What is your reaction to the Houston Astros winning the 2017 World Series?
Thanks for the A2A. I believe it was one of the greatest World Series in history. You had a little bit of everything from game to game. Either team could have won it. I hadn’t watched a lot of baseball the past few years, but this series reminded me of what I like about the sport.As far as how the win affects Houston, I think it’s great. Houston has not had a lot of champion sports teams in the major sports. Rice University won the College World Series about eight years ago. Houston’s Dynamo soccer team won back-to-back championships in 2006–2007. Before that, you have to go back to the Houston Rockets’ back-to-back championships in basketball in the mid-1990s. Houston has not had a football champion except for the Gamblers, a minor league team, and the Oilers back during its early American Football League days when that was not a major sports league. We’ve had WNBA champions and hockey champions, but those are minor league.So the Astros World Championship has been a long time coming, and it comes to Houston at just the right time to lift the city’s spirits after being hit by debilitating Hurricane Harvey several months ago.
What are the odds of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series again in 2017?
I’m not a bookmaker/oddsmaker, but, I can “play” one in terms of this question LOLWhen you remember that the Cubs are a relatively young team with a very good manager, I’d say that the odds are pretty good that they can repeat as champions. Their win this year continued a streak (with one exception) that began with the 2005 World Series: with the exception of 2011, the American League champion has won the World Series in each odd-numbered year and the National League champion in every even-numbered year. To wit:2005: Chicago White Sox (AL)2006: St. Louis Cardinals (NL)2007: Boston Red Sox (AL)2008: Philadelphia Phillies (NL)2009: New York Yankees (AL)2010: San Francisco Giants (NL)2011: St. Louis (the exception)2012: San Francisco2013: Boston2014: San Francisco2015: Kansas City Royals (AL)2016: Chicago Cubs (NL)Not only that, but, it’s been nearly 20 years since an MLB franchise won consecutive World Series, the Yankees in 1999 and 2000. But, hey: considering all of the history that was against the Cubs this year, breaking the streaks above ought to be a “piece of cake” LMAO ;)
What did you do when the Cubs won the World Series?
My immediate reaction was disappointment that the better manager and better team on the night lost.It’s not that I particularly favored one team over the other, I’m an NL guy and always root for the NL over teams that can’t play with just nine players. I believe Joe Maddon is a top five manager in baseball and I grew up in a Cubs household.My dad waited his whole life to see a Cubs championship but died 40 years ago and I wasn’t able to enjoy it with him .My mother she was terminally ill with cancer in 1984. Doctors told me she wouldn’t be around very long but the Cubs made the playoffs and against the odds she lived until the day after the Cubs lost to the Padres.All of that means I was hoping for a Cubs win and was happy that the curse of the goat - mostly a result of inept ownership for 80 or so years - was over and the Cubs had a Championship.In games where I’m impartial, I hope the team that plays the best game wins. The Indians were clearly the better team that night and Terry Francona showed himself a superior manager to Maddon throughout the series. Were it not for a rain delay Cleveland would have a ring and the Cubs would still be looking.That’s what baseball does to a fan, “. . . breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. “A. Bartlett Giamatti, Take Time For Paradise: Americans And Their Games
Who is most likely to win the 2017 World Series?
In my opinion, the Indians are the clear answer.Going into the 2016 season, Michael Brantley, the Indians’ centerfielder, was projeced to be the AL MVP. 11 Games into the season, however, Brantley suffered a season-ending injury. Also, star pitcher Carlos Carrasco injured his pitching arm in early september. Despite this, the Indians won 94 games and were inches from a World Series title.They will go into 2017 stronger than ever, with arguably the most talented team in the MLB, with (most likely) Yan Gomes catching, Edwin Encarnacion at first, Jason kipnis at second, José Ramirez at third, Francisco Lindor at shortstop, Michael Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall, and likely a Brandon Guyer/Tyler Naquin platoon in the outfield, and Carlos santana as the DH (possibly playing first base as well). Their starting rotaion will be capped by studs Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Danny Salazar, with a stacked bullpen containing Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.The Indians are the team to beat going into 2017.The Cubs will not be nearly as strong, but will still be a 94+ win powerhouse. Even tbough they lost Chapman, they will still have a star closer in all-star Wade Davis. They will have Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks coming off of career years, with Arrieta, Lacky, and Mike Montgomery.If Bryant continues his dominance and Rizzo’s bat stays similar, the Cubs eill be just fine. The one thing the Cubs are missing in 2017 is a leadoff hitter. Candidates for the job include Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, and Kyle Shwarber.The Cubs 2017 season hinges on consistent starting pitching, as they showed in 2016 with an amazing year on the mound, along with the 184 million dollar man Jason Heyward. If he looks like the Jason Heyward we saw in 2015 in St. Louis, the Cubs will be a 100 win force again in 2017.My predictions for the top 4 teams:1)Indians2)Cubs3)Dodgers4)Nationals
What do you think the chances are of the Giants winning the World Series in 2017?
The Giants are as good as their pitching and defense will let them be. Their rotation is better than the Dodgers, the right side of their infield is as well.Crawford is an underrated shortstop outside of the west coast but Seager - if healthy - ;is a stud. The Dodgers third baseman is superior to anything the Giants can field. Grandal is an underrated backstop but Posey is better.The Dodgers clearly have the better outfield and outfield depth while the Giants are still piecing theirs together.Bochy is a Hall of Fame manager who adds at least 10 wins a season but Roberts is leaning fast.As others have said injury will play a big part in each teams success. The Giants outfield is always a step away from the DL. I love Pence but he’s been injured more often in recent years and as you get older it gets harder to come back. Span is a hamstring away from a 60 day DL stint and no one knows who plays left field.The bullpens both have questions. Jansen is the best in the game today but the bridge to him isn’t as dependable. Melancon is dependable and steady rather than flashy but won’t let anyone down. The bridge to him is an unknown quantity of course.I’d give the Dodger bench the edge for depth and potential. They also have the prospect resources and cash to get more if needed whereas even after paying off their ballpark the Giants are pretty stretched. They are already in luxury tax trouble and the minor league system is thin or they would have done more this off season.The problem both teams have is that the division will be tougher this season. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will be harder to beat and that will stretch both teams deeper into the year.It really is a close thing and when things are close I go with pitching and leadership. That makes the Giants a slight leader in the division but I think both teams make the post season.Any team that gets to the post season has a good chance to make it. Saying that the Cubs aren’t going away and the Nats are still there but weaker. I think the Giants chances aren’t as good as the Cubs and Nats and about even with the Dodgers.
Why was Madison Bumgarner so effective at pitching in the 2014 World Series?
It's hard to judge from a limited number of games; after all, mediocre players sometimes have incredible hot streaks, and great players sometimes suffer through extended slumps. When you happen to get hot at a very critical time for your team, it may be mistaken as being indicative of possessing the admirable character trait of coming up big in the clutch.On the other hand, some players do exhibit a long term pattern of performing at their best in high pressure, high stress circumstances.In the case of Bumgarner, my guess is that what we saw this October was a combination of the two. A young, very gifted player just entering his peak years, getting hot at a critical time, while at the same time being the type of individual who keeps cool under pressure and steps up to lead his team to a championship with an extraordinary performance.If he is fortunate enough to get some further post-season opportunities in his career, we'll find out more about how much of it was him being a clutch player, and how much was just him getting hot at a very opportune time.
What does it feel like to attend the World Series?
This is really three separate questions:What does it feel like to attend the World Series if you are not a particular fan of either team?What does it feel like to attend the World Series if your team wins?What does it feel like to attend the World Series if your team loses?Answers:A lot of fun. There's a celebratory atmosphere, the place is sold out, the vibe and intensity are incomparable, just really a lot of fun, and to be present at the final game is great because of all the on-field celebration, especially if the home team wins. If the visitors win then the final game can be a somewhat bleak experience and the on-field celebrations are often somewhat more muted. I was in Minnesota in 1987 when the Twins won and it was just glorious, pure joy all around (except for the Cardinals fans).UNBELIEVABLE. A total high. Being present to watch your team win the World Series is the biggest sports high I can imagine (perhaps unless you have a loved one who wins an Olympic gold medal). Sadly, I have not experienced this since 1983 (that win came on the road, in Philadelphia, so it was weird and awkward to express all my happiness openly with distraught Phillies fans all around).THE WORST. I am not a Red Sox fan but my husband is, and I root for them when my team (the Orioles) are out of contention. We were both at games 1, 2, and 6 of the 1986 World Series in Shea Stadium, and I was also at game 7, and the feeling of watching the world championship slip away inning by inning is akin to existential dread. If you lose the lead late in the game it is even more awful, and if it is a blowout, however painful, at least you have a few innings to get used to the idea (and maybe even leave if you can't bear it).