So here's where the Divisional Series stand (higher seeds listed first):
Atlanta 1 - 1 Philadelphia
Los Angeles 0 - 2 Arizona
Baltimore 0 - 2 Texas
Houston 1 - 1 Minnesota
In other words, the higher seeds are 2-6 so far in this round. Last year, the higher seeds went 8-8 in this round. So far, it looks as though you're better off not getting a bye in this format.
Anyway, today we get an AL doubleheader:
Minnesota v. Houston (3:07 PM Central) (FOX)
Texas v. Baltimore (7:03 PM Central) (FOX)
I'm always happy when the kids get to watch a game after school. Let's hope it's a good one.
This is Houston's 11th appearance in a Divisional Series in the 21st Century. The Astros won in 2004, 2005, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. They lost in 2001 and 2015. So they have a record of 8-2.
ReplyDeleteThis is Minnesota's eighth appearance in a Divisional Series in the 21st Century. The Twins won in 2002. They lost in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2019. So they are 1-6, with five of the six losses coming to the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful, sunny day in Minneapolis with a bright blue sky. The temperature is 57 degrees, and the conditions appear to be absolutely perfect for playoff baseball in Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteMost of the infield is in shadow, and most of the outfield is in sunlight.
ReplyDeleteJose Altuve leads off the game with a single, scoots over to third on an error by the Twins' first baseman, and dashes home after another single. Houston leads 1-0 in the top of the first.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Jose Abreu bashes a three-run homer, and the World Champions lead 4-0 in the top of the 1st.
ReplyDeleteAfter the top half of the first, the score is Houston 4, and the Twins coming up to bat.
ReplyDeleteAstros currently have an 81 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 5th, Houston leads 5-0, which means they have a 95 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteTexas beat Baltimore 3-2 in Game One of that series, and Atlanta beat Philadelphia 5-4 in Game Two of that series. So far, all the other games in the Divisional Series have been snoozers.
ReplyDeleteSteve Garvey announced today that he is running for the Senate in California. I am genuinely curious as to what he's been doing all these years.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my neighborhood's boys in 1978 or so, the three best baseball players going were probably Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson and Steve Garvey.
DeleteCareer Wins Above Replacement for the Dodgers' Infield of the 1970's (this is for all their careers, including with teams other than the Dodgers):
ReplyDeleteGarvey: 38.0
Lopes: 42.3
Russell: 31.4
Cey: 53.8
NL Pennants in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981. World Series Champs in 1981.
Career Wins Above Replacement for the Braves' aces of the 1990s:
ReplyDeleteMaddux: 106.6 (355-227, 3.16 ERA)
Glavine: 80.7 (305-203, 3.54 ERA)
Smoltz: 69.0 (213-155, 3.33 ERA)
NL Pennants in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, and 1999. World Series Champs in 1995.
No position has suffered more from the growth of analytics than the baseball manager. If a manager had had Dusty Baker's record in the 1970's, he would have been treated as a god. Baker now has the seventh most wins of any manager in history -- exceeded only by Connie Mack, Tony LaRussa, John McGraw, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, and Sparky Anderson. He's only 11 wins behind Sparky. His all-time winning percentage is .540. He's won 3 pennants and a World Series.
ReplyDeleteDusty Baker managed the Nationals for two seasons: 2016 and 2017. Both seasons they won their division and went to the playoffs. At no other point in their history did they go to the playoffs two years in a row. He left the team after the 2017 season, and the Nats have not won the National League East since he did.
ReplyDeleteDusty Baker managed the Reds from 2008 to 2013. When he arrived, they hadn't reached the post-season since 1995. His first year, they won 74 games. His second year, they won 78 games. They then won 91 games in 2010, 79 games in 2011, 97 games in 2012, and 90 games in 2013. They won the NL Central in 2010 and 2012. They let him go after they lost the Wild Card game in 2013. Since then, they have never finished better than 3d in the Central, and they have never won more than 83 games in a season.
ReplyDeleteHe's just a great, old-school baseball manager who never complains, never gets upset, never panics, and always puts his guys in a position to win. He's had some disappointments in the post-season, but that's mainly been because he's gotten teams into the post-season who probably wouldn't have made it without him.
ReplyDeleteWell, the kids didn't get much of an after-school game today. The Astros lead 7-1 in the top of the 9th.
ReplyDeleteWait, now the Astros lead 9-1.
ReplyDeleteHouston wins 9-1 and takes a 2-1 lead in the Series.
ReplyDeleteNext up: The Orioles try to stave off elimination against the Rangers.
ReplyDeleteVery happy with this broadcast. I've got the Fox video, and they do a better job with baseball video than anyone else. But then I've got ESPN's radio broadcast, and they've got their top team (at least, I think it's their top team) with Karl Ravech and Tim Kurkjian. Those guys are great. Then I've got the radio broadcast going through the same external speaker I use for the TV, so everything seems extra synced up.
ReplyDeleteI learned on last week's Kornheiser's podcast that Kurkjian is celebrated as an intense, talented pickup-basketball player. I can see that. He apparently was a regular at Cal Ripken's games at his home gym.
DeleteESPN is going to have Jon Sciambi do the play-by-play for the World Series, and I think he's good, but Ravech and Kurkjian are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteESPN Radio also does a great job with crowd noise, and you really need a lot of crowd noise for a night playoff game.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my part, but I need some better games.
ReplyDeleteTexas shortstop Corey Seager crushes a pitch to the bleachers in right field, and the Rangers lead 1-0 in the top of the first. Not the start Baltimore wanted.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, an ALCS between Bruce Bochy's Rangers and Dusty Baker's Astros could be epic.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteThe 2020 ALCS went seven games, but of course that was the COVID year and no one was there to see it. The last real Game Seven in the ALCS was in 2017, when the Astros beat the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the 2020 NLCS also went seven games, but again that was the COVID year. The last real Game Seven in the NLCS was in 2018, when the Dodgers beat the Brewers.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't count 2020 -- and no one counts 2020 except for hard-core Dodger fans -- the last time both leagues went to Game Seven in the Championship Series was 2004. Both leagues also went to Game Seven in 2003, and those two seasons -- 2003 and 2004 -- are probably the most interesting seasons of the 21st Century.
ReplyDeleteActually, 2001 is probably the most interesting season of the 21st Century. 2016 was also great, as was 2017 and 2019. I also liked 2011.
ReplyDeleteRangers lead 1-0 after 1.
ReplyDeleteTexas now have a 64 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteSeven best seasons of the 21st Century:
ReplyDelete2001
2016
2003
2004
2011
2019
2017
In all seriousness, no one has nostalgia for old-time radio baseball than I do. But listen to Karl Ravech and Tim Kirkjian tonight. They are excellent: smart, clear, energetic, focused on the game but also able to fill as necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe Rangers get a two-out bases loaded double from Mitch Garver. The Rangers lead 3-0 in the bottom of the second, and the Orioles are going home after tonight.
ReplyDeleteBaltimore's loss means that the AL East will have gone 0-7 in this post-season. The Rays got swept by Texas. The Blue Jays were swept by the Twins. And now the O's are going to be swept by Texas.
ReplyDeleteYou see, kids, that's why we East Coast types pay so much attention to the Red Sox and the Yankees. When they get in the post-season, they act like they're supposed to be there. Having the Orioles win the AL East is like having Alabama win the SEC in basketball -- no matter how good they were in the regular season, they won't get it done in the post-season.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's a three-run homer from Adolis Garcia, and the Rangers lead 6-0.
ReplyDeleteThe first batter in this inning, Nathaniel Lowe, had a 14-pitch at bat. Lowe eventually flew out, but it was obvious that Dean Kremer, the Oriole pitcher had nothing. Texas eventually used a single, a double, and an intentional walk to load the bases with two outs. Garver's double scored two runs to make it 3-0. Still two outs. Now at this point, with Baltimore's season in grave peril, the Orioles should have pulled Kremer. He just hasn't had good stuff since the game started, and a three-run homer here would end your season. But the O's let Kremer pitch to one more batter, and now it's 6-0 instead of 3-0.
ReplyDeleteNow the Rangers have a 93.7 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteSo that means we'll only have three games tomorrow instead of four.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying this broadcast, and I want to learn more about the Rangers, so I'll keep watching, but there's not much more to say.
ReplyDeleteThis was a day of two dull games.
ReplyDeleteIn the 21st Century, Texas has appeared in the Divisional Series five times. They beat the Rays in 2010 and 2011. They lost to the Blue Jays in 2015 and 2016. So they are about to go 3-2 with this win over the O's.
ReplyDeleteIn the 21st Century, Baltimore has appeared in the Divisional Series three times. They lost to the Yankees in 2012, beat the Tigers in 2014, and are going to lose to the Rangers tonight.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch the regular season, and now I'm actually curious as to how the Orioles and the Dodgers each won 100 games without having any good pitchers.
ReplyDeleteOK, I finally figured out what's happening in that Derek Jeter commercial. He's planning to fly home on a private plane (because he's Derek Jeter) but the flight can't go due to a big storm. So he takes his Jeep Wagoneer, which he drove to the airport, and simply drives all night so that he can be there in the morning when his kids wake up. Now that all makes sense, and when I was his age I would have wanted to do the same thing. But here's my question: what would have happened to the Jeep if the plane could have flown? Is it his Jeep, but he normally leaves it at the airport for some reason? Is it his Jeep, and he has a guy who was going to drive it back to his house on another day? Is it a rental, but he decided to buy it once he wanted to drive home? I really wish someone would explain this.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's still a great commercial, although I also don't understand the part where he gets lost in the woods.
ReplyDeleteWith the Buccaneers at 3-1, I think it's time for some new Baker Mayfield commercials.
DeleteThat's a great idea!
DeleteAfter 5 1/2 innings, Texas leads 6-1. Rangers have a 96 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteAfter 6 innings, Texas leads 7-1. Rangers have a 98 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteAfter 7 innings, Texas leads 7-1. It's ludicrous that it took 20 minutes to play the 7th inning.
ReplyDelete