Go Team Chaos!

October 3, 2021 7:54 AM

It's the last scheduled day of the regular season in Major League Baseball and every game will be played starting simultaneously at 3 pm Eastern. The AL Wild Card and the NL West are still up for grabs and a bewildering array of two, three, and even four way ties and resulting tiebreaker games is on the table. Root for your favorite team, or just root for chaos.
posted by DirtyOldTown (52 comments total)

Today is a good day to use the quad screen option in the MLB.tv desktop app.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:55 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

Rooting for the Mariners IS rooting for chaos. goms!
posted by rouftop at 7:56 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]

If I am tracking things correctly, for maximum chaos, you'd want the Giants to lose and the Dodgers to win, setting up game 163 in the NL West. That's the simple part. Fun, but not the real draw here.

The next piece--and this is the really good entropy above everything part--you'd want one of the following scenarios: either the Red Sox or Yankees win and the other loses, then the Mariners and Jays both win, thus making a three way tie for the second wild card; or either the Jays or Mariners lose (with the other winning) and the Yankees and Red Sox to both lose, thus making a three way tie for two wild card slots.

This second part would result in two days of tiebreakers and play-ins to settle the AL Wild Card.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:05 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]

My favorite team, the Chicago Cubs will have nothing to do with playoff outcomes today, but their game can still easily contribute to chaos.

The Cubs have already tied a Major League record in 2021 with 67 players being used during a single season. As of last night, the team has lost additional players to the we-can't-say-it's-COVID-but-the-paperwork-makes-it-clear-it's-COVID list and have promoted various AAA journeymen to take their places. (They're up to five now.)

They could easily sneak in one additional players to set the record at 68, or two to end up with a very nice total of 69.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:14 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]

Sorry O's, but now is no time to win a game. 110 losses is a nice round number, and not as bad as 2018. Go Blue Jays! Suck it, Boston and NY!
posted by the primroses were over at 8:20 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]

I'm a Red Sox fan but no small part of me was hoping to see the Blue Jays and the Mariners sneak into the wild card game. As it stands, I fall back on my usual position: I hope everyone wins but the Yankees.
posted by synecdoche at 8:38 AM on October 3, 2021 [7 favorites]

27 time World Champion, NY Yankees!

What a season of wild ups and wild downs. Last game Ken Singleton is announcing before his, for real this time, retirement. He is such a good announcer and a true gentleman. I will be setting my DVR.
posted by AugustWest at 8:43 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have lived most of my life happily avoiding baseball, but my partner is such a big Jays fan I can't avoid exposure to the odd game and now I'm starting to recognize players' names and recognize pitching styles etc. Let this be a cautionary tale. Also, go Jays.
posted by elkevelvet at 8:51 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

As a Pirates fan, this day has finally come, and the losing can end.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:53 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]

Ok Blaseball, time to step up your game.
posted by Jacen at 8:56 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

Were it not my partner's birthday, I'd likely travel to Toronto to see game 162, even though they're not my team. The big game atmosphere of the Rogers Centre is second-to-none. That place is going to be crazy, crazy hype.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:00 AM on October 3, 2021

Apropos of nothing but I actually read a headline that said the problem with the MLB was that too many teams lose too often.
posted by Max Power at 9:12 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

2011 all over again!
posted by indianbadger1 at 9:25 AM on October 3, 2021

The Rays are in the driver's seat so I don't care what happens but I'd love to see the Yankees and Red Sox lose. With that said, Toronto could give the Rays fits in the post season. I'd be happy for the Mariners since they haven't seen the post season in two decades.

(I've been remote photo editing for the Rays and it has been an absolute blast. It's some of the best baseball I've ever seen by a team of legit rookies.)
posted by photoslob at 9:28 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

As a Pirates fan, I’m just going to sit here and stew about cheap owners.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:36 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

As a lifelong Ms fan, I don't know what to do with my hands. Let's Goooooooooooo!
posted by calamari kid at 9:46 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]

A shame that Jon Bois already finished his Stupid Weird History of the Seattle Mariners because one way or the other this will probably have belonged in there.
posted by saturday_morning at 10:03 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

And, of course, the only one of today’s games that matter available on cable to me is the Dodgers game. No Giants game here in Indy. I can watch a very meaningless Reds-Pirates game, and an equally meaningless Cubs-Cards game.

The usual sports channels are showing a combo of football, horse racing, soccer, some dumb pre-fight garbage, nascar, etc.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:51 AM on October 3, 2021

It's been years since I followed the M's, but have been watching the highlight reels on youtube for the last month or so. It's been so long since I followed I cannot get over finding the friggin Houston Astros in the AL West. That's just not right.
posted by maxwelton at 11:00 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]

Thorzdad, get MLB.tv on the natural plan for $107 a year and NordVPN on their annual plan for $60 a year. Before you turn on a game, log in on Nord from a city not in the blackout zone for either team. Guaranteed success for less than $14 a month. Assuming you have good internet. And a PC you can connect to a TV.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021

*annual not natural
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:09 AM on October 3, 2021

I’m a born and raised Red Sox fan but the fact that they’ve been playing like it’s mid-season and there’s still a long way to go rather than playing like it’s September/October makes it hard to feel like they deserve to play in the postseason. Which isn’t to say, of course, that I’m not rooting for them; more to say that I can see why people would root against them.

ETA: Regarding mlb.tv, I got it free from T-Mobile this year and was surprised to discover they’d finally worked out letting people stream the tv coverage but with the radio coverage audio. Trying to sync them up manually was the great headache in the old days.
posted by bixfrankonis at 11:20 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

Yeah, no, thanks. I like baseball, but not enough to throw a bunch of bucks and fiddly tech at it just to watch a handful of games a year.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:20 AM on October 3, 2021

This is honestly one of the weirdest years in baseball. Gotta love it.
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:21 PM on October 3, 2021

Mariners won... I have no idea what this means, but it is a fact.
posted by hippybear at 12:25 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

M's are losing in the 3rd. Blue Jays are destroying the Orioles (as teams do) and seem pretty comfortable. Red Sox down 2-0, Yanks have escaped multiple jams, Giants and Dodgers games going the wrong way (for those of us on Team Entropy).
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:26 PM on October 3, 2021

I’m a born and raised Red Sox fan but the fact that they’ve been playing like it’s mid-season and there’s still a long way to go rather than playing like it’s September/October makes it hard to feel like they deserve to play in the postseason.

Yeah, they don't really feel like a playoff team to me. I didn't expect them to be here at the start of the season, but they had such a good first half that they've been able to just sort of hang around. I don't think they have what it takes to make it very far though, if they do manage to squeak past the Wild Card game. (I'm also kind of troubled by the apparent anti-vax position of a couple of key players on the team, and that they didn't reach the 85% threshold, and based on that I am also kind of feeling like they don't deserve to be in the playoffs either.)

Meanwhile, the Jays are all kinds of fun to watch and I think if they got hot enough they are capable of beating anyone. But if the Sox, Jays, and M's all end up coming up short I guess I'll look for an NL team to root for. (Probably the Brewers?)
posted by synecdoche at 1:50 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

Cubs brought in Tyler Payne to pinch hit, making him the 68th player they've used in one season, the new record. Joe Biagini is unused in the pen, has a chance to be #69.

Meanwhile, the Jays are running away with their game, as are the Giants, which makes the likely Dodgers win irrelevant. Mariners and Red Sox losing but not out, Yanks game is scoreless into the seventh. Looking like we might get a Sox-Jays 163 tomorrow, but the extreme chaos scenarios mostly are looking unlikely.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:59 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

And there's #69. Niiiiiiiice.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:20 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]

This was literally the most boring possible outcome.

There were 16 different possible outcomes and only in three were there no extra games. We got one of those.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:52 PM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]

synecdoche, I basically co-sign that entire Sox paragraph. I literally today was thinking the same thing about being able to just hang around on the coattails of their first half-season. The sort of quiet antivax stuff was exasperating, and oddly antithetical to the lingering mythos of the Red Sox being a team that plays for each other, not for themselves.
posted by bixfrankonis at 3:57 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]

MLB has been dead to me since the moment they instituted instant replay for home runs and whatever else it initially was. I guess my point is I’m jealous of everyone’s excitement and wish I could share it.
posted by badbobbycase at 5:13 PM on October 3, 2021

My 12.5 -hour drive today was made infinitely better by my ability to stream the WEEI broadcast of the game. Happy the Red Sox made it to the post-season. Will be able to relax and enjoy the spectacle of another 1-game Yankees-Red Sox tie-breaker at Fenway, secure in the knowledge that the outcome doesn't really matter. Neither team is taking down Tampa in the divisional series.
posted by COD at 6:05 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

I guess I dare to out myself as a Yankees fan here (lifelong, sue me), but I agree with COD that it seems that no matter who wins the 1 game wildcard game, the Rays seem secure heading through the divisional series. It was an interesting week, though.
posted by mollweide at 6:12 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for smallpox. I mean, you will probably win if they are in play, but honestly: fuck you. I mean, said with empathy and everything, and whatever, but still: fuck off.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:14 PM on October 3, 2021 [7 favorites]

As a Yankees fan and nearly lifelong resident of New Jersey, there are many things I can say with empathy in response. I'll refrain since I don't want to give the mods more work.
posted by mollweide at 6:22 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

(Just to clarify, I am 100% not offended by DirtyOldTown's comment.)
posted by mollweide at 6:28 PM on October 3, 2021

The individual players on the Yankees are actually mostly okay and there are various defensible reasons for rooting for them. But man, gawd, Aroldis Chapman and Rougned Odor as the key to the end... chrissakes.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:34 PM on October 3, 2021

Being contractually obligated to hate the Yankees, I have to say that the only Yankee fans I hate are the ones who put their team before the game to the point that they can’t appreciate good baseball from other teams. (To be fair, I also hate Red Sox fans who are that way.)
posted by bixfrankonis at 6:47 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

I mean, as a life long Red Sox fan, I have to say that if Martians came down to Earth and challenged us to a game of baseball - Yankees vs. Team Martian - well, I love y'all, but go Mars. :)
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:00 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]

Usually the Mariners are utterly inspiring in the first half of the season and then it all falls apart in the second half in heartbreaking fashion. So them actually getting this far means they'll be even more heartbreaking over the next week or so.
posted by hippybear at 8:07 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]

Proud Yankees fan. Hey I was rooting for them when Horace Clark, Jerry Kinney, and other, let's say, average players were losing in the Bronx.

Today's game was an instant classic. 1 run in the bottom of the 9th. Aaron Judge making contact so that Tyler Wade could sprint home. Gio Ursela ignoring his own health and falling into the TB dugout. Angel Hernandez, the umpire, flipping over the rail to make the out call. All the pitchers on both sides putting up zeroes.

And now? Boston The Red Sox. Bucky Dent. The sweep last week. It's gonna be a great game. Fans going nuts. The Red Sox fans are knowledgeable and passionate, just what you want. Hopefully, and likely, the Yankees shut them up. Who knows what happens with playing TB? I know, once you're in the tournament, anything can happen. The Yankees or the Sox can beat TB. It will be a great series regardless of who plays and who wins.

But the AL East is not the only division. The Dodgers, who won 106 games have to play a wild card game. Crazy. What happens to the Brew Crew losing their closer to a broken hand self inflicted? Are the Giants for real? Win 107 games and people are still questioning whether they belong. Crazy.

All I know is that there is going to be some great baseball this month. Fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride!

Oh, and as a Yankees fan, I am buying my PowerBall ticket. Our luck has not run out yet.
posted by AugustWest at 9:21 PM on October 3, 2021

All I'll say about the Yankees is: my Mets have won 77 games! Classic Mets! Let's Go Mets!
posted by mikelieman at 4:08 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm done being mad about the Yankees and Red Sox ruining Chaos Day.

mikelieman, my heart goes out to you as a Mets fan. They set a record in 2021 as the only team to ever spend 100+ days in first place and still somehow finish with a losing record.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:40 AM on October 4, 2021

Welp, not the hoped for outcome, but still the most exciting end of season games my beloved Ms have played in ages. Can't wait for spring training.
posted by calamari kid at 7:57 AM on October 4, 2021

Oh Reds. Consistently heartbroken.
posted by cooker girl at 10:03 AM on October 4, 2021

I apologize for being salty about the Yankees. Plenty of nice people root for the Yankees. Some pretty cool players play for the Yankees. It's just so boring when they win. I'm conditioned to hate it. The Red Sox are getting that way, too. The Dodgers blow more money than anyone, but they're so well-run as an org, I am more jealous than antagonistic about it.

Thankfully, the Cubs mismanaged their way into another rebuild, so there's no such Rich team That Wins All the Time baggage to overcome there at the moment.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:06 AM on October 4, 2021

I messaged the mods about adding a Special Event FF thread for the playoffs.

Hopefully, we'll all see each other there soon.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:07 AM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]

I'll always be salty about the cubs because I'm convinced it was the black magic done to give them their 2016 championship which flipped us into the worst timeline.
posted by maxwelton at 10:46 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]

It really did feel like some monkey's paw kind of shit there, yeah.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:58 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'm putting the over/under on the length of tomorrow night's Yankees/Red Sox game at 7 hours (not including any extra innings).
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:55 PM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

Emblematic (symbolic?) of the second half of the Red Sox season: J.D. Martinez being out of today’s game having sprained his ankle apparently by tripping over second base while walking to take his position in the outfield the other day. I mean…
posted by bixfrankonis at 4:27 PM on October 5, 2021