baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
World Series Game Five: A Long Time Coming
The Houston Astros are coming off a historic evening--pitching the second World Series no-hitter in baseball history. The combined no-no evened the Series at 2-2, and more importantly, earned the Astros a trip back to Houston. But they couldn't dwell on either of those attributes, as they still had one final game in Philadelphia remaining. While Game Five took place in Philadelphia, Houston hosted a Thursday Night Football contest between the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles, and that game saw the Eagles emerge victorious and remain unbeaten.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Four: History in the Fall Classic
One year ago today, the Houston Astros' quest to prove the doubters wrong fell short, as they lost that year's World Series to the Atlanta Braves. The Astros, of course, found themselves back in the Fall Classic, but they were playing from behind for the second time, as they were down two games to one. Game Three saw the Astros fall victim to the longball, with the Philadelphia Phillies hitting five home runs in their victory. The Astros were looking to even the score against the Phillies, because a 3-1 hole would mean certain death for Houston.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Three: Raining Longballs
November 2, 2009. On that day, the Philadelphia Phillies played Game Five of the World Series against the New York Yankees, which was a win for the Phils that kept hope alive, but they would lose Game Six. That day was the last time a World Series game took place in The City of Brotherly Love, and after nearly 13 years, Philly was ready for the World Series to make its long awaited return. Then Mother Nature happened. Rain caused Game Three of this year's World Series to be pushed back a day; in fact, the entire series was pushed back one day, meaning that the latest date for the Series is now November 6.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Two: A Game of Inches
With their first loss of the 2022 Postseason, the Houston Astros had their backs to the wall. Game Two was a must win for the Astros, because going down 2-0 heading on the road could be certain death for the team. On the flip side, a 2-0 lead would be absolutely golden for the Philadelphia Phillies, as they would face the benefit of not needing to play all three of their home games. The pitching matchup was Framber Valdez (HOU) vs Zack Wheeler (PHI), and for the latter, it was not a good start, as the Astros struck him for three first-inning runs.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game One: An Improbable Comeback
For the second straight year, the World Series got underway in Texas' largest city: Houston. The one difference was the Houston Astros' opponent, as this time, they faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies, and based on the standings alone, this was yet another case of David facing Goliath. The Astros were in their second straight Series, and were looking to win this year to remove a lot of the stench from their tainted 2017 championship. As for the Phillies, they weren't even supposed to be in the playoffs, let alone the World Series. Season declared dead early in the summer, then a change in manager resulted in a great 2nd half and a postseason berth, which saw them go 9-2 en route to their first pennant in 13 years.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
2022 World Series Preview
I do enjoy the World Series with a passion, and I say this even as a diehard hockey fan. There has always been a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding the Fall Classic, which officially debuted all the way back in 1903. During that year, and a brief period between 1919 and 1922, the World Series was actually played under a best-of-nine format, but in the other years, and consistently since 1923, the World Series has been played under a best-of-seven format. Between 1903 and 1968, the World Series served as the only postseason round in Major League Baseball, with the first place teams in the American and National Leagues competing in the Fall Classic. Since 1969, the World Series has been contested between the winners of the American and National League Championship Series, which served as the opening round of the postseason until 1995.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
A Poignant, Yet Positive Message to All Yankees Fans
To all of my fellow New York Yankees fans...where do I start? Well, it was your typical Yankees season. The team got off to a great start, and I mean, a great start, but a lull in July and August served as a bit of a snag. Even so, the Yankees won the AL East, and before this, I had three simple words: "I want Houston!" I felt that the Yankees owed the Houston Astros some payback for five years prior, and I also felt that it was time for the Yankees to finally overcome the Astros in the postseason. When the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a five-game ALDS, it set up this inevitable meeting for the pennant.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Cinderella Eliminates Cinderella
The San Diego Padres desperately needed to make up for their immensely disappointing 2021 season, which saw them on the outside looking in despite having pretty big expectations. 2021 saw the Los Angeles Dodgers (the defending World Champions) favored to win the National League West, and those who didn't pick the Dodgers believed that the Padres would get it done. Instead, the San Francisco Giants ended up taking the West, the Dodgers got a Wild Card spot, and as for the Padres, well, they completely fizzled. Part of their problem was the season ending injury suffered by their star player, Fernando Tatis, Jr., and regarding this season, they ended up without Tatis again, but this time, it was a drug policy violation that resulted in an 80-game suspension--which will continue entering the 2023 season.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
2022 League Championship Series Preview
October 18, 2022 will go down in history as the most unprecedented date in MLB history. For the first time ever, two postseason rounds overlapped, as less than an hour after Game Five of the American League Division Series ended, the League Championship Series kicked off. The League Championship Series (LCS) was introduced as a result of MLB splitting the American and National Leagues into two divisions, East and West, in 1969. Before then, the league standings determined the pennants, but with this format, the winners of the East and West Divisions in each league would face off in the LCS, which was introduced as a best-of-five series to determine who wins the pennant and advance to the World Series. The LCS served as MLB's very first playoff round, and it would be extended to a best-of-seven format in 1985. The LCS served as the opening round of the MLB postseason from 1969 until 1993.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Guardians Fall Short in Five-Game Thriller
This was one hell of a season for the Cleveland Guardians. 2022 was their first year under their new name, Guardians, but that was the only thing buzzing, as very few (if any) expected them to go anywhere. The Chicago White Sox were expected to repeat as champions of the American League Central, and those who didn't pick the White Sox had the Minnesota Twins taking the division, especially due to how Minnesota's offseason went for they. Yes, the Guardians nailed down Jose Ramirez, but there was nothing else that stood out. This team couldn't hit home runs, and they weren't too flashy compared to the East's New York Yankees and the West's Houston Astros.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Another Historic Season Wasted
In my story about the San Francisco Giants' NLDS loss last year, I mentioned that they joined a club that no team wants to be in. The Giants won 107 games in 2021, which is a franchise record, but all that season got them was an NLDS exit by their longtime rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the defeat, the Giants were part of a collection of sports franchises who achieved historic regular seasons, only to come short when it counted. In the NHL, of course, the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning had the misfortune of blowing a 62-win season by getting swept out of the first round. In the NBA, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won a record 73 wins, led 3-1 in the NBA Finals, but lost the final three games. The NFL has seen a number of 13-3, 14-2, and yes, even 15-1 teams fail to even reach the Super Bowl. As for MLB, we remember the 2001 Seattle Mariners for winning 116 games, tying a league record, only to fail to win the pennant.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Eighteen Innings, Zero Runs
October 15, 2000. The Seattle Mariners defeated the New York Yankees in Game Five of that year's American League Championship Series to stave off elimination, but they would lose Game Six to the team who went on to win the World Series. October 18, 2001. The Mariners lost Game Two of that year's American League Championship Series to fall behind two games to none. Manager Lou Piniella vowed and guaranteed that they would be back in Seattle playing Game Six, but after winning Game Three in The Bronx, they would lose Games Four and Five. They would not return to Seattle in that series. In fact, postseason baseball wouldn't return to the city of Seattle until October 15, 2022--nearly 21 years after their last home postseason game, and 22 years to the day after the last the Mariners won a home postseason game.
By Clyde E. Dawkins12 months ago in Unbalanced
