Playoff Momentum

[Red Rover]

Here are the September records of all the remaining playoff teams and there current streaks;

Indians 21-6 (W10)
Cardinals 19-8 (W6)
Athletics 19-8 (W1)
Red Sox 16-9 (L1)
Rays 16-12 (W1)
Pirates 15-12 (W3)
Reds 14-12 (L5)
Tigers 13-13 (L3)
Braves 13-14 (W1)
Rangers 12-15 (W7)
Dodgers 12-15 (L2)

[1940757690]

Momentum is such an interesting thing but parlor game-ish. Going by this, it'll be a Cleveland-St. Louis series and we'll be first eliminated (not counting tonight which isn't a post season game). Somehow, I just don't see things going that way and it'd be a TV nightmare if they did.

So many intangibles about tomorrow night; most of all Cueto. It'd be mildly interesting to look at Sept "momentum" related to actual postseason outcomes over the past 5 or 10 years. I'd bet very low correlation and certainly no causation.

[Always Red]

Dodgers really cooled off after that BRM-style stretch

[Fil3232]

Just posted this in another thread, but probably fits better here.

http://mlb.si.com/2012/10/04/athleti...nkees-momentu/

Piece last year by Jay Jaffe of SI into whether momentum matters once the playoffs begin.

[1940757690]

Just posted this in another thread, but probably fits better here.

http://mlb.si.com/2012/10/04/athleti...nkees-momentu/

Piece last year by Jay Jaffe of SI into whether momentum matters once the playoffs begin.

Thanks for posting. Not sure I'd ever seen that piece but feel like I have read similar analyses in the past. That and the experience of just watching so many seeming "surprisies" in many postseasons make the author's conclusion totally unsurprising to me.

[SporkLover]

I don't pay much heed to momentum after the 2006 post season.... NL Central Division champ barely squeaks in.... very anemic season... little momentum... and wins it all.

[cumberlandreds]

Momentum is the next days starting pitcher in baseball.

[RedTeamGo!]

5 in a row to the end the season

[smith288]

To be fair, the last two were almost throwaways.

[OC_Red]

Dusty is a genius playing the odds this way. He clearly played the statistics card by losing 5 in a row. Well played, Dusty.

I mean...The odds of losing 6 in a row can't be all that high, right? Guys?

Guys? Little help here...

[RedTeamGo!]

To be fair, the last two were almost throwaways.

Only the last game was. If they had won the last 2 games they would be playing in Cinci on Tuesday.

[RadfordVA]

Momentum is the next days starting pitcher in baseball.

In that case, Johnny Momentum has a nice ring to it.

Hopefully better than the movie Johnny Mnemonic.

[toledodan]

5 in a row to the end the season

last season wasn't swept at home till the playoffs.
this season wasn't swept at home till last series of season.

see a pattern here??

[LoganBuck]

The off days always change how a team functions. I was surprised that the Pirates decided to give so many guys Sunday off. Two off days for a team that is now going to have their backs slapped with congratulations for 48 hours was not a good stategy, imo.

The Indians are turning to a 23 year old rookie, after stomping a mudhole in inferior competition for the last week+.

We will see, but as was shown last year, a one game playoff is about as random a result as you can get.

Remember Johnny Cueto is to the Pirates, as Chris Carpenter has traditionally been to the Reds. Kryptonite

[BluegrassRedleg]

It's a clean slate once the playoffs begin. Uncle Mo' has rarely meant anything in baseball.