I love postseason baseball.
The Tampa Bay Rays sent the Cleveland Indians home, and the Rays wil move on to take on the Boston Red Sox in one of the AL Division Series, after eliminating the Indians 4-0 last night. Delmon Young opened the scoring with a solo homer in the third inning and Desmond Jennings hit a two-run double in the fourth. Alex Cobb was terrific on the mound for the Rays, throwing 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball until handing it over to his bullpen.
The Rays are fun to watch. Unfortunately, they have the second-lowest attendance in the major leagues:
The Rays open in Boston tomorrow and the Detroit Tigers will be in Oakland to take on the A’s as well. I will give you my predictions for the two AL series tomorrow.
Over in the National League, both of the division series get under way today. Here are the games:
PIrates @ Cardinals
AJ Burnett vs Adam Wainwright 5:00 pm TBS
AJ Burnett vs Adam Wainwright 5:00 pm TBS
The Pirates took the season series, 10-9, but that is not a factor. They do go into this series riding high after a terrific season and their win over the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card playoff game. Wainwright was 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA this season, and was 1-0 this season against the Pirates with a 3.00 ERA. Burnett was 10-11 in 2013 with a 3.30 ERA, but struggled against St. Louis, and the last time he faced them he gave up five runs in three innings. In two appearances against the Cards in St. Louis, Burnett allowed 12 runs in 13 1/3 innings. The Cardinals have been here before. The most impressive thing about them this season is how they’ve hit in the clutch. Their .330 batting average with runners in scoring position is the best in the major leagues since 1974. The Pirates may be the sentimental choice, but I can’t go against my brain on this one. I’m picking the Cardinals.
Dodgers @ Braves
Clayton Kershaw vs Kris Medlen 8:30 pm TBS
Clayton Kershaw vs Kris Medlen 8:30 pm TBS
The Dodgers won the West with an incredible 3-month stretch and coasted to an easy title. The Braves won the East going away, even though they had a losing record over the last month of the season. We know what Yasiel Puig did for the Dodgers, as well as the return of Hanley Ramirez. Their pitching is outstanding, and that may be selling them a bit short. Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Ricky Nolasco are the best group of starters in the postseason. The Braves won five out of the seven games they played this season, and they play great baseball at home. The Braves’ rotation of Medlen, Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, and the surprising Freddy Garcia will hold their own against the Dodgers. The home field advantage will be the difference in this series. I’m picking the Braves to win the series.
Here is the complete post season schedule in MLB:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: A two-part question today. Who is the only baseball player to play over 500 games at five different positions? Who is the only baseball player to play at least 500 games with four different teams? The answers comes later, alligator.
In other baseball news,
Jim Leyland says that Miguel Cabrera is playing hurt:
The Braves’s roster for the first round does not include Dan Uggla:
We’ve heard this before, and I’ll believe it when I see it: The Marlins are serious about bidding for Cuban first baseman Abreu:
Here’s hoping that Hal Steinbrenner is a chip off the old block:
In a story that I wish would just go away, Alex Rodriguez’ appeal could last a LOOOOOOOONG time:
Let’s go to the gridiron:
The NFL week kicks off tonight in Cleveland as the Browns host the Buffalo Bills:
TONIGHT
Buffalo @ Cleveland -3 1/2 8:00 pm NFL Network
This ought to be a fun game. Can the Browns’ league-leading run defense stop the NFL’s second best rushing offense this week? Did anyone expect both the Browns and Bills to be 2-2 at this juncture, specially after the Browns traded starting running back Trent Richardson after starting the season 0-2. Cleveland then lost starting QB Brandon Weeden, replaced him with their third-string QB, Brian Hoyer, and he has led the Browns to two wins in a row. Keep your eye on Cleveland TE Jordan Cameron. He has been a monster this year. New head coach Rob Chudsinski is doing a great job with the Brownies. The Bills surprised everyone back in April by selecting QB EJ Manuel in the draft, and he has been very efficient so far this season. I’m not picking against the Browns again this week. I’ll take Cleveland at home and give the 3 1/2 points.
I’ll have the rest of my picks for NFL Week 5 tomorrow.
Here is this week’s schedule of games in the NFL.
More on the Dolphins:
You can always count on guard Richie Incognito to speak his mind:
After three wins to open the season, Ryan Tannehill was on a pedestal. One loss, and he is compared to Chad Henne:
Armando Salguero has more:
Here is the complete schedule for week 5 in the NFL:
Here are the game capsules and summaries from this week’s games in the NFL:
Week 4 NFL Capsules and Game Summaries
Week 4 NFL Capsules and Game Summaries
I ended this week 3-4, both against the spread and straight up. To many picks made with my heart, and not my head. Regardless, my season numbers so far are still very, very good: 16-10-2 against the spread, and 20-8 straight up.
Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:
Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.
In college football, the University of Miami Hurricanes are back on the practice field as they prepare to take on Georgia Tech this Saturday in their first ACC game this season. Kickoff is at 3:30 pm at the Seven-Names Stadium. You can watch the game on ESPN-U.
Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have all the latest from Coral Gables:
UM Defensive Coordinator Mark D’Onofrio has the Canes defense riding high:
FIU enjoyed a bye week this week, and their next game will be in Hattiesburg, on Saturday, October 5th, starting at 4:00 pm, against the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi. Could be the week they win a game? Southern Mississippi is favored to win by 16 points over the Panthers. No TV or Radio.
Here’s the latest from FIU, courtesy of David J. Neal:
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
Here are the NCAA Football rankings for this week and they include Florida State (#8), Miami (#14), and Florida (#18).
Here is the complete schedule in College Football for week 6, including TV info:
In Miami Heat news, how is Dwyane Wade feeling these days?
NHL Hockey is back:
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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock. Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: A two-part question today. Who is the only baseball player to play over 500 games at five different positions? Who is the only baseball player to play at least 500 games with four different teams?
Pete Rose played 929 games at 1B, 616 at 2B, 631 games at 3B, 669 games in LF, and 581 in RF.
Rusty Staub played 833 for Houston, 518 games for Montreal, 549 games for Detroit, and 942 games for the New York Mets.
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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