Episode 1751: The Playoff Matchups Draft

Summary[]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about teams pitching around Shohei Ohtani and a second conspiracy theory about Rays/Jays Cardgate, then rank the fun quotient of potential playoff teams and draft their preferred playoff matchups.

Topics[]

The Playoffs Matchup Draft (12:32)
Most fun playoff teams
What are the circumstances where the Mariners make the playoffs?
Preferred playoff matchups
Chicago White Sox
Jake Arrieta and waiver acquisitions

Banter[]

Shohei Ohtani getting walked 11 times in a three-game series (00:47)
Lineup protection and struggling Angels
Another Cardgate conspiracy theory email (08:51)
Ben and Meg notably disagree on whether players should be able to have notes on the field, and agree that it's good that they disagree sometimes.

Draft Selections[]

Three rounds of drafts relating to playoff-bound teams and their entertainment value. The pool of teams includes all 10 teams currently in a playoff position, plus the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Phillies.

Round 1: Most Fun Playoff Teams[]

Both Ben and Meg independently rank all 13 teams in the pool from least fun to most fun.

Ben's Picks	Meg's Picks
Cardinals	Red Sox
Red Sox	Astros
Phillies	Cardinals
Braves	Yankees
Astros	Braves
Yankees	White Sox
Mariners	Phillies
Rays	Rays
Brewers	Giants
Dodgers	Brewers
White Sox	Mariners
Giants	Blue Jays
Blue Jays	Dodgers

Round 2: Playoff matchup preferences[]


Ben's Picks	Meg's Picks
Dodgers-Giants	Blue Jays-Mariners
Yankees-Red Sox	Brewers-Dodgers
Rays-Blue Jays	Cardinals-Giants

Notes[]

Meg wants the Mariners playoff drought to end, she doesn't care how (such as making the wild card game).
This is the first time in franchise history that the White Sox have made they playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Meg says if the Mariners make the World Series she will buy a Paul Sewald jersey.