The 2021 MLB playoffs will begin on October 3rd and run through October 27th. This is the first time that a World Series will be held in September, as it was previously held in November.
The 2020 mlb playoffs is the upcoming Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. It will feature eight teams in a best-of-seven series, with the winner of each league facing off in the World Series.
The Cardinals’ season may be defined by the number seventeen. In terms of how many games they won in a row during a season-high September run.
However, there is another figure that tells a more dramatic story about their year: 1.3.
On Aug. 8, the Cardinals’ postseason chances were at a season low of 1.3 percent, according to FanGraphs. Even as recently as September 9, the day before their winning streak started, those chances were just 5%.
However, watching their prospects of playing in October dwindle may be one of the reasons why St. Louis is focusing on an unlikely NL Wild Card Game meeting with the defending champion Dodgers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles rather than making offseason preparations right now.
“It was strange because we’d be one game behind or two games back, then we’d win and the Reds would lose, and our playoff chances would go down,” said Adam Wainwright, a long-time Cardinals pitcher. “No one could comprehend it, so it pushed us a little bit,” he says. “Thanks to everyone at FanGraphs who treated us like dirt so we could go out there with a chip on our shoulders.”
How did they do it?
There is a definite link between St. Louis’ injuries and the team’s downward spiral in the standings.
“It’s not a mystery for me,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt recently said. “The first two months, we were very excellent. Our beginning pitching had a strong foundation. Then, in a short amount of time, we lost four of our starters.
“It was crucial to get the rotation to stabilize.”
2 Related
The Cardinals were 30-24 and two games shy of an NL wild-card position on May 31, the last day ace Jack Flaherty would pitch for essentially three and a half months due to an oblique injury.
St. Louis finished 22-27 from that day to the July 30 trade deadline, falling seven games behind in the battle for the second wild-card position with two teams to beat.
The Cardinals were stopped in their progress by injuries to Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Kwang Hyun Kim, and Carlos Martinez.
While waiting to get well, the Cardinals were able to stay within striking distance, enabling them to take advantage of the injuries and bad performance that wrecked a San Diego Padres club that looked headed for the NL Wild Card Game for most of the season.
Last month, reliever Andrew Miller remarked, “We were waiting for that day when offense, defense, and pitching all came together.” “It’s here.”
It culminated in a record 17-game September winning run, tied for the fourth-longest in the National League in the modern era (since 1900).
The team’s last win of the run occurred on the same day they earned a playoff spot, marking the organization’s 31st appearance in the playoffs.
But the Cardinals had to make a crucial choice long before their season might turn around in September.
It turned out to be a simple task.
The trade deadline has passed.
It’s an annual internal discussion for most clubs on the verge of making the playoffs. Should they add at the July trade deadline and go for it, or should they retool for the future by subtracting some expiring contracts?
The Cardinals aren’t like most other clubs.
Cardinals head of baseball operations John Mozeliak told ESPN.com, “You always want September to matter.” “Looking back over the last 40 years with this organization, we’ve been able to do that.”
The basic fact is that St. Louis seldom, if ever, makes roster cuts in these situations. But, since Mozeliak was fully aware of the chances, he adopted a calculated approach on July 30 rather than going all-in.
Instead, the Cardinals stocked their bullpen with veterans who weren’t exactly putting up impressive numbers. Jon Lester and J.A. Happ were acquired from the Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins, respectively. Their ERAs were 5.02 and 6.77, respectively.
Meanwhile, the acquisitions of T.J. McFarland and Luis Garcia to the bullpen steadied a previously shaky bunch.
“I didn’t want to go in front of the media and get up and do the wave because we knew those agreements weren’t going to be publicly popular,” Mozeliak added with a grin. “That would’ve been deceptive. But what is real is that we made those agreements with a certain goal in mind. Because we were hemorrhaging at times, the goal was to help us with our rotation.”
The strategy worked. Both Lester and Happ have performed better with the Cardinals than with their previous clubs, and the bullpen’s walk rate has dropped from 13.5 percent before July 30 to 7.9 percent since then.
Lester said, “It’s really just been the infectious thing of pitching and hitting good and the next person wanting to do the same.” “The second wild card is beneficial. It offers you the opportunity to get in. We’re done without the second wild card.”
And without the deadline choices, no matter how insignificant they seemed at the time, the Cardinals will never be able to get back into the race.
“Were we overworked at the time of the trade deadline? No. But did it seem like it would be beneficial to us? Yes, indeed “According to Mozeliak.
When it all came together, the Cardinals not only reached the playoffs, but they also had one of the greatest Septembers in franchise history.
“That’s why I came here,” Nolan Arenado, the third baseman, said. “They’ve always cared about winning, I’m sure. This group understands how to win, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming for.”
Seventeen
The run didn’t start with a speech or even a particularly memorable event for any of the players. Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Matt Carpenter, among the team’s captains, taught “stay the course,” a popular term in professional sports.
Miller said, “There was no spark.” “It was simply wonderful to watch our confidence grow over the year.”
Mozeliak went on to say: “The kind of game is what is predictable. We were playing much better baseball before to the run.”
The Cardinals had lost four straight games in the days leading up to it, including the opening two games of a four-game series against the Dodgers at home.
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“Several of us were talking about how teams ahead of us were playing an easier schedule when we were playing the Dodgers, so we knew the Dodgers were a crucial series,” Wainwright said. “We lost the first two games, but winning the final two gave us some confidence heading into the next series.”
On September 8, St. Louis defeated Los Angeles 5-4. The following day, the reigning champions were defeated by one run again. After then, the Cardinals would not lose for the next 19 days, moving them from 312 games out of the second wild card to 612-games ahead.
The race was over in an instant.
In the midst of the run, Wainwright remarked, “You see a lot of players who have figured out their positions and are clicking at the same time.” “It’s also quite significant in terms of timing.”
They blasted away opponents, rallied from behind, and won one-run games while having a great time. Lester remembered winning at most 10 games in a row at one time in his career, while Wainwright remembered an eight-game run in 2006.
But nothing compares to this.
After spending his last two seasons in Colorado, where he was far closer to the NL West cellar than a postseason chase, Arenado is in baseball paradise in his new home.
“The atmosphere is fantastic,” Arenado remarked before his 14th victory. “Coming to the clubhouse is a lot of fun. A large number of passengers have boarded the first bus. There’s a fresh vigor in the air. ‘OK, I have to go to the ballgame,’ it’s like at times throughout the season. ‘Hey guy, I can’t wait to go on the field,’ it’s like now.
“At 10:30 a.m., I start to feel nervous.”
With the victory came new superstitions in the Cardinals’ locker room.
During the streak, Wainwright quipped, “We have a few men in there with some holy underpants that need to be changed.” “There’s things hanging out all over the place for one man in particular, but he can’t alter anything.”
The run propelled the Cardinals into the playoffs, confirming what Mozeliak and Shildt had discussed in secret.
“Perhaps we’re both perpetual optimists,” remarked Mozeliak. “We had faith in this organization.”
Sometimes that’s all that’s required.
As well as a little pitching. Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Tyler O’Neill are three 30-homer hitters.
Although the run came to an end, the Cardinals’ season is still alive for at least one more night. Beating the reigning world champions might propel them to heights unimaginable only a month ago, when they were long bets for the playoffs.
“Those streaks are very uncommon,” Arenado remarked. “It’s been a lot of fun thus far, but we can’t stop now.”
The world series 2021 predictions is a prediction for the MLB playoffs in 2021.
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