Sunday 10/27/24
I got in what is late for me on Friday night and saw the very end of the first game of the World Series. I knew where things were headed after Aaron Boone brought in Nestor Cortes, who hadn't pitched in, what, a month? This is when he comes back? Extra innings of Game 1 of the World Series on the road in Los Angeles? Freeman crushed that ball, and with it he may have crushed the Yankees chances, which was what I was thinking while he still had the bat raised above his head before flipping it aside with a flourish. It's rare that a series can be decided, in effect, in its first game, but it does happen, and it's happened with the Dodgers: After Gibson hit his homer off of Eckersley in Game 1 in 1988, you figured the A's were cooked. Then the Dodgers won again last night.
I don't see the Yankees now taking four out of five from this team. Aaron Judge doesn't perform in the postseason, and it's a huge problem for the Yankees, because they're so reliant on him (and Soto, of course). The Yankees didn't have a big lead, but they were in control of that first game. Then when they scored in extras, they regained control, but Boone handed it right back with that decision.
Had the Yankees won that game--which they should have--then LA was in a quasi-must win for Game 2. What are the Yankees going to do now? Take three in the Bronx? Highly, highly unlikely. Best case scenario realistically: Take two out of three, head back to LA down 3-2. And what, win two our there? That Boone decision and the subsequent Freeman homer could very well have been the series. That was a worse decision than Grady Little bringing Pedro Martinez back out in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2003, which ended, ironically enough, with Boone's homer sending the Yankees to the World Series.
Speaking of sending one's team to the World Series: It's Bobby Thomson. Not Thompson. There's no "p." Even baseball historians seem unaware of this. Look it up. I'm not lying.
The Celtics struggled with the Pistons last night. Detroit has some good young players and they were competing hard. I'm not sure if the Pistons usually play that hard or they were doing so because it was the Celtics. The Celtics broadcast is hard to listen to. It's just this spunk fest. Praise on top of praise on top of praise. The Celtics jack up so many threes. They are jacking up more this year than last. Clearly that is part of the game plan: More threes than ever. I don't know this, but it wouldn't surprise me if they've launched more three point attempts through the first three games of an NBA season than any other team in history.
They had this twenty plus point lead, then the Pistons came back, and got the lead themselves. The Celtics were stagnant on offense once that three ball stopped going down. Guys standing around, no cutting. The ball handler would dribble into the space occupied by two other players. (Al Horford did this, dribbling right across the court for no apparent reason, such that he could have then handed the off to either of two of his teammates.)
Worth keeping an eye on. I don't think this is the most effective way to play, no matter what the analytics say. They have all of these players who can get relatively easy two-point buckets in the post and off the drive.
The Celtics do feel, early on, like one of those teams: A team you don't miss. They are also the sole bright spot in Boston sports right now.
We've talked recently about some surprising runs scored stats regarding Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn. Here's another one--or two, really: Reggie Jackson only scored 100 runs once in his career. He did lead the league in runs scored twice, though.
Though I had the Celtics game, I was monitoring the Bruins-Leafs last night. I think Jim Montgomery is coaching for his job right now. The Bruins were 3-4 heading into that contest, and they were trailing in the game. They came back and won so they're 4-4 now. Let's say the Bruins had dropped that game and a few more after it and were 3-7 or 3-8. I think he'd have been fired then.
That's where this is at in my view. He needs to win now, and then he has to go to probably the conference finals, depending on how the team's playoff showing looks, in order to be brought back. But again, I think there's a strong chance he doesn't make it through the season.
Saw yesterday that Cale Makar was tied for the league lead in scoring. Yes, it's early, and a defenseman isn't going to stay atop the leader board--but can finish in the top ten or perhaps the top five--but the trend in recent years is for that defenseman who starts out hot--offensively--to win the Norris. Makar is a good bet for this anyway, but he's an even better bet now.
Boston College went up 20-0 against Louisville (they missed an extra point, as BC always does) and I knew they were going to lose. Was checking the updates at a piano recital. BC may very well end up with a worse record than they've had in some years, which is saying something, and saying something worse yet after the apparent promise to begin the season and Bill O'Brien's tenure as head coach (I wonder how long he'll stick around for--a year? Two? That won't be enough to see this through, and BC will be starting over again). They won that first game against Florida State convincingly.
Okay, so Florida State isn't any good, but still, nice win. They crushed Duquesne in their home opener, but at least it was a clean, efficient showing. Then they were ranked. They went to Missouri and were competitive, back when everyone though Missouri was good. Then they had a gritty win at home against Michigan State at night for the Red Bandana Game, they came back against the Hilltoppers, and there they sat at 4-1.
They've been awful since, the quarterback play isn't going to get it done at this level, their kicking game is atrocious--a high school punter could do better. BC can't overcome a guy kicking the ball twenty-seven yards off the side of his foot multiple times a game. How can you not have a better? They could hold open tryouts among the student body and get someone better. That's no exaggeration. How does BC always have this issue? It baffles me. I honestly can't explain it. They had a first half no-show against Virginia Tech on Thursday night, and now this Friday night debacle. I don't know how they're going to get two more wins to make a bowl.
I had hoped Navy would beat Notre Dame yesterday--I think everyone who is not a Notre Dame fan did--and wrote my friend Howard--a Navy alum--before the game, wishing him luck, but it was not to be. Got in too deep of an early hole via errors. I'd like to see a service academy make the playoffs. You have to root for these schools.
A prediction: Alexander Ovechkin is going to set the all-time goals mark. That's not the prediction. This is: In the future, he'll be talked about as being better than Sidney Crosby, because of that record and because people know nothing and are usually incapable of knowing anything. They won't get into the context and they won't know about who these players were as players. Because Alexander Ovechkin is not nearly the hockey player that Sidney Crosby is over the course of their careers. For a time, he was the more impactful player. That was a brief period, though. For quite a while, Ovechkin has been a guy who shoots/one-times the puck from a particular spot on the ice. And that's really all he is and it's why he's going to set this record.
Here's a fun baseball stat: Vince Coleman was a two-time All-Star. He stole 100 bases three times. His two All-Star seasons came in the years when he did not reach 100 thefts. He had two years in which he received MVP votes--finishing 11th and 12th--and was not an All-Star those years.
Patriots and Jets in Foxborough today. Dog of a game between two bad, boring, unlikable teams. It's a lovely autumn Sunday. Why would you go? To see the new quarterback, I guess. But what happens when it becomes cold and the weather turns mucky? There are going to be more and more empty seats out at Gillette. The Krafts won't like that.
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