baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
What Went Wrong: Red Sox Bats Get Cold at Wrong Time. Top Story - October 2021.
Three years ago, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series--their fourth since 2004. What followed was two seasons of disappointment, dismay, and the proverbial axe falling on certain people. Their 2019 season was immensely disastrous, as they went 84-78--24 games worse than their 2018 championship season--and missed the postseason. Pitching was the main problem, though if you asked then-GM Dave Dombrowski, the pitching was just fine. That statement was why I used the word "then-GM." Dombrowski was fired in September of 2019, less than a full season after delivering a championship to Boston. It was that bad.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Giants Fall Short in an Epic Clash
Without question, there are three rivalries in baseball that just stand out the most: Yankees/Red Sox, Cubs/Cardinals, and Dodgers/Giants. The rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox is actually the youngest of the three, but it's the most heated due to the Babe Ruth connection and the many decades they have spent battling each other for position. The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals have been rivals since 1882--the oldest of the three battles. The Giants and Dodgers' rivalry started in 1890, but it spans not only three different centuries, but also two coasts, as the teams were founded in New York and later moved to California in 1958.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: A Taste of the Brewers' Own Medicine
Remember what the full story of the Milwaukee Brewers was? It was pitching. Pitching was the absolute nucleus of the Brewers' 2021 campaign. This was a season that saw their MVP slugger, Christian Yelich, miss several games due to injury. Yet in spite of everything, the Brewers' rotation (led by Corbin Burnes) and bullpen (led, once again, by Josh Hader) dominated and led the way for the Brew Crew. The team led all of Major League Baseball in shutouts.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Rays Dethroned as American League Champions
The popular social media meme as of late has been "How it started/how it's going." The meme usually describes occurrences that start out very well, but as things progresses, they deteriorate...badly. The Tampa Bay Rays definitely qualify for that meme, as they ended up as the first casualty of this year's Division Series--eliminated in four games by the Boston Red Sox.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: White Sox Were Doomed From the Start
Despite many other postseason berths being clinched beforehand, the Chicago White Sox were the first to wrap up their division in 2021. The White Sox led the American League Central outright, never looking back, dominating the whole season. When the regular season ended on October 3, the White Sox's 93-69 record was 13 games ahead of the second place Cleveland Indians. A dominant season like that should be commended. It would be...if it didn't come with the following caveats.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Yankees Fizzle in Fenway and Cards' Season Ends in Walk-off Fashion
The MLB Wild Card Games have come and gone, and after the dust was settled, the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals each saw their season come to an end. These two teams have won a combined 38 World Series, the two winningest teams in MLB history, but no playoff wins in 2021. In fact, the teams scored a combined three runs in this year's postseason. First off, let's discuss the Yankees' exit.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
MLB Postseason 2021: The Picture is Complete
The final day of the MLB season, aka Game 162, had the potential to be very chaotic and result in some things being unsolved. There was still the National League West up for grabs, but it was the American League Wild Card that had the biggest logjam. And with all of the games going on at once, per the recent tradition, it all made for a fantastic day in baseball.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
History of the MLB Postseason (Part IV: Double Wild Card Era - 2012-present)
The 2011 Major League Baseball season ended with not one, but two surprising collapses in the postseason race. The Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves each had big leads in their respective league's Wild Card races, but the month of September saw both teams lose their leads, bit by bit, until the final day saw them surpassed and eliminated from contention. After the St. Louis Cardinals (who came back on the Braves) won the World Series, MLB got together and came to the following decision: a second Wild Card must be added.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
History of the MLB Postseason (Part III: Wild Card & Division Series Era - 1995-2011). Top Story - October 2021.
The introduction of divisional play in 1969 increased intrigue in Major League Baseball. The road to the World Series now included a playoff round known as the League Championship Series (LCS), which featured each league's two division champions facing each other for the pennant. All the while, the league continued to grow, as after the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, baseball returned to Seattle with the Mariners, while the American League went north of the border and debuted the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1993, the National League added two new franchises: the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
History of the MLB Postseason (Part I: Classic World Series Era - 1903-1968)
As a sports fan, I've always been fascinated by Major League Baseball's postseason format, and among the reasons why is because of how small it is. Out of North America's four main sports leagues, MLB has the smallest playoff field. While the NBA and NHL let in 16 teams, and the NFL lets in 14, MLB puts 10 teams in the postseason, but during a six decade period, it was just two. Here's the story regarding the World Series.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
History of the MLB Postseason (Part II: Divisional Play & League Championship Series Era - 1969-1993)
The World Series was instilled in 1903 as the championship contest, as well as the lone postseason round in Major League Baseball. The Series has been contested between the champions of the American and National Leagues, with each league's standings determining the pennant winners, which went to the first place teams. For five decades, MLB had 16 teams, eight in each league, though the 1950s and 1960s would see a wave of relocation and expansion, with more teams being place in western cities. By 1968, MLB had 20 teams, 10 in each league, though league standings still determine pennants.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
