then no worries about the defense. Can we hit their pitching? Absolutely!
Really the best teams in the National League this year, were from the west!
So both the Nats and the Cubs are lucky they don’t have to face any of these teams, in the first round!
Yes, you are correct and they don’t have Roberts.
Exactly.
Let’s talk reality.
The Dodgers have a great manager.
And with all the silly talk about small-ball and fielding, how about we look at what’s actually happening in the playoffs.
It’s about HRs. It’s about good managers. And in recent history, it’s not about starters going 7.
Was this a big ad for a video game?
The last paragraph insinuated that. But I can’t be sure as I don’t have anything to do with video games.
It looks like OOTP Baseball loves every team’s trade deadline pickups except ours.
Time for Darvish to show up and prove them all wrong. A CG shutout in Chase Field from Darvish would be huge and the rest of the pool would start to worry.
Uh oh … looks like OOTP Baseball was onto something. They predicted Altuve going off against the Red Sox, and did he ever! One thing about the video games – they run tens of thousands of simulations to come up with their predictions – like Badger always said, the future is unknown, but the best predictor of the future we have is still the past.
Badger also said he didn’t like lying child molesters, he makes a good point. I don’t like them either.
So if the past is the best predictor of the future, which past part of the season do you run with in regard to the Dodgers, June thru August or September? We all they are capable of great things, but are they capable currently.
Kershaw blasts Golda Mire in his first at bat, come out bad ass and take the game to those snakes. The first one to attack sets the tone for the entire series, also puts the most burden on the team that responds in kind. We need a good old hard baseball mentality, that will do the trick, if they don’t then they get the game dictated to them (just let your mind your mind drift back to the Cards and the Hanley Ramirez first at bat a couple of years ago).
I think the Dbacks have misjudged the first game. I think the smart move would have been to start Jay in game 1. He owns the Dodgers and we can’t hit lefties very well. Are the Dbacks thinking that they can’t beat Kershaw so let’s throw one of our lower rotation starters at him? Kershaw is not the same pitcher he was before he got hurt. Sure, he’s still a hall of famer but his control has been off, gives up clutch HR’s, and probably need a good long break with Thai massage every afternoon for next 3 months. Why give the Dodgers any leeway at all? Putting the pressure on Kershaw shows his weakness as it has in almost every post season he’s played in. His track record is very shaky as we all know.
With their red hot batters, the way Kershaw has pitched lately, I will be biting my nails every throw he makes. Doubling down with Ray gives the Dbacks their best chance of taking game 1 and really putting the Dodgers on the defensive from the get go. This is a must win game for both teams for different reasons. Dodgers are at their weakest right now, Dbacks at their strongest. I can see losing in 4. I can also see winning in 3 or 4 if they take the first game!! I wouldn’t bet a nickel on the Dodgers, though. My confidence is at its lowest since the beginning of this season when it was very low as they whimpered out of the starting gate. They are currently playing as bad as they did then. Whose got the lead for their pencils?
Jeff, I agree with you that the DBacks probably should have burned another starter like Corbin or Godfrey. They were up 6-0 (!) when Greinke ran into trouble. Even at 6-4, why Ray?
But I will take it because their bats are red hot and we need all the help we can get. Maybe it all works out for them anyways, maybe not, but if the DBacks lose in 5 you can bet that their decision to burn Ray in the wildcard game will be scrutinized.