Everything I had to say about last night’s check-swing ending was on Twitter last night, so instead I’m updating my bare-bones postseason predictions to reflect who has made the LCS round.
ALCS: Astros over Red Sox in 7
NLCS: Dodgers over Braves in 5
World Series: Dodgers over Astros in 6
World Series MVP: Mookie Betts
No explanations, only predictions. Do I have reasons? Am I just going by my gut. Too bad, I’m not telling you!
AL Wild Card: Red Sox over Yankees
NL Wild Card: Dodgers over Cardinals
ALDS: Rays over Red Sox in 5, Astros over White Sox in 4.
NLDS: Dodgers over Giants in 4. Braves over Brewers in 5.
ALCS: Rays over Astros in 6.
NLCS: Dodgers over Braves in 5.
World Series: Dodgers over Rays in 6.
World Series MVP: Justin Turner.
This post is part of the 2016 Baseball Continuum Blogathon For Charity, benefiting the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation. The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation is the charitable arm of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and funds raised will be “put to immediate use to increase the pace from research trials into improved clinical care, to ensure state-of-the-art facilities, and to help improve the quality of life for patients and their families.” Please donate through the Blogathon’s GoFundMe page.
For the far-too-late update on what happened in 2015, go to the bottom of the post after the jump.
In 2013, there was a sensation that spread across the nation: Mups. Their spread was unstoppable, to the point where some like the “Cespedes Family BBQ” and Jesse Spector had begun to engage in a “#Mupwatch”. But some wondered: What was a Mup? Were they some sort of Muppet? Were they dangerous? And why were they being lit on fire?
Well, the answer lay in the commercials that had been playing in the lead-up to and during the post-season, featuring Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark”. Here is an example of such a commercial. While officially they were saying “Light ’em up”, it sounded, especially during the echoing segments, like they were actually talking about things called “mups”.
And thus continued a long tradition of October songs that have graced our televisions and infected our ears, whether we liked them or not. And, usually, if we DID like them at the start of the postseason, we ended up being sick of them by the end just from hearing them so many times.
And, what’s more, these songs and how they have become memes aren’t from a universal source. Most of them, for example, have been part of TBS’ coverage, but others, including the Fall Out Boy song, have actually been of MLB’s doing. In 2013, for example, TBS was using a different song*, and MLB Network itself also had a different song for the commercials for it’s two games**. Rarely if ever have they been actually about baseball, usually selected more for their choruses or imagery.
*Using Google searches of the lyrics I was able to decipher, I’ve figured out it’s 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Do or Die”.
**Again using Google, I’ve found that the commercials use the chorus from Papa Roach’s “Still Swingin’“.
Still, with that out of the way, here’s a history (after the jump) of the Songs of October:
The Mr. Octobers of last night were Matt Harvey (even though they lost) and Eric Hosmer.
But who were the MR. OCTOBERS of the whole postseason? Look at the standings below and you’ll see they are Eric Hosmer and a tie between Wade Davis and Noah Syndergaard. I’d give the edge to Wade Davis, though, as a tiebreaker, since his team won it all.
STANDINGS (PP means Position Player, P means Pitcher, * means the team has been eliminated):
PP Eric Hosmer 20
P Noah Syndergaard 18*
P Wade Davis 18
P Johnny Cueto 16
P Matt Harvey 15*
PP David Wright 13*
PP Daniel Murphy 11*
P Marcus Stroman 11*
PP Jose Bautista 11*
P Chris Young 10
PP Ben Zobrist 10
PP Michael Conforto 10*
P Jeurys Familia 9*
P Jacob deGrom 8*
PP Yoenis Cespedes 8*
P Marco Estrada 8*
PP Troy Tulowitzki 8*
PP Jorge Soler 6*
PP Alex Rios 6
P Edinson Volquez 5
PP Alcides Escobar 5
PP Mike Moustakas 5
P Kelvin Herrera 5
PP Travis d’Arnaud 5*
PP Ryan Goins 5*
P Liam Hendriks 5*
PP Lorenzo Cain 5
PP Lucas Duda 5*
P Steven Matz 5*
P Dallas Keuchel 4*
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 John Lackey 3*
PP Stephen Piscotty 3*
P Travis Wood 3*
PP Adrian Gonzalez 3*
PP Chris Carter 3*
PP Carlos Correa 3*
P Roberto Osuna 3*
PP Kevin Pillar 3*
P Pedro Strop 3*
P Justin Grimm 3*
PP Javier Baez 3*
P Clayton Kershaw 3*
PP Justin Turner 3*
PP Colby Rasmus 1*
PP Kyle Schwarber 1*
P Jake Arrieta 1*
A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, elsewhere, and occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:
Headline: Royals win first World Series title since 1985, outlasting Harvey and Mets in Game 5
(Note: So that I don’t have a thousand papers from around the country that just say something along the lines of “Royals win World Series”, I focused on the hometown papers and papers that went a different route in their headlines.)
Kansas City Star: ROYALTY
Daily News (front): THE DARKEST KNIGHT (“Mets Amazin’ season comes crashing down in 9th, Royals take crown in 12”)
Daily News (back): CRUEL HAND LUC (on Lucas Duda’s bad throw)
NY Post (front): AMAZIN’ DISGRACE
NY Post (back): NIGHTY KNIGHT!
Newsday (front): YA GOTTA BEREAVE
Newsday (back): A ROYAL SHAME
El Diario- La Prensa (Brooklyn): Los pecados de Collins (“The sins of Collins”)
News-Leader (Springfield, MO): TOOK THE CROWN
St. Joseph (MO) News-Press: WORLD RENOWNED ROYALTY
Joplin (MO) Globe: WORLD CHAMPIONS
Hutchinson (KS) News: THEY DIDN’T QUIT
Lawrence (KS) Journal-World: NEVER-SAY-DIE ROYALS WIN WORLD SERIES
Salina (KS) Journal: CHAMPIONS!
Wichita Eagle: ROYALS RALLY FOR WORLD SERIES TITLE
The Record (Bergen County, NJ): Mets’ magic runs out
Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ): It’s all over
The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa): Royals are champs
Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage): Royals crowned champions after another late meltdown by Mets
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock): Kings of 2015
Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA): BASEBALL CROWNS ITS ROYALTY
Ventura County Star (CA): ROYAL THRONE
Denver Post: ROYALS REIGN
Idaho Press-Tribune (Nampa): CROWNED ROYALS
Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review: Royals flush
Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press: ROYALS GET THEIR CROWN
The Sun (Lowell, Mass.): ROYALS!
St. Paul Pioneer Press: K.C. MASTERPIECE
Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star: CROWN ‘EM
Omaha World-Herald: K.C. BRINGS BACK THE CROWN
Morning Call (Allentown, PA): BASEBALL ROYALTY (This headline was also used at the Edmonton Journal in Canada)
Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA): MIGHTY K.C.
Daily Herald (Provo, Utah): ROYAL CORONATION
USA Today: ROYALS RALLY, WIN WORLD SERIES
Winnipeg Free Press: ROYALS ARE WORLD SERIES KINGS
El Heraldo (Baranquilla, Colombia): Reales de Kansas City, campeones de la Serie Mundial (“Kansas City Royals, World Series Champions”)
Novedades de Quintana Roo (Mexico): Reales se corona 30 años después (“Royal crown 30 years later”)
Milenio (Guadalajara, Mexico): REALES, CAMPEÓN (“ROYALS, CHAMPION”)
Reforma (Mexico City): Se coronan Reales (“They are crowned Royals”)
Vanguardia (Saltillo, Mexico): VUELVAN A LA GLORIA LUEGO DE 30 ANOS (“TO GLORY AGAIN AFTER 30 YEARS”)
El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua): !REALES CAMPEONES, EN CASA DE LOS METS! (“Royals champions, in the home of the Mets!”)
El Universal (Caracas, Venezuela): Kansas City campeón (“Kansas City champion”)
Virgin Islands Daily News (Charlotte Amalie): WORLD CHAMPIONS- Baseball royalty
The MR. OCTOBERS of last night were Michael Conforto (even though the Mets lost) and Wade Davis.
STANDINGS (PP means Position Player, P means Pitcher, * means the team has been eliminated):
P Noah Syndergaard 18
P Wade Davis 18
P Johnny Cueto 16
PP David Wright 13
PP Daniel Murphy 11
P Marcus Stroman 11*
PP Jose Bautista 11*
P Chris Young 10
PP Ben Zobrist 10
PP Eric Hosmer 10
PP Michael Conforto 10
P Jeurys Familia 9
P Jacob deGrom 8
PP Yoenis Cespedes 8
P Marco Estrada 8*
PP Troy Tulowitzki 8*
PP Jorge Soler 6*
PP Alex Rios 6
P Edinson Volquez 5
PP Alcides Escobar 5
PP Mike Moustakas 5
P Kelvin Herrera 5
P Matt Harvey 5
PP Travis d’Arnaud 5
PP Ryan Goins 5*
P Liam Hendriks 5*
PP Lorenzo Cain 5
PP Lucas Duda 5
P Steven Matz 5
P Dallas Keuchel 4*
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 John Lackey 3*
PP Stephen Piscotty 3*
P Travis Wood 3*
PP Adrian Gonzalez 3*
PP Chris Carter 3*
PP Carlos Correa 3*
P Roberto Osuna 3*
PP Kevin Pillar 3*
P Pedro Strop 3*
P Justin Grimm 3*
PP Javier Baez 3*
P Clayton Kershaw 3*
PP Justin Turner 3*
PP Colby Rasmus 1*
PP Kyle Schwarber 1*
P Jake Arrieta 1*
David Wright and Noah Syndergaard (who pitched better than his stats indicate), AKA Captain America and Thor, are the MR. OCTOBERs of last night.
STANDINGS (PP means Position Player, P means Pitcher, * means the team has been eliminated):
P Noah Syndergaard 18
P Johnny Cueto 16
PP David Wright 13
PP Daniel Murphy 11
P Marcus Stroman 11*
PP Jose Bautista 11*
P Chris Young 10
PP Ben Zobrist 10
PP Eric Hosmer 10
P Jeurys Familia 9
P Jacob deGrom 8
PP Yoenis Cespedes 8
P Marco Estrada 8*
PP Troy Tulowitzki 8*
P Wade Davis 8
PP Jorge Soler 6*
PP Alex Rios 6
P Edinson Volquez 5
PP Alcides Escobar 5
PP Mike Moustakas 5
P Kelvin Herrera 5
P Matt Harvey 5
PP Travis d’Arnaud 5
PP Ryan Goins 5*
P Liam Hendriks 5*
PP Lorenzo Cain 5
PP Lucas Duda 5
P Steven Matz 5
P Dallas Keuchel 4*
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 John Lackey 3*
PP Stephen Piscotty 3*
P Travis Wood 3*
PP Adrian Gonzalez 3*
PP Chris Carter 3*
PP Carlos Correa 3*
P Roberto Osuna 3*
PP Kevin Pillar 3*
P Pedro Strop 3*
P Justin Grimm 3*
PP Javier Baez 3*
P Clayton Kershaw 3*
PP Justin Turner 3*
PP Colby Rasmus 1*
PP Kyle Schwarber 1*
P Jake Arrieta 1*
Johnny Cueto had the first complete-game for an AL starter since 1991 with a two-hitter, and Eric Hosmer had two RBIs, so they are the MR. OCTOBERS of Game 2.
STANDINGS (PP means Position Player, P means Pitcher, * means the team has been eliminated):
P Johnny Cueto 16
PP Daniel Murphy 11
P Marcus Stroman 11*
PP Jose Bautista 11*
P Chris Young 10
PP Ben Zobrist 10
PP Eric Hosmer 10
P Jeurys Familia 9
P Noah Syndergaard 8
P Jacob deGrom 8
PP Yoenis Cespedes 8
P Marco Estrada 8*
PP Troy Tulowitzki 8*
P Wade Davis 8
PP Jorge Soler 6*
PP Alex Rios 6
P Edinson Volquez 5
PP Alcides Escobar 5
PP Mike Moustakas 5
P Kelvin Herrera 5
P Matt Harvey 5
PP Travis d’Arnaud 5
PP Ryan Goins 5*
P Liam Hendriks 5*
PP Lorenzo Cain 5
PP Lucas Duda 5
P Steven Matz 5
P Dallas Keuchel 4*
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 John Lackey 3*
PP Stephen Piscotty 3*
PP David Wright 3
P Travis Wood 3*
PP Adrian Gonzalez 3*
PP Chris Carter 3*
PP Carlos Correa 3*
P Roberto Osuna 3*
PP Kevin Pillar 3*
P Pedro Strop 3*
P Justin Grimm 3*
PP Javier Baez 3*
P Clayton Kershaw 3*
PP Justin Turner 3*
PP Colby Rasmus 1*
PP Kyle Schwarber 1*
P Jake Arrieta 1*
The MR. OCTOBERs of Game 1 were Ben Zobrist and Chris Young. Ten points to each of them!
STANDINGS (PP means Position Player, P means Pitcher, * means the team has been eliminated):
PP Daniel Murphy 11
P Marcus Stroman 11*
PP Jose Bautista 11*
P Chris Young 10
PP Ben Zobrist 10
P Jeurys Familia 9
P Noah Syndergaard 8
P Jacob deGrom 8
PP Yoenis Cespedes 8
P Marco Estrada 8*
PP Troy Tulowitzki 8*
P Wade Davis 8
PP Jorge Soler 6*
PP Alex Rios 6
P Johnny Cueto 6
P Edinson Volquez 5
PP Alcides Escobar 5
PP Mike Moustakas 5
P Kelvin Herrera 5
P Matt Harvey 5
PP Travis d’Arnaud 5
PP Ryan Goins 5*
P Liam Hendriks 5*
PP Lorenzo Cain 5
PP Lucas Duda 5
P Steven Matz 5
P Dallas Keuchel 4*
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 John Lackey 3*
PP Stephen Piscotty 3*
PP David Wright 3
P Travis Wood 3*
PP Adrian Gonzalez 3*
PP Chris Carter 3*
PP Carlos Correa 3*
P Roberto Osuna 3*
PP Kevin Pillar 3*
P Pedro Strop 3*
P Justin Grimm 3*
PP Javier Baez 3*
P Clayton Kershaw 3*
PP Justin Turner 3*
PP Colby Rasmus 1*
PP Kyle Schwarber 1*
P Jake Arrieta 1*
Mets over Royals (in six).
(The explanation I didn’t include: The Mets have better starting pitching, more power hitters, and Terry Collins is way less likely than Ned Yost to do something crazy like leaving a pitcher in too long.)
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