In Episode 35, Brock & Ben debut the new, more sectionalized format of the podcast, beginning with observations on Brandon Belt’s improvement and the impressive pitching performances of the last week.  The guys then debut a new recurring segment designed to unpack and discuss the myriad advanced statistics that inform modern baseball.  This week’s focus is on pitcher strikeouts, specifically the evolution from strikeout rate (K/9) to strikeout percentage (K/PA).  While discussing strikeouts, Brock & Ben explore the recent league-wide spike in strikeouts and strikeout % and what factors might be contributing to this trend.  The guys round out the podcast with a discussion of umpire accountability and expanded replay and how MLB moves closer to what everyone wants: getting the calls right.

For further reading, here are the New York Times and Fangraphs articles referenced during the discussion on the recent rise in strikeouts/K %.

In Episode 34, Brock & Ben discuss the surprising starts – both good and bad – of the teams in the American League East, assessing the sustainability of strong Aprils for the Red Sox and Yankees and whether the struggling Rays and Blue Jays can turn it around.  The guys then turn their attention to quick-starters Colorado, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, wondering if any of them can exceed expectations of general mediocrity this season.

In Episode 33, Brock & Ben are joined by Jeff James to discuss the early season storylines for both L.A. teams.  Jeff provides some SoCal perspective on the Carlos Quentin-Zack Greinke brawl, the impact of the Greinke injury on the NL West race and the Dodger offense’s early season woes.  The guys then turn their focus south, discussing another slow start for the Los Angeles Angels.  The episode concludes with Brock & Jeff sharing their impressions of the new film 42 and the guys discussing Jackie Robinson’s career and legacy.

NOTE: The article Brock references in the discussion of 42 can be found here.

Pat Sullivan/AP

As a general rule, I tend to avoid watching bad teams (that aren’t my teams) play.  When watching on TV it’s a good rule, but when attending a game in person it’s close to black letter…or so I formerly believed.  The case against watching bad teams is a sensible one, one that essentially comes down to this: bad teams typically play bad baseball and bad baseball isn’t as enjoyable to watch as good baseball.  I – along with pretty much everyone else, a long time ago – had identified the opportunity cost of watching bad teams: some combination of inept offense, sloppy defense and subpar pitching frequently leading to long, lopsided contests.  It took me until 2013, however, to truly understand the flip side: the simple opportunity (cost-free!)  of going to see bad teams play baseball.

My understanding of the opportunity involved in watching bad teams began with the most obvious manifestation of that opportunity: the chance to be in the ballpark for a perfect game or a no-hitter.  My personal baseball grail (no matter how much more routine they become), the no-hitter/perfect game is more likely to come against a bad offense than a good one (though good offenses do get no-hit).  When Yu Darvish carried a perfect game into the final out against the Houston Astros on the third day of the 2013 season, a series of related thoughts ran through my mind.  First, I recalled Matt Cain throwing a perfect game against a stronger (or at least more recognizable) version of this Astros team last summer.  Second, I thought “this Astros team could be historically bad (and even worse than 2012′s 107-loss team).”  Third, I connected the dots: this 2013 Astros team have the potential to be no-hit on any given night.  Finally, it registered: with the Astros’ move to the American League West and my own proximity to one of the AL West’s other 4 members, I would have at least equal to the best chance of anyone living outside of Houston to see a a no-hitter or perfect game, with the Astros on the receiving end.

I already, by virtue of pre-purchasing $2 tickets to every Double Play Wednesday game at O.co Coliseum, had tickets to 2 of the 10 games the Astros would play in Oakland in 2013.  Realizing the rare opportunity created by 1) a team in complete rebuilding mode 2) almost entirely focused on the future and largely disinterested in creating even the impression of trying to compete 3) moving into a considerably more difficult division and league, I hastily decided to quintuple down on my initial investment and buy tickets to the remaining 8 Astros-A’s games in Oakland.  I was in for the season series!

As the Astros first visit approached, I started sharing my plan with the few people I know who could appreciate such an ambitious commitment to bad baseball.  As I did, I began to realize that, in opening myself up to the Houston Astros, I was opening myself up to so much more than just the chance at a perfect game or a no-hitter.  Baseball is a game of rare feats and meticulous curation and many of the historical anomalies that dot the sport’s vibrant past are far more unique and rare than a mere perfect game or no-hitter.  I set out to witness the pinnacle of pitching achievement, but now understood I might see something even more magical.  A 20-strikeout game?  Sure.  Darvish struck out 14 in his near-perfect game.  Alexi Ogando struck out 10 the following night (in 6 1/3 IP) and Matt Harrison struck out 9 in the season opener (in 5 2/3 IP).  The Rangers pitching staff struck out 15 and 13 in those games respectively (and 15 total in Darvish’s start).  In fact, the Astros struck out 13-plus times in 5 of their first 6 games.  A cycle?  Quite possibly.  Slightly rarer than the no-hitter, and perhaps more exciting for the offense-inclined.  Even 2 grand slams in one inning could be in play.  In other words, every time I go to the Coliseum and watch the Houston Astros this year, there is a good chance that something will happen that has only rarely – or possibly never – happened before in baseball history.

Another wrinkle of 10 games with the Astros, I discovered as my mind continued inflating the potential benefits of this scheme, would be the chance to track the progress and development of a team in total transition.  The schedule-makers gave me a gift when it came to fulfilling my Astros completism.  The A’s host the Astros in Oakland for 3 games in mid-April, 3 games in mid-August and 4 games in early September.  That means I get to behold the Astros in all their stripped-down glory, then get to revisit the club as the season progresses and Houston (presumably) completes its roster teardown by shipping out anything not bolted down (I’m looking at you, Bud Norris) for prospects.  The Astros second trip to Oakland falls almost exactly halfway between the non-waiver and waiver trade deadlines, meaning there could well be several new faces compared with those I see in April.  The final series between the two teams occurs just after rosters expand, meaning those 4 games in early September may feature early looks at some of the young players the ‘Stros have acquired over the last three years.  Injuries, trades and roster moves mean most MLB teams have some variation in the way their lineups and pitching staffs look during the course of a season.  But only rarely do we see a team’s roster undergo drastic changes in personnel from April to September.  The 2013 Houston Astros have the potential to do just that this year.

So I had my plan and I had my reasons.  But there is no way I can subjecting myself to the potential agony of ineptitude for the elusive probability of catching a perfect game or no-hitter alone.  The odds – while better in watching 10 Astros games as opposed to 10 Rangers games – are still against my efforts being rewarded with a perfect game/no-hitter.  There had to be a surer payoff.  Hence the series I’m introducing you to today: Front Row for Futility.  I’ll be chronicling every quirky beat of my 10 attempts at catching perfection (0r its polar opposite) in a bottle, sharing all the novel outcomes that result from an extreme competitive imbalance between two teams.  Enjoy!

In Episode 29, Brock & Ben discuss the Brewers signing Kyle Lohse, the Yankees trading for Vernon Wells and preview the American League Central.

In Episode 28, Brock and Ben say goodbye to the 2013 World Baseball Classic and continue moving eastward with their preview of the National League Central.

In a very special episode, Dan returns to The Baseball Diaspora Podcast to break down the American League West with Brock & Ben.  The guys discuss the latest developments from the World Baseball Classic, including Team USA’s outlook, the Canada-Mexico brawl and Samurai Japan’s offensive awakening.  The discussion then turns to the AL West, where the guys ask & answer:

- Will the Oakland A’s build upon their 2012 success & return to the playoffs?

- How does Bob Melvin find handle the positional surplus the A’s project at catcher, in the outfield and at 2B, 3B & SS?

- Will the Houston Astros be an historically bad team in 2013?

- Is the Astros’ complete rebuilding a positive or negative for the young players on the team?

- How do the Texas Rangers replace the production they lose with the departure of Josh Hamilton?

- Where does Jurickson Profar fit on the Rangers this year and how will they get him into the lineup?

- Have the Seattle Mariners’ modest upgrades moved them into contention in the AL West?

- Did the Mariners make the right decision in extending Felix Hernandez with a record-setting contract?

- Have the Los Angeles Angels misstepped in handling Mike Trout’s salary and position this offseason?

- How will Josh Hamilton fit with the Angels and will he prove the missing piece that gets the Angels to the playoffs after falling short last season?

- Is it possible that 3 AL West teams make the playoffs this year?

I’m not entirely sure this is the way I want to open the 2013 for the blog portion of The Baseball Diaspora, but then the Union army would probably like a do-over for the first couple years of the Civil War, too.  Sometimes things just work out a certain way.  So I’m kicking off 2013 not by celebrating baseball in all of it’s multi-faceted glory, but by complaining about a minor obstruction to my complete enjoyment of same.

There’s an entity known as The Sports Scheduling Group and, since 2005 they have constructed Major League Baseball’s schedule every season (with the exception of 2007).  I’m sure that scheduling 162 games for all 30 teams is a balancing act requiring a high degree of skill and creativity.  And for the most part, I can’t find a lot of room to complain.  The operative words there are “for the most part.”

In 2011, The Sports Scheduling Group did me a major disservice as a Cardinals fan living in the Bay Area.  They scheduled the Cardinals only visit to AT&T Park for the Giants’ first home series of the season.  This series included (and includes, for every team, every season) the home opener, always a tough ticket.  2011 wasn’t just any season, though.  The Giants were celebrating their first ever San Francisco World Series title and that opening series was even bigger than usual.  Presenting the trophy, raising the flag, presenting the World Series rings, all of this took place in the first two games of the series.  Understandably, a lot of Giants fans wanted to be on hand to celebrate.  Ticket prices, predictably, skyrocketed.  I sat that series out as a result and ended up not seeing the Cardinals at all during the 2011 regular season.

Fast forward to 2013.  Another Giants World Series win, another injustice.  Guess who is making their only trip to AT&T Park for the Giants’ first home series once again this season.  None other.  The Cardinals get the “honor” of enduring another series-full of self-adulation, only this time it’s even worse.  Not only did the Giants play their way to their second World Series title in three years by overcoming a 3-1 series deficit against the Cardinals, but the ticket prices are even more outrageous for the 2013 opening series than they were in 2011.  We’re relying a little on my memory here, but here is a comparison of the cost of the cheapest available tickets to the opening series in 2011 vs. 2013:

Game          2011 Price (Approx.)          2013 Price (Giants)          2013 Price (Resale)

Game 1          ~$100                                         Unavailable*                        $142

Game 2           $50-$100**                            $70                                          $75

Game 3           ~$50                                           $69                                           $73.50

*Tickets to the home opener are typically unavailable as single game tickets from the Giants.

**Memory’s a tricky thing.

For the sake of comparison, here are the prices of the cheapest available tickets for the next two 2013 home series for the Giants, vs. the Rockies and Padres:

Game          Rockies (Monday-Wednesday)          Padres (Friday-Sunday)

Game 1          $8                                                                   $17.25

Game 2          $24.25                                                          $25

Game 3          $8                                                                   $25

You may point out that the opening series is going to cost more across the board, regardless of the team or the outcome of their previous season, and I don’t disagree with that.  What I disagree with is that the schedule sends a non-division opponent for its only visit to a particular city during one of the most popular – and most expensive – series of the season.  The schedule has the Cardinals performing this feat twice this year, visiting Arizona for the Diamondbacks’ first series as well.  What, the Rockies or Padres weren’t available?  If the schedulers had switched the Rockies and Cardinals series, the Giants probably actually make more money.  They still get to charge the opening series premium against an inferior opponent, then can turn around and charge considerably more than $8 for the Cardinals games given the quality of the team and the recent NLCS memories.  Same thing goes for the Padres.  The Cardinals could easily command more than $25 the following weekend while the Padres would do little to suppress the excitement – and ticket prices – for the opening series.

Maybe this time around I break down and pay the premium to go to one of these Cards-Giants games.  At the very least, my hardship is offset by the fact that the Cardinals make their first visit to Oakland since I moved to the Bay Area.  But still, give a diaspora fan a break, Sports Scheduling Group!  Stick to divisional matchups for opening series.  Fans of those divisional rivals will have ample opportunities to see that team later in the season, fans of teams that make a single visit a year will be able to watch their team without going into hock and I’m pretty sure the teams will do OK at the box office for that first series regardless.

One final thought before I dismount my soapbox of triviality and First World problems: as I said before, I didn’t see the Cardinals at all during the 2011 regular season.  I attended my first non-Spring Training Cardinals game that year in St. Louis…it was Game 7 of the World Series.  If the Cardinals win it all again this season, I will be happy to fully retract my criticism of The Sports Scheduling Group and invite them to send the Cardinals to San Francisco for the Giants’ home opener every single year.

In Episode 24, Brock & Ben turn their attention to the upcoming World Baseball Classic.  After briefly discussing the Curtis Granderson injury and what it means for the Yankees in 2013 and beyond, it’s 100% WBC!  The guys provide a brief primer of the history, rules and format of the tournament, then break down the rosters pool by pool.  To wrap up, Brock & Ben put their reputations on the line, predicting the 2013 World Baseball Classic from the First Round to the Championship game.

For more on the World Baseball Classic, check out the WBC’s website.

Special thanks goes to Yahoo! Sports’ Big League Stew.  Their team-by-team WBC previews were indispensable in preparing us for this episode.

In Episode 23, Brock & Ben spend a little while discussing the issues of the day, specifically Kyle Lohse and baseball’s arbitration shutout, before turning to weightier topics.  Returning to offseason storylines, the guys spend the rest of the podcast discussing the ghosts of PEDs past, present and future and how to deal with steroids both in the context of the Hall of Fame and in the game going forward.

In Episode 22, Brock bids a heartfelt farewell to Dan’s regular involvement with the podcast and welcomes new co-host Ben Stein.  After establishing Ben’s diaspora credentials, the guys turn their attention to the concluding offseason, focusing specifically on issues of baseball economics, injuries and medical advances and the impending World Baseball Classic.  Topics include:

- How the big pitching deals of the offseason stack up both against past long-term, high-dollar pitching contracts and the mega-contracts given to hitters in recent years in terms of advisability and value

- Whether the rising cost of quality pitching will result in teams locking up their young aces (or potential aces) long-term early in their careers (a la Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki and a slew of other young position players)

- If the rising cost of pitching is responsible for a recent willingness to deal top prospects (Wil Myers, Travis D’Arnaud) to net quality starters on team-friendly contracts (James Shields, R.A. Dickey)

- What the Myers, D’Arnaud and Trevor Bauer trades mean for the recent standard practice of holding onto top prospects and whether we will see more major league-ready prospects traded in the near future

- What role personality plays in organizational thinking with respect to its players and prospects and whether Arizona mishandled its unloading of Bauer, Justin Upton and Chris Young

- The advance of medical technology and how it is impacting baseball contracts, making the “pending physical” much more than a mere formality

- Whether the use of enhanced medical capabilities to not only spot current injuries but to project future risk may present a future labor problem as more players have the experience shared by Mike Napoli and Francisco Liriano and lose guaranteed money and guaranteed years as a result of more heightened medical scrutiny

- Injuries and the World Baseball Classic and whether it’s time for MLB to step in to remove some of the barriers to the participation of some of the game’s top talents

- What it will take for the WBC to rise to the level of prestige and participation of the World Cup

and

- Who is missing from Team USA that would most enhance the team in terms of both quality on the field and star quality?

In Episode 21, things are curious and unnatural on The Baseball Diaspora.  Due to the lingering effects of the sinister confluence of Halloween and a San Francisco Giants World Series Parade, Brock is joined not by Dan, the ardent anti-Giant, but bizarro Dan – Dan Lerner – a lifelong diaspora Giants fan.  San Fran Dan takes Brock through the 2012 Postseason experience before the two look ahead to the Giants’ offseason and the NL MVP race.  Topics include:

- Which component of the Giants’ winning formula was most indispensable to the team’s success in the postseason.

- The Giants player most deserving of the MVP award for the entire postseason.

- What play or moment stood out as the most memorable for Giants fans from an October full of remarkable games?

- Dan’s road warrior experience in the 2010 and 2012 playoffs, following the Giants to Atlanta, Texas and St. Louis, and favorite memories from those trips.

- How the 2012 World Series compared to 2010 for Giants fans and, from a more general perspective, can you ever top the first World Series your team wins in your lifetime?

- The 2012 Giants team compared to the 2010 team and which will be remembered more fondly.

- What the future holds for the Giants: continued playoff success or a drop-off due to stiffer competition within the division?

- The Giants’ fan’s wishlist for the offseason: does the team build upon its success by keeping the team largely intact?  Add outside talent through free agency or trade?  Both?  Neither?

The guys close out the podcast by discussing the NL MVP race between Buster Posey and Yadier Molina, whether the race is closer than most people think and how to adequately factor defense and base running into the MVP calculus.

While the focus is on the 2012 World Champs, Brock is able to work the St. Louis Cardinals into the conversation at regular intervals.

This episode goes out to Dan (the original), his wife Rachel and the certain A’s fan daughter who they should be welcoming very soon!

NOTES:

The Bill James book Brock completely blanked on the name of is The Politics of Glory: How Baseball’s Hall of Fame Really Works

The ESPN article Brock & Dan discuss during the brief discussion of the AL MVP race is this one by Peter Keating (sorry, it’s an Insider piece)…

…and here is an evisceration of Keating’s argument that I found when searching for the original article

Peter G. Aiken/USA Today Sports

The last two games of the 2012 NLCS have had the trappings of deja vu.  In Game 5, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn hit an invisible wall in the 4th inning and – as in Game 1 of the series – had to be relieved before recording 12 outs.  In Game 6, the St. Louis defense again failed Chris Carpenter and while he gave up 5 runs (just like in Game 2), only 2 of them were earned (again, just like in Game 2).  The pitching lines from first start to second start have a facsimile quality: not a perfect recreation, but pretty damn similar, especially for Carpenter.  Take a look:

Lance Lynn

Game 1:3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Game 5: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (considering Lynn’s own error caused all of his runs in Game 5 to be unearned evens out that particular discrepancy for me)

Chris Carpenter

Game 2: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Game 6: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Over on the Giants side, Ryan Vogelsong had a little deja vu of his own in last night’s Game 6.  Like Carpenter and Lynn, he struck out more hitters in his second outing this series, but otherwise the numbers were nearly identical:

Game 2: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Game 6: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Cardinals fans are hoping that deja vu holds serve tonight in Game 7 and Kyle Lohse continues to perform the way he has throughout the 2012 regular season and postseason (and specific to this series, in Game 3 of the NLCS):

Lohse in the 2012 postseason: 18.1 IP, 15 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 13 K

Giants fans, meanwhile, are hoping for Matt Cain to defy deja vu, rebound from a tough Game 3 loss and lead his team to the World Series in front of what is certain to be a frenzied home crowd:

Cain in the 2012 postseason: 17.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 11 K

Of course, the two teams – and their two fanbases – have opposing perspectives with respect to historical deja vu, as well.  In franchise history, the Giants have never won a Game 7.  Not once.  The team is 0-5, including a Game 7 loss to the Cardinals in the 1987 NLCS.  The Cardinals, on the other hand, are 11-4 all time in Game 7′s.  So while the Cardinals and their fans are looking for a little Game 7 deja vu, the Giants and theirs are looking for the beginning of a new team trend.

Deja vu doesn’t always cut just one way, though.  Although St. Louis has had a good deal of success in Game 7′s throughout the team’s storied history, the Cardinals will be holding their breath and hoping to avoid a fourth Game 7 loss in a series they at one point led 3 games to 1.  Those series – the 1968 World Series, the 1985 World Series and the 1996 NLCS – are some of the most bitter for longtime fans.  This 2012 NLCS would surely join them in the minds of Cardinals fans as another peak of wasted opportunity.  The one time the Cardinals did go up 3-1, lose the series lead, but then prevail in a Game 7, though, they ended up ending the Impossible Dream of another postseason darling (the 1967 Red Sox).  So there is a template.  Then again, 13 of the last 14 teams to win a Game 6 to force a Game 7 at home went on to win that Game 7.  That is another trend the Cardinals hope to buck tonight, while the Giants will be looking to reinforce the heavy home team skew of those outcomes.

I, for one, will be at home pulling for the right kind of deja vu.  In case we’re unclear, that’s the one where Kyle Lohse holds the Giants offense in check, the Cardinals bats come alive at least enough to scratch a few tough runs out against Matt Cain, the St. Louis bullpen continues to build on its strong postseason body of work and the Cardinals find themselves back in a familiar place…the World Series.

In Episode 20, Brock & Dan look back at the memorable 2012 Division Series, then turn their attention to the League Championship Series currently in progress.  In typical TBD fashion, the topics of discussion hew closely to the teams closest to the guys’ hearts.  Topics include:

- The impressive showing by the Oakland crowd in the ALDS and what it means for the future of baseball in Oakland

- The daily grind and mental exhaustion of attending three tense playoff games on three consecutive nights

- The almost complete lack of offense in the AL games this postseason and what the root causes might be

- The amazing ending to the NLDS series between Washington and St. Louis and the Cardinal’s continued cool in pressure situations

- The Cardinals lineup and bullpen and whether they are the deepest remaining in the postseason

- The Division Series losers – Baltimore, Oakland, Cincinnati and Washington – and whether to expect a playoff return or a regression in 2013

- The American League Championship Series and whether it is already over

- How to choose a rooting interest after your team has been eliminated from the playoffs

- The reception by Giants fans of a Cardinals fan at Game 2 of the NLCS in San Francisco and a couple minor critiques of Giants fans

- The controversy surrounding Matt Holliday’s hard, late slide in Game 2 and whether MLB needs to investigate ways to better protect middle infielders from injury

- Whether either team in the NLCS actually wants a series lead, given both teams’ recent playoff success and performance in elimination games

The guys conclude by re-picking the ALCS, NLCS and World Series and picking ALCS, NLCS and World Series MVPs.

AP Photo/Nick Wass

One last strike.  That’s the refrain that kept running through my head last night as the St. Louis Cardinals stepped to the brink of elimination.  Twice.  Again.  I may even have spoken the words out loud once or twice, an idle prayer for reprise to fill the tense seconds.

“And a foul ball out of play and now the Cardinals down to their last strike,” said Dick Stockton as Drew Storen went 2-2 on Yadier Molina.  The situation was certainly familiar, but the likelihood of another 11th hour comeback seemed more than a little unlikely.

“Good pitch in on the fists.  Freese getting the fastball and fouls it…so it’s one ball and two strikes and again the Cardinals down to their last strike.”  Dick Stockton again and this time the protagonist was familiar as well as the situation.  Still, how many times do the Nationals and Cardinals pick up that same game in the top of the 9th inning, St. Louis down 7-5 and Washington exits with the win?

As with Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, though, it was only this iteration of that 9th inning that mattered, and Molina and Freese both passed that final strike along, walking back-to-back to load the bases for the offensive engines of this NLDS, Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma.

Descalso’s first-pitch, 2-run single tied the score.  Kozma followed with a 2-run single of his own that put the Cardinals up – for the first time since Game 3 – 9-7.  Jason Motte retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to send the Cardinals back to the NLCS.

I, of course, am a Cardinals fan, but not an unreasonable one.  I picked the Redbirds to win the NL Wild Card, but was far from confident in the team’s ability to actually do it.  My confidence was such that I picked the Washington Nationals to win not only the NLDS (before their opponent was set), but the NL pennant as well.  Shows what I know.

The rational mind understands that the 2012 Cardinals are not the same team as the one that stormed back to squeak into the 2011 postseason, then went all the way in highly entertaining fashion.  Tony La Russa is gone.  Dave Duncan is gone.  Albert Pujols is gone.  Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal went down with injuries before the season ended.  Jaime Garcia went down in Game 2 of this series.  Edwin Jackson was pitching for the Cardinals’ NLDS opponent.  Octavio Dotel was playing in the ALDS and Marc Rzepczynski and Fernando Salas – critical to the Cardinals’ success in 2011 – have been unreliable in leverage situations and consequently marginalized in large part this postseason.

On the other hand, Allen Craig and David Freese have continued to hit this October, Carlos Beltran has nearly singlehandedly replaced the production of Pujols and Berkman thus far and Descalso and Kozma have come through when the heart of the Cardinals’ order has not…and at times when it has, too.  Chris Carpenter continues to add to his postseason legend, while Kyle Lohse has been a completely different pitcher than the one who allowed 11 earned runs in 12.2 innings in 3 postseason starts in 2011 (he has allowed only 3 ER in 12.2 innings pitched in 2 starts in the Wild Card and NLDS rounds in 2012).  The bullpen has again been an asset, but the names and faces have changed almost entirely.  Whereas 2011 was the domain of Dotel, Salas, Rzepczynski, Arthur Rhodes, Lance Lynn and Jason Motte, in 2012 the road to Motte has been paved with Mitchell Boggs, Edward Mujica, Trevor Rosenthal and Joe Kelly.*

*Lance Lynn has also contributed out of the bullpen in the 2012 postseason, but with Garcia’s injury and Jake Westbrook’s unavailability – also due to injury – Lynn will be starting going forward.

In spite of the loss of franchise icons and future Hall of Famers, though, and despite the inevitable roster changes that every MLB team undergoes season-to-season, this 2012 team has proven remarkably similar to its 2011 counterpart in at least one way.  The team remains a very tough out in postseason play.  They have their work cut out for them in the next series, facing a San Francisco Giants team that has similarly defied expectations in recent seasons to win the 2010 World Series and advance to this year’s NLCS after losing their only two home games to open their NLDS matchup against Cincinnati.

As though I learned nothing from last season (that rational mind again), I continue to doubt this Cardinals team.  And they continue to prove me wrong.  I worried when they let Game 1 slip away thanks to a questionable pitching matchup in the late innings.  I worried again when they failed to close out Washington in Game 4.  I obviously worried when Adam Wainwright got shelled, ceding 6 runs in 2.1 innings in Game 5.  Even after the Cardinals had pulled to within a run, I worried that it would be too little, too late.  And now I worry about San Francisco.  A team that shouldn’t still be playing is a frightening opponent in October, but I guess the Giants fans are subject to the same concern.  Here’s hoping the Cardinals continue to prove me wrong.

Other Thoughts on the Division Series

- Five Alive! – After the wave of sweeps baseball fans endured just a couple seasons ago in the first round – prompting thoughtful fans to question whether it wouldn’t be better to reduce the number of playoff teams – it was delightful to see all 4 NLDS series go 5 games.  For those of you scoring at home, when you take the two Wild Card games into consideration, we have already witnessed 12 elimination games in the 2012 postseason.  Even in an eventful 2011 postseason, there were only 13 elimination games played…total.

- Aces being Aces – While no one will dispute that Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia are outstanding pitchers, their postseason performance has largely failed to live up to the standards of excellence and consistency they have set in the regular season during their careers.  Take a look at the numbers:

Verlander

Career:  1553.2 IP 3.40 ERA 1.17 WHIP 8.4 K/9 2.7 BB/9

Postseason pre-2012: 42 IP 5.57 ERA 1.55 WHIP 10.3 K/9 4.3 BB/9

Sabathia

Career:  2564.1 IP 3.50 ERA 1.22 WHIP 7.8 K/9 2.7 BB/9

Postseason pre-2012:  86 IP 4.81 ERA 1.62 WHIP 8.7 K/9 4.8 BB/9

Now look at their respective performances in the 2012 ALDS:

Verlander: 16.2 IP 0.56 ERA 0.75 WHIP 22 K 5 BB 7 H 1 ER 2 W

Sabathia: 17.2 1.53 ERA 0.85 WHIP 16 K 3 BB 12 H 3 ER 2 W

And to think, we may get to see these two face off twice in the ALCS.

- Let’s Go Oakland! – This warrants a separate post entirely (one I will hopefully write), but I want to take a moment here to commemorate just what a spectacular season the Oakland A’s had and just how special the end of the season/postseason were to behold at O.co Coliseum.  As someone who has been to a lot of sparsely-attended A’s games over the past 6 seasons, to see the place come alive for the final series of the regular season and the three home games of the ALDS was incredible.  I went to 5 games between Monday 10/1 and Thursday 10/11 and every one of them was packed, every one of them was loud and every one of them was awesome.  Thank you A’s and thank you A’s fans.