The MLB Playoffs Have Been Lousy So Far

I love baseball more than almost anything. I can't think of any other thing that has provided me as many hours of entertainment for so many years. I look forward to the post-season every year. Having said all of that, these playoffs have been awful.

I am sure a lot of people are going to say I'm just a bitter Mets fan which is an absolutely fair point. But that misery doesn't make me enjoy the playoffs any less. There have been many great playoffs that the Mets didn't sniff that I've enjoyed the hell out of. I just want to see great baseball games…and we really haven't.

There's been one great game all playoffs. The Game 2 of the Braves/Phillies was amazing. It would have immediately been an Instant Classic on ESPNClassic if they were still doing those. Outside of that game, it's been lots of blowouts and series sweeps. This is a loaded stat so bear with me but the winner of these series are 19-2 in games played. Obviously the winner of the series is going to have a disproportionate winning record but that's still an insane number. We've had 8 total series and 6 have been sweeps. Not great.

That's not to say there haven't been some great storylines. The Twins finally winning a playoff game and eventually a series is great for Minnesota fans. The Diamondbacks and Rangers both going 5-0 in the playoffs is a great win for underdogs. It just makes for baseball that's not very exciting. 

That's not to say things can't change quick. When I was a kid in the 1980's and early 90's, these extra rounds of playoffs didn't even exist. You can have a great playoffs with just an exciting LCS and a World Series. 1985, 1986 and 1991 were all fantastic post-seasons without the extra rounds.

The other saving grace has been this Braves/Phillies series. Two teams that absolutely hate each other. Superstars in their prime in Ronald Acuna and Bryce Harper. Phillies fans going apeshit. It's been awesome. I don't think either Phillies/DBacks or Braves/DBacks will have the same juice but we could get some incredible pitching matchups.

I think these playoffs will get better for the LCS's. It can't get much worse anyway. You give us a great Zac Gallen/Zach Wheeler matchup or a Yordan Alvarez/Corey Seager slugfest, things can get much better quickly. But if you've been disappointed watching these baseball playoffs, imagine how FOX execs feel. If they end up with a Diamondbacks/Rangers World Series, you might see some historically low TV ratings. The only thing that could save viewership in that series would be a compelling and competitive matchup. 

Hopefully we can finally get exactly that.