Yesterday’s MR. OCTOBERS (LDS Day 3)

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, as well as occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

Headline: Rangers beat Blue Jays in 14, take 2-0 lead

Dallas News: Two in a row, quite a show

(Toronto) Globe and Mail: On the brink

Toronto Star: SHATTERED

Calgary Herald: JAYS FACE ELIMINATION IN TEXAS

Chronicle-Herald (Halifax): Noooooo!!!

Hamilton Spectator: ANOTHER LOSS

Ottawa Citizen: 1ST INNING JITTERS HAUNT JAYS

El Universal (Cartagena, Colombia): RANGERS, ARRIBA

El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua): Texas pone contra la pared a Toronto (It means either “Texas placed against the wall in Toronto”- referring to how it took 14 innings, but I think it might more mean “Texas puts Toronto’s backs against the wall”, as in they have pushed Toronto to the brink of elimination)

El Nacional (Caracas, Venezuela): Texas repitió en Toronto (“Texas repeated in Toronto”)

Headline: Royals tie up series with Astros

Kansas City Star: Houston, we have a series

Houston Chronicle: Astros, Royals all tied up

St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press: SQUARED AWAY

Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World: OUT OF A JAM

Headline: Cardinals win Game 1 against Cubs

Chicago Tribune: BACK TO EARTH

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: ROOKIES ROCK & ROLL

Daily Herald (Suburban Chicago): Lester bested

Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat: RED OCTOBER IS HERE (needless to say, Belleville is in solid Cardinals territory)

Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.): Lackey, long ball life Cards to Game 1 win

Peoria (Ill.) Journal-Star: WELCOME TO ARMAGEDDON (It’s for a column about the series)

Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.): LACKING

The Times (Munster, Ind.): CUBS BESTED IN GAME 1

Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Ind.): Clash of Clans (on divided fan loyalties)

The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa): HOUSE DIVIDED (similarly on divided fan loyalties)

The Gleaner (Henderson, Ky.): CARDINALS TAKE LEAD

Headline: deGrom wins match-up with Kershaw (due to how late the game ended, not as many papers had it on their front page)

New York Post: Wright on!

Daily News (from their website): deGROM-INANT

Pasadena Star-News: OLD-SCHOOL FANS KNOW THE SCORE: 3-1 (As there was also an article on people who keep score the old-fashioned way)

El Vigia (Ensenada, Mexico): Se repite la historia (“History repeats itself”- with a picture of Kershaw. Ouch.)

Yesterday’s MR. OCTOBERS (LDS Day 2)

Posted on October 10, 2015 by danglickman

The Mr. Octobers of Yesterday…

In Texas/Toronto, they were Shawn Tolleson (pitcher) and Delino DeShields (position player).

In Royals/Astros, they were Salvador Perez (position player) and Ryan Madson (pitcher).

In Cubs/Cards, they were Jon Lackey (pitcher) and Stephen Piscotty (position player).

And, finally, in Mets/Dodgers, they were Jacob deGrom (pitcher) and David Wright (position player). An interesting thing to note is that while deGrom tied Tom Seaver‘s Mets single-game postseason strikeout record (set in Game 1 of the 1973 NLCS), he did it in 7.0 IP, while Seaver had 8.1 IP in that game.

Standings so far (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher, * means eliminated from playoffs):

P Jake Diekman 3

PP Rougned Odor 3

P Collin McHugh 3

PP Kendrys Morales 3

P Shawn Tolleson 3

PP Delino DeShields 3

PP Salvador Perez 3

P Ryan Madson 3

P Jon Lackey 3

PP Stephen Piscotty 3

P Jacob deGrom 3

PP David Wright 3

P Dallas Keuchel 1

PP Colby Rasmus 1

PP Kyle Schwarber 1

P Jake Arrieta 1

Headlines From Around The Continuum (October 9, 2015)

Posted on October 9, 2015 by danglickman

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, as well as occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

Headline: Rangers go up 1-0 on Blue Jays

Dallas Morning News: Rangers take Game 1

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Rangers turn the tables, beat Blue Jays with homers

(Toronto) Globe and Mail: Everything goes bizarrely wrong for Blue Jays

Metro Toronto: OUCH! (on Donaldson’s injury)

National Post: TWO INJURIES AND A LOSS AT JAYS OPENER

Toronto Star: Relax: They’re down, not out

Other Canadian Metro Papers (Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax, etc.): JAYS BANGED UP BY TEXAS IN GAME 1

Calgary Herald: JAYS STUMBLE IN GAME 1

Longview (TX) News-Journal: RANGERS TAKE DOWN BLUE JAYS

Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator: ROUGH GAME

Ottawa Citizen: HIT BY A TEXAS STORM

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets fly, Jays Crash (on how the Winnipeg Jets won their opening game of the season, but the Jays lost)

El Vigia (Ensenada, Mexico): Yovani Gallardo pega primero (roughly “Yovani Gallardo strikes first”, referring to the Mexican-born Texas starter)

El Nacional (Caracas, VZ): Poder venezolano guió a los Rangers (“Venezuelan power led the Rangers”)

Headline: Astros defeat Royals to take 1-0 lead

Houston Chronicle: 2 out of 3 ain’t bad (referring to fact that three Houston teams- including the Astros, were in action yesterday, and two of them won)

Kansas City Star: GAME 1… GONE

Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader: HOMER-HAPPY ASTROS

Hutchinson (KS) News: SORRY SERIES START

Omaha World-Herald: Postseason thud for Kansas City

The Eagle (Bryan-College Station, TX): SO FAR, SO GOOD

Yesterday’s MR. OCTOBERS (LDS Day 1)

Posted on October 9, 2015 by danglickman

The Mr. Octobers in the Texas-Toronto game were Jake Diekman (pitcher) and Rougned Odor (position player), while the Mr. Octobers in Houston-Kansas City game were Colin McHugh (pitcher) and Kendrys Morales (position player, even though they lost).

Standings so far (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher, * means eliminated from playoffs):

P Jake Diekman 3

PP Rougned Odor 3

P Colin McHugh 3

PP Kendrys Morales 3

P Dallas Keuchel 1

PP Colby Rasmus 1

PP Kyle Schwarber 1

P Jake Arrieta 1

Yesterday’s Mr. Octobers (Oct. 2, 2014)

Posted on October 3, 2014 by danglickman

Now that we are in the LDS round, each Mr. October gets 3 points.

For the Orioles-Tigers game, the Mr. Octobers are Andrew Miller (pitching, for his excellent relief work) and Nelson Cruz amongst position players (for his home run, 2 hits, and 3 RBIs).

In the Angels-Royals game, the Mr. Octobers are Mike Moustakas (for his game-winning homer) and (despite his team losing) Jered Weaver for pitching.

Standings so far (PP= Position Player, P= Pitcher, * means eliminated from playoffs):

P Andrew Miller 3

PP Nelson Cruz 3

PP Mike Moustakas 3

P Jered Weaver 3

PP Brandon Crawford 1

P Madison Bumgarner 1

PP Brandon Moss 1*

P Brandon Finnegan 1

2014 ALDS and NLDS predictions

Posted on October 2, 2014 by danglickman

Here are my predictions for the 2014 ALDS and NLDS series:

The Orioles are a good team and have a flare for the dramatic, and also seem to like giving the middle finger to any sort of baseball logic and sense. However, I do not think they can beat the Tigers rotation. Their only shot will be to get to the soft underbelly that is the Detroit bullpen. However, it’s entirely possible that the Tigers’ won’t give them that chance. Tigers in 4.

The Royals/Angels series is a bit less clear, partly because I haven’t seen them “live” as much as I’ve seen the O’s and Tigers, but also because they are very different teams (while the Orioles and Tigers have more-or-less the same approach as each other). The Royals, as we saw during the Wild Card game, are an old-style team that loves to bunt and steal, while relying on pitching to try and make up for all the times that might fail (the Royals actually were one of the worst teams in the league in certain offensive categories this season). The Angels are more of a standard modern team at the plate, with a big-name lineup that was the league’s most productive offense, led, of course, by Mike Trout. Their pitching, however, is nowhere near as big-name as their lineup. With such different teams going at each other, and with strengths going against strengths, this could be anyone’s series. That said, I think the Angels are the better overall team, so I think they will win it. Angels in 4.

The Cardinals/Dodgers matchup is one that has happened many times before- they are two of the flagship teams of baseball and stalwarts of the National League. They met last year in the NLCS and the Cardinals won in 6, but I think this time it’ll be different. The Cardinals no longer have postseason man-god Carlos Beltran, Michael Wacha is still recovering from injury (although certainly the Cardinals maintain a very deep rotation) and Yadier Molina isn’t fully healthy either. The Dodgers, meanwhile, now are another year wiser and experienced, and, oh, right, have Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke all nice and lined up to pitch in order. If not for the fact Hyun-Jin Ryu is going to be coming off an injury and that Dan Haren has long had trouble against the Cardinals, the starting rotation situation for the Dodgers would look almost as good as Detroit’s looks like against the Orioles.

While the Cardinals do have the advantage in bullpen, experience and overall team depth, all of that might mean diddly-squat, though, because this is a best-of-five series and to win the Cardinals will likely have to win at least two games against the 1-2 punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke (there are rumors that Don Mattingley will try to go with a 3-man rotation). I don’t think they can, even with Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn. Dodgers in 5.

The Nationals hold a edge against the Giants because of the Wild Card game. Because the Giants had to play that, they probably won’t be able to have Bumgarner pitch until Game 3. Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson, of course, are also perfectly good (and Ryan Vogelsong has his moments), but they aren’t Bumgarner. The Nationals, meanwhile, will have Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez. So, advantage in the rotation. Nationals also hold the advantage in offense, with a deeper lineup that features two players (Denard Span and Jayson Werth) who were top-10 in batting average in the NL this season and with Bryce Harper having heated up after the All-Star Break and Adam LaRoche. While you can never count out Buster Posey and the rest of the Giants, I feel like the Nationals will win in 4.

So, there you go.

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 10, 2013)

Posted on October 11, 2013 by danglickman

It’s easy to pick the Mr. Octobers of Game 5 of the ALDS between the A’s and Tigers: Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. Cabrera had a 2-run HR, while Verlander had a no-hitter into the 7th and more-or-less shutdown the Athletics all eight innings he started in.

So, for that, they get DOUBLE points, adding 6 points to their Mr. October scores.

And, starting with the LCSes, it’s five points for being a Mr. October!

Standings (PP= Position Play, P= Pitcher):

P Justin Verlander– 9

P Adam Wainwright– 9

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Freese – 6

PP Miguel Cabrera- 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Sonny Gray-3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers of Yesterday (October 8, 2013)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by danglickman

Okay, first off, the game between the Tigers and Athletics. Among position players, the Mr. October was Jhonny Peralta. His home run tied the score at 3-3 and he had another hit as well.

Meanwhile, on the mound, I’m going with Max Scherzer. Not because he was good- as he initially not and allowed the Athletics to tie it up during his relief appearance- so much as how he was able to escape the mess, getting out of a bases-loaded situation with no outs without letting another run to score.

As for the Red Sox-Rays game, the position player who wins is Shane Victorino, who’s single in the seventh was ultimately the winning run. The pitcher was Koji Uehara, who made up for his loss in Game 3 by shutting down the four Rays he faced as he finished the game and got the save.

So, tonight is a Game 5. And a Game 5 means points will count double!

Anyway, here are the standings:

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

P Max Scherzer– 6

P Koji Uehara– 6

PP Shane Victorino– 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3

P Sonny Gray-3

P Adam Wainwright– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3

P Mike Minor– 3

PP Hanley Ramirez– 3

PP Yoenis Cespedes– 3

P Jason Grilli– 3

PP Carl Crawford– 3

P Chris Capuano– 3

PP Seth Smith– 3

P Dan Otero– 3

P Michael Wacha– 3

PP Matt Holliday-3

PP Jose Lobaton-3

P Jake McGee-3

PP Juan Uribe-3

PP Jhonny Peralta – 3

PP (Position Player) Russell Martin– 1

P (Pitcher) Francisco Liriano– 1

PP Desmond Jennings– 1

P Alex Cobb– 1

Mr. Octobers for October 7, 2013

Posted on October 8, 2013 by danglickman

Wow, what a day. Four games, and all of them had something good in them.

In the A’s-Tigers game, the position player Mr. October was Seth Smith, who had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, including a homer. Meanwhile, on the mound, Dan Otero wins the award for his two innings of good relief. Also, just an honorable mention to Grant Balfour and Victor Martinez for getting so many swear-words past MLB Network’s audio guys.

The next game, Pirates-Cardinals, almost saw history get made, as Michael Wacha got into the 8th inning before losing his no-hitter on a Pedro Alvarez HR. Wacha, of course, gets the Pitching award, while the position player getting the award was Matt Holliday, who’s two-run HR was ultimately the difference in the close 2-1 contest, and who had another hit too.

Boston-Tampa Bay was another classic, ending with Jose Lobaton‘s 9th-inning walk-off into the Ray tank in the outfield. Lobaton, of course, gets the award for position players- he only had one at-bat, but he really made it count. On the mound, Jake McGee wins, as his nice escape from having a man on second with no outs allowed the Rays to keep the game tied.

Finally, deep into the night, there was Braves-Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw, on short rest, threw 6 innings without an earned run, allowing him to outduel an overachieving Freddy Garcia (if not for the defensive problems of the Dodgers, the game would have been a shutout) and later Juan Uribe hit a two-run home run to put the Dodgers ahead for good. They are the Mr. Octobers for that game.

Standings (PP= position player, P= pitcher):

PP Carlos Beltran– 6

P Clayton Kershaw– 6

PP David Ortiz– 3

P Koji Uehara– 3

P Justin Verlander– 3

P Sonny Gray-3

P Adam Wainwright– 3

PP Adrian Gonzalez– 3

P Gerrit Cole– 3

PP Pedro Alvarez– 3

P Jon Lester– 3