World News – United States – Elephant Rumblings: Sympathy for the latest MLB playoff curses

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The 2020 MLB Playoffs have reached their second round, the League Division Series The Oakland A came out of the first round by defeating the Chicago White Sox in the new Wild Card series, which is a big deal for the green and gold The As’s beat a six-game streak / round playoff losing streak, and nine straight losses in the winner’s playoff games – this second streak is an all-time MLB record

No matter what happens from here on out, Oakland has broken their long curse It would be disappointing not to go further in the range, and especially against National villain and division rival Houston Astros, but at the less we saw them win something in October for the first time in over a decade

However, other teams weren’t so lucky To begin with, the Minnesota Twins are now taking over as the saddest undisputed postseason team, at least among the clubs that get there. sometimes After being swept away by the Astros in their Wild Card series, the Twins have now lost 18 straight playoff games, dating back to 2004 After losing the ALDS that year, they were swept into the ALDS in 2006, 2009, and 2010, lost the 2017 Wild Card Game, and then were swept into that year’s ALDS and WCS. Of course, that 2006 ALDS was against the A’s, which was Oakland’s only October success of the 21st century until last week. The Twins had already won this curse even before last week

Then you have the Cleveland Indians, who were supposed to trigger a dominant starting rotation but were instead hammered by the ridiculous Yankee roster. The Indians last won the World Series in 1948, the longest ever Championship drought active in majors They almost got there in 2016, but lost a 3-1 series lead against the Cubs They are quickly running out of time in the current competitive window

This was only the third playoff appearance in the past 27 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays, who were swept away in two games Admittedly they were fortunate enough to be successful due to the extended support at the good moment, but still They needed several things to go massively at once just to reach the ALCS a few times in 2015-16, and now they’re finally back with a new young core just in time to compete with the No 1 Rays plus the relentless Yankees and Red Sox

And finally, what about the Chicago White Sox that Oakland just beat? The As haven’t won a playoff since 2006, but the Sox haven’t since 2005, even though that year they won a magical championship. But that championship itself shattered an 88-year drought that was slightly longer than that of the Red Sox. They’ve only made the playoffs 10 times in 120 years, a number the A’s have surpassed only in the 21st century

And of course, if several teams have never won a World Series (Brewers, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Rockies), the Seattle Mariners have never even gone. They have not been either. all in the playoffs since 2001, and only four times in 44 seasons (all from 1995 to 2001)

So take a gentle breath, A fans The 21st century has been tough for the green and gold devotees, but at least we’re usually invited to the October dance in the first place so we can have a bad time there- bottom There are teams that have got worse, especially now that we have turned a new page

Now let’s beat the Astros so we can get further away from this conversation, and maybe instead talk about the few teams that have it better than us

ALDS starts today (Monday), and NLDS starts tomorrow (Tuesday) See full schedule below

I don’t know why this guy doesn’t get more votes for Team Captain at our annual AN Awards

Mark Canha: « I think the Oakland A’s will always be underrated and underrated It’s just the nature of the business We’re a ‘small market’ team with no quotes People probably expected for the White Sox to win the final heat I feel like we’re wearing this badge as a motivator « 

The As finished the regular season with 3 straight games, played matches of the day in all 3 ALWCS games and will play at least 3 consecutive games to open the ALDS the last time the As played 9 consecutive games, that was in 1973 (2 regular season finals, 7 first playoffs)

This is the first time since 1981 (Royals) that the A’s have faced a divisional rival in the playoffs Not really surprising given the old formats but I thought it was interesting This 1981 season was affected by the strike, so, like this, it was not 162 full games

Looks like there will be some live organ from Dieter Ruehle, longtime Dodger Stadium organist, during this series, especially when the A’s are the home team Plans en l ‘air again

Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, American League Division Series, Chris Bassitt