World Series cop-out
I'm too scared to make a prediction on this World Series because I know just how little sense baseball makes. Cleveland gets a win in a game where Carmona pitches terrible, gets another two from Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook, but then can't get one good start out of its two aces. That's illogical, and at the same time typical of postseason baseball.
Had the Indians made it to face the Rockies, we would have been guaranteed our eighth straight year with a unique champion. Of course, that can still happen if Colorado completes its incredible run, which just might be the most unlikely long-term winning streak in sports history.
For those of you who decry the lack of parity in MLB, consider this. That streak would be the second longest in league history without having a team win the World Series twice. The record is ten straight years from 1978-1987, starting with the second title in a row for the Yankees and ending when the L.A. Dodgers became the only team to win two titles in the decade of the 1980s. Other than that, no other stretch of years even reaches seven, as it is now, without a repeat champ.
The longest such streak in the NBA is six years, between the 1974-75 season and the 79-80 season (Warriors, Celtics, Blazers, Bullets, Sonics, Lakers for those keeping track).
Before the NHL was the lone hockey league challenging for it, Lord Stanley's cup changed hands for seven years in a row between teams, almost all of which no longer exist. Since the NHL's pre-eminence, there have been three streaks of six years, including the current carousel (Avalanche, Red Wings, Devils, Lightning, Hurricanes, Ducks).
Even the alleged parity of the NFL can't compare to baseball's recent run. The longest streak of new Super Bowl Champions, ironically, is six, and more shockingly took place between Bowls II through VII (Packers, Jets, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins).
I'll be rooting for Colorado this week, just to keep this alive. These kinds of streaks don't happen often, and they are fun in my opinion. It's nice to see fans around the country get to celebrate for at least one year.
Now, onto what to look for. The Sox rotation is clearly superior, with Josh Beckett the newest postseason ace. On paper the Sox should win easily, with Beckett and Schilling leading the pitching and Manny, Ortiz and Lowell fueling the offense.
But Boston needs to get more hitting from the rest of the lineup, because top to bottom Colorado has a greater number of productive hitters in its batting order as of late, and you can't discount the star power of Holliday, Helton and Tulowitzki.
The biggest fear for the Red Sox would be losing Game 1. Not only would it be a Beckett start out the window and the loss of home field advantage, but it would eliminate the question of rust for the Rockies after a long layoff and would continue Colorado's epic streak.
Should the Rockies remember what it feels like to lose a game, the wheels might come off quickly. If they win game one as they did against Philly and Arizona, who can say definitively that they won't sweep through the whole series and postseason? This is a strange sport, after all.
I can't wait. Let's get it started.
Oh, and does anybody have tickets?
Had the Indians made it to face the Rockies, we would have been guaranteed our eighth straight year with a unique champion. Of course, that can still happen if Colorado completes its incredible run, which just might be the most unlikely long-term winning streak in sports history.
For those of you who decry the lack of parity in MLB, consider this. That streak would be the second longest in league history without having a team win the World Series twice. The record is ten straight years from 1978-1987, starting with the second title in a row for the Yankees and ending when the L.A. Dodgers became the only team to win two titles in the decade of the 1980s. Other than that, no other stretch of years even reaches seven, as it is now, without a repeat champ.
The longest such streak in the NBA is six years, between the 1974-75 season and the 79-80 season (Warriors, Celtics, Blazers, Bullets, Sonics, Lakers for those keeping track).
Before the NHL was the lone hockey league challenging for it, Lord Stanley's cup changed hands for seven years in a row between teams, almost all of which no longer exist. Since the NHL's pre-eminence, there have been three streaks of six years, including the current carousel (Avalanche, Red Wings, Devils, Lightning, Hurricanes, Ducks).
Even the alleged parity of the NFL can't compare to baseball's recent run. The longest streak of new Super Bowl Champions, ironically, is six, and more shockingly took place between Bowls II through VII (Packers, Jets, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins).
I'll be rooting for Colorado this week, just to keep this alive. These kinds of streaks don't happen often, and they are fun in my opinion. It's nice to see fans around the country get to celebrate for at least one year.
Now, onto what to look for. The Sox rotation is clearly superior, with Josh Beckett the newest postseason ace. On paper the Sox should win easily, with Beckett and Schilling leading the pitching and Manny, Ortiz and Lowell fueling the offense.
But Boston needs to get more hitting from the rest of the lineup, because top to bottom Colorado has a greater number of productive hitters in its batting order as of late, and you can't discount the star power of Holliday, Helton and Tulowitzki.
The biggest fear for the Red Sox would be losing Game 1. Not only would it be a Beckett start out the window and the loss of home field advantage, but it would eliminate the question of rust for the Rockies after a long layoff and would continue Colorado's epic streak.
Should the Rockies remember what it feels like to lose a game, the wheels might come off quickly. If they win game one as they did against Philly and Arizona, who can say definitively that they won't sweep through the whole series and postseason? This is a strange sport, after all.
I can't wait. Let's get it started.
Oh, and does anybody have tickets?
Labels: baseball
posted by Ryan Pipke at
3:14 AM
1 Comments:
Beckett won't lose Game One. Nor would he lose Game Four, or Game Six, or Game Seven. I'd be more concerned about losing Game Two with Schill on the mound, but then again, it is Series time.
All bets are off because the Rockies scare me more than the Diamondbacks did. I stand behind Sox in six with Beckett named MVP, even if my stomach is already heaving at 2:30. I've never experienced the horror of losing a World Series.
BTW: Middletown over Northwest this Saturday.
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