Last night Houston Astros’ pitcher Mike Fiers pitched a no hit game vs the LA Dodgers in an inter league battle between the leaders in each league’s Western Division. The no hit game adds to Astros vs Dodgers history.
The Astros, in the National League for 51 seasons from (1962-2012), and now in the American League, engaged the Dodgers in a “one game for the NL West title” situation in both 1980 and 1981.
In 1980, the two teams met in the final three regular season games at Dodger Stadium in LA. with the Dodgers needing to win all three games to force a one game playoff and that is what happened.
In the playoff, Houston prevailed with Joe Niekro on the mound and first baseman, Dave Bergman, whom sadly we lost recently, recording the final putout.
The Astros lost a heartbreaking NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies, who went on to win their first World Series.
In the strike affected 1981 season, the Dodgers defeated the Astros in a best of 5 extra series caused by the strike. LA came home down (0-2) in the series and again had to and did win all three games. That time it meant the NL West title.
The Dodgers went on to win their first World Series in 16 years.
Mike Fiers
The masochism in me often exacerbates the horror of sitting in traffic by tuning into the sports talk shows. My fault for listening, but in a vain attempt to stop the madness, let me cite two factual mistakes apiece made by Mike Francesa and Michael Kay yesterday.
Kay on ESPN New York stated that Joe Torre as Yankees manager lost in the first round of the playoffs in 4 straight years. It was in fact, three straight years from (2005-2007.)
Later he said “Vegas” projected 78 and a half wins for the Yankees when it was 81 or so.
Francesa on WFAN radio, stated the Mets came from 8 and a half games back to win the NL East in 1969 when it was nine and a half.
The team won 38 of 49 not 39 of 48 as Francesa thought. At a million dollars a year (an obscene amount) to do what so many wish they could and I know that I could, at least get your facts straight and/or look them up.
Why is it that I can not “let it go,” regarding current Chicago Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon’s horrible decision as Tampa Rays manager in game 5 of the ALCS vs the Boston Red Sox in 2008?
In review, Maddon left his right handed pitcher in to pitch to David Ortiz and eventually lost the game.
Maddon is considered a fine manager and certainly is a media darling.
It takes one to know one and as a non winner myself, albeit one not really given the chance, I said Maddon would not win.
He did not in Tampa and despite many wanting him and the Cubs to end their title drought, I say the non winner manager (some would say some non winner Maddon is, with his hefty salary) and the epitome of non winner franchise (the Cubs), will not win.
Who knows me saying it may reverse the “goat curse” some blame for the Cubs failure to make the World Series in 70 years. (and counting)? That’s why they play the games, to find out.
“To Dance-The Musical” which premiered last night and is playing at The Theater at the 14th Street Y as part of the International Fringe Festival, is a riveting musical play featuring wonderful acting, exquisite dancing and telling the true story of the Russian Jewish dancer,Valery Panov.
Each wonderful, Kathryn Morgan and Jesse Carrey are featured as respectively “Galina,” the gifted Soviet ballet dancer with whom Carrey as Panov falls in love.
The play is set in the USSR during the Cold war and details the struggles for freedom and expression evident in the country at the time and which the Panovs fought to overcome.
The dancing is superb; Morgan, once an award winning member of New York City Ballet has returned to dancing after an illness and Kyra Robinov, who wrote “To Dance” “making her dream come true,” is thrilled Ms.Morgan is part of the project.
Carrey gives a very direct, succinct performance in which I felt some of what the courageous, standout Panov experienced and felt inside. Both Morgan and Carrey are terrific with a tremendous cast including Rick Roemer as the KGB villain, “Rachinsky.”
I highly recommend seeing “To Dance” which has 4 remaining performances all at “The Theater at the 14th Street Y at 344 east 14th Street.
Performance times and dates: Fri. 8/21 at 8:45 PM, Sun. 8/23 @5;45 PM, Thurs. 8/27 @ 9:00 PM and Sun 8/30 @ 1:45 PM. Tickets are $18 (well worth it!) and are available along with more information at
Recently I saw the great singer Gordon Lightfoot perform in Peekskill, New York.
Mr. Lightfoot was battling “walking pneumonia” yet “soldiered” through, entertaining the audience with a full show which included songs and his personal insights.
As he sang “If You Could Read My Mind” my thoughts extended in many different directions with fond memories of many of the different times the song was played in the far more random days of listening to one’s favorite music station.
He gave us insight into why he wrote and recorded “The wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” as he heard about the wreck involving the ship and the subsequent decrease in news coverage regarding the event.
Gordon Lightfoot wanted those so adversely affected by the tragedy to be remembered.
On a lighter note if you will, Gordon Lightfoot will certainly be long remembered and seeing him perform live was a great experience, also to be long remembered by me.
Enduring Michael Kay, Ken Singleton and David Cone over the past weekend on the YES Network, with some of the “lowlights” cited below.
Kay, who entered major league broadcasting with no experience, (contrast that with Gary Cohen, the Mets’ fine television announcer, who toiled in the minor leagues), never has and likely never will show the proper inflection in his play by play.
Yesterday on an obvious home run blast by the Jays’ Jose Bautista, Kay’s voice remained down on impact, something I noticed years back and while he has rarely been praised for his play by play, he is still there, albeit far less offensive on television than radio.
Later, Kay stated the AL East race would be “between” 3 teams, not using among, but alas, among the weekend English/grammar horrors, that paled compared to David Cone’s “not no more.”
On Friday night, Singleton, who spent the weekend agreeing with all that emanated from Cone, stated the Blue Jays would not have won the 1992 World Series without David Cone, at best an arguable point.
Worse he talked of three regular season games in which Cone got but two runs of support as the reason. Why was that a/the reason the Jays could not have won the World Series without him?!!
I distinctly remember a preseason promo run by ESPN, the “worldwide leader” in hype, talking about the Washington Nationals, being the favorite to win it all in baseball 2015. Smart listeners (are there any because almost by definition if you listen to ESPN…..) would have known it was not to be for Washington in 2015 after hearing that.
I was one who thought that way, but also am aware that despite a mere (58-58) record, a pace requiring “Wash” to go (36-10) to exceed their projected win total of 93 and a half, that the Nationals are only 4 and a half games behind the New York Mets in the N.L. East.
Thus the only “taps” right now in Washington are at Arlington Cemetery, if there.
However, to this point the Nationals have been one of the great disappointments in not only this baseball season, but in any baseball season for a long period of time.
Let’s see, the Seattle Seahawks, denied in such excruciating fashion of a second straight Super Bowl triumph last season, when they lost to the New England Patriots, despite having a second and goal situation on the New England one yard line in the waning seconds, own a Super Bowl and regular season victory over the Denver Broncos.
In turn, the Broncos can point to two preseason wins in a row vs the Seahawks. Those are not exactly equal terms.
Denver has won 4 straight AFC West crowns, three with Peyton Manning at quarterback and one with Tim Tebow at the helm.
The Broncos made one Super Bowl in that span, as stated above losing to Seattle. The other three years, the Broncos were denied in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Seahawks have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, splitting two Super Bowls and performing well as underdogs in a divisional round playoff loss.
I firmly believe that Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia of the internet is an overall very useful tool. However, any factual mistake ought to be pointed out.
Reader Ethan Reichberg, pointed one out to me, concerning the New York baseball Giants’ history.
As shown below, at the end of this post, from the Wikipedia site concerning the New York (baseball) Giants, now the San Francisco Giants, it reads that the Giants were SWEPT in the World Series by the New York Yankees in both 1936 and 1937.
In fact, while those great Yankees’ teams did defeat the Giants in both the 1936 and 1937 World Series, neither victory was a sweep.
The Yankees won a tough 6 game series in 1936 and going up (3-0,) won in 5 games in 1937.
The Yankees from (1936-1939) were arguably baseball’s best team ever, a discussion for another day.
However, it should be pointed out that the next two years, 1938 and 1939, the Yankees did record World Series 4 game sweeps vs the Chicago Cubs in 1938 and Cincinnati Reds in 1939. The fact they did not sweep the Giants in either 1936 nor 1937 is significant.
In conclusion, a good job by reader Reichberg and despite this mistake, a usual good job by Wikipedia.
Below is the factual mistake text and a link to the page on which it was printed.
McGraw handed over the team to Bill Terry after the 1932 season, and Terry played for and managed the Giants for ten years, winning three pennants, defeating the Senators in the 1933 World Series but swept by the Yankees in consecutive fall classics, 1936 and 1937.
History of the New York Giants (NL) – Wikipedia,… (Read the history from 1930-1957 to see the factual mistake noted above).
Twice each since my last post, the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays have won baseball games, extending the lead for each, in its league’s Eastern Division.
The Blue Jays have won 11 straight games and are bidding to make the baseball playoffs for the first time since 1993.
Those playoffs which ended baseball’s last true season and were the last games my father saw before he died, ended dramatically and in great fashion for the Blue Jays.
Joe Carter hit a three run home run to give the Jays a second straight World Series victory.
Meanwhile the Mets, the team my father cheered, have won 11 of 13 games since a seemingly devastating Thursday afternoon loss to the San Diego Padres two weeks ago, which was cited here, as one of only three games they lost at home, despite having a 6 run or greater lead.
Joe Carter
