The OOTP AI Still Cheats!!!---MLB & The NY METS 2018

[rjl518]

ARZ Diamondbacks 0
NY METS 1
Citi Field

You have got to be kidding me for the game we just played. But the Mets move on thanks to Bryce Harper and some clutch pitching!

For ARZ:
They could not have pitched any better.
Robbie Ray struck out 7 players and gave up only 3 hits.
It was Jimmie Sherfy who got tagged with the walk-off HR in the bottom of the 10th!
The D-Backs left 8 men on base as they just could not get the runners home and believe me, they had their chances!

For NYM:
Stephen Strasburg pitched his A$$ off striking out 12 batters and then the bullpen combined for 5 more.
Noah Syndergaard took the win in relief, his 1st.
Bryce Harper, who has had an awesome series, belts the series clinching HR in the 10th to send the Mets to the NLCS!
It was his 2nd HR of the postseason.
Freddie Freeman was given the series MVP and i will agree with it.
Other Mets batters, however, better learn how to hit again.

We move on to play the LA Dodgers in the NLCS!

NY METS WINS NLDS 3-2!

Side Note:
The AI tried its best to beat me today.
No scoring until the 10th in a game like this?
Really?
AI CHEATS!

[rjl518]

As far as the Postseason goes, it has been very interesting.
The Diamondbacks took the All-Star Mets to five games in the NLDS and almost got away with it. (AI CHEATS!)
The Rangers, Dodgers and Twins took care of business easily in their matchups.
So the Rangers and Twins will face off in the ALCS and the Dodgers and Mets will play in the NLCS!
We are far from over in the 2018 baseball season!
Who will move on to play for the title?

[rjl518]

Why did i have a feeling that the Mets would be playing the Dodgers for the NL Pennant?

For LAD:
Coming off a sweep of the CHC, they look like they are running on all cylinders.
Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda and Jacob deGrom will be looking to pitch their way into Fall Classic.
Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig and Cody Bellinger will be scoring runs, that i am sure of.
Yasmani Grandal aint no slouch either.

For NYM:
Very simple.
We need to win this series in order to erase the disaster from 2017 versus the SF Giants.
It will be a rotation starting with Kluber, Sale, Strasburg and Kershaw.
Strasburg will be fully rested for a Game 7 if needed.
Harper, Freeman, Seager and Posey are hitting well, but the other regular season leaders need to step it up and quick.
You heard me Altuve, Stanton, Trout and Donaldson.

Game 1 is tomorrow night @ Citi Field!

[rjl518]

LA Dodgers 4
NY METS 7
Citi Field

The Mets use power and overwhelm the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS.

For LAD:
Not the ideal return to NY for Jacob deGrom who went 4 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits.
The bullpen gave up three more and that was all the Mets needed.
The Dodgers had HRs by Cody Bellinger (1), Yasiel Puig (2) and Joc Pederson (1) to make it interesting in the top of the 9th.
But they fell just a bit short in this one.

For NYM:
Well pitched game by Corey Kluber who went 6 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits.
The bullpen closed the game out but they were a bit shaky in the 9th inning.
Corey Seager gets the Golden Bat for the night with a 3-4 game, a run scored and an RBI.
Mike Trout (2), Josh Donaldson (3) and Giancarlo Stanton (2) got back to their HR hitting ways as they gave the fans some free baseballs.
This is the way you need to start a series like this.
A win at home!

Can the Mets keep it going?

NY METS Lead NLCS 1-0!

Game 2 is tomorrow night @ Citi Field!

[rjl518]

Two teams that i really didn't think that would be here in this series will face off for the AL Pennant.

For MIN:
Winning the AL Central is not enough for these guys.
The Twins will have Eddie Rosario, Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton lead the charge.
Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier will provide the power and they will need it in this tough set of games.
Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Lance Lynn will have to have some great games pitching to cool off the TEX lineup.

For TEX:
Nomar Mazara, Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor must come through in the clutch for the Rangers.
Joey Gallo needs to continue doing his job for TEX and that means sending baseballs to the fans in the stands.
Pitching is a cause for concern as Mike Minor, Doug Fister and Martin Perez need to step up their games to get the Rangers to the final round.

Who will make it to the Fall Classic from the Junior Circuit?

Game 1 is tomorrow night @ Globe Life Park in Arlington!

[rjl518]

LA Dodgers 5
NY METS 0
Citi Field

The Mets bats disappear as the Dodgers tie the series up!

For LAD:
Alex Wood is just amazing as he gives up 6 hits and the bullpen took care of the rest.
Cody Bellinger (2), Yasiel Puig (3) and Justin Turner (2) hit some dingers to put the Dodgers ahead for good.
Bellinger was 3-4 with a HR, a RS and an RBI to lead the "Bums"

For NYM:
A game where there was no way i was going to win. (AI CHEATS!)
Chris Sale has another awful night, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits to move his postseason ERA to 6.10.
He might be going into the bullpen for the rest of the playoffs!
The Mets left 6 men on base but grounded into FOUR double-plays! (AI CHEATS!!)

Its on to SoCal for 3 big games in Chavez Ravine. Will it end there or come back to the Big Apple?

NLCS Tied 1-1!

Game 3 is Wednesday night @ Dodger Stadium!

[rjl518]

MIN Twins 8
TEX Rangers 3
Globe Life Park in Arlington

The Twins blow out the Rangers in the 1st game of the ALCS!

For MIN:
Jose Berrios has a great night, going 6.2 innings and giving up 1 run on 6 hits with 9 strikeouts.
Eddie Rosario hits his 2nd HR of the playoffs.
He went 2-5 with 2 RBIs and a RS.
Every batter in the Twins lineup got a hit.

For TEX:
Mike Minor was doing just as well as Berrios as he went 5 innings and gave up only 1 run on 3 hits.
Then, for some reason, the Rangers went to their bullpen and the wheels came off.
Nick Gardewine took the loss for TEX, his 1st.
But the rest of the pen was just as bad.
Nomar Mazara was 3-4 for the Rangers tonight.

Can the Rangers even the series up?

MIN Twins Lead ALCS 1-0!

Game 2 is tomorrow night @ Globe Life Park in Arlington.

[rjl518]

MIN Twins 11
TEX Rangers 2
Globe Life Park in Arlington

The Twins give the Rangers an old-fashioned beat down to take a commanding lead in the ALCS!

For MIN:
They really couldn't do anything wrong.
Michael Pineda wins his 2nd postseason game going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits.
Brian Dozier hit his 2nd HR of the playoffs.
Joe Mauer was the guy tonight as he went 3-3, a RS, an RBI and walked twice.
Twins bats were jumping at the plate.

For TEX:
They really couldn't do anything right.
Martin Perez got off to a good start, but he finished with giving up 4 runs on 7 hits thru 5.1 innings.
The bullpen again couldn't stop anyone as they gave up 7 more runs to the Twins.
Nomar Mazara (1) and Shin-Soo Choo (1) hit a couple of HRs, but it didn't matter to the game anyway.
So far, the Rangers have been outscored 19-5 in two games.
That is not going to get it done.

Will the Rangers be able to get the series back to the Lone Star State or is it going to end in the Twin Cities?

MIN Twins Lead ALCS 2-0!

Game 3 is Thursday night @ Target Field!

[rjl518]

NY METS 19
LA Dodgers 5
Dodger Stadium

Now these are the Mets that i remember for this season as we embarrass the Dodgers to take the NLCS lead!

For NYM:
Stephen Strasburg was awesome.
But i only had him go 5 innings because the game was IMO no longer in doubt when we were up 15-0 after 5 and i did not need him to be injured during a meaningless game at the time.
He gave up only 2 hits.
The Mets have given him run support for the entire year and tonight was no different.
Josh Donaldson 2(4,5) and Freddie Freeman 2(4,5) went deep twice each.
Ill give the Golden Bat to Freeman, but just barely as he went 2-4, 2 HRs, 2 RS, 5 RBIs and 2 BBs.
Giancarlo Stanton was the only Met not to get a hit and he has been getting cold.
Might be time to put Aaron Judge in RF for now.

For LAD:
Ross Stripling was demolished as well as his replacements.
Yasmani Grandal (1) and Joc Pederson (2) did give the Dodger fans something to cheer about, but it really wasn't much.
Grandal did go 3-4 tonight with 4 RBIs and a run scored.

Did the Mets score too many runs tonight or is it just the start of something more for us?

NY METS Lead NLCS 2-1!

Game 4 is tomorrow night @ Dodger Stadium!

[rjl518]

TEX Rangers 5
MIN Twins 2
Target Field

The home team has yet to win in this series as the Rangers get one back in the ALCS!

For TEX:
Nathan Karns gets his 2nd win of the playoffs as he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits.
Keone Kela gets his 3rd save of the postseason as he continues to mow down opposing batters.
Yoenis Cespedes (1) and Rougned Odor (1) hit some big HRs to give the Rangers some padding in this game.
Jurickson Profar continues to hit well as he goes 2-5 with a RS and RBI.

For MIN:
Ervin Santana made his 1st start of the playoffs and it was below average.
He goes 4 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits.
Miguel Sano hits his 2nd HR of the playoffs for the Twins.
But mostly, the MIN lineup was kept pretty quiet for the game.

The Rangers get a game in this series. Can they tie it up?

MIN Twins Lead ALCS 2-1!

Game 4 is tomorrow night @ Target Field!

[rjl518]

NY METS 7
LA Dodgers 0
Dodger Stadium

A gem pitched by Clayton Kershaw puts the Mets one win away from the Fall Classic!

For NYM:
I don't know where Kershaw was, but it was not on planet Earth.
He goes 8 and gives up 4 hits against his former team.
The Mets had some issues with Maeda, but they broke through when they needed to.
Aaron Judge got his 1st start in this postseason and he belts his 1st HR.
Jose Altuve hit his 1st also and Josh Donaldson, his 6th of the playoffs.
Ill give the Golden Bat to Mike Trout tonight for he went 2-4 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.

For LAD:
Kenta Maeda was strong early on as he did give the Mets lineup some fits.
But he finished with 5.2 innings and he gave up 4 runs on 5 hits.
The Dodger bullpen gave the Mets some extra runs as well.
The Dodger lineup was pretty non-existent against Kershaw as they did not know how to get to their old teammate.

The Dodgers would have to win three straight games over us and we have never lost three in a row the entire year.
What is the OOTP AI planning?
Do we clinch the series tomorrow?

NY METS Lead NLCS 3-1!

Game 5 is tomorrow night @ Dodger Stadium!

[rjl518]

TEX Rangers 5
MIN Twins 10
Target Field

Twins hitting destroys Rangers pitching as MIN is now 1 win away from the World Series!

For TEX:
Matt Moore got the start and had a rough night giving up 7 runs on 6 hits thru only 3.1 innings of work.
The bullpen wasn't much better as they gave up 3 more runs.
The Rangers tried to keep it close with some decent hitting.
Jurickson Profar hit his 1st HR of the playoffs.
But they would not be able to match the runs scored by the Twins.

For MIN:
Phil Hughes got his 2nd start of the postseason and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits.
But it was Taylor Rogers who got the win, his 1st.
Twins batting sent out lots of baseballs as Eddie Rosario (3), Miguel Sano (3), Brian Dozier (3) and Logan Morrison (1) all hit one out of the yard.
Dozier's shot went 458 feet.
Not quite sure, but i think that ball landed in Wisconsin somewhere.

A great night for the Twins. But can the Rangers win one more and get the series back to Texas?

MIN Twins Lead ALCS 3-1!

Game 5 is tomorrow night @ Target Field!

[rjl518]

NY METS 6
LA Dodgers 5
Dodger Stadium

There will be no epic, cheating OOTP AI comeback from the opposition this year as the NY Mets are heading to the World Series!

For NYM:
The way this game was going, i thought we were heading back to the Big Apple for another game on Sunday.
But Buster Posey (1) blasts his biggest HR of the year in the top of the 9th to put the Mets ahead for good.
It started out rough for Corey Kluber as he gave up 4 runs on 6 hits.
He did settle down the rest of the way.
Luis Severino got his 2nd win of the playoffs and Aroldis Chapman his 1st save.
Even down 3-0, the Mets did not give up and they did it with the long-ball.
Mike Trout (3) and Aaron Judge (2) helped out with HRs of their own.
Trout gets the Golden Bat as he went 3-3 with a RS, a HR and an RBI.
Josh Donaldson was given the NLCS MVP by OOTP, but i will give it to Mike Trout, who batted .444 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs.
We are finally on our way to play for it all!

For LAD:
Jacob deGrom had a better outing giving up 3 runs on 6 hits.
But this time, the LAD bullpen let it go.
Hansel Robles got the Blown Save and the Loss for his team.
The Dodgers were hitting well as Francisco Lindor (3), Yasmani Grandal (2) and Joc Pederson (3) went yard on Mets pitching tonight.
But the Dodgers will stay home as their season comes to an end.

The Mets win the NL Pennant and now await the winner of the ALCS between TEX and MIN!

NY METS WIN NLCS 4-1!

[rjl518]

Was it a foregone conclusion at the start of this season that we would at least make it to the World Series easily?
I don't know how i would have answered that question when we were about to play Game 5 of the NLDS against the ARZ Diamondbacks!
As i was making my choices on batters and pitchers in that HUGE extra inning game that could have eliminated us, i was having a very bad feeling that i was going to lose that game and become another 2001 SEA Mariners!
But thanks to Bryce Harper, we prevailed!
A 1-0 win over ARZ put us into the NLCS to play the LA Dodgers who swept the CHI Cubs right out of their NLDS!
I was nervous about playing the Dodgers for the NL Pennant, but somehow, i knew that this was going to be the team we would have to beat in order to get to the final level.
This pitching staff and lineup has done ALMOST what it was designed to do.
There are still FOUR games left to win.
But for now, lets enjoy the champagne, beer and soda as i present to you the...

NEW YORK METS!!!
2018 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!
Attachment 583865

[rjl518]

TEX Rangers 2
MIN Twins 4
Target Field

The MIN Twins make short work of the TEX Rangers as they win the ALCS in 5 games and advance to the World Series!

For TEX:
They really just could not get anything going.
Mike Minor pitched a good game giving up 2 runs on 5 hits.
But the bullpen gave up 2 more runs and that was all the Twins needed.
He struck out 9 batters as he gave the Rangers a good chance to stay in the game.
But the lineup just wasn't into it, only getting 4 hits.
Three starting batters were under .200 for this set of games.

For MIN:
Jose Berrios gets his 2nd win of the playoffs and he pitched another great game.
He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and Ryan Pressly picked up his 1st save of the playoffs.
Logan Morrison hit his 2nd HR of the postseason and it was a big one in the 7th inning to put MIN ahead.
Brian Dozier was selected by OOTP as the series MVP and i will agree.
He batted .409 and had 2 HRs in the series along with 4 RBIs.
What a great run the Twins are having and they might be tougher to beat than some people think.

MIN Twins WIN ALCS 4-1!

[rjl518]

The BOS Red Sox, HOU Astros, NY Yankees or even the CLE Indians i thought would make the World Series.
But the MIN Twins?
No way!
But they are here, they are good and they will be tough to beat.
Do not count this team out for i know that they are going to go the extra mile to win the whole thing.
We had better be ready to give it our all.
But for now, they are celebrating in the Twin Cities.
So lets give them our congratulations....

MINNESOTA TWINS
2018 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!

[rjl518]

The NY Mets and the MIN Twins!
Did i ever think that we would be facing them in the World Series?
Not really.
The Twins got there courtesy of the TOR Blue Jays and TEX Rangers, while the Mets got there after defeating the ARZ Diamondbacks and LA Dodgers.
A full preview will come on 10/23 the day before the series starts.
See you then!

[rjl518]

The place is here and the time is now as the MIN Twins and the NY Mets prepare to face off in the 2018 World Series.
We are one day behind because of the Wildcard Series round so the first game is tomorrow.
How does this series shape up?

For MIN:
Jose Berrios has been the best pitcher so far for the Twins, so he has been doing it all.
Michael Pineda and Lance Lynn must pick up the slack if the Twins have any chance of winning this series.
Ervin Santana has to have a better game since his last start against the TEX Rangers.
Trevor Hildenberger is out for the series, so that means Addison Reed must close the door.
The lineup is solid, but some key injuries came up as MIN will not have Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario for the series.
But Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano can provide the pop that the Twins need.

For NYM:
This is it!
This is what this lineup and pitching staff were put together for at the start of the season.
To win it all!
Corey Kluber then Noah Syndergaard will pitch the first two games at home, leaving Stephen Strasburg for Game 3 and Clayton Kershaw for Game 4.
Why Strasburg for the third game?
If this series goes 7 games, he will be FULLY rested for the decider.
Don't have to say much about the lineup except that they just need to do the job they have been doing all season long.
Winning!

Will the OOTP AI have anything to say about this series?
Has it already decided that i lose no matter what i do?
The final answers are coming up next!

Game 1 is tomorrow night @ Citi Field!

[rjl518]

MIN Twins 2
NY METS 3
(10 Innings)
Citi Field

A see-saw game that saw the MIN Twins and NY Mets go to extras, but its the Mets who take the 1-0 WS lead!

For MIN:
Michael Pineda did a darn good job going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 3 hits.
But its Addison Reed who took the loss here.
The Twins did get some timely hitting and a key error by the Mets in the 4th, allowed them an extra out and they used it to tie the game. (AI CHEATS!)
MIN played tough and almost pulled it out, but they fell just short at the end.
Jorge Polanco and Nick Buss had two hits each for MIN in this one.

For NYM:
What a tough game that i also thought we were going to lose.
Corey Kluber gave up no earned runs on 6 hits with 7 Ks tonight.
But Ken Giles blew the save that allowed the Twins to tie it up.
Max Scherzer came in and pitched one inning to get the win, his 1st of the playoffs.
Josh Donaldson (7) and Mike Trout (4) hit a couple of HRs.
But it was Corey Seager with a BIG RBI single that allowed Charlie Blackmon to score the winning run in the 10th inning.
If the rest of the WS is like this game, we could be in for a dogfight!

Can we take both games at home?

NY METS Lead World Series 1-0!

Game 2 is tomorrow night @ Citi Field!

[rjl518]

MIN Twins 3
NY METS 1
Citi Field
(11 Innings)

Another extra inning game in the World Series, only this time its the MIN Twins who even it all up! (AI CHEATS!)

For MIN:
Jose Berrios got the start today and he didn't give up anything but 2 hits.
It was Taylor Rogers who got the win and John Curtis who got the save.
Byron Buxton hits a BIG 2-run HR in the 11th to put the Twins ahead and that is where they stayed.

For NYM:
Noah Syndergaard could not have pitched any better.
He gave up 1 run on 3 hits and he struck out 13 batters!
But it was Ken Giles who took the loss as he gave up the HR to Buxton.
The Mets gave Thor no run support as they left 12 men on base! (AI CHEATS!!)
A second straight pitcher's duel, but this one we lose. (AI CHEATS!!!)
Corey Seager and Freddie Freeman had two hits each tonight in the losing cause.

We are all tied up.
Now its on to a very cold state of Minnesota for the next three games!

World Series Tied 1-1!

Game 3 is Saturday night @ Target Field!