It doesn't look like this will be the year for the Cubs or the Brewers. The Brewers sent ace CC Sabathia to the mound, but he did not last through the 4th inning and the Phillies took a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Cubs made 4 errors en route to a 10-3 defeat by the Dodgers. Carlos Zambrano pitched 6-1/3 innings and gave up 7 runs, but only three of them were earned, so he gets a quality start. Manny Ramirez homered in his second straight playoff game and Russel Martin had 3 RBI. Chad Billingsley gave up 1 run in 6-2/3 innings to get the win. The Rays beat the White Sox in the first game of their play off series.
Tonight, only the AL teams play. Chicago and Tampa Bay play at 6pm and the Red Sox/Angels game will be at 930p.
The Ball State football team puts its undefeated record on the line at Toledo on Saturday night. BSU is a 7.5 point favorite. I think this will be a high-scoring, no-defense game. It would not surprise me if Toledo keeps it close or even wins this game.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Welcome to October
The Phillies were the only home team to win their playoff game yesterday as the Red Sox and Dodgers stole home-field advantage from the Angels and the Cubs. Today, the White Sox and Rays start their series and the Philly/Milwaukee and Cubs/Dodgers series have game 2. The Cubs game starts at 830 pm Chicago time....it's going to be a cold one in Chi-town tonight.
The vice-presidential election is tonight. This is Sarah Palin's one chance to prove that she is fit to be vice-president. According to polls, Obama-Biden is crushing McCain-Palin by 6 percent nationwide. If you look at the individual state polls, Obama leads in electoral votes 338-185 with 15 tied. Tonight is a must-win for the McCain-Palin ticket. If not, the race could be over in October.
The vice-presidential election is tonight. This is Sarah Palin's one chance to prove that she is fit to be vice-president. According to polls, Obama-Biden is crushing McCain-Palin by 6 percent nationwide. If you look at the individual state polls, Obama leads in electoral votes 338-185 with 15 tied. Tonight is a must-win for the McCain-Palin ticket. If not, the race could be over in October.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
What a game!
The tiebreaker game last night between the White Sox and the Twins was what a baseball game should be. Great crowd, great defense, great pitching, and a one-run game. Jim Thome homered for the only run of the game as the White Sox beat the Twins to take the AL Central and advance to the playoffs. Nick Blackburn threw 6-1/3 innings for the Twins and only gave up one run, but it was the only run that mattered. John Danks threw 8 innings of shutout ball for the White Sox and only gave up 2 hits and Bobby Jenks threw the 9th for the save. The White Sox will play the Rays starting on Thursday.
As for the other playoff series, here are my predictions:
LAA vs Boston - LAA dominated the season series 8-1. LAA hit well (901 OPS) and pitched well (3.60 ERA) during the season series. Plus, the Angels have home field advantage. I don't see this one going more than 4 games with the Angels winning the series.
Rays vs White Sox - This was a close, low-scoring series during the year. Both teams had OPS under 735 and ERAs below 3.35 against each other. Just like last night's game, whoever scores first may end up winning the game. I think this series will go 5 games and the White Sox will win.
Dodgers vs Cubs - This series has even better pitching and worse hitting than the Rays/White Sox series. Both teams have OPS below 660 and ERAs under 2.50 against each other. However, things did break the Cubbies way as they won the season series 5-2. I think the Cubs win this one in 4 games.
Phillies vs Brewers - The Phillies played well in the season series with the Brewers. They had an OPS of 899 and an ERA of 2.72, taking the season series 5-1. Milwaukee had a 686 OPS and an ERA of 5.76. The Phillies will win this one in 3 games.
As for the other playoff series, here are my predictions:
LAA vs Boston - LAA dominated the season series 8-1. LAA hit well (901 OPS) and pitched well (3.60 ERA) during the season series. Plus, the Angels have home field advantage. I don't see this one going more than 4 games with the Angels winning the series.
Rays vs White Sox - This was a close, low-scoring series during the year. Both teams had OPS under 735 and ERAs below 3.35 against each other. Just like last night's game, whoever scores first may end up winning the game. I think this series will go 5 games and the White Sox will win.
Dodgers vs Cubs - This series has even better pitching and worse hitting than the Rays/White Sox series. Both teams have OPS below 660 and ERAs under 2.50 against each other. However, things did break the Cubbies way as they won the season series 5-2. I think the Cubs win this one in 4 games.
Phillies vs Brewers - The Phillies played well in the season series with the Brewers. They had an OPS of 899 and an ERA of 2.72, taking the season series 5-1. Milwaukee had a 686 OPS and an ERA of 5.76. The Phillies will win this one in 3 games.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
At least there are no days off
The White Sox beat the Tigers yesterday in their final scheduled game of the regular season. So, that means that the White Sox and Twins are now tied in the AL Central and they get to play a tie-breaker game today, which means that there will not be a day where there are no games played as the playoffs start tomorrow. Yippee!!!!
Ball State is a 7-point favorite on the road at Toledo on Saturday. It should be a good game. Toledo is 1-3, but they are a rival of BSU and the games are always fairly close. The all-time series is tied at 16-16-1.
As of the end of week 4 in the NFL, the Redskins are one of 5 teams that have three wins, which would put them in the playoffs if they started today. They go to Philly on Sunday for another tough division game.
Ball State is a 7-point favorite on the road at Toledo on Saturday. It should be a good game. Toledo is 1-3, but they are a rival of BSU and the games are always fairly close. The all-time series is tied at 16-16-1.
As of the end of week 4 in the NFL, the Redskins are one of 5 teams that have three wins, which would put them in the playoffs if they started today. They go to Philly on Sunday for another tough division game.
Monday, September 29, 2008
A season ends, but a new one begins
The Braves lost to the Astros yesterday 3-1. Mike Hampton pitched another great game throwing 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. It was his 8th quality start in his last nine games, however he is 2-3 in those games as the team doesn't give him too much offense. Jeff Bennett and Julian Tavarez each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Kelly Johnson had 2 hits to conclude his scorching September. During the month, he batted .398 with a 1.071 OPS. The Braves finish the month of September 13-12 and finish the season with a record of 72-90. The strong month of September while playing a lot of young guys gives me hope for next season. Chipper Jones walked in his only plate appearance to win the NL batting title. He becomes the first switch-hitter since Terry Pendleton won the title in 1991. He just missed the record for batting average by a switch-hitter. Mickey Mantle still holds that record at .365.
There is still one game left this season, maybe two. The White Sox will play the Tigers in a make-up game this afternoon. If the White Sox win, they will be tied with the Twins for the division title and will play the Twins on Tuesday. The other three playoff series start on Wednesday.
The Redskins breathed new life into their season with a 26-24 victory over Dallas at Texas Stadium. Jason Campbell was 20 of 31 for 231 yards and 2 TDs. Clinton Portis ran for 121 yards. Santana Moss had another great game against the division rivals, catching 8 balls for 145 yards. Antwan Randle El and James Thrash caught the touchdown passes from Campbell. Chris Horton had a big interception and now has 3 picks in 4 games. The clutch kicking of Shaun Suisham saved the day for the Redskins. He had 4 field goals and 2 extra points to lead the team in scoring with 14 points. The Redskins go to Philly next weekend to take on the 2-2 Eagles.
The Ball State football team is ranked 29th in the USA Today poll and 36th in the Harris poll. The unofficial BCS rating for this week should come out tonight or tomorrow.
There is still one game left this season, maybe two. The White Sox will play the Tigers in a make-up game this afternoon. If the White Sox win, they will be tied with the Twins for the division title and will play the Twins on Tuesday. The other three playoff series start on Wednesday.
The Redskins breathed new life into their season with a 26-24 victory over Dallas at Texas Stadium. Jason Campbell was 20 of 31 for 231 yards and 2 TDs. Clinton Portis ran for 121 yards. Santana Moss had another great game against the division rivals, catching 8 balls for 145 yards. Antwan Randle El and James Thrash caught the touchdown passes from Campbell. Chris Horton had a big interception and now has 3 picks in 4 games. The clutch kicking of Shaun Suisham saved the day for the Redskins. He had 4 field goals and 2 extra points to lead the team in scoring with 14 points. The Redskins go to Philly next weekend to take on the 2-2 Eagles.
The Ball State football team is ranked 29th in the USA Today poll and 36th in the Harris poll. The unofficial BCS rating for this week should come out tonight or tomorrow.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Blowout wins for everyone
The Braves beat the Astros 11-5 on Saturday. Josh Anderson had 2 home runs, 3 hits, and 3 RBI. Jeff Francoeur had 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. Both Anderson and Francoeur are batting over .340 over their last 10 games. Brandon Jones added 3 RBI in the game. James Parr started the game and gave up 4 earned runs in 4-1/3 innings. Vladimir Nunez, Manny Acosta, Jorge Julio, and Mike Gonzalez threw scoreless innings in the bullpen. Julio and Nunez have been spectacular in the month of September. Julio has thrown 12-1/3 innings and has only given up 9 hits and 1 run. Nunez has pitched 12 innings and given up 8 hits and 2 runs. I hope we can carry this over to next year, because we are going to need a decent bullpen with all of the young starters we are going to have. Chipper Jones can win the batting title today. The word is that he is only going to pinch-hit, so his average can drop no lower than .364 if he goes 0-for-1. Albert Pujols is in second place and even if he goes 5-for-5 his average will only be .362. The final game of the season is this afternoon at 205p. Mike Hampton will pitch for the Braves and Wandy Rodriguez will pitch for the Astros.
The Ball State football team continued it's undefeated season by beating Kent State 41-20 in front of a homecoming crowd of 20,347 fans. MiQuale Lewis ran for 116 yards and three TDs. He also caught 3 balls for 39 yards. This was his 4th straight 100 yard game and his 10th touchdown of the season. Nate Davis completed 23 of 35 passes for 265 yards and 1 TD. True freshman Briggs Orsbon caught 10 passes for 112 yards. Cory Sykes ran for a TD and Miles Trempe caught the TD pass from Davis. Kicker Ian McGarvey kicked field goals of 38 and 47 yards and converted all 5 extra point attempts. BSU faces Toledo next week for a Saturday night game against the always tough Rockets. Game time is 7pm.
The Ball State football team continued it's undefeated season by beating Kent State 41-20 in front of a homecoming crowd of 20,347 fans. MiQuale Lewis ran for 116 yards and three TDs. He also caught 3 balls for 39 yards. This was his 4th straight 100 yard game and his 10th touchdown of the season. Nate Davis completed 23 of 35 passes for 265 yards and 1 TD. True freshman Briggs Orsbon caught 10 passes for 112 yards. Cory Sykes ran for a TD and Miles Trempe caught the TD pass from Davis. Kicker Ian McGarvey kicked field goals of 38 and 47 yards and converted all 5 extra point attempts. BSU faces Toledo next week for a Saturday night game against the always tough Rockets. Game time is 7pm.
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