Here are some notes and strong opinions in the aftermath of the four divisional round games played yesterday.
The Texas Rangers once lost 9 straight divisional round games, all to eventual World champion Yankees’ teams in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
Since that point, they are (8-3) in such games and very likely, but far from definitely, on their way to squaring their divisional series record at three apiece.
Additionally, at least 4 of those losses to the Yankees were in games in which the still stellar baseball broadcaster, Bob Costas “presided,” on the once great airwaves of NBC.
Yesterday as noted here, Costas was the broadcaster in the Texas 14 inning win in Toronto vs the Blue Jays, which has them headed to the “Lone Star State,” with a (2-0), best of 5 series lead.
“Costas games” have not manifested in good results for the Toronto Blue Jays, who seem headed to be the latest fine regular season team to fall victim to the prostitution that is expanded playoffs and wild card baseball, a horror, even the opposition of by Costas, that seems here to stay
Twice Costas was the broadcaster in games in which the Blue Jays were eliminated with ALCS defeats. The first was in 1985 when Tor. dissipated a (3-1) series lead to the K.C. Royals, losing the last two at home (Jim Sundberg’s wind blown 3 rbi hit and Costas’ fine call on the play, anyone?!).
In 1989 the Oakland A’s eliminated the Jays in 5 games in the ALCS, with Costas behind the microphone.
Costas’ greatness as a broadcaster (it is beyond sad that a) we hear so little of him doing so now b) the announcers who do the games are so bad and c) Costas himself neither touts his greatness to push for more work, nor publicly decries the announcers working now) is amplified in his hard work and dedication.
That was surely evident when he showed up in Detroit to watch games, at least two days before his Saturday assignment for NBC, when a true race for post-season qualification was happening between the Detroit Tigers and the Blue Jays in 1987.
Costas then worked the Jays’ 161 st game of that 1987 season, a Toronto loss, resulting in Toronto needing 2 of 2 to avoid elimination. Yesterday a “Costas game” result left Toronto needing 3 of 3 to avoid a similar, sad fate.
When Bob Costas last was the lead broadcaster on a post season game emanating from Toronto, it was to me, a mandatory “watch the whole game intensely,” situation.
That was game 5 of the 1989 ALCS. This is not the case now.
It is not because Costas is not good, but because the game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays is part of the extra playoff games format that makes the baseball regular season so much less important.
This makes baseball so much less important.
Alas if one has to leave late in a tie game between the teams, as I do, the fact the game is not on radio in New York adds to the “abandon hope” credo regarding the once great baseball, I have espoused since they added wild card and extra playoff teams.
Pictured above are Tony Kubek of NBC, A.L. President Dr. Bobby Brown and Rickey Henderson
after the Oakland A’s 5’d the Blue Jays in the ALCS en route to the 1989 title.
Last year, both of major league baseball’s “play in game” winners, the S.F. Giants and K.C. Royals advanced to the World Series with the Giants led by Madison Bumgarner’s amazing post-season performance winning it all by posting a one run 7th game of the World Series win at Kansas City.
This year’s “play in game” winners, the Houston Astros, still weird to say of the American League, and the Chicago Cubs of the National League, each received a great pitching effort from their staff ace, the Astros from Dallas Keuchel and the Cubs from Jake Arrieta, the latter finishing the regular season with the best post August earned run average in baseball history.
As stated here before the “play in” games, I felt either play in game winner, in each league would win the division series.
I will stay with that prediction. Today the series between the Astros and last year’s A.L. play in and eventual pennant winner, the Kansas City Royals, begins. It is a best of five series and I predict the Astros will win it in 4 games.
Starting tomorrow the great rivals, the N.L. top seed, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs meet in the post-season for the first time. The first ever such clash is in a best of 5 N.L. Division Series.
The Cubs, not likely to be that big an underdog, (neither are the Astros at just 6 to 5), will win the three odd numbered games and prevail in 5 games.
Jake Arrieta
Five of the six (3-0) teams that played in week 4 of the current NFL season won. Another, New England had a bye, before their “Jim Nantz Texas dream doubleheader’ game at Dallas, vs the Cowboys this Sunday. Mr. Nantz also gets to call Indy Colts at his dream city, Houston (Texans) on Thursday night.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers in earlier games and the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos in later tilts, won to raise their records to (4-0).
The St. Louis Rams derailed (“3:10 to Yuma” anyone?) the Arizona Cardinals home game attempt to also go to (4-0).
Three of the four (0-3) teams won and avoided (0-4) starts.
Last Thursday night, the Baltimore Ravens were given a gift win at Pittsburgh vs the Steelers as “Pitts” coach Mike Tomlin was just that (the pits) with some questionable, game and point spread affected, coaching decisions.
A great clutch kicker, Robbie Gould booted the decisive field goal, as the Chicago Bears avoided an (0-4) start with a win vs the Oakland Raiders. The New Orleans Saints also won their first, covering the point spread, on NOT the fastest score in NFL overtime history, as I am told was stated on the NBC broadcast. The Saints won at home vs the Dallas Cowboys.
On Monday night, the Seattle Seahawks, participants in the last two Super Bowls, winning then losing, sent the Detroit Lions to (0-4), surviving for a 3 point win, as a 10 point favorite.
As with the superb comedian, Robert Klein, whose routine included “I Can’t Stop My Leg,” my “can’t help it,” penchant for post-season trivia continues below.
The cities of Houston and New York will be meeting in a “preliminary round”/to be one of 8 remaining teams in a sport’s playoff, for a third time with tonight’s such clash between the Astros and Yankees.
In the two previous such meetings, the nature of the sports, football and basketball, made it extremely unlikely the preliminary round winner would go very far in the playoffs.
That is not the case with baseball. Last year the two “play in game”/preliminary game winners advanced to the World Series, clearly the first time two preliminary round winners (i.e. to become one of eight teams) ever advanced together to their sports’ final round, in baseball’s parlance, the still great but clearly diminished event, known as The World Series.
Houston and New York have also met in a league’s final (the Houston Rockets won in 7 games vs the New York Knicks in 1994) and semi-final (the Mets winning a scintillating 6 game NLCS en route to their last World Series win in 1986).
For the record, the two “prelims” were the Rockets’ best of three, decisive third game win vs the Knicks in 1975 and the Houston Oilers win vs the New York Jets in 1991. Both the ’75 rockets, who lost to the Celtics and the ’91 Oilers, who blew a big lead and lost to the Denver Broncos, were eliminated in the quarterfinal round.
No prediction on tonight’s game but I do predict both play in game winners, no matter which team wins the Astros/Yankees or Cubs/Pirates will upset their league’s Missouri based one seed (The A.L. Kansas City Royals, who pulled the upsets last year before losing to fellow play in game winner, the S.F. Giants in the World Series and the N.L. St. Louis Cardinals).
“Bet” you favorites backers are evoking Missouri and saying “show me” regarding those predictions. Sadly, not as high up on the list as money, it still is one reason they play the games.
Robert Klein, likely still a Yankees’ fan
Tomorrow night’s American League “play in” game at Yankee Stadium matches the New York Yankees, whose 27 World Series wins are more than double those of any other baseball franchise (the Cardinals, who won 100 games in the 2o15 regular season, are second, with 11), and the Houston Astros, whose only World Series appearance resulted in a 4 game sweep loss to the White Sox, giving the South Side Chicago team its first World Series win in 88 years.
Only the Texas Rangers, who also made the playoffs, clinching the A.L. West on the regular season’s final day, after dissipating a 4 run 9th inning lead vs the L.A. Angels of Los Angeles with a chance to do so the day before, now in their 55th season, have gone longer than the Astros, (in their 54th season), without ever having won a World Series.
The Yankees, who have been in 40 World Series, 15 ALCS, and are bidding to qualify for the division series for the 18th time in its 21 year existence, will be in their first “play in” game. (The Yankees were also in a strike marred 1981 season equivalent of a division series, as were the Astros.)
This is the fourth season with the play in game and tomorrow night’s contest will be the Astros’ first post season appearance since the aforementioned sweep loss, in the 2005 World Series.
Perhaps smiling down from above will be the recently departed Yogi Berra, of course an enormous part of the Yankees’ great history, having played on a record 10 World Series winning teams, but also a coach for the Astros, the last time they played in a post season game in New York, which was vs the Mets in the 1986 NLCS.
Recently, I was privileged to see a great music show, called “Hippiefest,” at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York.
One of the great performers on the bill, guitarist extraordinaire, Rick Derringer thanked the audience for coming out on a rainy night, which is a nice thing.
As a member of that audience I want to thank the performers for putting on a wonderful show that literally had people, yes an older crowd, dancing in the aisles and that included me. I must say the audience looked really good doing so.
Those performers included Mitch Ryder, “Badfinger,” Mr. Derringer and the still incredible “Family Stone” which played the entire post intermission portion of the show.
Ryder opened the show with good comedic lines between songs and treated us to big hits “C.C. Rider” and “Devil With The Blue Dress,” dedicating the song to all the women who have worn one.
“Badfinger,” proteges of Paul McCartney and George Harrison on the Beatles’ Apple label, were led by the last “Finger” as he was introduced, Joey Molland.
“If You Want It Come And Get It” led the great hits and though we now know Molland was warned by the legendary great, Mr. Harrison that a big hit will be sung over and over again, the group produced a fine version.
Derringer was next telling us that when on tour with Ringo Starr, of course another member of The Beatles, that his hit as a member of “The Mc Coys,” “Sloopy Hang On” was first on the charts ahead of the Beatles “Yesterday” which was second, for at least one week, roughly 50 years ago. The song and Derringer’s amazing guitar playing made it a great segment.
“The Family Stone” performed so many of their great hits, “Dance To The Music” among them, before closing the show with “I Want To Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again.”
Among their contingent this night were original members saxophonist Jerry Martini, drummer Greg Errico and vocalist Phunne (pronounced Fun, and her singing and dancing surely is) Stone, the daughter of the great Sylvester “Sly” Stone, who sounded great.
Thanks to all the performers once again as you helped “myself” feel great during the show.
Rick Derringer Pictured Above
Click below to “ride” back in time for “C.C. Rider” with Mitch Ryder
It is not so arguably the greatest and most famous broadcasting call in sports’ history.
Russ Hodges, a great broadcaster, called Bobby Thomson’s incredibly dramatic home run that gave the National League Pennant to the New York Giants over the Brooklyn Dodgers 64 years ago today.
The Giants had stormed back from a 13 and a half game deficit and actually led the Brooklyn Dodgers by a half game as the Dodgers battled the Philadelphia Phillies into extra innings in the “Keystone State” of Pennsylvania.
In those extra frames, a great “keystone position player,” Jackie Robinson, first saved the game with a great catch on what seemed a sure “give the Giants the pennant” hit by Ed Waitkus, whom I believe was the “inspiration” for Robert Redford’s “Roy Hobbs” character being shot in the film “The Natural” adapted from Bernard Malamud’s book of the same name, as Waitkus was shot in real, not “reel” life.
Next, Jackie hit a home run in the top of the 14th inning, that gave the Dodgers the lead and an eventual victory, that forced the best of three playoff for the 1951 N.L. pennant.
64 years later and thanks to a fan who recorded it, which led to a Giants’ album sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes, we can hear Hodges and it never fails to move me— “long drive that’s gonna be it, I believe, the GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT (4 times).
I have heard that great broadcasting moment at least a thousand times and hope to hear it many more times.
Click below for a video of Bobby Thomson’s pennant winning home run, with Russ Hodges’ great call.
The Shot Heard ‘Round The World – YouTube
The Great Broadcaster Russ Hodges Pictured Above
Going into the final weekend of the baseball regular season, the Houston Astros have a one game lead over both the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the tenth and final spot in the upcoming baseball tournament. All the 10th spot contenders have three games remaining.
The Astros face the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road while the Angels are also on the road in Texas vs the Rangers. The Twins are at home vs the Royals.
Incredibly, or maybe not so incredibly, given his penchant for glaring factual errors, WFAN radio host Mike Francesa did not include the Twins among the hopefuls for the last playoff spot.
He said it was “between the Astros and Angels.” At least he did not say among.
There once was etiquette in giving scores with giving or saying the winning team first sacrosanct. For better or worse, usually worse, people have strong emotions involving who won.
That myopic sense of priorities is terribly unfortunate, but does not excuse saying the losing team first as Yankees’ radio analyst Suzyn Waldman did yesterday during a third or fourth inning scoreboard report during the Yankees playoff clinching win vs the Boston Red Sox.
She said the Reds collected their 12th straight loss. Done properly: The Cubs handed the Reds their 12th straight loss.
First of all, I admit to having an almost unfathomable (0-12-1) record this season on my college and pro football predictions. Rather than emphasizing that it is remarkable and even rewarded in some office pools to be that inept, heed the warning about gambling, the so called law of averages (no such thing in this regard) and take it all in stride.
Before the predictions, Mike Francesa, known to “doctor” his record on his predictions, said the other day that the Patriots will play the Packers in the regular season. In addition to the laziness of not looking at the schedule, (Francesa you are a New York based “I don’t know what,”) save the utterly absurd fact you are paid millions, and know the Jets are playing the Giants this season.
You see it is NFC East vs AFC East and without any homework, Francesa who “plugs in what he knows,” obvious stuff like the quarterback and coach are most important, should have known New England from the AFC East will not be playing Green Bay from the NFC North.
Tonight Cincinnati University to keep it close, losing (24-22) to the University of Miami.
Top ranked Ohio State will win by less than “expected” for a fourth straight week, (38-20) vs Indiana University.
The fact a third high school football player this season, Evan Murray, died from injuries sustained during a game will be publicized, mourned briefly even disproportionately and then FORGOTTEN amidst the beer, food, gambling, lack of attention span and most of all hypocrisy (Al Pacino’s “Michael Corleone” to the late, great character actor G.D. Spradlin’s Nevada Senator–“We are part of the same hypocrisy” applies) that is prevalent in our society and epitomized by football.
Finally one prediction I got correct!
Click below for a compelling, well written perspective.
G.D. Spradlin, above, who also portrayed an all powerful college coach in the film “One on One,” that helped illustrate the corruption and yes hypocrisy in big time college athletics.
