baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
World Series Game Five: Go, Go, Texas Rangers!
On April 10, 1961, the second Washington Senators team played their first game of existence, with the team replacing the original franchise, who moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. The team went 61-100 in their first year of play, and in 11 seasons in Washington, the team only had one winning season, coming in 1969. The Senators moved to Arlington, Texas in 1972, becoming the Texas Rangers. It would take them three seasons to enjoy their first winning season, but playoffs would be a long wait for them.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Four: Don't Mess With Texas
Entering Game Four of this year's World Series, the Texas Rangers had two things: a 2-1 lead and some scary news on a Halloween night. A pair of their top players are down for the Fall Classic. First off, Max Scherzer. "Mad Max" left Game Three due to injury, doing so after pitching just three innings. The second one is as shocker: Adolis Garcia. The possible frontrunner for the World Series MVP nod also became injured, and is done for the rest of the Series. That is a big blow to the Rangers, as the Arizona Diamondbacks looked to even things up, with a chance to take the Series lead at home.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Three: Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself
November 4, 2001. On that day, the Arizona Diamondbacks won Game Seven of the World Series in walkoff fashion; Luis Gonzalez's famous bases loaded single. Safe money says that "Gonzo" hasn't had to buy a drink in Phoenix since then. That evening was one of celebration, pomp, and circumstance, but it was also the last time that the World Series hit the 48th state. Just a few days shy of 22 years later, the Diamondbacks took the field in front of their home fans for the first time in this year's Fall Classic against the Texas Rangers, with Arizona coming off a dominant win in Game Two to tie the Series.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game Two: Why Did It Have to be Snakes?!
The 2023 World Series kicked off with an amazing extra innings victory for the Texas Rangers, a comeback victory at that. The Rangers trailed 5-3, and it looked like the Arizona Diamondbacks would steal Game One, but Corey Seager tied the game with a two-run homer in the 9th, and the 11th (and the game overall) ended with Adolis Garcia walking it off. The Rangers struck first in this year's Fall Classic, moving three wins away from their first championship.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
World Series Game One: Even the Home Runs are Bigger in Texas
When this year's World Series matchup became official, I wanted two things out of this year's edition. One, I wanted extra inning games. And two, I wanted a seven-game Series. With a matchup as unorthodox as the Texas Rangers facing the Arizona Diamondbacks, I wanted all of the insanity and chaos that could come from this. I would get my first request; time would tell if the other comes true.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
2023 World Series Preview
I always enjoy the World Series, and there are so many reasons. For one, it's absolutely prestigious; there is a lot of history involved, as the Fall Classic's been around since 1903. Another reason is that the World Series marks the end of a very long season with so many games and few days off, but there's also another factor involved: it's the last championship of the sports calendar year. The Super Bowl's in February, the Stanley Cup and NBA Championship are awarded in June, and the World Series occurs in late October/early November.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: A Taste of Their Own Medicine
I just want to say that I haven't seen a League Championship Series this captivating since 2003. That year also was both LCSes go the maximum seven games. In the National League, it was the Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs; the Cubs were up 3-2 entering Game Six, where they had a 3-0 lead, and then...Steve Bartman happened. Marlins came back and won Game Six, and took Game Seven to win the pennant. In the American League, it was the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox; another chapter in that bitter rivalry. We all know how Game Seven went. Boston up 4-0, and then 5-2, they were close to the curse being broken, then Pedro Martinez was left in to give up three clutch Yankee runs. Mariano Rivera pitches a shutout 9th, 10th, and 11th, and in the bottom of the 11th, Aaron Boone (the future Yankees manager) hits a walk-off shot off the legendary knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
2023 League Championship Series Preview
I always love that final round before the championship in sports. In the NBA and NHL, it's the Conference Finals. In the NFL, it's the Conference Championship. In Major League Baseball, it's the League Championship Series that has served as that penultimate semifinal round since 1969. It was during that year that the wave of expansion and relocation during that decade resulted in the American and National Leagues being split into two divisions: East and West. For 66 seasons, the pennant was decided via the league standings, but with two divisions in each league, the East and West winners faced each other in the League Championship Series, MLB's first official playoff round.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: "Just Like Rear Ends"
You know, I wasn't expecting this year's postseason to be the forum for déjà vu, yet here we are. For the second straight year, the Tampa Bay Rays offense fizzled in October. For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Dodgers had all of the expectations in the world, yet found themselves humiliated in the Division Series. And for the second straight year, the Atlanta Braves were upset in the National League Division Series by the Philadelphia Phillies.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: What a Waste
"Mom! The Dodgers are doing that thing again!" You know, I'm not even a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but living in Southern California, that's the team I hear about. Yes, the Los Angeles Angels exist, but outside of Shohei Ohtani, the team is irrelevant. In my story about the 1955 championship, I mentioned that the Dodgers were the ultimate "fool ya team" back when they played in Brooklyn. They always had great seasons, but could not win the Fall Classic. Though, if there was any fair excuse for them, they always ran into the New York Yankees. The Dodgers finally won in 1955, and after moving west, their "fool ya" days appeared to be behind them, though recent years have seen them go back to their Brooklyn days of blowing seasons.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Twins Eliminated by Defending Champs, but Have Reasons to be Positive
You will notice that the words, "What Went Wrong," are not featured in the title. That's because in this case, it's not warranted. "What Went Wrong" is my factual, biting, and (at times) humorous look at the teams whose postseasons came to an abrupt end. Regarding MLB and the NHL, it's a look at the teams who were eliminated during the playoffs, and when it comes to the NFL, it's about teams who were eliminated from playoff contention, usually in the final weeks and usually when they had good chances to get in but blew it. And again, depending on the team and the situation, I'm usually quite blunt when it comes to certain.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
