Month of MLB: Day Sixteen

These days, really good baseball teams just don't play that many important games.  The Brewers, Dodgers, and Rays have known for months that they were going to the playoffs, and none of them had too much trouble in the Divisional Series.  But now, after two games of the League Championship Series, they (along with Cleveland) are very close to winning the World Series -- but, of course, they are also very close to being eliminated.  Milwaukee, for example, has a 2-0 lead in the N.L.C.S., but the 1985 Dodgers could tell them that this means they are just a four-game losing streak from seeing their season come to an end.  Meanwhile, over in the American League, Cleveland and Tampa Bay are tied at one win each -- which means that they are basically playing a best-of-five series for the pennant.

Up to this point, the games themselves have been pretty dull, because most of the time there is very little scoring.  For that matter, there aren't often a lot of people on base.  The Brewers' bullpen has pitched 9 2/3 innings so far against the Dodgers, and the Dodgers have zero runs and only two hits.  But from this point on, even a game that's dull in and of itself will still carry some interest because we are so close to having a new champion.

Latest odds to win the World Series:

Milwaukee:  +110

Tampa Bay:  +320

Los Angeles:  +350

Cleveland:  +550

Since Tampa Bay and Cleveland are traveling today, the only game today will be Game Three of the N.L.C.S.:

7 P.M.:  Milwaukee at Los Angeles (Fox Sports One) (Milwaukee leads 2-0)

Month of MLB: Day Fifteen

Cleveland really surprised me yesterday -- they came roaring back from behind and pounded the Rays 7-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the A.L.C.S.

In 2016, the Cubs and the Indians played one of the great World Series of all time -- but since that year, no team from the NL Central or the AL Central has won the pennant.  That could change this year.  The Brewers are up 2-0 in the N.L.C.S., and Cleveland is up 1-0 in the A.L.C.S.  Both the Dodgers and the Rays are facing serious adversity for the first time all year, and we will see if they can fight back or not.

It's a travel day in the N.L.C.S., so the only game today will be Cleveland and Tampa Bay at 7 PM Central on TBS.  Enjoy!

Month of MLB: Day Fourteen

The Brewers beat the Dodgers 2-1 last night, as the Milwaukee bullpen simply annihilated Dodger hitting.  Milwaukee's bullpen threw 4 2/3 innings last night, and the results were two hits and zero runs.  So now the odds to win the World Series look like this:

Milwaukee:  +175

Los Angeles:  +180

Tampa Bay:  +310

Cleveland:  +650

I think Tampa Bay is being underrated.

Anyway, here is today's schedule:

4 P.M.:  Los Angeles at Milwaukee (FOX) (Milwaukee leads 1-0)

7 P.M.:  Cleveland at Tampa Bay (TBS) (series tied 0-0)

Here is how Cleveland and Tampa Bay have done in prior ALCS's:

Tampa Bay (2-0):  2008, 2020

Cleveland (3-3):  1995, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2016, 2024

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of a major sports event that featured both Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

Ken Pomeroy has dropped his new rankings

Here is the K-Pom preseason top 20:

1.  Duke

2.  Florida

3.  Houston

4.  Illinois

5.  Arizona

6.  Iowa St.

7.  Michigan St.

8.  Kansas

9.  Alabama

10.  Texas

11.  Connecticut

12.  Texas Tech

13.  Vanderbilt

14.  Gonzaga

15.  Virginia

16.  Nebraska

17.  Louisville

18.  Tennessee

19.  Texas A & M

20.  Arkansas

Here is the Classic SEC:

2.  Florida

9.  Alabama

13.  Vanderbilt

18.  Tennessee

25.  Auburn

26.  Kentucky

38.  Mississippi

46.  Georgia

62.  Louisiana St.

69.  Mississippi St.

Here is the Classic ACC:

1.  Duke

15.  Virginia

37.  N. Carolina

50.  Clemson

53.  Maryland

65.  N. Carolina St.

76.  Wake Forest

93.  S. Carolina

Murray State is ranked 97.  Western is ranked 122.

Month of MLB: Day Thirteen

Cleveland came roaring back to beat the ChiSox three straight times, wrapping up the Divisional Series with a 2-0 win in Cleveland last night.  So, we are now down to four clubs:  the Brewers, the Dodgers, the Devil Rays, and the Guardians.  The Brewers and the Dodgers will start the NLCS tonight in Milwaukee -- we waited a whole season to get a rematch of last year's NLCS.  Here is how each team has done in League Championship Series:

Milwaukee (1-3):  1982 (AL), 2011, 2018, 2025

Los Angeles (10-7):  1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025

The Brewers and the Dodgers met in the 2018 and 2025 NLCS, with the Dodgers winning both times.  Interestingly, the Brewers had the home field advantage both times -- as they do this year.

The 2018 NLCS was a cracker (home teams listed first):

10/12/18:  Milwaukee 6 - 5 Los Angeles

10/13/18:  Milwaukee 3 - 4 Los Angeles

10/15/18:  Los Angeles 0 - 4 Milwaukee

10/16/18:  Los Angeles 2 - 1 Milwaukee (13 innings)

10/17/18:  Los Angeles 5 - 2 Milwaukee

10/19/18:  Milwaukee 7 - 2 Los Angeles

10/20/18:  Milwaukee 1 - 5 Los Angeles

That last game is one of my favorite Dodger games of all time.  The Dodgers have rarely been known for fiery or charismatic players, but between 2013 ad 2018 they featured Yasiel Puig, who had those qualities in spades.  The folks in Dodgertown were never all that comfortable with Puig, to be honest, but I always believed in him -- and in the sixth inning of Game Seven, he smashed a three-run homer that vindicated me and effectively won the pennant for the Dodgers.  As it turned out, that was almost the end of Puig's career -- the Dodgers traded him after the 2018 season, over my objections (he was only 27 years old).  He spent the 2019 season playing for the Reds and Indians, tested positive for COVID in July 2020, and never played in the Big Leagues ever again.  Once again, the Dodgers knew more about baseball than I do.  But I still miss him.