Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
And silly me, I thought that was October 23, 1993, the infamous Joe Carter game.
But after three abysmal, lopsided contests yesterday, there is not much to discuss really. For Phils fans, you can see all of the problems that plagued them earlier in the season bubbling right back to the top, Charlie Manuel not staying with a starter long enough, ineffective middle relievers, too many strikeouts.
For the Yankees, you have question why Torre would put a still somewhat close game in the hands of two pitchers who, combined, pitched fewer than 16 innings for New York this season, two guys who were not on the team until the first week of September. It was 7-3 before Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras pitched and 11-3 after.
And for Cub fans, maybe you start talking about the curse of Augie Ojeda.
But I am left to wonder if yesterday's execrable ballgames constituted the most lopsided day in playoff history. Overall, the winners beat the losers by 18 runs (30-12) yesterday or six runs on average.
It turns out that it is no better than fourth. The worst was five years ago today when in four games the winners beat the losers by 24 runs. That day the Cards beat the D-Backs at home 6-3, the Braves beat the Giants 10-2 in the former PacBell Park, the Twins beat the A's at home 11-2, and the soon-to-be world champion Angels eliminated the Yanks 9-5 at home.
Here are the most lopsided days in playoff history:
| Yr | Date | R Winner | R Loser | #Gs | Diff | Avg |
| 2002 | 20021005 | 36 | 12 | 4 | 24 | 6.00 |
| 1984 | 19841002 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 10.00 |
| 1995 | 19951006 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 5.00 |
| 2001 | 20011013 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 6.33 |
| 2007 | 20071004 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 18 | 6.00 |
| 2001 | 20011020 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 9.00 |
| 1999 | 19991005 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 5.67 |
| 1997 | 19971001 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 17 | 5.67 |
| 2005 | 20051004 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 5.67 |
| 2000 | 20001007 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 5.67 |
Of course, there were four games that day. Which day witness the most lopsided day based on the average score?
That would be October 10, 1999, when the Red Sox beat the Indians 23-7 at Fenway in the only Division Series game that day. The Red Sox then won the series in a wild 12-8 at the Jake. The Sox then lost to world champion-to-be Yanks in the ALCS.
As for the day with the most lopsided playoff games on average when at least two games were played, yesterday ties for #10:
| Yr | Date | R Winner | R Loser | #Gs | Diff | Avg |
| 1984 | 19841002 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 10.00 |
| 2001 | 20011020 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 9.00 |
| 1983 | 19831007 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 7.50 |
| 2004 | 20041016 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 7.00 |
| 1991 | 19911012 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 6.50 |
| 1981 | 19811014 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 6.50 |
| 1999 | 19991016 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 6.50 |
| 1995 | 19951014 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6.50 |
| 2001 | 20011013 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 6.33 |
| 1969 | 19691006 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 1999 | 19991007 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 2006 | 20061006 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 1985 | 19851013 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 1974 | 19741009 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 2002 | 20021005 | 36 | 12 | 4 | 24 | 6.00 |
| 2003 | 20031008 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 6.00 |
| 2007 | 20071004 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 18 | 6.00 |
By the way, I will be hosting a chat session for the Phils swan song tomorrow night. If anyone actually made it to the end of this post, came and kibitz, nosh, and generally make snarky comments about Charlie "I Need a Friggin'" Manuel.
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