Re: MLB The Show 21 Franchise Discussion Thread
This is a longer post, but I promise it’s worth it. I just had probably the most exhilarating experience with a game ever in my life, and this is with 30+ years of playing sports games. To understand why, let me set the table:
The Cardinals cruised to the postseason with 111 wins on the back of stellar pitching. The offense struggled throughout the year and consistently ranked at the bottom of the league. Fast forward to the NLCS after sweeping the opening round against the vaunted Padres, and suddenly they were face to face with the Braves, one of only two teams they had a losing record against all year. The Braves lineup was at the top of the league in output with great years from Acuna Jr, Ozuna, Freeman, and their mid-season acquisition of Joey Gallo. It was the perfect counter to the Cardinal pitching staff. At the same time, Atlanta’s pitching at the top of the rotation was stellar all year and the back end of the bullpen was sturdy. That all equaled tight games with no margin for error.
After winning the first three games of the series in low scoring affairs, I was feeling confident. However, I dropped games 4 and 5 in ATL as the Braves’ offense came to life and my offense couldn’t keep up. Game 6 was a nail biter throughout and it was 0-0 through 6. Jack Flaherty was pulled earlier due to low energy and a high pitch count (he had 9 Ks to that point and the Braves were working long counts all night). Freddie Freeman would greet Jordan Hicks by hitting a triple in the top of the 7th to leadoff the inning. Hicks wasn’t able to keep the run from scoring as Ozuna’s sac fly opened the scoring in the game. Hicks would close out the inning and the Cardinals would try to respond in the bottom of the inning with the bottom of their lineup. Nothing happened and they were held scoreless.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Cardinals would tie it up after a double from Bader and two groundouts from Carlson and Arenado. 1-1 through 8 thanks to some small ball. The 9th inning came and went with no offense from either side. The top of the 10th was up and so was Freddie Freeman. Freeman had 3 HRs already in the series in addition to his triple earlier, so I was determined to not let him beat me. Ozuna and Acuna Jr were due after and had been held mostly silent through the series at that point. I tried to pitch Freeman to where he couldn’t put it out of the yard and fed a two seamer low and away. Freeman is a professional hitter, though, and he proceed to double down the left field line. Ugh.
Ozuna was up next and Alex Reyes was able to strike him out with a combination of deadly heat up in the zone and a slider off the plate. Next up was Acuna Jr who quickly found himself in the hole, 0-2, thanks to the same combination. However, he wouldn’t bite on anything out of the zone again and it was 3-2 before I knew it. I wasn’t concerned about putting him on base with a base open because I was confident Reyes could get another K or two with the guys following, but I didn’t want to make a mistake. I decided to go with a curve, one of Reyes’ best pitches, low and away just out of the zone.
I hung it. HUNG IT. You know those moments. The one’s where you see the ball released and your backside tightens and everything happens in slow motion.
Thwack.
Acuna Jr. hits a no doubter into the 2nd deck and the Braves bench goes nuts. Acuna puts his arms out like an airplane and soars over the 1st base bag and struts his stuff rounding the bases including a little stutter step before crossing home plate. I could feel the series, and the season, slipping away from me. Reyes got into more trouble following Acuna’s blast and at one point the Braves had two runners on again, 1st and 3rd with two out. Thankfully Reyes was able to get the third out, but it still felt like this one wasn’t going to end well.
Bottom of the 10th and the Braves bring in Will Smith to close it out and take the series back to ATL. The first batter is Paul DeJong who ropes the first pitch he sees into the right center gap for a stand up double. Alright. That’s a positive. The next batter is Tyler O’Neill, and he takes the first pitch he sees and hits a laser up the first base line for a sure double…only there is Freddie Flippin Freeman standing on the line in a no doubles defense. He snags the ball on a hop and tags first for the out. Dang. Well, at least DeJong moved up on the play.
Next up is the red hot Tommy Edman who, due to the lefty, is now batting right handed where he happens to hit for more power. He takes a couple of balls inside, and then Will Smith hangs a curveball. Whack! Tommy Edman hits a long fly ball and I’m yelling at the tv “get out! Get out!” Acuna backs up towards the wall….stops a foot from it…and catches it on the warning track. DeJong scores but I’m completed deflated. I was THAT CLOSE.
Now it’s 3-2 with two outs, and the slowest player in the league Yadier Molina is up to the dish and is in his swan song with Cardinals. For a moment I think about pinch hitting for him, but I didn’t have a great option off the bench at this point that was significantly better against a lefty, and I figured if this is his last year of his career, I’ll let him have it. He sees a fastball on the first pitch and hits it on a line towards Gallo in right who comes up just short of catching it. Molina is on first and the pitcher’s spot is due up.
I turn to the only guy that has any chance of hitting one in the gap against a lefty, John Nogowski. Who? Exactly. The guy barely made the playoff roster because my other options were hurt. He was mostly added for his glove as he was able to play multiple positions and offered a little bit of speed. He had two HRs for the year and hit about .265, so he was hardly a threat. He was also the fastest guy on the bench, but I had the slowest guy ever on 1st who had no chance to score on a double. Therefore I had to pinch run for Molina, but my options were slim. Enter the video below. The video starts with me trying to find someone who can pinch run, preferably a pitcher so I don’t burn a possible pinch batter if I’m somehow able to tie it up. What you’ll see is I cycle through for about 45 seconds trying to find someone…anyone…only to settle on burning a bench player, Edmundo Sosa. He’s only a 57 speed, but I cross my fingers hoping it will be enough. Watch the video below to see what happens:
This is a longer post, but I promise it’s worth it. I just had probably the most exhilarating experience with a game ever in my life, and this is with 30+ years of playing sports games. To understand why, let me set the table:
The Cardinals cruised to the postseason with 111 wins on the back of stellar pitching. The offense struggled throughout the year and consistently ranked at the bottom of the league. Fast forward to the NLCS after sweeping the opening round against the vaunted Padres, and suddenly they were face to face with the Braves, one of only two teams they had a losing record against all year. The Braves lineup was at the top of the league in output with great years from Acuna Jr, Ozuna, Freeman, and their mid-season acquisition of Joey Gallo. It was the perfect counter to the Cardinal pitching staff. At the same time, Atlanta’s pitching at the top of the rotation was stellar all year and the back end of the bullpen was sturdy. That all equaled tight games with no margin for error.
After winning the first three games of the series in low scoring affairs, I was feeling confident. However, I dropped games 4 and 5 in ATL as the Braves’ offense came to life and my offense couldn’t keep up. Game 6 was a nail biter throughout and it was 0-0 through 6. Jack Flaherty was pulled earlier due to low energy and a high pitch count (he had 9 Ks to that point and the Braves were working long counts all night). Freddie Freeman would greet Jordan Hicks by hitting a triple in the top of the 7th to leadoff the inning. Hicks wasn’t able to keep the run from scoring as Ozuna’s sac fly opened the scoring in the game. Hicks would close out the inning and the Cardinals would try to respond in the bottom of the inning with the bottom of their lineup. Nothing happened and they were held scoreless.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Cardinals would tie it up after a double from Bader and two groundouts from Carlson and Arenado. 1-1 through 8 thanks to some small ball. The 9th inning came and went with no offense from either side. The top of the 10th was up and so was Freddie Freeman. Freeman had 3 HRs already in the series in addition to his triple earlier, so I was determined to not let him beat me. Ozuna and Acuna Jr were due after and had been held mostly silent through the series at that point. I tried to pitch Freeman to where he couldn’t put it out of the yard and fed a two seamer low and away. Freeman is a professional hitter, though, and he proceed to double down the left field line. Ugh.
Ozuna was up next and Alex Reyes was able to strike him out with a combination of deadly heat up in the zone and a slider off the plate. Next up was Acuna Jr who quickly found himself in the hole, 0-2, thanks to the same combination. However, he wouldn’t bite on anything out of the zone again and it was 3-2 before I knew it. I wasn’t concerned about putting him on base with a base open because I was confident Reyes could get another K or two with the guys following, but I didn’t want to make a mistake. I decided to go with a curve, one of Reyes’ best pitches, low and away just out of the zone.
I hung it. HUNG IT. You know those moments. The one’s where you see the ball released and your backside tightens and everything happens in slow motion.
Thwack.
Acuna Jr. hits a no doubter into the 2nd deck and the Braves bench goes nuts. Acuna puts his arms out like an airplane and soars over the 1st base bag and struts his stuff rounding the bases including a little stutter step before crossing home plate. I could feel the series, and the season, slipping away from me. Reyes got into more trouble following Acuna’s blast and at one point the Braves had two runners on again, 1st and 3rd with two out. Thankfully Reyes was able to get the third out, but it still felt like this one wasn’t going to end well.
Bottom of the 10th and the Braves bring in Will Smith to close it out and take the series back to ATL. The first batter is Paul DeJong who ropes the first pitch he sees into the right center gap for a stand up double. Alright. That’s a positive. The next batter is Tyler O’Neill, and he takes the first pitch he sees and hits a laser up the first base line for a sure double…only there is Freddie Flippin Freeman standing on the line in a no doubles defense. He snags the ball on a hop and tags first for the out. Dang. Well, at least DeJong moved up on the play.
Next up is the red hot Tommy Edman who, due to the lefty, is now batting right handed where he happens to hit for more power. He takes a couple of balls inside, and then Will Smith hangs a curveball. Whack! Tommy Edman hits a long fly ball and I’m yelling at the tv “get out! Get out!” Acuna backs up towards the wall….stops a foot from it…and catches it on the warning track. DeJong scores but I’m completed deflated. I was THAT CLOSE.
Now it’s 3-2 with two outs, and the slowest player in the league Yadier Molina is up to the dish and is in his swan song with Cardinals. For a moment I think about pinch hitting for him, but I didn’t have a great option off the bench at this point that was significantly better against a lefty, and I figured if this is his last year of his career, I’ll let him have it. He sees a fastball on the first pitch and hits it on a line towards Gallo in right who comes up just short of catching it. Molina is on first and the pitcher’s spot is due up.
I turn to the only guy that has any chance of hitting one in the gap against a lefty, John Nogowski. Who? Exactly. The guy barely made the playoff roster because my other options were hurt. He was mostly added for his glove as he was able to play multiple positions and offered a little bit of speed. He had two HRs for the year and hit about .265, so he was hardly a threat. He was also the fastest guy on the bench, but I had the slowest guy ever on 1st who had no chance to score on a double. Therefore I had to pinch run for Molina, but my options were slim. Enter the video below. The video starts with me trying to find someone who can pinch run, preferably a pitcher so I don’t burn a possible pinch batter if I’m somehow able to tie it up. What you’ll see is I cycle through for about 45 seconds trying to find someone…anyone…only to settle on burning a bench player, Edmundo Sosa. He’s only a 57 speed, but I cross my fingers hoping it will be enough. Watch the video below to see what happens:
Comment