Maybe I'm in the minority but IMO there is very little HFA in baseball. I don't see the format as that big of a deal, though it's still wrong.
Home field is probably the biggest in baseball then any other sport. First the fielders knowing the park, the fans, and having last at bat is huge in extra inning baseball
I don't see the fans as being a huge advantage honestly, but I'm not sure how you would quantify that one way or the other. The last AB is nice but also a bit overrated in my eyes. Each team gets the same number of outs regardless. At the end of the day the visiting team gets at least 27 outs to score more runs than the opponent. If you make 27 outs and the home team scores to win after making 26 I don't think the away team has any disadvantage. They had the same number of opportunities. I will give you knowing the park. I do question how often that comes into play though. Most MLB ballparks have their little quirks but are generally not so foreign that you're at some horrible disadvantage. In my eyes the worst part of this format is potential revenue loss for the home team if they sweep the series.
Some teams did have much better home records but generally the difference wasn't that much. An extra 3-4 wins at home versus on the road. I'm not sure that is enough advantage to sway a series. For example: This split is home wins/road wins. Nothing to do with losses. Baltimore: 47/46 Washington: 50/48 Atlanta: 48/46 Tampa: 46/44 Cincinnati: 50/47 Then you had teams with a greater split as well. New York, Detroit and STL were much better at home. However I'm not sure how much of that is luck/chance/favorable matchups and how much is some true advantage.
Remember, this weird first round (ALDS and NLDS) format change where the better seed is traveling is strictly for this year.....they did it that way to shoe-horn the 2nd WC team into existence (although I never heard a valid or rationale reason as to why it mattered, etc). Next year it will go back to having better seeds at home to host/open the 1st round.
As a SFGiants fan, I'm really disappointed on there performance the last two games. Total pitching collapse & can't hit for a lick. Gotta give credit to the Reds for taking advantage of their opportunity & playing good baseball. Giants gotta win start winning or the will be in a very deep hole which historically hard to get out of. GO GIANTS! Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Cardinals handling the Nats and Orioles beating the Yankees This post season is full of surprises so far. Really liked the Orioles old school uniforms, was waiting for Jim Palmer to take the mound and Eddie Murray to play first base
really enjoying this first round of playoffs for sure.... 3 game 5's and hopfully 1 game 4 and winner declared (woot).
baseball is the only sport where the parks are different dimensions. teams are built around those dimensions. righty, lefty, ground ball pitchers, fly ball pitchers etc...home field is huge in baseball. doesnt mean the home team will win every game but its the only sport where you can tailor your lineup to the dimensions of the field
Wow Walgreens blew it today! Man the Cards never give up! This postseason is amazing! unless you are a Nats, Reds, Baltimore, and Oakland fan!
The dimensions aren't so dissimilar that it provides any gigantic advantage. As shown by most teams home/road splits. A good hitter will hit in any park. A good fielder will field well in any park. Completely tailoring your team to your park would be a friggen idiotic move seeing as you only play half your games there.
I do, bummed for Nats Stadium not hosting any more playoff games this year....was hoping! Oh, well. shame.
Still think it will be Cards v Tigers in the World Series. Was a touch nervous there about the Cards, but that is just how they do things.
Since all 4 LDS matchups when 5 games each it produced some the greatest playoff round in MLB history for sure. Of the 20 LDS Games played, 10 were elimination games. That's crazy to think about...1/2 were win or go home. And if you add the two WC games for play in, it was 12 out of 22 games to get to the LCS. Fun times.
Horrible plate ump zone (just brutal missing pitches that are all in the pitchFX zone), and yes, horrible call at first base that cost yanks at least one run. Yankees fans not touching that ball to lock in a double vs triple are stupid fans that dont know their situation, and Swisher blew the next play that would have been a simple dive and catch. Wasting another stellar outing from Pettitte. Shame. Arod, and Grandy (and Swisher prior) I am speechless at their ineptness. P.S. I hate these announcers afraid to call a bad call a bad call, and afraid to say a horrible zone is a horrible zone.
weird. down 4-0 in the 9th and still feel we can win this. man its great being a yankees fan. regardless of tonight. still feel we should win the series. game three will be huge
hahahahahhahhahahahahhahahahaahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bottom 11th single to open up [video=youtube;gBgYrduJE_M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBgYrduJE_M&feature=related[/video] Robinson Cano flies out to left tex broken bat pop up ibanez damn
wow that call was terrible. HE WAS RIGHT THERE! how did he miss this. Pathetic. There needs to be replay, I dont get it. If it gets the calls right then why not have it? Do a situation room like they have in hockey. I mean come on Girardi: "How do you miss that, you where right there."
Yanks are done if they lose this. I mean nothing is going the Yankees way. There is no way they go to Detriot and beat Verlander. They will go 0-3.
Congrats to anyone who predicted Detroit vs SF and those of you who are fans of those teams! Too bad Beltran wasnt the final out like he was last year for SF and in 2006 for the Mets. I dont think any player has ever been the final out in 3 separate playoff series
