Snakepit Roundtable: LCS Edition - Yahoo Sports

Are the Dodgers unstoppable?

ISH95: Yes. They’ve discovered the ultimate cheat code: sign an entire all star team’s worth of ace pitchers. Injure them so they don’t pitch the entire first half, then have them pitch at 100% in the playoffs. It’s a strategy that’s hard to beat.

Justin: Yes. I forget who, I believe it was Smurf, that posted that maybe it’s a good thing if the Dodgers win this WS and next….if only that it’ll maybe force MLB to do something in regards to a salary cap. (Not exactly what was written)

DBacksEurope: No. The Brewers seem to lack the power that I think the Mariners and Blue Jays have.

Makakilo: In May and again in July, the Diamondbacks won a 3-game series against the Dodgers. In a playoff series, it’s possible the Dodgers can lose, even to the Diamondbacks.

Ben: No, as much as it may seem inevitable in hindsight, they were one errant throw away from potentially losing Game 4 in the divisional series and having to win a Game 5 in Philadelphia. Last season, if Aaron Boone didn’t inexplicably decide to put Nestor Cortes into a save situation after having not thrown for over a month, the Dodgers could have easily lost Game 1 of the World Series last year – completely changing the series. The Dodgers do what all good teams do and have always done: take advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. In this series, the Brewers seemingly made no adjustments in approach at the plate, made numerous errors, and played generally bad baseball.

Spencer: I don’t know about unstoppable. But yes it certainly feels that way right now.

James: While I still believe any team on a proper hot streak can win a series at any given time, even against ace-level pitching, the Dodgers are constructed to not need said hot streak. While I wouldn’t call them unbeatable, I would heavily favour them in any October series, especially given all the healthy arms they have recently recovered.

If they aren’t, who of the three remaining teams has the best chance?

ISH95: Whoever’s pitching shows up the most. I realize that’s a cop out answer to my own question, but as I write, it’s the bottom of the third in Game 4, the Brewers are already down three, and it feels like the game is over.

Justin: Whomever’s pitching shows up the most.

DBacksEurope: My bet is the Mariners although I think they are inferior to the Dodgers. The Mariners have good starting pitching and Cal Raleigh is a beast, plus they have some additional good hitting.

Makakilo: 50-50 between the Blue Jays and the Mariners.

Spencer: Neither team has a chance. One will get their token chance. But barring a massive collapse, LA purchased themselves multiple World Series titles and about 5-10 NL MVP trophies when we knocked them out in 2023.

Ben: I would probably say the Mariners. Their starting pitching has the potential to matchup very well with the Dodgers and

James: I have more faith in the Mariners’ pitching than I do Toronto’s, so I’ll pick Seattle as having the better chance. Frankly though, I would bet heavily on the Dodgers to have an easy time of winning another trophy.

Of the three teams, who do you want to beat them?

ISH95: Mariners. The Northern Diamondbacks deserve it.

Justin: I am writing this after the Brewers elimination. I would want the Mariners. Like others, I felt the Brewers were the best chance to be able to get past the Dodgers. We saw how that went…

DBacksEurope: Blue Jays. I really don’t care though. I don’t even care if the Dodgers win or not. I’m more focused on the NFL at the moment and other sports. I thought I would be more invested in the playoffs but Mariners, Blue Jays, Brewers and Dodgers are all teams I seem to have zero interest in.

Makakilo: With four former Diamondbacks on their roster (Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, Dominic Canzone, and Carlos Vargas), I want the Mariners to beat the Dodgers!

Spencer: I would very much like to see either team beat them. But as Seattle has never won a World Series and has quite a few former Diamondbacks favorites, I lean toward them.

James: Given the number of ties to Arizona that can be found in Seattle, I will go with them, even though I really do want to see Dalton Varsho also win a ring as one of my favourite “non-Diamondback” players.

Some are suggesting that the Dodgers steamrolling these playoffs (and maybe the next) would make a salary cap more likely. Would the sacrifice be worth it?

ISH95: At this point, yes. It needs to come with a floor, but that seems even less likely. But something needs to be done to prevent the Dodgers (and anyone else who realizes they are a billion dollar organization) from just buying division titles and World Series.

Justin: My answer above I hadn’t even read this question yet.

DBacksEurope: I am against a salary cap. The only ones to benefit from a cap would be the owners and a team’s finances. Why do players need to earn less because of a supposed Dodgers’ dominance? It doesn’t make any sense. Players demand big contracts because when they were in their prime, they earned dog shit compared to the value they had on the field, thanks to the ridiculous arbitration system that also benefits owners and teams. Are we going to help teams and owners even more now? The problem is not the Dodgers spending a lot, the problem is other teams not spending for I don’t know how many reasons. Tackle and analyse those too. All those small and mid-market teams will still spend less than the Dodgers with or without a salary cap. A salary cap will dampen player salaries but I don’t believe teams will level in spending. Teams that don’t want to spend will not spend.

Makakilo: Perhaps the alternative answer, and certainly a less contentious path, is to tweak the CBT to make it more effective. The competitive balance tax balances giving teams freedom to spend, and keeping all teams competitive.

Spencer: A while ago I suggested a detailed middle ground that made the luxury tax (salary cap/minimum) meaningful and bettered the sport as a whole by giving the tax money to youth baseball instead of miserly owners. I maintain that’s the route that should be taken. It will not be the route MLB chooses though. Too much money comes out of LA. The eggs have all been in one basket for too long and will continue to be. We will hate the next decade of dominance the Dodgers can buy. And by the end of it, 29+ teams will have no fans as that dominance will have killed interest in anyone but the Dodgers. But MLB, I’d like to ask: what do you do when the golden goose is done?

Honestly though, I really don’t care which of the Millionaires or Billionaires feels more jilted about their personal finances. I think the best thing that could be done for the sport and players and owners is a guaranteed percentage of all gross revenue put back into the team (development, salary, support, etc) and not allowing any player who’s made more than $10M in a year to be a Union Representative. The actual negotiators should be the players that need the extra money the most, not the biggest, most popular names who only care about lining their pockets at the expense of others the same way the owners do.

James: I honestly do not believe for a moment that the Dodgers steamrolling through the World Series this year and next will do a damn thing to change the salary cap negotiations. The MLBPA is dug in against one. Ownership wants one to ensure higher profit margins. Neither side gives a damn about the fans. Something will have to give eventually, but I doubt that happens before a stoppage.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

ISH95: What I ended up being, a restaurant manager. I’ve loved food and restaurants as long as I can remember, and I put a lot of work in to make it to management.

Justin: For a while I wanted to be a history teacher or a paleontologist. I don’t work well with the public, so teaching definitely would not be for me. I also was a CNA for 2 years. Found out it’s not for me. My mom, who just retired, was a PACU/ other things RN for 40+ years. She never pushed me in that direction, per say but I would be playing legos or something while she’d be watching Rescue 911 or something. I always kind of wanted to see if a medical career could be for me. Well, I can say I tried it for a bit at least. No regrets.

It’s funny that the job that I’m about to be at for 15 years was originally intended as a job between jobs. Here we are lol.

DBacksEurope: Ish, are you trying to push me into a midlife crisis with this question? I have wanted to be an IT Project Manager since I was 6 years old. My current job makes my child wish come true.

ISH95: Join me in the midlife crisis lol

Makakilo: Before really understanding what the career was, I very much wanted to be an engineer. That explains why I was an engineer for many years. One upside: today it was easy to set-up an upgraded modem and an upgraded router in my office.

Spencer: Fighter pilot and then astronaut. Neither worked out. I’m ok with that.

James: An astronomer or an author. I’m still working on that second one, if only I could land myself a literary agent.

Snakepit Roundtable: LCS Edition – Yahoo Sports

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