Finally, the two current best teams in MLB meet.
Maywood
Posts: 2,189 ✭✭✭✭✭
So we finally have a meeting of the two best teams currently in MLB, thanks to inter-league play. The Indians traveled to Philadelphia for a nice weekend series and managed to take game 1 which was a little surprising. I would expect Philly to dominate based on pitching although the game overall tended to highlight each teams strengths. I would rate the Indians as the better defensive team and also give their bullpen the edge. Both teams have very good offensive teams and can explode at any time. The biggest advantage is clearly with the Phillies starting pitching, tops in all of MLB in my judgement. Cleveland has a young, unproven staff and down the stretch will really miss a guy like Shane Bieber, but that what makes baseball so much fun for me, seeing young and inexperienced players getting a chance to prove themselves.
This is a good opportunity for the Indians, they've flown under the radar most of the season as teams like Philly, Baltimore, LA and New York have garnered the attention of fans. With Steven Vogt in his rookie year as manager and a team of mainly young players it should be interesting to watch how this short series plays out. I heard quite a few "boos" in sold out Philadelphia last night but I expect the Phillies to bounce back, probably win the next two games. The Indians have a fine team but the pitching will probably dominate.
This is what MLB is all about, the second half of the season where the best teams get to play each other and we get to watch the cream rise to the top. Enjoy.
Maywood.
Comments
Nice post Maywood!
As a Royals fan I’m already disappointed with the Phillies as they just let the Twins take 2-3 from them and now Cleveland wins the first one. Guess the ALCentral is just too tough for them.
Maybe when they get back to the NL where the competition isn’t as tough they’ll start winning again.
I'd wish Cleveland good luck in the series, but you'd know I wouldn't mean it. 😉
@Darin, for too long the AL has been New York and Houston but to be honest they both earned it, they have been hard teams to beat for quite a while. Add Boston to that mix and it's easy to see how teams like Cleveland and KC have struggled. With the NL it always manages to be about the Dodgers and Braves, the former tends to be a perennial winner and the latter has Ted Turner!!
Baltimore should be able to win the East this season and I noticed in today's news that they are already signing pitchers, rh starter Zach Eflin and rh reliever Seranthony Domínguez. It should be an interesting month of August MLB as the leaders jockey for the edge and compete for the best available players. The trade deadline was always a sad time in my youth as the Indians were almost always a net seller. Such is life when you live in a small market city. Things changed around 1990 when the Tribe overhauled their farm system and hired John Hart as GM and brought in Mike Hargrove to manage, first in the Minors and eventually with the big league team.
They haven't looked back since, always seem to be competitive.
A sidenote to @Darin and the KC Royals: one of my childhood heroes was Dick Howser who played for Cleveland in the mid-1960's. I always played either shortstop or centerfield, modeled myself after him and Vic Davalillo. When Howser became manager of the hated Yankees it was hard to root for him but I did, and I can't tell you how happy I was when one of my heroes managed his team to a WS victory. That was followed less than 2 years later with profound sadness when he died.
Regarding Dick Howser, the "Heisman Trophy of Baseball" is named in his honor and given out annually to the national college Baseball player of the year.
Although a bit more extreme than I would have expected, game 2 played to the Phillies pitching strength and the Indians penchant for allowing too many HR's. Now the rubber match.
While the Howser award us prestigious despite what Wiki says the Golden Spikes Award is the Heisman version for college baseball and considered the premier award. 21 players have won both but the awards many times have different winners including last year when Skenes won the Howser and Crews won the Golden Spikes.
The Howser award is awarded at a press conference in the morning, the Golden Spikes is awarded on national television in prime time
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
Maywood, that’s really cool that Dick Howser was one of your favorite players. His playing days were before my time but I remember him well as KC’s manager. I know his players thought very highly of him and he is in the Royals hall of fame which is well deserved.
The Dick Howser Award is given to the national college Baseball player of the year and awarded by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The Golden Spikes Award is given to the best amateur baseball player of the year and awarded by USA Baseball. USA Baseball is not affiliated with the NCAA, but rather non-collegiate amateur baseball. The winner technically does not have to be a college player.
Seeing how the Heisman Trophy is an award for a college football player, it would only seem logical that the Award for the best college Baseball player could be referred to as "The Heisman Trophy of Baseball".
Someone needs to go on the wiki page for the Golden Spikes Award and edit their page, as the Dick Howser Award is referenced as "The Heisman Trophy of Baseball" there, as well.
I don't really care. Split hairs as much as your heart desires. Dick Howser has The National College Baseball Player of the Year Award named in his honor.
Never said it wasnt a great award, but the Golden Spikes is considered the top award.
Wisconsin 2-6 against the SEC since 2007
And the Indians traded long balls with the Phillies as the two teams used mainly their bullpens to close out a nice weekend series, taking the rubber match 4-3. It would be nice to tell myself maybe this was a preview of the World Series but I don't think the Indians have the pitching to sustain success in the playoffs. I think they can win the Central Division, but the post season will depend on how they manage their young pitchers coupled with any veterans they manage to pick up before the trade deadline. Past the starting pitching the Tribe looks solid.
As for the Phillies, they seem like the team to beat in the NL with no holes.
Congrats on the series win.
I'd gladly take a Philly-Cleveland World Series. 😊
With Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola carrying the Phillies in the playoffs they will be tough.
Maywood, this is getting frustrating.
So the Royals beat Skubal and the Tigers today and have won 5 straight games. But nobody can beat Cleveland not even the very good teams like Philly and the Orioles.
The Orioles just look silly trying to compete with Cleveland.
I used to get my hopes up when the Guardians are playing a good team but no more. Cleveland is the best team in MLB and they’ve proven it.
Congrats I’ve got them winning the World Series because nobody else this year has WON games as consistently. 🏆
Right now what's going on in MLB is what happens every season, the brutality of playing 5-6-7 games a week from April till October is starting to take its toll. Baseball takes a special skill set and one of the principal skills is endurance. I'm not convinced that the Indians are the best team in MLB but they are playing like it now, beating the better teams head-to-head. The Phillies are in the midst of their first slump and the Dodgers are playing like an average team. Baltimore has been holding steady and the Yankees appear on the verge of a mid-season surge to catch them. Now is streak time. Putting together a winning streak can pull teams into the coming wildcard hunt, a losing streak might put some teams where the Astros are, in danger of dropping out of first place.
I still don't think the Indians have the pitching to carry them to the finish line but they are a fun team to watch right now.
4 lopsided games - 2 for the Orioles - 2 for the Good Guys. The series wasn't anything like I expected.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"