In addition to the current and very likely eventual top two seeds in each league (Cubs, Rangers, Nationals and Indians) I will “give” at least a playoff spot if not the N.L. 3 seed to the L.A. Dodgers whose 3 seed lead is 4 games and qualification lead is 7 games.
The other “3” seed leader, the Boston Red Sox have a 2 game lead over two fellow A.L. East teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.
In turn, both the Jays and O’s have 3 game leads for qualification.
In the N.L. the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets have respective 3 and 2 game leads for tournament qualification.
The Jays, Dodgers and Mets made the tournament last year.
Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon, has guided the Cubs to the best record in baseball but that means little once the tournament commences, in the Cubs’ case in the quarterfinals, at home, on Friday October 7th.
I think for the first time in a long time, if not all season, there is currently two games of separation for playoffs qualification in major league baseball.
Almost certainly, things will change a bit but I am, often at my own peril, “a wood man” i.e, the lead, thus I will talk of the ten projected playoffs teams compared to those who made it last season.
Agreed it is dangerous and foolish and I am not declaring the race for playoff qualification over but the ten teams in as of today were all teams I projected to be in weeks ago.
Only half of the ten projected/currently ahead teams made the playoffs last season.
The top ranked Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers each qualified last season as wild card teams while the two other virtually certain playoff qualifiers to this point, current 2 seeds, the Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals, did not qualify for the baseball tournament.
Next a look at the six other teams currently qualifying for the layoffs with the all important proviso, “if the season ended today.”
Flying under the national radar of Cubs’ publicity and my focus on the Cleveland Indians, are the current American League one seed, Texas Rangers, a franchise as is of course the case with the Cubs and Indians that has a history of frustration, trying to win The World Series.
Tonight at 8 P.M. Eastern time, tune in to Decades, for a Dick Cavett Show from 1985.
Mr. Cavett’s guests are/were three extraordinary comedy writers, Larry Gelbart, David Lloyd and Pat McCormick.
It was tremendous, fast paced, hilarious viewing.
No spoiler but Jackie Gleason’s name does come up.
I met and interviewed Mr. McCormick, who was a truly nice and “joke a minute” (no spoiler, but that is evident in the Cavett Show airing tonight) guy.
He relayed the story of when Mr. Gleason ordered every item on the menu, when Pat was invited out by Jackie.
If you miss the 8 P.M. show on Decades try again at 2 A.M. Though at times there is variation I can answer that ever present female voice over in the affirmative regarding how to watch Decades.
Beep your horn when you see me, if you know what I mean.
Pat McCormick, pictured above.
Last night the Chicago Cubs clinched first place in a regular season entity for the 16th time.
Though the team has not won a pennant in 71 years, they have won 10 National League Pennants, most notably four in five seasons a feat only the New York Yankees have exceeded, from (1906-1910.)
Additionally, the Cubs won two one quarter division titles, doing so in 1984 and 1989.
This year’s lopsided victory in the N.L. Central is the Cubs’ fourth one eighth divisional crown, all from the N.L. Central.
The AFC West has a corresponding baseball team for all four of its members and it is very likely, none will qualify for the upcoming baseball tournament.
That includes the defending World Champion and two time American League champion, Kansas City Royals, who are likely out of contention.
Meanwhile the Kansas Chiefs are not alone among AFC West teams, as the other three definitely will not have their baseball counterpart in the tournament.
San Diego (Chargers) with the Padres, the Oakland Raiders, with the A’s and the NFL Champion Denver Broncos, with the Rockies will all be playing football with no tournament baseball in its city/area.
At the moment, the AFC West cities house the current baseball and football champions. It is very likely that will not be the case much longer.
Yesterday the Baltimore Orioles won (1-0) in Boston to move within one game of the host Red Sox in the A.L. East. The O’s (pun intended), are ahead for playoff/tournament qualification at the moment.
The (1-0) scores certainly evoke memories of the 1966 World Series.
After winning game 1 vs the defending champion, Dodgers by a (5-2) score, the Orioles, aka O’s, won the next three, by shutouts.
The last 2 wins in Baltimore were by (1-0) scores, first Wally Bunker outdueled Claude Osteen ,then in #4, Dave McNally, did the same, vs Don Drysdale.
In game 2, a young future Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer won vs another, Sandy Koufax, in his last game as he was forced to retire due to an arthritic elbow.
Years later, Davey Johnson, then the New York Mets manager, who recorded the last hit vs Koufax, joked to me, that is why Sandy retired.
Yesterday, just three weeks shy of the exact fiftieth year anniversary of their World Series opener, also on a Wednesday, (October 5, 1966), both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles secured low scoring, road, shutout victories.
The low scoring is in keeping with the 1966 World Series especially on the part of that event’s losing team, the Dodgers.
In fact the two runs L.A. scored yesterday in a (2-0) win at New York vs the Yankees, that makes it very likely the Dodgers will face the Washington Nationals in the upcoming baseball tournament quarterfinals, equals their total for the entire ’66 W.S.
L.A. scored 2 runs before the third inning ended, in the Wednesday opener loss in 1966, before being blanked by relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, the rest of the game.
Their scoring drought continued and in my next post, comments regarding the Orioles and Dodgers both then (1966 W.S.) and now as each team is at least a tournament contender.
Surely somewhere there was a headline: “Moe Mowed the Dodgers” Oh did he, allowing but one hit and fanning 11 in 6 and two thirds brilliant innings of relief pitching that set the tone for L.”A.” doom.
In the 2015 NFL regular season, the Buffalo Bills coached by one time New York Jets’ coach Rex Ryan defeated the Jets in both games, one a Thursday night tilt the other in the January 2016, 2015 “reg” finale which coupled with a Pittsburgh Steelers’ win that day, ended the Jets’ hopes of making the NFL playoffs.
Tonight in a Thursday night tilt, I believe still on CBS and I guess with the all powerful, (not as powerful this year with the Supe to be televised by Fox), “Pooh,” aka Jim Nantz presiding, the Jets visit the Bills.
The game is considered even and I believe this time the Jets will get few breaks and win.
Jets 23 Bills 16.
He can write, oh can he write! After the 1996 NCAA Basketball final, my friend, a doctor and I (what and whomever I might be) delayed our journey back and marveled at his determination, typing away at press row, to file his story/column. True we were waiting out the endless traffic, but it was a truly compelling example of determination.
When I read his work for the first time in The New York Post after a regular season “1975 part of the ’74-’75 NBA season,” at Boston between the defending champion Celtics and Washington Bullets, I knew it was a cut above.
I know he is a cultured individual, who among other things has an appreciation of fine music, I could only dream of attaining.
At a charity softball game in the Long Island Hamptons, (Pat Cooper regarding the Hamptons, helped rid me of the ridiculous occasional sojourn there) I witnessed him making a major league play, from his position around second base.
Perhaps the best transition as to why, despite all the above cited positives, I come to at least balance my praise of Mike Lupica with a more complicated, as with Marc Antony, regarding Caesar, view, is my regret at not calling that play by Mr. Lupica.
Tune in tomorrow, or some time in the near future, as I will try and put “many things Lupica” in some perspective.
As of now, unlike in some of my previous posts, look at the nice things, all true and well deserved I wrote about Mr. Lupica today.
The great comedian, Pat Cooper “set me straight” about going to the Hamptons.
As you may have ascertained or already knew, the Oklahoma Sooners prevailed in that great game in Columbus, Ohio exactly one week shy of 39 years ago this Saturday when the schools meet again, this time in Norman, Oklahoma.
It also was probably somewhat apparent that Uwe von Schamann, who went on to become an excellent NFL kicker, booted the game winning field goal as Oklahoma rallied for a (29-28) victory.
I knocked Ohio State coach Woody Hayes in the last post and stand by what is largely agreed upon concerning his “volatility” (that is a nice word although as applied to 2 of 3 bad with the stock market in the last three trading days, not so).
Many would disagree with even calling Hayes, who had a truly great record of sorts, over rated, no less a not so great coach. I stand by my assertion that he was not all that great as a coach.
Yet one thing about Mr. Hayes, and the great and I mean great, offensive lineman, Jim Parker, who played for Hayes in the 1950’s does attest to in glowing terms, is that in a very positive way, Coach Hayes was ahead of the curve in his relations with black players.
The great Jim Parker pictured above. In a time when players could not necessarily afford more expensive culinary items such as steak, the great Parker was asked if he liked to eat steak.
He answered in the affirmative and was told to look at the man standing not far away on the Baltimore Colts’ practice field, their great quarterback, John Unitas.
Parker was told “protect that man” and you will eat a great deal of steak. He did!!
Click below to see Uwe von Schamann’s historic field goal vs Ohio State on September 24, 1977
Oklahoma’s last second winning field goal @ Ohio St. * (from Sept. 24, 1977)
Andy B Sports 