The San Francisco Giants won it all in both 2010 and 2012. Each title season was followed by a really bad season. It is pretty clear to me, this is a great period for the Giants. Winning one title is hard enough, no less winning two.
This past week I had a chance to talk with three classy members of the Giants organization. I will share a highlight and some comments on each person.
Duane Kuiper is a fine S.F. Giant’s broadcaster, working on television in the Bay area with Mike Krukow. Duane also hit but one home run in 3,379 official at bats, the most number of at bats for a player with exactly one home run in his career.
Kuiper told me that unless the other four would have been game ending or grand slams, he is glad that he hit but one home run and not five.
Next, I spoke to near namesake Madison Bumgarner (we laughed at the various mispronunciations of our names, mine is Baumgarten).
Madison is very proud of being a big part of two title teams. He was very humble as we talked of his great pitching performance in the key game 4 victory, at Texas, vs the Rangers in the 2010 World Series.
He was equally proud of his wife Ali’s charity work in the Bay area. Again humble, even concerning his “better half,” he cited the other Giant’s wives and their contributions.
It was refreshing to see and meet a truly talented, classy young player. I am glad we have similar last names.
Last, but certainly not least, I had a meaningful conversation with a still young looking, but “wise beyond his still young years,” Dave Righetti, the longtime Giant’s pitching coach.
David realizes how fortunate he is to have lasted so long in the game. We talked about his no hitter, 30 years ago, when he pitched with the New York Yankees.
We talked about disappointments he overcame including those involving the Yankees’ near misses in the very competitive AL East of the 1980’s. I added and he knew how different things were when a team had to win its division to qualify for the playoffs.
Righetti has come out “the other side” from any disappointments and is a funny, personable man. He also happens to be a great pitching coach.
There is much good in someone like Righetti being a part of two World Series winning teams in three seasons.
Dave was nice enough to send a personal message to a friend and Giants fan. Having told Dave my friend does “second guess” certain managerial decisions, he greeted my friend and said he was glad that he was a Giants fan.
He added “watch the second guessing but we will consult with you first.” That comment made me laugh and capped my chats with three good Giants, who more important, are good people.
The third week of the 2013 N.F.L. season commences tonight in Philadelphia where the (2-0) Kansas City Chiefs, coached by longtime Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, visit the (1-1) Eagles.
There are two teams that are favored by more than two touchdowns this week. This is a very rare occurrence in the N.F.L.
Each team is the favorite to win its conference at this very early point in the season.
One big favorite, the (2-0) Seattle Seahawks host the (0-2) Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, Seattle is about a 19 point favorite, one of the highest lines that I can remember.
The other big favorite, the (2-0) Denver Broncos host to the (1-1) Oakland Raiders on Monday night. This is still a big rivalry and I predict the Raiders will play fairly well.
Rare predictions with margins of victory: Eagles by 7, Seahawks by 13 and Broncos by only four points.
While eight N.F.L. teams are (2-0), only three won and covered the point spread (usually a good barometer of a team’s strength, certainly not always the case) in both games.
One of those teams, the Denver Broncos loom large as a Super Bowl threat. Thus far, Denver eased to victories vs the last two Supe winners, the Baltimore Ravens in week one, and the “Ultimate Value Team,” New York Giants in the second game.
The Miami Dolphins, under second year coach Joe Philbin, have two road victories, winning as approximately a field goal underdog in each, first at Cleveland (Browns) and then at the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Three other teams from each conference are off to (2-0) starts. The Kansas City Chiefs, who covered one of two are joined by the New England Patriots and Houston Texans who have not only not covered but really struggled.
In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks are (2-0). Seattle has covered in both victories including an impressive home victory vs the San Francisco 49ers in the week two, Sunday night tilt.
It is very probable that the three American League divisional races have been decided.
In the A.L. East, the Boston Red Sox who have a team of bearded players, are anything but the “beard.”
Instead, they are the real thing and will win the division title for the first time since 2007. The Red Sox won the World Series that year and are among the favorites to do so this season.
The Detroit Tigers have a five game lead over the Cleveland Indians and almost certainly will win a third straight A.L. Central crown.
The Oakland A’s, who swept the slumping Texas Rangers over the weekend, now lead Texas by six and a half games in the A.L. West. It almost certainly will be a second straight A.L. West crown for the A’s.
The race for the two bogus wild card berths is sure to bring joy to the baseball commissioner, who allowed this travesty into what once was a great game.
Right now the Tampa Rays and Texas Rangers are tied for the two spots. The Cleveland Indians are just a half game behind. The Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and even the Kansas City Royals still have a shot, though a fairly long shot at this point.
There are less than two weeks to play in the baseball regular season. It still appears that the five National League qualifiers for the baseball tournament are set.
Both the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers long ago wrapped up their divisional titles, though neither has clinched at this point.
In the N.L. Central, with just 13 games left, the St. Louis Cardinals and the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates, who will finish above .500 for the first time since 1992, are tied for first place.
Each will make the playoffs, the Pirates for the first time since 1992. The division winner avoids the one game wild card playoff game slated for Tuesday October first.
In a far more compelling race in 1974 also between the Pirates and Cardinals it was Pittsburgh which won the “one out of four” division, gaining a game to win it on the final day of the season, Wednesday October second.
1974 and 2013 have the same calendar but this 2013 race is so much less dramatic.
If there is a need to decide the division winner in a playoff, that playoff is scheduled for Monday September 30th.
Sure, one wants to win the division and be one of eight and avoid a one game playoff. However, in 1974 a team had to finish first and its reward was being one of only four teams in the playoffs.
Meanwhile in the race for playoff qualification, the Cincinnati Reds have a four and a half game lead over the Washington Nationals.
One game into the second week of the NFL season, here are some early observations.
I will not start the big anti Peyton Manning comments now but seven touchdowns vs the team (Baltimore Ravens) that beat his Denver Broncos in the playoffs is a bit of “too much” and definitely late.
Denver and Manning are very good and as the season begins they are in the far weaker conference. Thus they are the top choice to win it all.
At this point, a perceived weak conference and division are the biggest things the New England Patriots have going for them. This despite a (2-0) record.
Favored by about 10 points in each win, New England won at Buffalo vs the Bills by 2 points and managed but a three point win in a home Thursday night tilt vs the now (1-1) New York Jets.
In the Sunday night, early season, divisional battle between two highly rated NFC teams, the Seattle Seahawks, playing at home, are about three point favorites vs the San Francisco 49ers.
If not this week, when it is hard to go vs Seattle at home, I believe sooner or later, the Niners, will take charge and win the NFC West.
I do have a “wild” scenario in the crazy (one more wild and we will have to call Robert Conrad) American League wild card race.
Before getting to that and skipping my usual statement of how I intensely dislike the wild card in baseball, let’s give the Yankees and particularly their manager, Joe Girardi much credit. They have battled many injuries to key players and stayed in playoffs contention.
Of course it is the bad play of the Tampa Rays (13 losses in 17 games) which has given hope to the Yankees and others in the playoffs race.
In my September 2nd “American League update,” I “warned” about the “bad karma” associated with Rays’ manager Joe Maddon’s failure to bring a left handed pitcher in to face the near great, David Ortiz in game 5 of the 2008 ALCS.
At that point, the Rays’ slump had started but I was “ahead of the curve” in anticipating this team’s malaise and possible “doomed” fate.
Now perhaps getting “greedy” in the “soothsaying business,” I predict this wild (there is that word!) scenario.
The Houston Astros, with the worst record in baseball, will win at least one key game from the Yankees in their regular season finale series and keep the Yankees out of the ‘offs for just the second time in 20 years (only in 2008 have they failed since failing in 1993) and in 19 completed baseball seasons (1995-2013).
While both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers enjoy comfortable divisional leads, the rest of the American League playoff picture is still far from determined.
Boston scored 20, 9, 12 and 13 runs in four consecutive wins last week. They have built an eight and a half game lead in the A.L. East and almost surely will win the division under manager, John Farrell, who is in his first year guiding the club.
The Tigers, who as usual seem to have “measured the field” have a five and a half game lead in a bid for a third straight A.L. Central crown.
The close divisional race is in the A.L. West where the Oakland Athletics hold a two game lead over the Texas Rangers.
Of course there are two wild card spots up for grabs and the Texas Rangers and Tampa Rays, the latter despite losing 12 of their last 16 games are the leaders. The Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and even the Kansas City Royals are still in contention.
This past weekend the five almost certain National League tournament qualifiers either swept or got swept in three game series.
Two were in head to head battles between the likely qualifiers, while the “out of the tournament” Phillies won all three games at home vs the Atlanta Braves.
The St. Louis Cardinals, after losing three of four games in Cincinnati (vs the Reds), won all three weekend games at home vs the Pittsburgh Pirates. That leaves the “Redbirds” one and a half games ahead in the N.L. Central.
Meanwhile the Reds kept winning, sweeping the N.L. West leading L.A. Dodgers in a three game weekend series in Cincinnati. The Reds, one percentage point (.570 to .569) behind the Pirates, are just one and a half games behind the Cardinals.
Both the Pirates and Reds are 8 games ahead for qualification. Earlier in the week the Pirates won two of three games in Milwaukee vs the Brewers.
Despite being swept over the weekend in three game series and being on 4 game losing streaks, both the Braves and Dodgers are still almost certain division winners.
You know what they say about opinions. I am entitled to mine and you to yours. I am not a fan of Sports Talk Radio host Mike Francesa and while the “pandora’s box” of subsequent sports talk show hosts are in my opinion much worse than he, I stand by an utter distaste for Francesa.
However, this is about facts. Yesterday, in his opening remarks on WFAN Radio, Francesa talked of how often Andy Pettitte has been the New York Yankee’s pitcher in big games for the last 17 years. Problem: Pettitte was retired one year (2011) and with the Houston Astros for three seasons (2004-2006). Hence he has not been a Yankees hurler for the last 17 years.
Thursday, he opined Andrew Luck is the most exciting or “some such thing,” quarterback in football since Joe Namath. I do not even remotely agree on both ends but that is his opinion.
However, in the next sentence or two, he said Luck is the most exciting or “some such thing” QB in the past 20 years. Joe Namath retired after the 1977 season.
I guess 36 is the “new 20.”
Andy Pettitte as an Astro
Andy B Sports 