Yardbarker
x

What is the worst possible outcome for the postseason?

This week we've debated if baseball's wild card is even keeping with the spirit of the sport, (correctly) picked the American League Wild Card winner , went all-in on the Giants winning the National League Wild Card and yes, predicted a home game upset in a Divisional Series.

TGIF here at the Yardbarker roundtable where we ask our experts to kickback, relax and just chat about sports in general. Today we asked out team:

What is the worst possible outcome for the postseason?


Demetrius Bell : I have no personal qualms with the San Francisco Giants, but dude: If they win the World Series in an even year again, we might need to launch an investigation because this is getting silly now. It's not like it's a huge shock that they made it to the playoffs this year when you consider the offseason that they had, but come on. This can't keep on happening on every even year, baseball. Get it together, y'all.

Shiloh Carder: To be honest, I don't think there is a worst possible outcome.  This is a lineup of teams and no matter who wins, we should be excited.

You have the Rangers and Nationals who have never won a championship so seeing those cities cash one in would be sweet. Plus who doesn't want to see Washington finally break through with that talent. On the flip side, the Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series, including the last three held in even numbered years and the Red Sox have won three since 2004. Big Papi riding off into the sunset with another title in the golden age of Boston baseball? Even New England-haters can go along with that.

Then you have the Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays. Their last titles were memorable in their own ways and just looking back to those series is a treat. The Mets last World Series title was 1986 with one of the most improbable comebacks to win a Series. The Dodgers last one was 1988 when Orel Hershiser was unstoppable and Kirk Gibson hit that home run. Toronto hasn't won one since 1993 on Joe Carter's walk-off home run.

Of course, there are the Cubs and Indians. Two of the most lovable losers in sports. The city of Cleveland would love another champion and the Indians' first since 1948. Chicago has been so great this year that people are salivating for their first World Series title in 108 years.

Matt Whitener The worst possible outcome for the postseason would be a series of sweeps, overwhelming blowouts and slow, plodding games. The postseason should dramatic. It should have its best teams challenged by ones that barely crawled in during the season's last days. It should have its Madison Bumgarners, its David Ortiz' and its Kris Bryants, all pitted against each other in hopes of etching out their respective legacy of the moment. Baseball needs October, because great baseball drama IS October.

David Matthews: Saints preserve us: the Cardinals, who I am sure inspired this question, didn't make the playoffs. I want the Cubs to win but the worst possible outcome isn't them winning, it's whatever team wins instead. The Nationals are fine, so are the Mets, Dodgers, and Giants, really. It's the AL teams that give me pause. No one wants to see the Red Sox win again. The Blue Jays got rid of Alex Anthopoulos and are still thriving so they can cram it, too. The Rangers are going to fight the Blue Jays a bunch if that ends up happening. Does anyone who is not a Rangers fan honestly want to see the Rangers win the franchise's first title over the Cubs? If the baby bears can't win it, the worst possible outcome is the one where the Indians aren't the only ones left standing.

Jamie NealIf the San Francisco Giants win the World Series again, I swear on all that is holy...

It's 2016. The Giants won in 2010. And 2012. And 2014. And the last thing I want to deal with is Giants fans hanging on to the thought that this even year magic has any truth to it. Bruce Bochy has the Midas touch when it comes to making decisions in the middle of high stress games and there are some fantastic players on this years Giants team, as there have been on past Giants teams, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility to think that the Giants could win this year, but anyone who isn't a Giants fan is probably sick of the #beliEVEN hashtag anyways. Besides it's been 108 years since the Cubs won a World Series – lets move past the curse of some stupid billy goat.

Phillip BarnettThe Cubs fail to reach the World Series. I don't necessarily need to see the Cubs win it all, but I do want to see them have an opportunity to erase 100+ years of cursed baseball. The Cubs need to earn their World Series, but the drama of watching them play for it is what we really want. The outcome doesn't matter for anyone who isn't a Cubs fan, but unless you're rooting for one of the four other NL teams, the Cubs not winning the Pennant is the worst possible outcome of these playoffs.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.