Who wins the second wild card?

[BackUpTheTruck]

Assuming BOS/NYY wins the first wild card, who takes the second wild card?

Angels and Rays left out as an option, they sold at the deadline for a reason.

[CanadianHalo]

I’m rooting for Oakland.

Literally everyone looked at their roster at the beginning of the year and laughed so it would be pretty cool to see them get it

[kevinb]

I agree I want Oakland to win. They have a 7 dollar payroll. That would be awesome. Beane is absolutely fantastic with what cash he’s available to work with. I have always wanted to see what he could do with a top 5 payroll but I imagine it would be similar to Epstein. 

[Lou]

Beane won 212 games from 2015-2017

[Dick B Back]

You know there is the possibility that both OAK and SEA finish with better records than the Skanks. 

[BackUpTheTruck]

12 minutes ago, Dick B Back said:

You know there is the possibility that both OAK and SEA finish with better records than the Skanks. 

The same possibility that the Angels clinch the second wild card spot?

Yankees are winning the World Series this year.

[floplag]

Oak, i cant see Sea doing it with a negative run differential. 

[disarcina]

Seattle tanking.

Oakland rising.

[Inside Pitch]

2 hours ago, Kevinb said:

I agree I want Oakland to win. They have a 7 dollar payroll. That would be awesome. Beane is absolutely fantastic with what cash he’s available to work with. I have always wanted to see what he could do with a top 5 payroll but I imagine it would be similar to Epstein. 

Ever heard him talk about the guys he would have kept (Or signed), had he been given the money needed to make the moves he liked?   Turns out his lack of payroll has kept him from making the same sort of mistakes other GMs do.  When it's all said and done -- the parameters set upon him have shielded him from making mistakes that would have tarnished his image as a genius.   

Dude's good, but he's essentially been Sandy Alderson part 2, minus Sandy's WS rings.  It was Sandy Alderson that introduced moneyball to the A's, not Beane -- he was handed the blueprint and ran with it, he was also incredibly lucky to have struck gold with the Big Three.   If you compare the work Alderson did in his return to a MLB front office, first in SD and then with the Mets -- it's not really hard to pick who the real genius is.

[kevinb]

I get it no ones perfect. Look at Epstein with the Cubs he’s made some bad signings as well. Just that his teams continue to compete even w a lack of payroll. Didn’t want to quote u figured yours was long didn’t wanna take up half a page quoting you. @Inside Pitch

[WeatherWonk]

3 hours ago, CanadianHalo said:

I’m rooting for Oakland.

Literally everyone looked at their roster at the beginning of the year and laughed so it would be pretty cool to see them get it

Actually, many pundits/writers whatever, had them being a sleeper team. Everyone knew they would hit, but they also didnt know that Graveman and Cotton would need TJ. Their losses have been somewhat mitigated by the emergence of Treinen and Trivino. 

I like OAK to extend the playoff drought of the M's, too.

[Glen]

3 hours ago, Lou said:

Beane won 212 games from 2015-2017

He sounds like a helluva pitcher. We need to sign him.

[Inside Pitch]

As far as the poll.... Baseball is weird....  No clue who ends up winning, but I'm rooting for Oakland.

[Inside Pitch]

9 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Actually, many pundits/writers whatever, had them being a sleeper team. Everyone knew they would hit, but they also didnt know that Graveman and Cotton would need TJ. Their losses have been somewhat mitigated by the emergence of Treinen and Trivino. 

I like OAK to extend the playoff drought of the M's, too.

I had the Oakland as my team to watch (or surprise), in the predictions thread.... I also had the Angels missing the playoffs.   Still a moron though because I had the Twins getting in.  

[Tank]

Im pulling for Oakland.

[Lou]

31 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

As far as the poll.... Baseball is weird....  No clue who ends up winning, but I'm rooting for Oakland.

I agree

[tomsred]

Oakland has looked very consistent after a slow start.  I too would like to see them edge out the Mariners.  I think they caught them tonight in the wild card standings.  I don't consider Beane as much a genius as I do a survivor.  If sixteen years ago he would have went to Boston, he would probably have been fired by now.  Who knows for sure though, LOL.

[Troll Daddy]

Houston 

[Puget Sound Angel]

As easy as most of May and June was for the Mariners schedule wise, August will be just as brutal.

[Dick B Back]

11 hours ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

The same possibility that the Angels clinch the second wild card spot?

Yankees are winning the World Series this year.

We shall see... I don’t see the Skanks even making it to the World Series. I’d say it will either be Houston or Cleveland making it to the WS from the AL.

[GrittyVeterans]

9 hours ago, Kevinb said:

I get it no ones perfect. Look at Epstein with the Cubs he’s made some bad signings as well. Just that his teams continue to compete even w a lack of payroll. Didn’t want to quote u figured yours was long didn’t wanna take up half a page quoting you. @Inside Pitch

Actually Epstein and Friedman are the two executives in the league I would say are damn near perfect. Not every move works out for them but the thought process is always sound 99% of the time. I know he signed Heyward and it’s been disappointing but he was a 26 year old FA so I understood going for him. 

And their teams are always contenders

i have more respect for Billy Beane than most people here but he’s made a few blunders where the thought process was very questionable

[stormngt]

13 hours ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

Assuming BOS/NYY wins the first wild card, who takes the second wild card?

Angels and Rays left out as an option, they sold at the deadline for a reason.

I thought the wildcard was settled in June? Wasnt that what we were told?

[BackUpTheTruck]

1 hour ago, Dick B Back said:

We shall see... I don’t see the Skanks even making it to the World Series. I’d say it will either be Houston or Cleveland making it to the WS from the AL.

Yankees: Best bullpen, elite offense.

Red Sox: Elite bullpen, elite offense.

Cleveland: Good team in bad division. 

Houston: Best rotation, great offense, decent bullpen. Hard to repeat.

Oakland: Not enough starting pitching, team too young.

Yankees better than Dodgers or Cubs.

[WeatherWonk]

1 hour ago, stormngt said:

I thought the wildcard was settled in June? Wasnt that what we were told?

Paraphrasing the old adage, you can't win a WC spot in June, but you can lose it.

The Angels havent so much lost it in May, June and July (where they are only a few games below .500), as much as two teams zoomed past them.

Usually, being right around .500 puts you in contention for at least the second WC spot. Not this year, unless things change dramatically.

[Angel Oracle]

2 hours ago, Dick B Back said:

We shall see... I don’t see the Skanks even making it to the World Series.  I’d say it will either be Houston or Cleveland Boston making it to the WS from the AL.

FIFY

And that will be the true WS.