Of all the predictions I posted for the division races in major league baseball back in July, the AL Central has turned out to be the most accurate. The Chicago White Sox, at that point, had battled back after a horrendous start to take the lead in the division. I commended the Sox for salvaging their … Read More
Baseball
MLB – 3-Way Battle In AL East
In an earlier post handicapping the AL East, I named the defending champion New York Yankees as a lock to get into the post-season, and commented on whether the Tampa Bay Rays would be able to hang in with them for the long haul. I also wrote off the Boston Red Sox as having no … Read More
MLB – How The West Will Be Won – NL West
In an earlier post handicapping the National League West division race this season, I had the surprising young San Diego Padres fighting off the competition in what at that time was a 4 team race, and winning the division. I cited the team’s strong pitching, exciting young lineup and manager Bud Black as reasons they … Read More
MLB – Cards Slip Past Reds – NL Central
Perhaps the most interesting divisional race in major league baseball just completed its’ latest chapter as the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three game sweep of the upstart Cincinnati Reds, re-establishing their place, for now, as the dominant team in the NL Central. The series was highlighted by a huge brawl in the second game … Read More
MLB – Contenders and Pretenders – NL East
I wrote a blog back in July handicapping the pennant races in major league baseball and so far, looking back at that post, I haven’t been too far off the mark, with one exception. I made the mistake of buying into the hype instead of trusting my gut instincts, and picked the New York Mets … Read More
MLB – Sizing Up The Races
The major league baseball season now heads into the second half as its’ All-Star game, which is the closest thing to a real display of the actual sport as any of the pro all-star games, is now concluded. For the first time in 13 seasons the National League won and whatever team wins the NL … Read More
The Man Who Changed The Game
When Oakland A’s owner Charles O. Finley failed to make a life insurance payment on a policy in pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter’s contract in 1974, making Hunter a free agent, he had no idea what he was unleashing on major league baseball. The year before, in 1973, the New York Yankees had been purchased by … Read More
MLB – Relief Pitchers
Today’s sports card of the day is of one of the pioneers of relief pitching in baseball, Roy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it got me to thinking how much pitching has become specialized in major league baseball today. In the past starting pitchers were expected to finish what they started, and horses like … Read More
MLB – All Star Fan Voting (NL)
Just as the American League All Star fan voting is seemingly dominated by fans of the World Series champion New York Yankees, the National League voting is lopsided favoring the NL champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils have players at or near the top of the ballot at every position. At first base, the fans have … Read More
MLB – All Star Fan Voting (AL)
The fan voting for the major league All Star game is coming to a close soon, and as usual, a lot of the voting is a popularity contest rather than players being voted in on merit. It’s not a big deal when this happens because the all-star game managers usually right any wrongs when they … Read More