Pete AbrahamVerified account @PeteAbe 14h14 hours ago
2016 playoff hangovers abound
Indians 19-17
Red Sox 19-18
Cubs 18-19
Rangers 19-20
Mets 16-20
Blue Jays 17-21
Giants 15-24
Perspective. Long playoff runs DO have impact the following season(s)
That said, we absolutely are not playing our best baseball, no question, we have "struggled" but again, just look from an outside view for a second......
They WON 7 of their first 9 series of the year. And of those, 3 of the losses all came in one series (the Pirates)
On May 5th, they were one pitch away from being 17-12 and in first place. Rondon had just thought he got the K, didn't get the call, threw a slider and boom, we had an L instead of a W.
From that moment on, we've been 2-7........AGAINST 3 FIRST PLACE TEAMS. As in, we've played "poorly" against 3 first place teams, and in those, we had the one pitch away game, the 18 inning game, and a series vs StL without Bryant, Russell, Zobrist, or Heyward.
Yes, we absolutely, positively, are not playing the same as we did last year. Also, we have been banged up a lil bit, we've played the toughest schedule in the NL, and 4th toughest in Baseball.
Get some of these guys back on the field (should all be back sometime this week) Start to play a little bit of a softer schedule, and we'll start to get stronger.
Will we win 103? No, maybe not. But that doesn't matter. What Theo wants, how he has designed his teams is NOT to make ONE run. It's to make MULTIPLE runs. As in Boston, 2004 and 2007 and 2013 World Series titles. In the playoffs the majority of the years in between. We're not built to win in 2016, 2017, 2018, etc. That's why he let Fowler go, Chapman, Hammel, and traded Soler, he's building LONG(ER) term. It's also why he's going to let Arrieta walk after this year. Don't sign old guys forever, keep the young guys around, and build around them.
Notice how we have two first round picks next month? PLUS our 2nd rounder.
More chips in the minors. We didn't have a first or a second last year because we went all in (and it paid off
)
We may not get what we want this year, but if we don't, what we will get is an extra 6 weeks of rest for our players, and then more money to spend on free agents the next two years, etc. (TV contract comin up, the 2018 Free Agent class is the best in MLB history)
Please everyone, trust the process. I know it sucks losing games, we forgot how to do that the last 2 years, but understand, the next 5-7 years will balance these small losses out, I promise you.