2019 Turtle Ball Postseason

[Baltimore Orioles (Vince)]

Meet the Final Four 

After a long regular season and a postseason full of surprises, four teams remain in Turtle Ball's inaugural season. To the Times, there is no clear cut favorite to win this year's championship and the league is in store for an AL and NL championship games which will produce a very intriguing match-up to crown the first champion in league history. Let the games begin.

San Diego Padres

                    After taking down arguably the best overall team in the league, the San Diego Padres are riding high heading into their NL Championship game match-up against the Chicago Cubs. It was not long ago that the Padres were in a dog fight for the NL West with the Dodgers and the Giants while also grappling for a wildcard spot. Two weeks after the end of the regular season, the San Diego Padres not only captured their division title but then defeated the New York Mets in the second round to advance to the NL championship. All season long, the Padres have been overlooked and underrated to say the least. While they do not have the biggest stars stepping up to the plate every night for their team, they epitomize efficiency and effectiveness. Veteran player Jeff McNeil contended for a batting title this year while Kevin Newman batted over .300 in his first major league season. Six Padres are batting above .270 while all nine starters have over an .850 OPS exemplifying this team’s ability to make the most of their opportunities at the plate. Adding Luke Voit back for their postseason push was a huge lift to an already dangerously efficient group. The same story at the plate can be seen on the mound for the Padres. San Diego doesn’t have the biggest names on the rubber every night but they have received efficient returns from their starters and relievers. Kirby Yates, a name that does not ring a bell to most casual fans, led the majors in saves and Matthew Boyd tossed the 7th most strikeouts among starters this season. In addition to efficiency on both sides of the ledger, health and depth are both strengths for the Padres and will be an advantage for the team their continued push to win a championship. Simply put, the San Diego Padres will be a tough out this week against the Chicago Cubs and potentially against the winner of the AL Championship game. For a team that was overlooked for most of 2019, the Padres are two wins away from shocking the league pundits who did not label the Padres as a championship contender when the season began.

Chicago Cubs

                 The Chicago Cubs are the number one seed for a reason and that reason is statistical dominance. During the regular season, the Cubs led the league when it came to statistical wins across the board. Even though the Cubs barely escaped with a win against their divisional foe Cincinnati Reds in the prior round, the Cubs are still in the number one slot for a reason. The middle of Chicago’s order which includes Albies, Devers and Polanco is one of the most difficult batting trios to go against in the entire league. Add in Puig, Sanchez and Desmond to supplement that core trio and there aren’t many teams who can beat the Chicago Cubs in a shootout. Stephen Strausburg and Shane Bieber are the stars for the Cubs who are top ten statistically in the majors this season. Chicago’s approach to starting rookies as relief pitchers primarily has been unconventional but the rookie trio of Rainey, Harper and Walden have returned valuable dividends to an already very successful team. The NL Championship game will put Chicago’s statistical dominance to the test as they face a very efficient club in the San Diego Padres. Losing Gary Sanchez going into a critical matchup hurts but a hot week from Chicago’s batting order should be able to overcome the loss of Sanchez behind the plate. Chicago hopes their club loaded with star power can defeat a very worthy opponent this week to bring them one game closer to capping off a so far dominant 2019 campaign with a championship win.

Texas Rangers

                The Texas Rangers ultimately lost out on winning the AL West this season but the Rangers got the last laugh by bumping off the Oakland Athletics to advance to the AL Championship game. The Rangers spent most of the 2019 regular season duking out the AL West with the Athletics and were at times seen as the scrappy younger brother to the more established older brother in Oakland. With Oakland behind them, the Rangers have their sights set on winning not only the AL but the whole league and they have the firepower to make that a realistic goal. The Rangers were a top five statistical team this season across the board and they flexed their statistical edge by knocking off the AL West leading Oakland Athletics and the wily Cleveland Indians. Whenever you have Alex Bregman or George Springer coming up to bat, you can expect your team to be in it to the end. Both players dealt with health issues during the regular season but now both are healthy and have led the Rangers to an 2-0 record thus far in the AL players. Josh Donaldson and Tommy Pham have been pleasant surprises for Texas and have paid dividends to a team that had an overall solid season. Elias Diaz will be called upon in this championship matchup against the Tigers to replace the injured Kurt Suzuki and will be expected to produce. On the mound for the Rangers, injuries have been a concern during the regular and post season. However, it appears the club has benefitted from Jesus Luzardo’s call up and Liam Hendriks’ hot hand down the stretch in the postseason. Four of the Rangers’ pitchers have an ERA below 2.5 which highlights the Rangers’ ability to blow opponents away with strong games from their pitchers. Charlie Morton and Jon Lester may be called upon to produce better results for this team but overall the Rangers are set up for success both in the AL championship and the potential league championship.

Detroit Tigers

                Cue up that old classic “eye of the tiger” when talking about these Detroit Tigers. The Tigers may have come into the postseason as the third seed, but they have proved their mettle by advancing to the AL Championship game. 141 categorical wins felt like a lot to the Tigers but to the rest of the league it may have been a bit overshadowed with teams such as the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays flashing superior name brand talent. The Tigers successful season has been predicated on the emergence of rookie sensation Eloy Jimenez. Once Jimenez was called up earlier this season, the Tigers season long outlook ticked upwards for their front office’s aspirations. Throw in solid veterans like Paul Goldschmidt, Mark Canha and Nelson Cruz and the Tigers have been cooking with gas all season long. Being the last division winner left in the AL playoffs, the Tigers are poised to make a strong case to make the championship game. Even though there is a stark difference between their AL championship game opponent’s batting average and OPS, the Tigers are confident their batters are up to the challenge and they possess one of the best pitching staffs across the league. Having two Cy Young candidates take the mound for you every night will give your team a strong chance of winning every game. Having Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander on the same team has been explosive all season long and the Tigers are hoping that duo can lead them to securing the AL pennant and the Turtle Ball Championship. 

[Baltimore Orioles (Vince)]

DEFEAT: HOW THE 2019 SEASON ENDED FOR THE RUNNER UPS

Thirty teams went through the grind of the 2019 regular season with one goal. Make the postseason and contend for a title. Ultimately, only twelve teams, six from each conference, made the inaugural postseason. There were a few teams this year who were projected to be in the postseason while others developed as a surprise over the course of the regular season. As Detroit Tigers celebrate their championship, the eleven franchises who made the postseason are left to strategize for the 2020 regular season and how their team can advance to league championship and ultimately bring home a title to their respective franchise. The Times took a look at each runner-up and speculated how exactly they can get there in 2020.

Baltimore Orioles (AL Wildcard)

After the completion of the inaugural Turtle Ball 2019 draft, the Baltimore Orioles were projected to come in last place in the AL East. Despite the low expectations from certain pundits, the Orioles made the postseason as a Wildcard seed. Coming into the season, Xander Bogaerts, Blake Snell and Gerrit Cole were the focal points of the Orioles team but they were in need of support. Baltimore’s front office made savvy in-season maneuvers to get their few stars some quality support staff. Josh Phegley, Leury Garcia and Adam Frazier were all drafted in later rounds but had surprisingly solid regular seasons. Trading for David Peralta and signing Gio Urshela proved very valuable for the Orioles because that duo became two of the hottest hitters in the league during the regular season. Unfortunately for Baltimore, the injury bug bit the team at an inopportune time. Peralta and Snell went under the knife before the postseason began and Urhsela went down with an injury which kept him off the field during the Orioles wildcard match-up with the Tigers. Granted the Orioles were defeated by a more talented overall better team in Detroit, the Orioles defied expectations and are set up for the future. If the ALDS is the goal next season, Baltimore will need to use some of their cap flexibility to sign a legitimate star batter to play alongside Bogaerts. While Urhsela, Phegley and Frazier were nice surprises, the league is star driven and without another star batter to supplement Xander Bogaerts this team may not achieve that stated goal. Pitching is not a concern for the Orioles next season as their starters will include Snell, Cole and Manaea all of whom are among the top pitchers in the league. Relief pitcher Corey Knebel will also join the club in 2020 which will make an already dangerous pitching rotation that much deeper and better. Overall, Baltimore needs to focus on corralling another star bat to seriously contend in 2020 to make it out of the Wildcard round.

Miami Marlins (NL Wildcard)

The Marlins (147-87) came up just short against the San Diego Padres in the 2019 Wildcard round. While the Padres were arguably the hottest team entering Wildcard week, the Marlins must still have a sense they missed an opportunity to go further than just the Wildcard round. Additionally, the Marlins can’t be happy that they watched their squad lose every single batting category except for stolen bases a category for which they only won by a margin of one. Javier Baez’s untimely injury is a legitimate excuse for a lackluster batting performance. Still, batters on the Marlins not named Whit Merrifield failed to execute against the Padres. With the Wildcard loss behind them, the Marlins look towards its goals for 2020. Assuming the Marlins feel their lineup is sufficient to make the postseason again, the Marlins would be wise to sign a veteran star batter to step in and supplement superstar Javier Baez. The Marlins have one of the youngest teams in the Turtle Ball League and could use another batter like Baez to take them to the next level. Had the Marlins had Baez or a player equivalent to his value, they may have been able to eek out a win against the Padres. For now, the Marlins have their sights set on the 2019 offseason looking for a batter that can help get them over the top when the 2020 season comes around.

San Francisco Giants (NL Wildcard)

Remember playing baseball as a kid and picking teams required placing one hand over the other on a bat until there’s no more room to do so? That is an exact metaphor for what happened to the Giants in the 2019 postseason. Over the course of a few weeks, the Giants (150-89) watched the Padres leap-frog them by a .04 margin to win the NL West and then lost to the Cincinnati Reds by a technical tie breaker. A painful ending to an overall successful season is not what the Giants organization hoped for. To make matters worse, they now have to watch as the NL West champs contend for a championship that may reside in their division to a neighboring club and not their own. While the forecast may be glum in San Francisco as of now, the future does look bright. The match-up with the Reds could have ended differently if the Giants stole two more bags to make it a 7-6 win rather than a 6-6 tie. San Fran can’t blame their batters as they put on an overall dominant display of offense led by Ronald Acuna Jr. against the Reds. Pitching hampered the Giants and is a part of their team they could seek to improve this offseason. Patrick Corbin came to play and Zack Greinke dropped the ball. All in all, the Giants have a talented roster that became the victims of rotten luck. The Giants will be back and the only question is whether or not the bad luck that plagued them will be there too or not.

Cleveland Indians (AL Wildcard)

The Indians (122-107) hot streak down the stretch of the 2019 season came to an end in the Wildcard round against the Texas Rangers. Overall, the Indians put up a decent fight against the Rangers and the 9-1 loss doesn’t show the full picture as each category was decided by a close margin. Undoubtedly, the Indians front office congratulated themselves for developing a winning roster who made it to the postseason. However, Cleveland would like to make it past the Wildcard round in 2020 and beyond. Cleveland has one of the youngest rosters in the league and their young stars such as Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez and Hunter Dozier carried them to the 2019 playoffs. Major changes to their batting order are not necessary as those three players alone comprise three of the top young rising stars across the league. Cleveland must improve their starting pitching if they are looking to go further in 2020. Starters Yusei Kikuchi and Wade LeBlanc ended the season with an ERA over 5.00 which was costly for the Indians in the playoffs. No quality starts and an ERA nearing 4.00 has to be concerning to the Indians going forward. Trevor Bauer is a solid pitcher but he will require some assistance in 2020 if this team seeks to be more than a perennial Wildcard contender.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds (145-82) were on the winning end of their matchup against the Giants as they came out on top due to their regular season success against the Giants. Despite such a successful regular season, the Reds entered the postseason as a Wildcard team but won their initial matchup. While their season was ended by the NL Central winning Cubs, the Reds are a team poised to be right back in the mix in 2020. Jurickson Profar, Anthony Rizzo and Marcus Semien highlight a solid batting order while Mike Minor led the way for the Reds on the mound. All in all, this team was missing a true big name star both on the mound and at the plate to take them further than the second round. Winning due to a technicality against the Giants could not have been a goal coming into the season for the Reds and the Reds had to be a bit disappointed with how their team faired against their rival in the Cubs. An aggressive approach in free agency to bring in a star bat or arm could go a long way to improving Cincinnati’s chances in the 2020 season.

New York Mets (NL East Champ)

The Mets (156-78) fell victim to a red hot San Diego Padres team and the injury bug in the second round of the playoffs. The Mets had an amazin’ season having an elite offense and a high powered pitching staff to put out there every day. Pete Alonso was called up to join an already loaded roster which included Ketel Marte, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado and the Mets never looked back. Unfortunately, the Mets suffered two strokes of bad luck having several of their players go down with untimely injuries and running into a Padres team that was lighting the league on fire down the stretch. The Mets definitely had their sights set on a championship and factors outside of their control derailed those hopes. Coming up short in such a fashion should sting but it shouldn’t last long as the Mets will have one of the stronger rosters in the league for 2020. The Mets starting lineup of batters is stout and should have no trouble repeating their 2019 effort in the upcoming campaign. However, the Mets have to be concerned with how their pitching staff faired in the postseason when Brandon Woodruff and Jon Gray went down with respective injuries. The Mets only got 27 innings out of their pitchers in the postseason and the numbers were downright putrid. Look for the Mets to put in an amazin’ effort to corral a marquee pitcher either starter or in relief to supplement their pitching and guard against late season injuries that ultimately derailed the Mets championship hopes in 2019.

Oakland Athletics (AL West Champ)

The Athletics (160-71) had the best statistical season in 2019 and that led them to enter the postseason as an early favorite to win it all. However, regular season success and postseason success are not always related and that theory proved true in the postseason. The Athletics after their first round bye were run over by their bitter rival Texas Rangers in the second round. The Athletics have the capability to return to form in 2020 but they have a few areas of concern to watch out for if they hope to return to the 2020 postseason. First and foremost, Oakland may have been statistically dominant but they have one of the older lineups in the league. Justin Turner, Miguel Cabrera and Daniel Murphy exemplified the Athletics success in 2019 but all three will be another year older and there will be a question if their age will affect their play in 2020. Contrarily, the A’s pitching staff is on the younger side with players like Fried, Ray and Buehler among the best young pitchers in the league. A youth movement in the A’s batting order could go a long way to improve the A’s chances of going further in the postseason and not fall victim to an older team producing tired results when the A’s are counting on them the most to secure a championship for their franchise.

Tampa Bay Rays (AL East Champ)

While losing to the eventual champion is not necessarily a bad result, the Rays have to describe their mostly successful 2019 season as a disappointment. After winning the AL East and being a top ten statistical team, the Rays had their sights set on a deep playoff run in 2019. Their hopes of a championship were quickly dashed by the upstart Detroit Tigers that went on to win the whole thing and swept away the Rays in the process. Injuries to Jose Ramirez and David Dahl played a part in their defeat but the Rays failed to have their lineup step up to the task against the Tigers. For 2020, it would be a sound strategy to give Trevor Story a worthy sidekick to lead the way at the plate together with. Jose Ramirez is a worthy side kick but as he gets older the Rays will have to look to free agency to assist their franchise in building around their star in Trevor Story. On the mound, the Rays lost a close battle against the Tigers which ultimately decided the matchup. Madison Bumgarner’s storied career is nearing an end which will be a priority for the Rays in 2020. In addition, Michael Pineda’s untimely suspension played a role in the close loss against the Tigers and the Rays must believe that if Pineda were available he could have been the difference. Regardless, the Rays would be prudent to shop either via trade or free agency to bring in another big name arm to supplement their starting rotation on the rubber led by Bumgarner who has yet to commit to returning in 2020.

San Diego Padres (NL West Champs)

Caught in a brutal situation in the NL West, many close to the San Diego Padres’ front office were pondering how far San Diego could truly go in 2019. While the Padres lost the NL championship to the Chicago Cubs, the Padres went further than their NL West rivals and stunned the league with their magical 2019 postseason run. Making it to the NL championship game and winning their division were impressive feats but those in San Diego will now be tasked with tweaking their roster to win the grand prize in 2020. While Jeff McNeil will most likely not contend for another batting title in 2020, the Padres have multiple McNeil type players which will put them right back in the mix in 2020. Kevin Newman, Trey Mancini and Luke Voit (only to name a few) comprise a deep and loaded roster which will be just as dangerous in 2020. The Padres most likely do not need to make major changes to their starting lineup and should be concerned with bringing this group back together for another shot at the title next season. The same can be said for the Padres when it comes to pitching. Matthew Boyd and Kirby Yates were both arguably top five as a starter and as a closer in 2019 which will give the Padres flexibility when it comes to free agency and keeping their team together. All in all, if the San Diego Padres return this team as is back on the field in 2020, it should be to no one’s surprise that they start the 2020 season as a serious favorite to win the title in the second season of Turtle Ball.

Texas Rangers (AL Wildcard)

The AL championship game was very similar to the Alamo where several rebellious Texans were gunned down and defeated in a defiant effort. The Rangers got revenge against their rival Athletics in the second round but got outgunned in the AL championship against the eventual champion Detroit Tigers. The Rangers were without key players like Kolten Wong and Josh Donaldson for the AL championship but they got minimal results from the rest of their team. The question for the Rangers for 2020 is are they fully comfortable trotting out the same team for the 2020 campaign to reach the league championship in the end. Justin Smoak and Kurt Suzuki turned in poor results for Texas and it would not be a surprise to see the team prioritize upgrading at the catcher or first base position for 2020 in order to supplement their dynamic duo in Alex Bregman and George Springer. The Rangers pitching staff was excellent in 2019 despite their poor showing in the AL championship matchup. Aroldis Chapman and Charlie Morton are two of the best at their respective positions and should anchor the Rangers in 2020. Pitching is definitely not a concern for the Rangers for next season and it should be interesting to see what Texas’ ultimate strategy is to tweak their roster in order to bring home a title to their franchise in 2020.

Chicago Cubs (NL Central Champ)

So close and yet so far away. The Cubs saw the championship in their grasp for a moment only to see the Tigers tear it away from them and bring it home to nearby Detroit in celebration. Simply put, the Cubs franchise put all of their resources into 2019 to create a formidable team that fell just short of winning it all. From start to finish, the Cubs deserved to be considered the favorite to win throughout 2019 and came very close to doing so. The team fell short overall in the championship match but each statistical category was so close that it would not be shocking to see the Cubs make minimal changes for the 2020 campaign. Having Gary Sanchez remain healthy for a full season will be key for the Cubs in 2020 as his performance down the stretch in 2019 seemed to be hindered by the nagging injuries which pulled the star catcher’s play downwards towards the end of the season. Wielding one of the youngest teams in the league with Devers, Albies and Solak at the helm, the Cubs will most likely add to their youth movement by calling up players from their farm system to produce repeat results in 2020. Stephen Strasburg was acquired to help put the Cubs over the top and yet he gave them only ten strikeouts during the championship game. In the end, the Cubs fell to a formidable opponent who got hot at the beginning of the postseason and never looked back. The Cubs put in a lot of effort that is commendable and should seek to keep this group together for another shot at the title in 2020. With the way the Chicago Cubs front office conducts its business, it should not be surprising to see the Cubs represent the NL in the championship game in 2020 with the way their present roster is constructed.